Elevated liver enzymes, bile duct stone - help please!

[Mats16]

Just thought I'd post this to see if anyone has been in a similar situation.

A little over a month ago I went to the hospital after a month of pain & slightly elevated liver enzymes. An ultrasound found a stone in the common bile duct. I also found out I was 5 weeks pregnant which meant ERCP was too risky until second trimester due to radiation. As it didn't seem to be obstructing much they decided to monitor the situation.

Two follow up ultrasounds a week & 2 weeks later confirmed the stone. Liver enzymes continued to rise and discomfort got worse, where I couldn't do much with some quite bad pain every now and then. GE scheduled an ERCP for 19th June as I would be almost 12 weeks by then. GGT was 1138 at this point.

However, I was suddenly hit with excruciating pain on Wednesday night so it was back to the ER. After doing bloods and finding ggt at 1280 (other enzymes were elevated but not sure of numbers and GGT was by far the worst) they decided it was too risky to leave and scheduled the ERCP for the next day. Had the procedure on the Thursday. They didn't find a stone (but did say it looked like it had passed during the pain the night before) but cleared a bit of sludge though there wasn't much. Was kept in hospital until Saturday as they wanted to see a pattern of my enzymes going down.

After the procedure I didn't have any pain (other than a sore throat) but did have some mild discomfort on my upper right side just below the ribcage. It is now Tuesday and I am still feeling a bit of discomfort on my right side and am spending most of my day just laying around, not feeling up to much else. I am also feeling quite bloated. I went back to the hospital on Sunday night a bit concerned about some dizziness (which I still occasionally have) and a few other things. Blood and urine tests showed no signs of infection or bleeding and pancreas levels are normal. Liver enzymes still very elevated but had come down to 1000 (have read they can take a few months to completely return to normal).

I guess my questions are has anyone else had these symptoms after ERCP and how long did it take to get back to normal? Also with the enzymes still being so high would i be right to assume that I may still feel discomfort while it heals? The discomfort is nothing compared to what I was feeling prior to passing the stone. It's also hard to tell if the bloating and occasional dizziness is due to the pregnancy.

Would really appreciate any input :)

[Mats16]

My OB has said she'll definitely keep an eye on that :) I've just had another blood test to see where my levels are at so waiting on the results of that.

[fntn]

I should have mentioned that pregnancy can cause cholestatic issues as well. So be sure to discuss all of this with your doctors, just to be sure it's all accounted for. The stress that pregnancy and child birth puts on your bodies is amazing.

[Mats16]

Thanks so much for your reply!

I figured I would get some discomfort from the procedure but just wasn't sure if it should last this long since tomorrow will be a week since its been done. It would have been much more helpful if the hospital drs had given any idea of what to expect. I'm still waiting to receive my discharge papers with the follow up appointment details.

I really appreciate your input :)

[fntn]

Hope you are doing better. Yes, getting an ERCP isn't something one puts on their list of really fun things to do. Just as your stone caused you discomfort, the ERCP procedures (many different types of them) can also be very disruptive. Things should soon begin to re-normalize shortly.

And your liver enzymes will normalize as well. The stone created a bile flow impedance and the bile backed up, pooling up a bit within your liver. It shouldn't be there of course and will cause some minor parenchymal damage, thus elevating your enzymes. But, as you likely already know, your liver has amazing recuperative capabilities, and you will be perfectly normal very quickly.

Hoping the best for you and your new baby!

[Mats16]

Anyone?