Has anyone ever had a livery biopsy?

I've been told that I have to have a liver biopsy - and sooner rather than later as my liver just doesn't seem to be improving.

I'm having severe anxiety attacks about the procedure and I'm hoping to find someone who has been through it who can hopefully reassure me. I know roughly how they do it, but I can't talk about it, I can't think about it as it just makes me panic. I can't even type out what I know as the panic is too severe! I'm really starting to think that the only way they'll get me through this is with sedation. :(

BW

Anyone?:crying:

Oh that's terrible :hug: :hug:

Sorry hun, I haven't & don't know of anyone but I just wanted to come in and give you a huge hug. I don't know what can help you through the anxiety either. x

I'm so sorry, I have no advice having not been in your situation but I just wanted to send you a hug :hug: and let you know I am thinking of you. If sedation is what you need, then maybe that would be the best thing for you. Is your doctor aware how anxious you are and have they offered any suggestions?

My doctor doesn't know. I've been seeing the locum and the biopsy will be done when he gets back. I've not actually met my specialist yet, which is all a bit strange!

I'm trying to face my fears a little and talk about it more, but the anxiety is still pretty extreme. I'm definitely going to tell the doctors just how bad the anxiety is over this... It's really NOT good at all!

Thanks for the hugs, everyone. I hate having so much wrong with me - I'm starting to feel like I really need Dr House!

BW

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I hate having so much wrong with me - I'm starting to feel like I really need Dr House!

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i know you're joking, but i have been thinking the same - you need someone with that sort of approach to find the cause of all this stuff!

love you babe - you know where i'm at if you need me

Now, what have I told you about House?

My mum has had a liver biopsy, can I ask her anything about it for you?

BW I'm sorry you're facing having a procedure which you find so anxiety-provoking. You absolutely should tell your dr about the level of anxiety you are experiencing, as it is a legitimate reason for the procedure to be done under sedation if that is what is necessary. FWIW I've had a bone marrow biopsy which is routinely performed at some treatment centres under only a local, but at my hospital a sedation is considered the minimum standard of care. So it could be that the liver biopsies are routinely available under sedation somewhere near you, and if it's not you should be able to request it any way. No doctor wants their patients to be distressed.

DP has had a liver biopsy. He had local anaesthetic. The did an ultrasound and he felt a bit of pushing and pressure but no actual pain. He was ok to walk afterwards and they just got him to hang around for a bit to make sure he was ok. I'm pretty sure it hurt a bit afterwards but he had aggressive lymphoma all through his system and it particularly liked his liver so he was already in pain from that - it was the size of a football and was hurting every time he coughed or moved in particular ways so that doesn't really apply to you.

Sorry. That's probably not helpful for you. I do agree with MD and others, if you are feeling that anxious about it, I would definitely be demanding full sedation. DP didn't have that option because his breathing was so compromised they weren't willing to take that risk so it was either local or go under a full general. I know your situations are really different but I'd be happy to ask him anything you particularly wanted to know about the procedure. I don't think it took very long - maybe 20 minutes? It's the waiting beforehand that was worse.

:hug: I hope you can come up with a plan you feel somewhat comfortable with.

I havent had one, but just wanted to send you a :hug:

:hug:I would demand House's sexy assistants rather than House himself.

I've assisted with lots BW but never had one. Lots of Sydney specialists will only do it with light sedation, so I totally agree with the others about telling him and requesting it. If you can't talk about it with him, maybe print out what you have typed and let him read it?

:hug: babe.

DH has had one, PM me any questions you have. He was in and out in the one day and totally fine afterwards :)

I have no advice huni but I do know what its like with a lot of health problems. iv got a stent in my kidney and iv got to go back in to have more surgery to try and remove my kidney stones, he said this might not solve or be causing the problem with my kidneys. iv got a few other things but iv learnt to expect the unexpected with everything. (my surgeon said they went in and were unprepared for how complicated it was. (story of my life!!) lol.
huni we are all here for you huni and if you want to talk you know im here.
huge hugs xox

The panic is currently retreating to just being over the biopsy rather than over everything because of the biopsy.

I remember the first time I had a GA - I was scared out of my brain so I avoided thinking about it. I had a friend in the hospital with me when the anaesthetist came so I appeared calm. When they took me to surgery I hyperventilated really badly. I basically paralysed myself I couldn't feel my arms and legs and couldn't move them. I'd gone as stiff as a board. Someone asked me to relax my hand so they could get the drip in - I had to tell them I couldn't feel my hand!

The next time I had a GA (same anaesthetist) I asked for some pre-op sedatives because of my last experience. I remember them asking which knee they were operating on and me suddenly wondering if I'd told them the right knee because I felt so out of it - and then I woke up after the operation. It was much calmer - and meant that the next four times I went under a GA I was completely fine about it - no sedatives needed!

When I think about it - it's probably not going to be terribly different to an ultrasound guided egg retrieval... I've done three of them, but thinking about it in those terms doesn't help because I woke up in horrific pain from each of them and had OHSS every single time, so that just doesn't help!

The locum just said a local anaesthetic. I'm certainly going to make my specialist (when I meet him!) aware of the anxiety issues I have surrounding the biopsy. His rooms are in the Castle Hill day hospital and I'm assuming the biopsy would be done there as well, so I know they have the facilities to do it under sedation (three egg collections under GA in the same hospital!). I'm not even sure I need to be out completely - just that they need to give me something to stop the outright panic I'm feeling!

I guess that for now it's just a case of hoping and praying that they take me seriously about the anxiety - otherwise I don't think I could even turn up to have it done!

Kaz - my liver is a little inflamed but not massively so. I generally only get pain if I eat the wrong foods now but with my last course of antibiotics it was hurting all the time by the end of it... I'm told that it's rare to have pain afterwards - but I've been than unlucky minority just too many times to believe for sure that I won't be in pain!

I think the hardest thing about this is the switch from the locum to the real specialist I haven't met yet - I've got no idea what he's like or anything! Kim, I know it's a long shot, but did you ever work with Dr Don?

BW

:hug:

It's hard to feel confident when you haven't met the specialist. Planning and preparing to be in pain afterwards might not be a bad idea. At least then if it does happen it will be expected and you can go into management mode (I'm assuming you have lots of pain management experience BW) rather than it coming as a shock and then if you don't get pain, that's just a bonus!

They can definitely give you something for the anxiety on the day. When do you get to meet the specialist? I'm pretty sure they would consider it overkill to give you a GA for a biopsy. (I got mixed up earlier and it was the lung and chest lymph node biopsies that they wouldn't mildly sedate DP for (due to compromised breathing), not the liver one). But having said that, if you were to ask about it with the specialist, it might impress on them how anxious you are feeling about it.

:hug: medical procedures suck hun. I hope it goes well.

I think a GA for a liver biopsy would be overkill, too. But I certainly think I need something to help me cope with the anxiety on the day. Just something to make me relax and not freak out...

As for when I meet my specialist - I have an appointment in July, but I was told that they would ring me to move it forward and if I haven't heard from them by Wednesday to call them myself to move it.

I'm starting to think that if they won't offer a sedative of any sort I'll get my GP to write me a script and get someone else to drive me. Probably not really a good thing to do, but I feel less anxious if I've got a plan B in place.

BW

Definitely BW. That sounds like a good plan B to me.

Perhaps you could meet them half way and request a twilight sedation. They could give you some pre op meds to calm you down then just the light sedation which means you don't remember anything about it. I've had one for a endoscopy and it makes you sleepy but not totally out to it and I didn't remember a thing about it afterwards.