Recently Answered Questions
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My husband gets leg muscle cramps. Please advise.
Query: Hello doctor, My husband has an advanced stage liver cirrhosis and gets muscle cramps in legs from time to time, at night time or when he wakes up in the morning. Other patients with similar issues recommend drinking tonic water that contains Quinine or taking Calcium Magnesium supplements. He has v... Read Full »
Answer: Hi, Welcome to icliniq.com. Cramps happen in cirrhotics due to nutritional insufficiency, mineral deficiency, mainly calcium and magnesium. My suggestions would be: Calcerol sachet (Vitamin D3 60000) once weekly for six weeks. Tablet Magnical (Magnesium with Calcium) twice daily for a month to ... Read Full »
Why is my vitamin B12 level over 1000?
Query: Hi doctor,I am 21 years old. I am taking tablet Cymbalta 60 mg and tablet Citalopram 10 mg daily for depression and anxiety. Recently, I got a blood test for vitamin B12 and the results turned out to be pretty high at 1344 pg/mL. I am aware that the normal range of vitamin B12 is 200 to 900 pg/mL. M... Read Full »
Answer: Hello, Welcome to icliniq.com. Based on your query my opinion is as follows. Increased vitamin B12 is worrisome. It is a water-soluble vitamin. It never increase unless there is some amount of hepatic damage or certain cancers. I strongly urge you to get a liver function test. Both Cymbalta (Du... Read Full »
My brother has been facing issues with excretion. Kindly help.
Query: Hello doctor, My brother is 38 years old and he is obese. His weight is more than 330 lbs. He has been found with liver cirrhosis few years back and he has taken medicine for that and all went normally. Later, he found with balanitis but after medicine he was normal. At present, he used to drink but... Read Full »
Answer: Hi, Welcome to icliniq.com. I could find three issues with your brother. They are obesity, cirrhosis, and fissure. All these are related. He needs to lose weight. He has to be motivated with regular physical activity, modified diet and restrict fluid to 2 liters a day. Regarding cirrhosis, he need... Read Full »
Do I need an immediate liver CT scan as per my report?
Query: Hi doctor, I am a 46 year old male. I had gastric bypass surgery 7 years ago. Earlier, I was 540 lbs and now, my weight is 300 lbs. About 5 years ago, I started drinking hard alcohol (Vodka) weekly. As of three weeks ago, I started getting a tight, bloated, tingly sensation from my chest down to my ... Read Full »
Dr. Kagathara Happy Kumar Devkaranbhai
Answer: Hello, Welcome to icliniq.com. I can understand your concern towards your abnormal laboratory values. Yes, you need a CT scan of the liver. Even, I suggest consulting your GI doctor for hospitalization. Your symptoms of tingling sensation and numbness are due to vitamin deficiencies. As you ... Read Full »
Is light beer harmful for my preexisting liver disease?
Query: Hello doctor, I was diagnosed with non-alcoholic fatty liver disease last year. My liver enzymes are very high. I used to drink champagne, wine, and other hard liquor, a few times a week. But now, I switched to light beer. Is it bad for my liver? Read Full »
Answer: Hello, Welcome to icliniq.com. Excessive alcohol, that is, more than 12 g a day, is certainly dangerous and should be strictly avoided. Regarding mild to moderate consumption, data is inadequate at this moment. But, recommendations are to strictly avoid all alcohol consumption because it can damage... Read Full »
Is fatty liver grade 1 reversible?
Query: Hello doctor, My age is 30 years. Height is 5.6 and weight is 160 lbs. Recently, I underwent with ultrasound abdomen. In that, the result came as fatty liver grade 1. Is this any harmful and I do not have a habit of alcohol drinking. What should I do? Can this be reversible? What is the diet that I... Read Full »
Answer: Hi, Welcome to icliniq.com. Yes, fatty liver can be harmful because it causes non-alcoholic steatohepatitis and cirrhosis in case of a long-standing fatty liver with a contribution of various other factors. It can be reversed by loosening of the weight. Dietary modification with exercise is the ma... Read Full »
What causes elevated levels of CA-19 tumor marker?
Query: Hello doctor, I have a question regarding the significance of an elevated CA-19 tumor marker. I recently had one and that came back as 43 (per laboratory should have been under 34). I do not have cancer and I am wondering what else could cause this elevation? Please help. Read Full »
Answer: Hi, Welcome to icliniq.com. CA 19-9 (cancer antigen) is a tumor marker, but it can be elevated in healthy individual. It can be elevated in benign conditions like pancreatitis, cirrhosis, thyroid disease and inflammatory bowel disease. It can be elevated in various gastrointesti... Read Full »
Is alternative therapy fine for one awaiting a liver transplant?
Query: Hello doctor, My brother, 46, has ALD cirrhosis. He was admitted to a hospital. Day-6 now. And is undergoing withdrawal and other treatment. MELD score is 22-24; ammonia 40 (down from 70). Low platelets, lot of bruises from falling pre-admittance. Signs of advanced hepatic encephalopathy. Treatment ... Read Full »
Answer: Hi, Welcome to icliniq.com. First of all, you need to understand that alternative therapies do not work in acute severe states. You can consider them later once he recovers. At this point of time, apart from medical management that is already being done, you can discuss with your doctor for liver ... Read Full »
I have an enlarged liver with fatty changes. Is it serious?
Query: Hello doctor, I am 51 years old and have been diagnosed with an enlarged liver showing fatty changes grade-3. Is it life threatening? Read Full »
Dr. Mahmoud Ahmed Abdelrahman Abouibrahim
Answer: Hello, Welcome to icliniq.com. Fatty liver change is a progressive condition that leads to liver cirrhosis after years if not managed properly. Risk factors include obesity, high cholesterol, and alcohol. Please provide me with your alcohol intake history and your lipid profile and liver function ... Read Full »
How long does it take for liver enzymes to normalize?
Query: Hi doctor,My ALT is 384, AST 144, glutamyl 151, alkaline 131, albumin 45, lipase 24, amylase 68, CRP 7.7, and bilirubin normal. I have stopped drinking alcohol. How long will it take to normalize other enzyme levels? What are the risks I have from the above report? Read Full »
Answer: Hi, Welcome to icliniq.com. Based on your query, my opinion is as follows: Enzyme levels are abnormal secondary to hepatic injury. The liver is an excellent organ and recovers very fast. As the bilirubin is normal, I would not expect any major injury. Not only alcohol, you need to be careful abo... Read Full »