Mira7453

I called them back a bit ago to ask if I can be seen. The doctor called me back and he was not very friendly on the phone. I told him I had lost my insurance and what options I have to work with. He got straight to the point and said if I see you I will expect up to $300 in payment right away. No if, ands or buts in his tone. I understand I will have to pay, but he could have been more tactful in saying it. I've been trying to call around other doctors but so far I can't find anyone accepting new patients if I can get anyone on the phone at all. I will make an appt with him if it comes to me having to.

calmself

Hey, Did you get a get a copy of the test results? Curious if you can see the values for Bilirubin, AST, ALT.

Mira7453

Yes it shows all of that. Bilirubin is marked as high. It says 2.0mg/dL and that it should be in the range of 0.0-1.2.
AST and ALT aren't marked high, they are in the normal range. I don't know what those mean.

RAL

I'm so sorry you are going through this and finding it difficult to access medical care. I hope you have success soon.

The most important thing you can do now for yourself is to stop drinking. Stopping drinking can reduce levels of bilirubin. the liver is a remarkable organ and can start to repair itself, if the damage is not too far gone. I can relate as received blood results last week and have high levels of GGT, consistent with mild liver damage. I've stopped drinking and eating better in order to cleanse liver and lose weight which I need to do. I hope you can commit to not drinking -staying on SR is a great source of strength and support.

Mira7453

Thank you. I have kept at it with slowing it down a lot. Probably to less than half of what I was drinking. I am afraid I may need to get medical help to take it further which I am looking into my options.

calmself

Thanks. 2.0 is high but nothing alarming as per medical articles. Great the other two indicators are normal.

Can you indicate what other indicators are marked as abnormal?

Something tells me there s no need to panic, but please consult a doctor.

Mira7453

There are some more things marked. I will list them.

The most extreme ones are very low vitamin D and extremely high iron. My vitamin D is only 8.3 and is supposed to be 30-100. Iron is 294 and should be 27-159.
Low B12 191, should be 232-124
Cholesterol high 261, should be 100-199
Triglycerides high 361, should be 0-149
T3 uptake low 19%, should be 24-39
MCV high 112, should be 79-97
MCH high 39.2 should be 26.6-33
LDL Chol Calc high 121, should be 0-99

There are a couple more things that were barely off, maybe by like .1 point that I didn't put here, besides that this is it that came up abnormal. I also don't know what many of these are lol.

calmself

Looks like your B12 vitamin deficiency might be the cause of high MCH MCV. Could be mostly due to alcohol abuse combined with lack of balanced diet.

Guess high cholesterol and triglycerides are due to not getting enough exercise, even mine came high, though not this high - your doctor might put you on statins. He scared me already if I don't show improvements in 6 months. That's why I have taken up to running. Guess it's time for you to get active and look at your diet.

The only thing which seems worrisome is the Iron levels. Since your liver indicators seem normal, you don't seem to be having a damaged liver. But such high iron levels can cause liver damage as per what I read.

Bottom line - you must book a dr.appt asap, start taking meds for iron removal (only as per dr.s advice) and focus on diet and exercise. Considering that you already have a condition that might cause organ damage, you should close your chapter with alcohol forever.

Hope things go well for you - please do not drink any further and start taking care of your health.

Dee74

guys I tried to drop a hint before but we shouldn't be interpreting other peoples results here - it goes against our medical advice rule.

https://www.soberrecovery.com/forums...al-advice.html (Reminder On Medical Advice.)

Mira I've gotten myself in a dreadful state before trying to interpret my own results. I'm sorry it will cost so much but seeing your doctor really is the right thing to do

D

advbike

That is not correct. Marriage generally qualifies as a special event and an exception to the normal open enrollment period, so you should be able to be added onto his insurance if in fact you two do decide to get married. I believe you have 60 days from marriage date to notify them.

Wish you the best, Mira.

Cityboy

Mira, I hope you are managing ok. I remember well that when I first quit drinking, it seemed all I could do to negotiate life without picking up. Eventually, that early phase changed and I began to feel as though my brain was functioning for things other than just how to function as an alcoholic.

You have a lot going on. Some big things.

It is of paramount importance right now to cross that mental bridge away from being dependent upon alcohol as a coping mechanism. Only after this change occurs will your mind and body have a fighting chance.

soupcon

How is it going, Mira? Any luck with getting to see a doctor?

Mira7453

All is going ok. No luck seeing a doctor yet, no. I did find atleast finally find a place accepting new patients. They told me I'd need to come in and fill out paperwork, so I did that this morning. Now I just have to wait for them to call and see if they will accept seeing me, and when.

soupcon

How much are you still drinking? Have you confided in your fiance the severity of your alcoholism and need to quit yet?