Not much has been going on on the PBC front the last couple months, but since the last update Zoe and I have been very busy otherwise.
We sold our old house, bought a new house, moved and celebrated her birthday and Christmas. It's been super stressful, but rewarding at the same time.
I got my liver numbers tested again yesterday. If you recall last time my numbers had gone up significantly from the time before. This time the numbers are lower than last time, but still not low enough.
What I've been doing right:
Diligently eating grain free
Drinking a large, nutritionally dense green drink every morning
Exercising regularly
What I need to improve on:
I think I've been drinking too much coffee so I've just given up coffee completely and replaced with green tea
I think I should try to limit sugar and salt intake more- both cause inflammation and may be contributing to higher numbers
I've not been diligent about taking my vitamins - need to get better at that.
What I plan on adding:
I've gotten some information regarding naturally improving liver function so I plan to implement some. I've already implemented specific foods that help with the liver (like lemons/limes, avocados, apples, green tea, etc) as often as possible, but I also plan on slowly incorporating things like milk thistle and other herbs and foods that are known to support the liver.
I really want to get this in check and hopefully lower or completely quit my urso. It causes other problems that I am non too thrilled with. I've also been having liver pain pretty often, which the urso does nothing to help. I'm hoping these natural methods will provide these means.
I will get my numbers checked again at the end of April. Fingers crossed they get better!
Bilirubin ALP AST ALT
Normal .1-1.3 30-132 5-35 7-56
2/20/2012 1.7 937 235 389 Initial
3/6/2012 ?? 633 142 253 Almost 3 wks gluten free
4/16/2012 1 194 59 101 Gluten Free and Ursodiol
5/14/2012 1 160 36 56 Gluten Free and Ursodiol
7/6/2012 1.2 163 31 42 Gluten Free and Ursodiol
10/3/2012 1.4 221 58 113 Gluten Free and Ursodiol
01/31/2013 0.9 201 47 72 Gluten Free and Ursodiol
try leaving a set of vitamins at work and at home. That way if you forget at home you can take them at work and vice versa. That is what I had to do cause I never take them and I always forget, but there they are staring at me on my desk. :)
ReplyDeleteThat's a fantastic idea. Now I just gotta remember to buy more :)
DeleteTammy,
ReplyDeleteI just found your blog. I research gluten sensitivity and am publishing a book on it soon. I don't have PBC but my sister does so I'm interested in how much the gluten free diet is helping you. I believe gluten sensitivity will be officially linked to autoimmune disease in the next ten years. I do have vitiligo, an autoimmune disease where you lose skin coloration. Since going gluten free two years ago my vitilgo not only stopped spreading it has been repigmenting and in some places its hard to tell I ever had it! There are so many stories of people slowing or reversing autoimmune disease by staying gluten free. Like you, I feel it is crazy not to try a simple dietary change to regain good health. I wish you well and just wanted to encourage you. You are taking charge of your health and it is great example to all of us and especially to your daughter. Good luck to you,
Hello,
DeleteThank you so much for the encouragement! I believe it has helped tremendously being gluten free. I have more energy despite life becoming EXTREMELY more hectic and complicated. And my numbers have gone down significantly. Much more than compared to other PBC people only taking Ursodiol (that I've 'seen' on the support boards). So I'd say I am a true believer in the gluten/grain free lifestyle. I am determined to be as healthy as possible, so I think it's a complete package deal- grain free, but also exercise and lots of fruits and veggies along with vitamins.
Good luck on your book an to you and your sister! Feel free to contact me if I could help you with any data. I've collected quite a bit.
Thanks!
Tammy
My name is Karla
ReplyDeleteThanks so much for your blog. I was diagnosed 1 year ago and not at all happy with my doctors. Both of my doctors told me to stop reading. Can u believe it? I was diagnosed with celiacs disease 7 years ago and thought that doctor was crazy. Now I am in the 1st stage of Cirrhosis. I just wanted to say that the treatment for AIDS is so good that the patients are not dying of AIDS they are dying of other diseases. So this is my point. Research and government were doing almost nothing to find cure/treatment. The patients communicated, organized, shared what worked as far as their treatments and and like magic people don't have to die of AIDS anymore. I will have my 5 children tested for celiac disease. thank you