J is for Jaundice #AtoZChallenge

Furthering your education on the finer points of bilirubin overload, today's post for the letter J is.... Jaundice!

As I mentioned in a few other posts, I took myself to the doctor because I woke up one morning and saw that the whites of my eyes were yellow. I didn't realize that my skin was also very yellow, until the hospital staff (and other patients) were coming to my bedside to look at "the freak" whose skin and eyes were yellow. Some of them said, more yellow than they had ever seen. Yeah, they were lining up at my bedside to get a peek. A peek at the freak.

What is jaundice, and what causes it?

Jaundice is the yellowing of the skin and eyes.

Jaundice is caused by a build up of bilirubin in the body. I explained the causes of bilirubin overload in my A to Z Challenge post about gallstones. So, I won't go into that again today.

It took a long, long time for my jaundice to go away. There is no way to "flush it out" of your system. Your body just has to gradually eliminate the bilirubin. I'm five weeks post-op/post-hospital stay, and if I look closely in the mirror, I can still see yellowing in my eyes. Sigh.

I heard it can take up to three months to clear jaundice completely. And since my bilirubin numbers are always high (they always have been because of my red blood cell disorder) there is a chance I'll always have the yellow tinge in my eyes.

Thanks, as always for reading!!



Comments

  1. It's amazing no one mentioned it to you! My aunt was quite yellow at my mom's funeral. I hadn't seen her in years but no one is that yellow. I brought it up to her in private. She had cancer but didn't want to tell anyone with my mom's passing. Very sad time.

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    1. Oh, it was very sudden. One day I was fine, the next I was yellow. I had the gallbladder attack the night before, and when I woke up the next day, was all jaundiced. I knew right away, as doctors had told me to watch out for this. Which is why I called the doctor. None of us knew the gallstone was stuck -- took them 4 days to find it. They thought I had liver disease. I'm like, "No, this was sudden!" Amazingly, they did listen to me.

      My sincerest condolences on the loss of your mother. :(

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  2. My brother had jaundice before he died from cancer. I knew it turned you yellow, but I was surprised by how yellow he was. I call it Simpson yellow.

    ~Patricia Lynne aka Patricia Josephine~
    My A to Z’s of Dining with IC
    Patricia Lynne, Indie Author

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    Replies
    1. My sincerest condolences on the loss of your brother.

      Yes, it sure is Simpson yellow.

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