In other business, the last two weeks have been INCREDIBLY crazy. I went for my follow up labs and such. In the meantime, I was still violently ill and in a ton of pain. Wednesday night I found myself back at the ER because on top of it all, I broke out in hives from head to toe and started having chest pain. I got sick in the triage room so they took me back right away. The nurse stepped out to find me a gown and I could hear her and the doctor talking. I heard the doctor say "don't bother, we know what's wrong with her". The doctor then came into the room and proceeded to break the new to me that I had tested positive for hepatitis C.
I totally lost it. This was not what I was expecting to hear, nor did I want to hear THIS. Sadly, it all seemed to fit---the chronic recurring pain in my right side, the stomach problems and "indiscretions" I deal with on sometimes a day-to-day basis, the itching, rash, etc...all of it. It really did fit. The only thing that didn't fit was, "How on earth did I get it?" Knowing that my wonderful Ex was both unfaithful and a drug user in our marriage, we summed it up that I must have contracted it from him.
The doctor gave me some stuff to calm me down and stop me from getting sick. I was sent home and referred to my GI doc, who is also a Hepatologist. She stated that she did not think I had hepatitis C and ordered a plethora of tests. In the meantime, my follow up blood work came back from the Rheumatologist, and it showed that all my tests for lupus and RA, etc. were NEGATIVE this time around. My ANA, which is the test that indicates Auto-Immune, however, was very strongly positive.
So what did this mean? I got a phone call today from my GI doc's office. All my testing for the hepatitis C came back NEGATIVE. Woohoo! But, all the labs she did for things like auto immune, lupus, etc. came back POSITIVE. Ok, so which is it? I went back to my family doctor for my follow up today. He took a look at all 3 sets of blood work and said that the ER was wrong. The hepatitis screen came back positive because I had such a high amount of antibodies. The rest of the tests indicate Auto-Immune Hepatitis. So, I do not, DO NOT, thank God, have Hepatitis C. It IS hepatitis, but it's Auto-Immune Hepatitis. Basically this means I have the symptoms of hepatitis, but it comes from my body attacking its own liver. It's not contagious so I'm not in danger of passing it to anyone.
My doctor put me back on the prednisone, but this time instead of taking 15 mg and then tapering down, I'm on a straight daily dose of 20mg for 7 days. I go back to see him next week, and he will be referring me to a specialist who handles auto immune hepatitis. He also recommended that we order a liver biopsy to get a good look at what the liver is actually doing. My liver enzymes DID come down slightly, so that's a good thing. Now we just play the waiting game.
I do have to say that I find it VERY frustrating and confusing to be given a diagnosis one week and have it withdrawn the next. I don't understand why they didn't WAIT to make sure it was Hep C before telling me that it was... talk about turning a person's life upside down!! Thanks alot, Cumberland Medical Center! Yuck.
Despite it all though, I am grateful. I am so glad it's not Hep C. The thought of passing it to my husband or kids just made me sick inside. So at this point I am rejoicing in that. Now I just wait for the next step....
I want to thank you all for the prayers and kind thoughts. It's always appreciated.
Blessings,
~Michelle
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