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Mike: No Hernia Repair...Acute Pancreatitis instead.

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Posted 2/7/2015 10:29 PM (GMT 0)
He is in the hospital with acute abdominal pain. They will do all the usual tests and decide whether his hernia repair is an emergency or ok to wait until the 20th.

More later,

ML
Posted 2/7/2015 10:59 PM (GMT 0)
I do hope Mike gets this hernia repaired and the recovery can move him in the direction of the golf course : ) Sorry you are again, sitting in hospital rooms. You.Deserve.A.Break.

Find a comfy chair...if possible. Big Hugs
Posted 2/7/2015 11:26 PM (GMT 0)
Is the hernia at the top of the incision, or at one end or the other?
Posted 2/8/2015 12:34 AM (GMT 0)
He has a Lexus scar. First was midline above the belly button.

This one is to the right and sqo
ished above and below the scar. It is the shape and size of a Hubbard squash.

He is feeling calmer now with some nice morphine. He has been in a lot of pain all day.

They have treated him really well today.

Hugs,

ML
Posted 2/8/2015 1:15 AM (GMT 0)
Glad to hear Mike is out of pain for a bit. Have they said if they will go ahead with surgery now, or make him come back. How is the caregiver doing? My heart goes out to you. Big Hugs
Posted 2/8/2015 2:51 AM (GMT 0)
Mine is a Lexus, too. I had a small hernia, right at the top of the incision about a year after the transplant. The hernia was about an inch across just under the center of my ribs. My surgeon fixed it with mesh and super glue.

The transplant incision was sewed up inside and surgi strips on the outside, rather than stapled. From what I've observed, staples seem to fail more often and leave a scar that's more obvious. Not that I care about my scar's size. Connie had huge problems with her incision and the staples they used.
Posted 2/8/2015 3:05 AM (GMT 0)
Mike had heart surgery in December. They opened his breast bone, used some kind of clamps to close the bone then took the tiniest stitches on thevskin. There is barely a scar. that guy could do facial surgery in my book.
Posted 2/8/2015 4:54 AM (GMT 0)
Hhi M&M , Hope all goes smoothly for you and Mike of course.Great that they have him comfortable. Please take care of your self also,
Barry
Posted 2/8/2015 6:08 AM (GMT 0)
Oh I hope they choose to fix that darn hernia. I know how painful it can be. I feel the pain numerous times a day when the darn thing pops out. It is a very unpleasant pain.

Morphine does the trick, but of course that is for hospital visits only, and I am currently avoiding those. : )

Thinking of you both.

Schimbare
Posted 2/8/2015 2:04 PM (GMT 0)
Ast/Alt this morning 201/365.

They were in teens last week???

Any ideas?

His GTT and lipase are crazy too..like when he had Pancreatitis. I wasn't this frightened when he had heart b surgery in December.
Posted 2/8/2015 2:18 PM (GMT 0)
Diseases That Cause Abnormal Aminotransferase Levels


The most common diseases causing abnormally elevated ALT and AST are:
•Acute viral hepatitis, such as hepatitis A or B
•Chronic viral hepatitis, such hepatitis B or C
•Cirrhosis of the liver (scarring of the liver due to long standing inflammation of the liver)
•Liver damage from alcohol abuse or alcoholic fatty liver
•Hemochromatosis (a genetic condition causing long standing liver damage due to iron build up in the liver)
•Diminished blood flow to the liver (from shock or heart failure)

Just looking around for you. NO experience here other than Hep C elevations. Relapse? Reinfection from something during heart surgery? Heart? That would not explain the pain, though. I am so sorry you both are having to go through this. Big Hugs
Posted 2/9/2015 1:57 AM (GMT 0)
MamaLama, I am thinking about you and Mike. I hope by now he is better and that they have determined why the high levels.

I'm so sorry this has happened today.

BIG HUGS,
Val
Posted 2/9/2015 6:45 AM (GMT 0)
MamaLama-I hope the docs get to the bottom of this and soon! Prayers for Mike and you.
Hugs,
Emma
Posted 2/9/2015 3:34 PM (GMT 0)
Anything new on Mike, ML? How are you doing? Big Hugs
Posted 2/9/2015 4:01 PM (GMT 0)
Yes ML-anything new on Mike? Please take good care of yourself too.

Hugs,
Emma
Posted 2/10/2015 3:12 AM (GMT 0)
Not much new. Mike still in hospital, they have allowed him to start a low fat diet to see if the pains are gone. He was okay after lunch and supper. He walks a lot then sleeps some more. Sitting bothers him.

His labs are a mess...out of range liver functions, kidney functions, pancreatic enzymes, sodium, alk phos, platlets, inr.

I calculated a MELD for him on yesterday's labs, just for fun: 15. He was 15 for a while 4 months before transplant....then it went up really fast.

I am worried that they have him admitted on a surgical service, assuming his hernia was incarcerated and needed immediate surgery. Then decided on scans that it was not, but that WAY HIGH lipase and amylase numbers suggested pancreatitis. They were happy with that, continue to monitor, checked for blocked ducts and didn't see anything definitive there on CT scan, and have sort of left him to get better on bed rest and pain management.

HOWEVER, why would a man who is cured of Hep C and has had a liver transplant have AST/ALT readings in the 200/300 range? Way strange. Since both have been like 17/23 until this week?????

And remember he had cardiac surgery in December and they cut his antirejection meds back so it would heal properly. Then his liver functions crept up and they upped his prograf to 2 mg AM and 1 mg PM. Fine.

But now, is anyone thinking about these two things TOGETHER. Looking for rejection?????

WE have requested someone from the Hepatology service come and consult on this case to at least give us peace of mind. The hep docs are sort of the pre transplant folks, they manage liver diseases, do the Hep C treatments. The folks we saw this week are Transplant and Post Transplant. I sort of feel the service he was admitted under doesn't have anything to cut up so they sort of put him on a back burner and moved on to more "fun" stuff...I really mean urgent.

But I am not a doctor and don't want to get anyone frustrated with me...we shall see what tomorrow brings.

And with all this fun I have a cold, or bronchitis or something. My doc started me on meds to keep Mike well...via phone call back to our town. They called the pharmacy chain here in Miami....thank goodness. Cough Cough. (I have a COPD diagnosis and when I get the bronchitis I get really really sick...not time just now...must act quickly...I'm on zithromycin and prednasone...YUK. )

At hotel, trying to get a good night's sleep....on pred...maybe not so much.

Hugs,

Mama Lama
Posted 2/10/2015 3:35 AM (GMT 0)
MamaLama,
I am sorry that this is still going on and you getting sick on top of all Mike's issues. A delicate balance to tend to when trying to get your loved one the care they need and deserve...but not to annoy anyone while advocating for them. I hope the next set of labs yield better results. And that the transplant team can get the answers needed to get Mike back on the road to feeling better.
Hugs,
Emma
Posted 2/10/2015 4:28 AM (GMT 0)
It never ends...
Posted 2/10/2015 1:30 PM (GMT 0)
They called my hotel. It's morphine time again. So much for the low fat food trial.
Posted 2/10/2015 5:08 PM (GMT 0)
Oh I am so sorry for what you are both going through. My thoughts are with you both.

Schimbare.
Posted 2/10/2015 5:16 PM (GMT 0)
I am so sorry. I hope Mike gets the pain relief he needs.

Big Hugs,
Emma
Posted 2/10/2015 6:50 PM (GMT 0)
Upper endoscopy next. So he is staying on. His labs are moving in the right direction but have a long way to go before being normal. I have 2 sets of clothes with me...this afternoon I have to do laundry or shop.
Posted 2/10/2015 9:49 PM (GMT 0)
Carol and Mike,

Our thoughts and prayers are with you both during this frustrating time.....Here's hoping they figure out what is going on and fix it, so you can be on your way back home soon!!


Hugs,

Kathy and Dennis
Posted 2/10/2015 11:03 PM (GMT 0)
Sorry things are so difficult. Shopping beats laundry :) You probably could use a break for a couple of hours. Let's hope Mike gets past this pain, the hernia repaired, and a full recovery. I am thinking of you both. Themister asked me to let you know he is concerned about Mike.

Big, BIG Hugs.
Posted 2/11/2015 4:12 AM (GMT 0)
Thanks folks. I did take a couple of hours off...bought him some new undies and me too. And a new pair of Jeans at Marshalls. Lucky me.

Mike has the endoscopy tomorrow morning so I will linger at hotel and do a load of wash and we'll be all set for whatever is coming next.

There is some disagreement between Hepatology/Gastro and Transplant about the Hernia Repair. The post TP surgeon wants to wait. Hep/Gasto see no reason to do that. Cardio has no issues with delaying. So who knows? Mike is ready to put it behind him and get back to his life.

I am of split opinion...wanting to get back to a normal life, but I think the surgeon may actually be right in wanting to be sure the lab values are all back to normal...not trending down. And I'm not convinced that hte rejection issues after the Aortic Valve Replacement are actually settled down.

I am a nervous nelly, so what do I know. The Docs will have to get their crowns buffed and sort out their high level bickering and tell us with one voice what the plan is. Maybe we can just go home after the endoscopy and let them call us when they figure this out.

Hugs,
ML
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