Liver enzymes, that is.
When I was hospitalized last month with a blocked bile duct and a gallbladder that had to go (stat!) my liver enzymes were off the charts. Medical personnel were lining up in my room to look at "the freak" whose bilirubin, AST, ALT and all my other enzymes were higher than they'd ever seen before. I was yellow (jaundiced). My eyes, my skin. Yellow! I asked one of the nurses, why everyone was found this so interesting. She demonstrated by putting her forearm next to mine. Holy crap! Hers was a blushing pink and white. Mine was yellow. Of course, what brought me to the doctor in the first place (and she sent me to the ER, and they admitted me) was my lovely yellow eyes. Hah.
In fairness to all the medical personnel, I had a complication (a rare red blood cell disorder that I was born with), wherein my bilirubin, AST and ALT are always "off" compared to normal people's numbers. My doctor calls it "normal for [me]".
It was interesting to me that quite a few people I knew had never heard of bilirubin, and the other liver enzymes.
Liver enzyme levels (also known as LFT or liver function tests) is something folks should probably know about, because, gallbladder disease is very common, and a blocked bile duct is not that uncommon either (although my specific case was extraordinary).
So, I recommend that readers, especially those with a chronic condition like fibromyalgia, learn about liver enzymes and what the normal levels are supposed to be.
A few footnotes: don't get scared about the mention of hepatitis (HCV), cirrhosis, cancer, or other liver diseases in the links posted below. Those are serious situations and you would KNOW if you had something like that. I was tested for all of those while I was hospitalized, and I kept saying to the doctors "I am fine, this is just some kind of episode." I was right, a gallstone "jumped" out of my gallbladder and got lodged in a bile duct. Just an episode. Not a disease.
Here are a few helpful links:
https://www.medicinenet.com/liver_blood_tests/article.htm#normally_where_are_ast_and_alt_aminotransferase_enzymes
https://www.mayoclinic.org/tests-procedures/liver-function-tests/about/pac-20394595
I'm not a medical doctor or any kind of medical professional. See disclaimer. I am a patient who had a scary experience recently and want to share that experience. If you think you have a specific medical condition, see your doctor.
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