AOKAY

Fear not, Sigh. About 5 years ago a routine physical revealed my ALT and AST levels to be 3 times normal. My primary care doctor suggested I see a liver specialist. I freaked out. I saw the specialist 3 weeks later and he seemed not at all worried because all other liver function results were normal. In an abundance of caution he ordered further blood work as well as abdominal imaging. Everything came back normal. Twice since then my annual bloodwork has shown elevated ALT and AST, but upon retest everything is back to normal. Bottom line: liver function tests are overly sensitive for some patients. Even if something is irritating the liver the day of the blood test the liver has a wonderful way of healing itself.

I can understand your anxiety Mel and my heart goes out to you. Waiting for biopsy reports is the worst. I agree with Marc that dermatologists can usually tell just by looking at the lesion. Mine walked into the examining room for a routine checkup and even before saying hello he looked at my shoulder and told me I had a basal cell carcinoma, which biopsy then confirmed. I saw nothing there. They know. I had an in situ melanoma removed from my forearm 6 years ago at age 62. Not long after that I noticed a spot under my big toe nail and was panicked. Mine turned out to be nothing and I pray the same for your son. Let us know.

I agree with Marc. Don’t sweat the weight fluctuations. And please don’t weigh yourself more than once a week. I am genetically thin and have had inflammatory bowel disease nearly my entire life. My weight can swing 10 pounds up or down from my base weight of 140 pounds. During stressful periods weight drops off. When calm I gain it all back and then some. During the current COVID lockdown I am calm, but have increased my exercise program so weight is dropping. A little more ice cream should correct that; my reward for a great workout!

I sympathize with your radiation worries and offer you my own experience. Back in the late 1960s I was diagnosed with inflammatory bowel disease (what is now called Crohn’s Disease, but called terminal ileitis back then). The only way to confirm the diagnosis in those days was with barium enemas and what they called complete bowels series of X-rays. My first was in the hospital at age 15. They were done on a regular basis after that with an upper GI barium swallow study thrown in on occasion. My gastroenterologist had the equipment in his office and I cynically believed that he was paying for the machine just with my procedures alone. This was before the public was made aware of the relative dangers of X-ray exposure. These X-ray studies continued until scopes became available when I was in my 30s. I cannot even count the total X-ray procedures I endured over a period of 20 years as my slender body developed into maturity. When I was 50 I needlessly requested a thallium stress test to evaluate my heart. Six years ago I had CT scans to confirm kidney stones and then the stones were removed laparoscopically under X-ray. And over the years I have had my share of chest X-rays. Today I am 68 years old with Crohn’s Disease in remission and kidney stones small enough to pee out. My health is otherwise good. Do I worry about the radiation I’ve received? Sure. I am a hypochondriac. But I cannot undo the past. Lately if a doctor recommends any procedure requiring radiation I ask for alternatives. You are young. Live your life and enjoy it. Odds are good your X-ray exposure won’t impair or shorten it.

I am so happy for you. Thank you for the updates during your journey.

Good luck tomorrow morning, RR. In my case I was age 50 and had no indications of heart disease other than my Mom’s sudden death. I would have preferred they start the testing with a non-nuclear stress test so as to avoid exposure to radioactive materials. In my teen years I had severe inflammatory bowel disease and my body absorbed considerable X-ray exposure due to numerous barium enema procedures. (In those days they did not have scopes.) I highly recommend you take a Xanax tonight to help you sleep. I’ve learned to do that the night before any procedure. Sending you positive thoughts.

I can certainly identify with your post, RR. My mother died of sudden cardiac death at age 59 while napping. I was age 30 at the time and was the one who tried to wake her up from her “nap”. It had a profound impact on me. I began to feel every flutter in my chest or missed heartbeat. I self-diagnosed every gas pain as a cardiac event. I went to at least 2 cardiologists and was told everything was fine so it went from a raging fire in my psyche to a slow simmer on the back burner. Fast forward 20 years and at age 50 I mentioned this cardio phobia to my primary care doctor. I think just to get rid of me he scheduled a thallium stress test. The fact that he would even consider such a test sent me into a tailspin and I was a nervous wreck. The day of the test I was in complete panic mode. As I sat in my gown in the waiting area I noticed I was the healthiest looking person there. Most were much older. Some looked near death. Some were so weak they could not stand on the treadmill and they took the test on an exercise bike. For some the test duration was cut short. What was I doing there? I was a healthy 50 year old with anxiety. Once on the treadmill the cardiologist noted my BP and pulse were elevated but made no further mention of it. I breezed through the first 5 minutes and was asked if I had any pain. When I said no he increased the speed. A few minutes later the doctor asked me why I was there. I said for a baseline study because my mother died at age 59 of sudden cardiac death. He asked me about my mother. I explained she was a product of the depression with family stress her entire life, who lost a brother in WWII, a smoker who treated her anxiety with alcohol and had spent the year before her death caring for my father who was wasting away from terminal cancer. His death left her heartbroken and lonely and she died 10 months later. The cardiologist shrugged his shoulders as if to say I had my answer as to why my mother died at age 59. He told me I was fine and sent me on my way. I am now 67. The perfect results of the stress test gave me some comfort; at least for a while. But the real value of the stress test for me was the doctor’s linking my Mom’s cardiac event to her life story. My life has been easy compared to hers. I do not smoke or drink and my diet is good. I compared myself to mother, as you should to your brother, and felt good about me, if sad for my Mom. Go for the stress test to rule out anything sinister. (And go with just a regular stress test. My one regret was consenting to the thallium for my first test.) Allow the good results I am sure you will get to wash over you, with the comfort that your healthy lifestyle will keep you well. My very best to you.

No, Unicorn. Ophthalmologist did not offer any medicine. She did say that if it ever became very bothersome she could drain it like a blister but there was the possibility it might come back. I thanked her went home and promptly forgot about it. I’ve had a couple of annual checkups since then and although it is still there it has not grown or changed and I am not aware of it at all.

I had a similar experience with what looked like a small blister in the inner corner of my right eye. I could feel something there and kept checking it several time a day. After about a week when it did not go away I went to my ophthalmologist. She diagnosed it as a harmless cyst. Once I had a professional tell me it was a nothing I no longer paid any attention to it. This was a couple of years ago. It is still there, but I don’t care.