Going to my endo next week .should I ask if I have p b c. I am confused but this would be my only opportunity to get a.m.a test done

[poppppy]

Hi all . I am repeating myself I think . I want to find out why I have a new worrying symptom . Namely strange stools . Sorry for grossness .I understand if you want to stop reading now .

I have an opportunity to ask my endo next week to do an anti mitochondrial antibody test for primary biliary cholangitis. My gp said she can't do it .It is a hospital lead test .so I ask next week or wait a year .

So my question to you all is .is it unlikely I have it so I should not ask . Or if there is a chance I have it what do I say to convince her to do it . As in that I want a diagnosis early so I can get treatment to slow down the disease etc . Will I not be absorbing my diet properly without treat ment?

My symptoms are ;

Extreme fatigue .unexplained bruising . Little sores that don't heal .poor concentration and brain fogs

.i have other symptoms. I also am auto immune thyroiditis . Tpo antibodies high with atrophied thyroid .

My main new worrying symptom is my stool since april has become passed very fast and I need to rush after a meal at times. And it's like i empty my whole bowel .and it's grey sometimes for days .then yellow for days then brown again then yellow tan colour with undigested food .

Liver function twice now been ok .gp seems unconcerned but pushed her for a sigmoidoscopy.

And I mentioned a.m.a test but new computerised system wouldn't let her order it .

So my question is .do I ask endo and how

Thank yo u all

Poppy

[poppppy]

I have not had gall bladder removed and have no right upper quadrant pain or referred pain to shoulder .

I am gluten free 4 years and dairy and other animals milk free since may .stopped dairy etc and sugar and caffeine since may but some strange stool previous to may .not as bad before but some mustard coloured before .

Thank you for your concern

Poppy

[poppppy]

Thanx .got a ceramic frying pan recently. Some are just silver looking metal .not sure what made of .have got one old non stick frying pan .not tefal

What should I get

Poppy .

[poppppy]

Thank you .I will check what my pans are and buy new ones if they are aluminium .Thank you so much .

Poppy

[SlowDragon Administrator]

The SDC lifestyle website may have info. Masses about gut

[poppppy in reply to SlowDragon]

What is s dc sorry . I am being really thick .I will Google s dc

[humanbean in reply to poppppy]

SlowDragon is referring to this website :

scdlifestyle.com/

It has loads of articles on all sorts of subjects to do with gut health. It specifically talks a lot about the SCD diet (Specific Carbohydrate Diet), but the info isn't just about that. Take a look at some of the articles on improving digestion :

scdlifestyle.com/category/i...

[poppppy in reply to humanbean]

Thank you human bean .I have been looking at the website but worried do u have to pay for the videos that it says submit your email address for .

Thank you poppy

[poppppy in reply to humanbean]

Human bean .can I also ask you is specific carbohydrate diet similar to hashimotos protocol by Isabella wentz . Because I have bought that book .And her protocol seems to be following leaky gut protocol . And so does this scd doesnt it .

I mean I have only committed to the no dairy or other milks, no sugar , wheat , soya, alcohol , caffeine etc so far .so lots more work to do via her book .

Or would you recommend the scd instead

I Want to do a leaky gut curing diet .and i have hashimotos or ords disease or auto immune hypothyroid . Anyway shrunken thyroid .high tpo antibodies .low t3 and t4 before treatment

Thanx poppy

[poppppy]

So sorry to hear what u have been through .I hope you are a lot better now .

[poppppy]

I am so pleased that you found out it was the cause . What pans do I buy then .what material and does every thing stick to them though

[ShootingStars]

Your bowel problems sound like gall bladder, bile ducts, pancreas, or liver issues. Grey or clay colored stool is a sign of all four. Then the yellow and then brown could be indicative spastic release of bile salts. Bile salts are what makes your poo brown.

[poppppy in reply to ShootingStars]

Shooting stars .thankyou .i thought same re gallbladder etc and got quite scared at times but doc done liver function and coagulation tests etc twice and coz no pain or jaundice etc .she now dismissed it .but I said well worried at the very least I am getting no absorption of nutrients and so health is deteriorating that way . So she conceded to a sigmoidoscopy to check problems in bowel .

But I read of silent killer of pancreatic problems etc coz no particular symptoms and liver cirrhosis damage can have hardly any symptoms and only detected when looking for other things .hence a.m.a test .

Went my consultant today and I saw the registrar instead and she said I had no signs of pbc so no point doing the test .

I am inclined to agree with her as it is only the stool and the bruising and the fact it can follow on from hashimotos and I have extreme fatigue that made me think of it .

Anyway I waffle .Thank you for your concern and advice .very kind of you

Poppy

[ShootingStars in reply to poppppy]

What are all of your thyroid and antibody levels and what medication do you take fof Hashimoto's? I have Hashimoto's too. About 2 years before I was diagnosed, I had similar problems to what you describe including. I had many many different types of abdominal scans done and all were normal. It all ended up being tied to my Hashimoto's. When hypo, your entire system slows down, plus also dealing with the autoimmune problems.

It took some time to get my medication right and my levels optimized. I take t4 and t3. Once I started my meds, I never ever had those extreme problems and pains that seemed to be coming from my gall bladder and bile duct (palpated swollen and sore). My digestion slowly improved and normalized.

At the same time as starting thyroid meds, I became completely gluten free. Also dairy and soy free. I concentrated on healing my gut. It's been well over two years since the start of all that. I've been on the right dosage of medication for 20 months.

I have never heard of bruising being a Hashimoto's symptom. It's not a blood disorder like those that cause bruising but a metabolic disorder. The thyroid controls metabolism.

What were the results of your liver and pancreas test? Did they do any scans?

[poppppy in reply to ShootingStars]

Hi Thank you for reply stars . My t3 is top of range and t4 nil coz only take liothyronine.

Had scan of thyroid and atrophied with giraffe pattern markings of hashimotos .

No scan of liver as my liver function blood results and coagulation and inflammatory markers all normal twice .

They are going to do a sigmoidoscopy to check for bowel problems but I am less concerned now as stopping selenium methionine seemed to stop the pale beige diarrhoea type stool .it is still tan but I am trying to find out if that is normal for dairy and all animal milk free and sugar free diet .I mean it's not something people want to talk about is it .lol

Thank you so much for your concern.

Poppy

[TSH110 in reply to ShootingStars]

ShootingStars

Bruising easily is a symptom of hypothyroidism:

bmj.com/rapid-response/2011...

and J Safer:

purpura may be noted in hypothyroid patients as a result of diminished levels of clotting factors or the loss of vascular support secondary to the dermal mucin.

See: ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articl...

[poppppy in reply to TSH110]

Thank you for this shooting stars .Just looked at the first article .feel better to see it's just linked to me hypothyroidism

Thank you

Poppy

[ShootingStars in reply to poppppy]

Extreme fatigue can stem from unoptimized thyroid levels, races of gluten in your diet, other inflammatory foods, iron problems, other nutrient problems. Have you had a complete iron work up?

[poppppy in reply to ShootingStars]

Thank you Stars , i need my vit d and heametinics doing again . Vit d been low twice in past .

I wonder if a slow increase in activity levels to try and get fitter might wake me up a bit . Do u know nay regimes that are not contra indicated .

Poppy

[poppppy]

Reallyfedup

Sorry u did tell me .gonna look at what I can buy .and prices .I know health is wealth and I do prioritise my money for health first but am still very low income .arent we all .not moaning just saying .I am very lucky can still work

Poppy