elevated liver enzymes & panic

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Stacie
Stacie Member Posts: 607
edited June 2014 in Not Diagnosed With a Recurrence or Metastases but Concerned

Just had a lumpectomy and ax node dissection on Monday but have not recieved pathology report or had any scans. Today my PCP office called with my liver panel results from a routine lab i did for my cholesterol meds. My ALT is slightly elevated. What I heard was "you are dying". I hung up the phone and collapsed screaming on the floor. I have never felt such fear and terror. Four years ago an ellevated liver test is how we learned of Mom's pancreatic cancer that had already spread to the liver. . She lived 5 mos. I calmed down and learned my Simvanstatin can cause elevated ALT and was able to get scheduled tomorrow for a CT scan of chest, abdomen, pelvis w/wo contrast w liver protocol. I am calmer now but regardless of result i will never forget that feeling.

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  • dlb823
    dlb823 Member Posts: 9,430
    edited March 2012

    Oh, Stacie, your post is just heart wrenching.   Until we have a firm handle on our dx, every little thing can be such a roller coaster ride, and it's so understandable that you would panic after hearing something that sounds eerily similar to what your Mom was told.  

    There are so many reasons why liver readings could be slightly elevated, but when we have a bc dx, it's hard to not think the worst.  Hopefully, there's a simple explanation -- like the Simvanstatin -- and hopefully your scan will be clear, you'll have good pathology results, and things will settle down for you. 

    I'm so sorry you had that scare!   (((Hugs)))   Deanna 

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  • lrr4993
    lrr4993 Member Posts: 937
    edited March 2012

    Aw, Stacie, you poor thing. I am glad you figured out that many other things can cause that.

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  • Catherine22
    Catherine22 Member Posts: 36
    edited March 2012

    Stacie - I so know what you mean. As in, I just read your post and thought, "OMG, that's probably what is going to happen to me!!" Really, what I am saying is that we walk around trying to be oh so cool and chill to everyone else, but on the inside any suggestive jolt triggers panic. I had my operation and get upper/lower cat scans next week. I start the chemo the following week. Ridiculous thing is, when I met with the mo for the 1st time, he said, "Yeah, I'd like to do a CAT scan as there was a scan from last summer that showed a spot on your liver, might be nothing but I want to check it." It was the absolute first time I had heard this! I was shocked. I visited emerg last summer with a pain in my stomach and I can't even remember having the test (the pain subsided I went home, didn't think of it again). I feel really well most days, but occasionally am hit with sudden fatigue and think this is it, or a  headache...or read a post.....it is, as another member wrote, the whale in the livingroom. I wish you the very best and as my friend advises me - try to draw back in your energy (from the worry scenarios) and place it back where it belongs and does its best work - in your heart.

    Best, Catherine 

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  • mks16
    mks16 Member Posts: 415
    edited March 2012

    Dear Stacie,

    I followed your story from the beginning and although I never posted my support I thought of you often. I lost my mom to pancreatic cancer two years ago this month, and I can understand the terror that you're feeling. Statins to play a number on your liver enzymes, and that is probably what is going on here. I am sure that your mother's liver enzymes weren't "slightly elevated"... I know my mom's were in high hundreds from PC mets.

    I am however more and more convinced of a genetic connection between pancreatic and breast cancer. My 32 yo sister and myself were both diagnosed with BC in 2010, only a few months after mom passed away.

    I am sending you my best wishes. Please keep us updated, I am sure there are others like myself who are keeping you in their thoughts even if they're not posting.

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  • Stacie
    Stacie Member Posts: 607
    edited March 2012

    Thank you MKS16. I appreciate your experience. I have a sister too. I will encourage her to be checked.

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  • jacksnana
    jacksnana Member Posts: 168
    edited March 2012

    Stacie,  a few weeks before learning I had BC, my PCP had switched my lipitor to simvastatin and I was supposed to go back in six weeks to have liver enzymes checked.  Right after that everything unraveled... diagnosis, mastectomy, etc.  A few weeks after my surgery I went to have my liver enzymes run and they were four times the normal range.  My PCP thought I had hepatitis and I was freaking out!!!  I didn't have it, stopped taking the simvastatin, and within a couple of weeks they had returned to normal.  I think it was just a perfect storm of the anesthesia, surgery meds, and probably the simvastatin too.  That was over 2 years ago and they have been normal, with the exception of a slight elevation now and then, and I have just now started back on lipitor and so far my labs are fine. I'm so sorry for the stress this is causing, but I'll bet there's a very good chance it's the simvastatin.  You're just newly diagnosed and at first everything is so overwhelming.  Keeping good thoughts for you that all your scans are totally fine. Veda

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  • Stacie
    Stacie Member Posts: 607
    edited March 2012

    Thank you Veda for giving me hope.

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