March 8th, 2006

explaining the numbers

For her, I shall explain what the hell I’ve been talking about for two months.

Bilirubin: This number says the quantity of bile salt that’s in your blood. Typically the number is between .2 and 1. As it rises, bile salt backs up in your blood stream and your skin starts taking on a yellow shade. Then you start to itch and the whites of your eyes turn yellow. My dad (and the doctors back here) have never someone with a bilirubin over 15—I hit 29.7 at the peak, which means I was dark yellow and itchy as hell.

ALT and AST: These are liver enzyme numbers. Typically they range between 5 and 50, give or take. Once you start passing 50, there’s something wrong with your liver. These numbers tell the doctors that something is attacking the liver and it needs checked out.

Albumen: This is a protein number. Normally you’re supposed to be between 3.0 and 3.5. My dad calls it the “starvation index,” the lower it is, the more starved your body is for protein. I had hit about 2.1 I think, which was why I dropped so much weight and why I had no energy. I’m at a 4.1 now, which comes from eating a ridiculous quantity of protein and fat—i.e., bacon. 🙂

Does that explain it Le Will?