Glad it went smoothly for you. I coulda sworn they didn't use any deadner on me. Other than the actual time spent on the biopsy table, everything went okay for me as well.

i too am glad it went well for you.. it took three attempts to get enough to check.. and by no 3 i had just about had enough... to top it off he bent the first needl!! i surehope we are talking about a liver bx?!
most folks don't have that much of a problem...

Hello my monkey friend. Yes it was a liver biopsy. This was the last test to have done for the moment. Echo came back fine, the shadow on my lung was an infection, still awaiting results from bone x rays,, borderline diabetic and just praying to get the phlebs started again. No talk of brain scan yet but they would have a job to find it.
Deryl im glad yours went ok too.

Nic. X

TANKS NICOL; THEY DID DO AN MRI ON MY HEAD AND COULD ONLY SEE SOME SORTA GASEOUS SUBSTANCE, (PROBABLY ALL THE POT I SMOKED IN THE 70"S!?) UNDIAGNOSEANBLE!!??? STRANGE HOW IT LEAKS OUT OF MY BUTT?????? MUST BE THE HH STRAIN I HAVEN'T YET BEEN DIAGNOSED WITH!!???
WELL I AM GLAD YOUR LUNG WAS "ONLY " AND INFECTION...
WHAT IS A BORDER LINE DIABETIC?? MY GLUCOSE LEVELS ARE ALWAYS ON THE HIGH END OF THE NORM?? I KNOW. WHAT IS NORMAL ABOUT THIS OL MONKEY???
ABBY NORMAL PERHAPS?? BE WELL MY FEMALE HUMAN FRIEND AND GET RID OF THAT INFECTION WILL YOU??!! :)
DC

Check for diabetes came back as 6, which doctor said was right on the limit. All double dutch to me but then im having brain fog at the moment. Deb I have sent you two replies but dont think they are getting to you. Will keep trying.
Nic.X X

Thank you for posting this. I am in the beginning stage of diagnosis and next up is a liver biopsy on July 19. Got the prep work paperwork from the hospital yesterday and after reading about the procedure I got sick to my stomach and considered canceling. I know I can't as I need to go through with this so your experience was timely and gives me encouragement. You would think I could handle this as I just went through breast cancer last year but I think I'm just tired of have "procedures" done and now I'm starting over again.

Hi Nancy, I can honestly say I had no problems with it. They used ultrasound to find the correct place to do it, injected me with a local anaesethic and about 20 seconds later did the biopsy. The only thing I felt was a slight pushing. I then had to lie on my right side for an hour, on my back for an hour, sit up for an hour and then just sit in a chair for an hour. Take a book with you to read or else you will be bored. Was offered pain killers but didnt need them. I was a bit uncomfortable the same evening but cant say I was in pain. Went back to work the next day. Hope yours goes just as smoothly, im sure it will. What is your ferratin level and are you feeling poorly?
Nic. X

nancy i hope my experience doesn't scare you too much.. sounds like you have been thru much worse even than my experience. i am an old monkey with a ironize liver well pickled over the years.. i hope you the bestest and really it will go well for you i am sure...really i have espn IV!!!!

I didn't get a liver biopsy when first diagnosed. I have read many different reports against biopsy unless there is suspect of alot of liver damage and there is a need for a baseline condition. My doc said my liver function was fine and my ferritin was at 1100 when I was diagnosed. My 2 cents

Hi shredded wheat, I was diagnosed in September last year and my ferratin level was 1647. Had some phlebs but have been so ill they want to check for damage. Dont know what they can do tho if I have but perhaps they can advise me on diet etc.
Nic. X

Thanks everyone for your 2cents -- my ferritin level is 522 which is low compared to so many of you on this website. But...both my primary doctor and the specialist are encouraging me to get a liver biopsy so what's a girl to do? My breast cancer was only supposed to be early stage 1 but after the biopsy jumped up to a stage 2 with two surgeries and 6 weeks radiation so I guess my "history" tells me to go ahead with the liver biopsy because it could end up being worse than anyone thinks...

Nancy, the Iron Disorders Institute current guidelines say that biopsy is no longer required for diagnosing hemochromatosis, and your ferritin is well under 1000. However, if it makes you feel better to know for sure then it could be worth it. You could also discuss with your doctor the non-invasive FerriScan (a type of MRI) if this option is available to you.

i always went back and forth about the biopsy. my level was 3600, but my alt and ast results came down quickly, so the doctor said it wasnt necessary to have the biopsy

Nancy, I agree wth Jlick, your level is lower than a lot of us here and there is a good chance that there is no damage, but at least if you have it done and all is fine it will stop you worrying about it. Sometimes we can worry ourselves silly for no reason.
Nic. X

Welcome to the group nancyjp!

My doc wanted to do a liver biopsy on me last summer after I had a spike in my ferritin. My ferritin level had been coming down after the first 4,5,6 phlebs. My ferritin started out at 4097, dropped to 1366 after those few phlebs and then started jumping up.. 6700, 7600, etc.

I agreed to it ONLY after it was climbing soooooo high.

My experience was like nicola's. It was an "ultrasound guided" liver biopsy. Only the little local numbing shot (wish I'd had the EMLA cream back then) and the poke into my skin and the little "pinch" feeling as he got the sample. You'de never believe how tiny it is! I asked to look at it. I didn't tell him I'd found a web site which showed what liver biopsy samples looked like and that I wanted to compare them (as much as I could by going by color of the sample alone) and the quality of the photographs. Good Luck!

zzzzzz