I haven't been at work for two weeks. I've been really sick, but I'm going to be fine. I need some more time to recover and I hope to be back at WBT soon. And no, to answer an email I got from a listener, I am not hiding out after having cosmetic surgery!
Here's what happened.
At the beginning of April I'd been feeling very run down and even more tired than usual. Since my wake up call for the last ten years has been 3am, I'm used to being tired. This was different. When my body started giving me some other signals – I'll spare you the details – I called my doctor.
Dr. H. took one look at me and said, "Do you know your eyes are are yellow?" I hadn't noticed, but they were. And my skin was sort of orange. Classic signs that something was wrong with my liver.
I'm pretty healthy, except for that back problem I told you about last fall. What could be wrong with my liver? Over the next few days, they ruled out all the really scary stuff. No Hepatitis A, B, or C. No mono, no Epstein- Barr. No cytomegalovirus (say that three times fast).
Was it gallstones? Something with my pancreas? We did an ultrasound – thankfully normal. The rest of my body was healthy but my liver tests were all coming back "alert!"
We were very nervous at that point, especially because I was absolutely exhausted. I would sleep for two hours, get up for about 20 minutes and go right back to bed. I couldn't eat. I lost 6 pounds in 4 days.
Finally, I was able to see a liver specialist. I'm so glad I did. Dr. R. figured it out in just a few minutes. Turns out a medicine that had been prescribed for me for the back injury can, in rare cases, cause serious liver problems. The drug is called Diclofenac and is sold under a few different names. This specialist had only seen a handful of cases like mine in his career, but it can be very serious. Some people have been hospitalized and a few have needed a liver transplant.
The good news was, we'd figured out the cause well before my liver was severely damaged; I'm expected to make a full recovery. The bad news is that, other than stopping the offending medication, there's really no treatment. My body just needs to heal. It's a slow process.
So each day, I do feel a bit better. I'm sleeping less and eating a bit more. My skin is no long oompa-loompa orange, and my eyes are almost back to normal. Just yesterday I started feeling bored and today I'm able to sit up and write this blog. Those are great signs.
I am so grateful for all the emails, texts and phone calls. My neighbors and friends have been wonderful making sure Lea & Benny get to baseball and girl scouts – the kids haven't missed any events because of my illness. Of course, Slade has been working overtime to keep our household running.
I really hope to be back on Charlotte's Morning News next Monday, but it all depends on my recovery. The folks at WBT have been wonderful. Bo Thompson and Jim Szoke are just doing a great job and my thanks to Carl and all the managers for being so supportive at this time.
(Of course, Szoke always has the best line. When I told him what was going on, he sent this email: "There are funner ways to ruin your liver.")
I'll keep you posted on my return to radio here and on Twitter, Facebook, smoke signals, etc.
OH MY GOODNESS!!!! What an ordeal! I’m so happy to hear you’re on the mend! Thank goodness for wonderful support systems!!!!
Prayers for your continued recovery!!!
Oh Stacey – I’m so sorry to hear! I wish you a speedy recovery!
Stacey, Wishing you quick healing and a great recovery…SO glad you had a great Doctor that could figure things out quickly. Take Care of Stacey!!!!
WOW! i am so glad that got to the bottom of your illness and you are now on the mend. how very scary for you and your family though! thanks for keeping us posted and continued recovery to you!
Glad to hear you’re on the mend, co-worker!
Glad to hear about exactly what is going on. I was wondering if it was you, your son or what. Glad you are on the rebound! Hope to hear you Monday!
Great to hear you’re recovering! My prayers are with you!
I thought it sounded somewhat serious and it’s good to hear you are doing better. The doctor that prescribed the drugs and the drug companies ought to be jailed. My 32 yr old daughter just had a liver trans plant 3 weeks ago and is still in hospital. She took prescipts too long and paid the price and almost died. We tried to get her on jucing vegies and suppliments but she kept going back to the old American diet until it required a transplant. Liver doctors know that processed food is hard on your liver let alone drugs yet they don’t care what you eat they just keep prescribing more drugs. A severly damaged liver can grow back completely with the right diet and suppliments. If you want me to introduce you to doctors that can any disease without drugs and surgery just shoot me an email; rick@itsu.us, my website is down right now so email is the only way to get the info.
People don’t realize that liver problems can be caused by pain medication. I had an abnormal liver function test after being on anti-inflammatory medicine for joint pain. It took a CAT scan to rule out a the possiblity that my previous breast cancer had spread to my liver. I went off the pain medicine and the problem cleared up!
Fortunately you are getting better now, thank you for sharing your experience
Great to hear youre recovering! My prayers are with you!
+1
The plan was revealed by Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot during his keynote address “Universal Access to Essential Medicines in India” conference in Jaipur on Tuesday.