Posts
These are posts on this blog about primary biliary cirrhosis, both the disease itself and my experience of it.
Varicose Veins in My Esophagus?
My first post on having PBC.
Primary Biliary Cirrhosis: Basics, 1
What is PBC, possible causes.
Primary Biliary Cirrhosis, Basics 2: Triggered Self-Destruction & the Loss of Self-Tolerance
Auto-immunity.
Primary Biliary Cirrhosis, Basics 3
Sources of information.
High ALP + High GGT + High IgM + AMA = PBC
Getting a diagnosis.
You Give Your Blood, You Pay the Bill, So Get the Results!
How I should have been diagnosed earlier.
PBC: No Varices for Me. Well, Just a Trace
My first endoscopy.
Reader responses to PBC posts.
At Risk for Esophageal Varices and I Nearly Bleed Out from a Gastric Ulcer: How Weird Is That?
My first bleed.
Another Bloody August. Mysteries and Muddles. And Hospitalists.
My second bleed.
Third Time Around: PBC, Portal Hypertension, and a Routine Bleed
You guessed it: third bleed.
Links
review article (refers to 332 articles) on PBC available on PubMed [ID#: PMC2758170]
National Digestive Diseases Information Clearinghouse
Primary Biliary Cirrhosis Organization: pbcers.org
Medicine.net’s comprehensive article on PBC
University of California-Davis page on PBC
University of Alabama-Birmingham (UAB) Liver Center
Primary Biliary Cirrhosis Organization: pbcers.org
http://portal-hypertension.com/ (patient’s blog)
Pingback: Third Time Around: PBC, Portal Hypertension, and a Routine Bleed | Havealittletalk's Blog
Thank for keeping us up to date. It’s time I did as much myself, for you.
In the autumn, I, too, had the experience of knowing I was bleeding even though there was no outside evidence of it. The ER doctor was about to pat my head in a patronizing way and send me home with “reflux” problems, when the blood made its appearance.
After the excitement was over and many tests complete, the doctor who almost sent me home asked me how I knew I was bleeding. I told him I knew by the way I felt.
Last month I had four more varices banded, and I’m due to have another endoscopy in six weeks to check for more. The doctor did have trouble banding a lower-down vein in the autumn. My bleeds and varices are becoming quite an issue; now I must have bandings every two months. I also developed acsites, but that is currently under control with a diuretic. My MELD score has increased by two points since December, and I’ve started passing around my booklet for donors on live liver transplant.
And I still have not written the booklets I intended to leave behind for my children, spouse, friends. Time feels like it’s slipping away.
Thanks for listening! Not many people understand this sort of situation, and I appreciate it that you do.
Wishing you the best.
I just want to say thanks for your blog and entries about PBC. My fiance was recently diagnosed and it is difficult to find information about PBC. God Bless you and all the best to you!