Liver Biopsy on Hold

I am feeling horrible. The cold has come to stay but is still settled in my throat. During the day, I feel okay but in the morning, the coughing to clear it from the night is not very attractive! Hopefully, it will just go away and decide not to visit my chest.

I wore my Ralph Lauren dress to give me confidence as I prepared to resist the upcoming liver biopsy at the appointment in the city yesterday. Dr. H. was lovely, we had a nice chat then the conversation began. We first reviewed a few tests. The sonogram revealed that my pancreas and liver were no longer enlarged. YES! But, my liver was still considered a "fatty liver." We reviewed a test that looked for fibrosis in the liver under the guise of a Hepatitis C blood test for people with Hep C (which I do not have). It showed that I had level 3 but he reminded me that this was just a guide to see if any fibrosis was present and they are not sure how reliable it is with someone with just a fatty liver. He also ordered the same test again in six months so these numbers can be compared. 

After hearing my concerns about the transjugular biopsy, he agreed to an assisted needle biopsy instead but also heard and agreed that there is no hurry. Why is he still so concerned? Apparently, if the fatty liver becomes fibrotic, it can also develop cancer, which he said is very treatable if caught early. It needs to be watched. He also said that since the recent discoveries of the deeper issues of a fatty liver, the industry is working on medications to stop or at least slow the fibrosis. 

By the way, all my numbers were fantastic: liver function, saturation rate, blood pressure, cholesterol, weight. 

Where do we stand for the next six-months? No hurry for the biopsy. More liver function tests. More Hep C tests. Biopsy is on the back burner.

From the city, I drove to mom's. She had phoned in the morning to ask if I could make an appointment with our dentist in town to fix one of her caps, which had fallen out while she was using her water pick. We ran a lot of errands for me, headed over the pass, ran a few more errands then settled in Starbucks for a nice chat before the appointment. It took just minutes to have the cap re-installed. Back at our house, we toured the gardens and played our favorite card game until Michael got home. After a dinner of fish tacos in town, we drove mom home. It was a nice, unplanned day with her. Today, we are together again for an appointment to get the shot in her eye to battle her Macular Degeneration.