Well his AST went from 1006 to 1242, ALT went from 1005 to 1329, and his Bili went from 10.5 to 6.4…
I was told his AST and ALT would probably go up before they started coming down since he started the antiviral. But the lowering of the Bili makes me happy. It really has looked like he is less yellow than he was. He isn’t highlighter yellow any more. And a lower Bili means less jaundice.
It’s progress. 
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Good progress SamanthaMeCH! Very happy to see this drop in bili.Yes the ALT AST elevations are ok and not worrysome. The folks at the Cleveland Clinic know their stuff!
Any chance you can share albumin and INR and platelets.
The itchiness should start to decline soon.
You both deserve this good news…
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His albumin was 3.2 and today is 3.4
PT INR was 1.2 and is 1.1 now
PT Sec was 12.1 and is now 11.5
Platelets were 157 and are 222 now.
I am actually relieved that his Bili is coming down. I’m not sure what most of the other tests mean, but I did see some are no longer listed as “high” and are now in the normal range . He was very happy to hear the itching might go away soon
Thank you so much for your encouragement and expertise. I appreciate it so much. Even if these are tiny victories, they are victories all the same and I will take that!
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All good good good…these are the ones which matter…
Liver function is improving you just have to wait for bili to be cleared…it will happen.
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Thank you so much for your expertise with these numbers. You don’t know how much it means to have some one say there’s improvement…I told my husband and he was so happy to hear this. We both appreciate this so much.
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Well the hits just keep coming… 
Just got a notice in the mail from the insurance company saying they deny coverage for his stay at Cleveland Clinic because their “DR” does not believe it was necessary for my husband to be at Cleveland Clinic??? The Drs at Fisher Titus said they could not help him and they are the ones that said he needed to go to Cleveland? I don’t get it…
So I guess now I have to try to get Fisher Titus to send supporting details as to why this was necessary… It never ends 
But on a bright note, my husband is slowly getting an appetite and able to keep a few meals down. He still has zero energy, but he is trying not to sleep all the time and move around as he can.
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Oh no, sorry to hear that @SamanthaMech. What a shame. Hope the doctors can get you a supporting report for your application.
However, it looks like that the transfer was worth it with your husband on the mend.
Wishing you all the best,
Thomas
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I now have a certified copy of his 3 day stay in Fisher Titus ER. I am going to send this as well as a letter from his local Dr. and some clinical notes and explanations. Once I get everything together I will send it off for the appeal process.
Tomorrow is my husband’s second blood draw since he’s been back home. He is doing better. Still gets tired easy and has jaundice, but the itching medication has helped and so has the probiotics before taking his meds.
I know he still has a long road to recovery, but at least we are on the right road now! He is scheduled for the MRI in early December.
I want to thank everyone for their help and support during all of this. Without you, I think I would have lost my mind and maybe even my husband.
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New blood work today…
Bili - 3.3
Alk Phos - 236
AST - 248
ALT - 512
His numbers have come down A LOT!!! 
He is still a lighter shade of jaundice. But he looks a lot better since being on the antivirals.
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Great to see these numbers!
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I am very happy about his numbers. His MRI is scheduled for early December and I am hopeful that it doesn’t show anything serious and his body and liver can heal from this experience.
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Great to hear, @SamanthaMech! I’m really glad things are looking so much more positive for you and your husband. Thanks for keeping us up to date and providing us with such good news.
TT
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New Labs yesterday:
Bili - 2.1 mg/dL
Alkaline Phosphatase - 166 U/L
AST - 48 U/L
ALT 100 - U/L
The jaundice is almost completely gone. His eyes seem to be the last “yellow” he has left. His urine is finally not brown, and the itching is gone.
I just cannot believe how well the antivirals are working! I just can’t help but think if just one Dr. would have taken the matter seriously at the beginning of all of this, maybe things would not have gotten so bad so fast for my husband… But I am beyond thrilled he is doing so much better!
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Well, All the documentation I could put together has been sent to the insurance company to file an appeal to their denial of coverage for his visit to the Cleveland Clinic. I am hopeful they reconsider. That is a HUGE bill that we just cannot afford at this time.
As I was scrolling through the Insurance Company website, I see they denied a claim for the ambulance that transported him to Cleveland as well, yet we received no denial letter for that in the mail? I also found other claims they denied for Labs and such during this same time period!!! WTH… I got no letters for any of that stuff either?
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Hi @SamanthaMech ,
It has been an unfortunate set of circumstances that you have had to deal with. Not only dealing with your husband’s illness but then insurance declining to pay for it.
I remembered seeing a tiktok video about financial hospital policies and found this article about it. There are links to the tiktok and the twitter videos. This information is meant for hospitals within the U.S. and although it is speaking to people within a certain financial status to qualify; which you may very well not, the point is that there ARE programs that the hospital will not volunteer information about for reducing costs and making payment plans based on your income; even if you don’t meet the qualifications for 100% forgiveness of the hospital bills.
Of course, trying to get this worked out with the insurance company precludes trying this other avenue, but I wanted to give you a last ditch option just in case.
Hope this helps… actually I hope you don’t even have to go down this avenue and you can get the ruling with your insurance overturned instead.
-Paul
Yesterday’s blood work is FANTASTIC!!! The jaundice is completely gone, even from his eye whites. He is gaining weight back and strength.
Bili - 1.8
AST - 32
ALT - 38
Alk Pos - 137
A few other tests have changed, but I am unsure what they mean…like anion gap? RDW-CV?
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Thank you. I will read the article on my lunch hour today. I am hopeful the insurance company will overturn their ruling, but if they don’t I will need to pursue other avenues to pay this bill for sure.
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Hi @SamanthaMech
Glad to see the antiviral meds worked real good in as little as few weeks… is he getting TDF or TAF?
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He is on TDF. They have truly worked so well for him. I can’t believe the turn around.
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Great to hear about your husband’s continual improvements and the normalisation of the liver test values, @SamanthaMech!
Regarding your issues with insurance, I don’t know if our other US colleagues might have some comments, particularly those with clinical experience (@rgish, @Suwang88, @Joan_Block)?
Cheers,
Thomas
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