Another Update

So, my Vanderbilt appointment with the pancreas/bile duct/liver specialist was Tuesday. We spent the night in Nashville Monday night so that I'd actually be on time to my 9:30 am appointment. The wait at the office wasn't bad at all and it was actually pretty easy to find my way around the clinic. The doctor I saw was pretty thorough and seemed to know what he's talking about. He informed me first thing, that he doesn't think I have a blocked bile duct. He said with almost every case of a blocked bile duct, the person will have jaundice and liver blood tests would come back abnormal, which I've had neither. As far as Pancreatitis goes, he said my previous blood work does indicate that diagnosis. However, he said that most of the time, an MRI or at least a cat scan is ordered, to image the pancreas and look to see how inflamed it is. It's possible, but rare, that some people have regularly high blood work that would show Pancreatitis when they don't really have it. I haven't had an MRI or cat scan so he can't guarantee that I've had Pancreatitis. We basically just discussed different diagnoses that my symptoms could possibly be attributed to and I had lab work done. I go back on Friday for an MRI to see what's going on. Currently, my levels involved with Pancreatitis are normal. I do have some other lab work that was off so I'll find out what he has to say about that Friday or soon after. When I first started having these symptoms, they did an ultrasound of my gallbladder and happened to find a spot on my liver, which I've been told by a couple of different doctors, is harmless. However, the Vanderbilt doctor said he feels we need to look at that as well during the MRI to make sure it's just a hemangioma. The following website describes what a hemangioma is in case you're curious. http://www.medicinenet.com/hepatic_hemangioma/article.htm. He said that "normally", these things are harmless but it should not be brushed off, saying they always need to be looked at closer and be re-checked in a few months to make sure it isn't something else. He also mentioned that he thinks I may be having spasming in my upper intestines, which is causing the pain and vomiting. I forgot the actual diagnosis he had for it but compared my intestine to a balloon. It will clamp together in certain areas, bunching food up in a big ball and it has nowhere to go, while it continues to spasm. This would also explain the vomiting. As if all of this information wasn't enough of a shocker, he informed me that the 2 procedures I had done in Jackson weren't the best decisions. The doctor here tried to do what is called an ERCP (http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/003893.htm) but was unsuccessful. The Vanderbilt doctor said that the ERCP should never be used as a diagnostic procedure but only if they had done a cat scan or MRI already and KNEW there was a stone or something in my duct that needed to be removed. The second procedure I had done here was when they tried to put a stent in my bile duct but were unsuccessful with it as well. He said, "honestly, I'm beyond shocked they even attempted something like that". I remember the day I had it done, the Interventional Radiologist performing the procedure came in and said, "I don't know that I should be doing this procedure on you". The Vanderbilt doctor just said that both procedures, particularly the latter, are very risky and I'm just lucky that nothing was damaged (or at least that we know of). He even said that they don't practice that procedure at Vanderbilt, unless a person is about to die and it's a last resort. I just hate that I've gone 3 months thinking that I had a blocked bile duct. While it doesn't matter, it's just disappointing and confusing. To be honest, I was satisfied with that diagnosis because it could be fixed. If I'm having spasming of the intestines, I'll have to take medication until it gets better and who knows when that will be. I despise starting new medications. Now I worry about finding something else as well. I am glad however that I have found a great doctor that seems very well-educated, experienced, and cares. Anyways, all I can do now is carry on with what advice he gives me. Hopefully, after the MRI results come back, which will hopefully be on Monday, we can come to some sort of conclusion/diagnosis. Everyone have a great week and weekend!