Hubby's in the hospital

[brooklyngirl]

So, right after his sister's wedding, my husband started getting sharp abdominal pains. He wouldn't let me take him to the hospital until the next night. We spent about 14 hours in the ER in Brooklyn and they saw that his liver enzymes were elevated and think he probably has NASH, or non-alcoholic cirrhosis. They said if we lived there, they'd admit him for further testing, but since we were trying to get home to SC that we should let him rest for a day and then drive back and follow up with a Dr here.
He started projectile vomiting while I was driving here last night and so we went to sleep for a few hours after getting home and now we've been in the ER most of the day.
They don't believe that the intense pains he's experiencing are from the liver, but aren't sure what they can be from. The doc in NY said she didn't see stones in the gallbladder, but that she couldn't see very well so I asked the doc here to repeat the sonogram. Not sure what else to do. I'm so overwhelmed, especially since my grandmother and sister are both in the hospital right now (in NY and NJ) and my parents are across the country so I felt so guilty leaving to come back here. Blargh...

 

[southernlady]

Hang in there...do you need us to come down tonight or do a wait and see? And if you need to talk, call me.

 

[DianaCox]

You need to be with your husband, at least until they figure out what the problem is ... so don't even consider any other option. I hope they figure it out quickly, and it's an easy fix (and I'm voting for gallbladder).

 

[DSRIGGS]

So sorry to hear this news Lauren....hang in there and you have my positive thoughts for a quick and relatively easy resolution.

 

[Elizabeth N.]

Oh dear :-(. My thoughts are with you.

 

[debbiebobebbie]

Hoping they find an answer for you quickly.

 

[Bagaof4]

Ugh! The not knowing is just so stressful! Hang in there and I hope they get a diagnosis and treatment plan soon. Sorry you are going through this.

 

[star0210]

Oh no...I'm so sorry! I'm hoping it's something simple like gallbladder too!

 

[brooklyngirl]

So, they sent us home last night, which I'm relived about, yet I don't like the "diagnosis". They basically said he "probably has a GI virus" and that the NASH was kinda caught accidentally and we should follow up with a GP and GI. They ruled out kidney stones and anything with the gallbladder and sent him packing without a real answer as to what these intense sharp pains are. They're not in his stomach and it hurts everytime he gets up, sits down, twists, takes a breath, yawns, etc. The report from the Brooklyn ER did day he had a partial atelectasis and that it's "no big deal", but if that's causing the pain, WTF caused that? I'm just unhappy they didn't really answer these questions and he's SUPER frustrated

 

[more2adore]

Oh man. Little in life is more frustrating than feeling like something is wrong/causing pain and doctors not being able to find it. ARGH. I'm so sorry. I hope your hubby feels better sooner rather than later!

 

[DuodenalSwitchaRoo]

So, right after his sister's wedding, my husband started getting sharp abdominal pains. He wouldn't let me take him to the hospital until the next night. We spent about 14 hours in the ER in Brooklyn and they saw that his liver enzymes were elevated and think he probably has NASH, or non-alcoholic cirrhosis. They said if we lived there, they'd admit him for further testing, but since we were trying to get home to SC that we should let him rest for a day and then drive back and follow up with a Dr here.
He started projectile vomiting while I was driving here last night and so we went to sleep for a few hours after getting home and now we've been in the ER most of the day.
They don't believe that the intense pains he's experiencing are from the liver, but aren't sure what they can be from. The doc in NY said she didn't see stones in the gallbladder, but that she couldn't see very well so I asked the doc here to repeat the sonogram. Not sure what else to do. I'm so overwhelmed, especially since my grandmother and sister are both in the hospital right now (in NY and NJ) and my parents are across the country so I felt so guilty leaving to come back here. Blargh...

Oh man. Super stressful. Thinking of you!!!

 

[southernlady]

So, they sent us home last night, which I'm relived about, yet I don't like the "diagnosis". They basically said he "probably has a GI virus" and that the NASH was kinda caught accidentally and we should follow up with a GP and GI. They ruled out kidney stones and anything with the gallbladder and sent him packing without a real answer as to what these intense sharp pains are. They're not in his stomach and it hurts everytime he gets up, sits down, twists, takes a breath, yawns, etc. The report from the Brooklyn ER did day he had a partial atelectasis and that it's "no big deal", but if that's causing the pain, WTF caused that? I'm just unhappy they didn't really answer these questions and he's SUPER frustrated

Lauren, you need to be a real squeaky wheel. Charles and I spent over 2 years playing "chase the diagnosis" before we got an answer. And we played chase thru places like the Cleveland Clinic and other "best" hospitals!

 

[Larra]

Have they taken a look at his stomach, i.e. upper endoscopy and/or upper GI x-rays? Sometimes the exact location where someone feels the pain doesn't correlate exactly with where the pain is coming from. the body only has just so many ways to express pain, and diagnosis of abdominal pain in particular can be challenging.
Also NASH isn't the same as cirrhosis. It stands for non-alcoholic steatohepatitis, and can progress to cirrhosis but is less severe. Also, unless they did a liver biopsy (which I doubt from your story) there is no way to differentiate NASH from the less serious NAFLD, i.e.nonalcoholic fatty liver disease, aka fatty liver. Here is a link to more info:

http://www.niddk.nih.gov/health-inf...nonalcoholic-steatohepatitis/Pages/facts.aspx

so while I'm not suggesting that hubby's liver problem should be ignored, they may have alarmed you unnecessarily. I would recommend discussing this with his regular doctor.

Of course none of that explains what's going on now, so I hope further testing will be done so they get an answer for you, and mostly I hope hubby will be feeling better soon.

 

[newanatomy]

I am so sorry you are going through all of this. I hope your sister and grandmother get feeling better soon and of course, your hubby!

 

[aaa]

Sorry to hear what's been going on.