Tumor?

[Eeyores Butterfly]

I had some tests done a couple of weeks ago for some stomach issues and got a call today saying that one of my tests was back. It showed high levels of serotonin and I have to do another test next week.

I couldn't get the nurse to tell me what this meant, so I googled it and it and the only thing I am coming up with is carcinoid syndrome whic his caused by a tumor. The treatments can include surgery and chemotherapy.

Needless to say I'm a little freaked out by this. I wish that the nurse had been abl to give me information instead of me having to ferret it out for myself.

 

[Schmeck]

(((HUGS!!!)))

My dermatologist told me over the phone the mole he removed from the back of my leg was melanoma, and to make an appointment with their surgeon to have a re-excision. That was it. So I googled, and nearly died from panic. Lesson learned - never google a medical issue without the complete info from your doctor first!

Of course I never returned to that dermatologist, found my own surgeon, a better dermatologist, and so far, so good. My melanoma was superficial, the new dermatologist found another one on my back the first guy missed, and when he retired he sent me to the best clinic in the region.

So don't panic yet - wait until you get to talk to the doctor, and have some questions ready just in case the news is bad. But I'm sending white light and positive vibes that the news is great!

 

[mechurchlady]

http://www.something-fishy.org/isf/genetics.php
I am still up so that can start to explain what is probably wrong wtih you.

Seratonin is increased by carbs thus when you binge on sweets your seratonin goes up. In your case there may be something metabolic wrong with you like getting to many carbs or eating foods rich in seratonin or even an imbalance in the foods you eat so that you get more of one (cannot think of the word but like amino acids) than another. Your seratonin levels are a balancing act and if the other thing is too high then you get not enough seratonin but if it is too low then the seratonin skyrockets.

So do not worry. Probably dietary changes will fix the situation. Wait and see what he is finding out. "high seratonin levels" should get you a nicer googled outlook than cancer. Also anxiety and stress can affect seratonin.

hugs
Laurie

 

[Eeyores Butterfly]

Thanks. I got off the phone with my mom (a microbiologist at a hospital) and I feel a lot better. Other than the occasional diarrhea, I don't have any of the other "classic" symptoms- I didn't even know they were testing that!

At this point I'm confused and a little irritated with the office. I had my physical last Monday. No blood tests were ordered. The next day is when I saw the GI doc and had to do a blood and stool test. My GP called me on Monday of this week sayng the stool test and the Inflammatory Bowel Disease tests were all negative. (IBD were the blood tests done).

Then I get the call today. It took me 10 minutes to get her to tell me that my serotonin level was slightly elevated, I need to do a 24 hour urine test, and the IBD test hasn't come back yet. Do you see why I am confused? One office (not the one that ordered it) called me and told me everything was back and fine. The other office calls me and tells me one test is abnormal and the others aren't even back yet. So how did my GP have the results of the other tests? I'm starting to wonder if there was some kind of lab error or if they are giving me somebody else's results.

I am calling them tomorrow to see if I can sort things out. I am also going to try to talk to somebody who can give me a straight answer (something I was unable to get out of this woman. She wouldn't shut up but she never gave me any real information. That takes talent.) My mom told me that she has heard that the staff at that one office is really bad. So right now I'm not scared so much as I am irritated because there is something really screwy going on here.

I've learned my lesson, no Google of medical issues. All it took was that one stupid sentence on Mayo Clinic's website about how once symptoms show all they can do is make you comfortable to have me in tears. I'm glad that I have a family member who is at least sort of knowledgeable about this stuff to help me sort through the info.

 

[mechurchlady]

I would think it is a diabetes related issue as high carbs and sugars can send the seratonin levels high. If a person was not processing sugar properly then they could get high blood sugar and then high seratonin.

No I did not get a oong enough nap but that is about how I understand it. Google is great for medical info if you know the proper sets of words to search and I have scared myself a time or two. You are nto alone and do not let it stop you from researching online as online research can help you.

 

[bookwormde]

Serotonin levels can be effected by any number of factors and actually vary significantly between individuals and within a single individual over time and situations. I am sure you know that many of the antidepressants have an impact on levels. A single test is not really a good diagnostic tool. If the levels are way above the norm it would be important to control for any items which are know to effect sarotonin levels.

There are some significant disease correlations (though it is not known if they are primary or coincident) with chronic significantly raised level of serotonin so it really depends “how elevated” the level are.

There are metabolic anomalies that can cause extreme elevated sarotonin from the “supply side” (such as what you found on google) but while these need to be eliminated, if the levels are not that far from the norm I would think that you may find that it is much more likely that other factors are the current contributors.

bookwormde

 

[Schmeck]

"slightly" - don't know if I love or hate that word! I tend to have a "slightly" low WBC at times, and a "slightly" enlarged spleen. They go hand in hand as symptoms. To the medical community I think the word "slightly" means "do absolutely nothing but order more tests".

 

[Eeyores Butterfly]

I dropped off the other test yesterday and went to the family doctor's office and the GI's office to figure out what the deal is. The family doctor gave me a printout of what they had. When they had called they had the results of the serotonin test and obviously didn't think it was elevated enough to be a problem, which makes me feel better.

When I went up to the GI doc's office I told them why I was there and they told me to have a seat. After about 10 minutes the nurse called me back. She knew why I was there, but took me to a room where she didn't have access to the test results and wouldn't look at my printout. She then went to her office to look at the results and said the doctor was in there and she needed to talk to him so it would be at least half an hour. I hadn't had lunch so I told her I would come back.

I went to lunch and she called me asking if we could do this over the phone. It turns out they did have the results of the IBD panel but the doctor had never seen it. They would not have the results of the test I just did for a few days because it gets sent out. I asked her if she could tell me what the first test meant and she said she didn't know anything about it. I told her what I had read and asked her if the doctor indicated how serious it was. She didn't know. Fair enough. She kept trying to make an appointment, but then would back up saying that he wanted the results of the other test first and she didn't know when they would be in. I told her it was fine, I would wait. She kept cutting me off so I couldn't ask a question. I think I said thank you about ten million times trying to get off the phone. The doctor is really good, but I'm not sure I like dealing with his office.

 

[mechurchlady]

You are lucky to have a good doctor but need to talk to him about the quality of service provided. Sorry you are having such a time to get information. Try to relax and not let this get to you. All that stress will just line the pockets of the medical community.

 

[Eeyores Butterfly]

I finally called today because it has been a week since the last test and I have been on pins and needles the whole damn time. The test did come back (they didn't tell me when) and it was fine. Thank God! My file is on the doc's desk and once he reviews it he is going to call me to discuss the next step. Right now it's looking like endoscopy. I think they are thinking Celiac or IBS.

 

[Eeyores Butterfly]

I have an endoscopy and colonoscopy scheduled. I plan to call the office to find out if he will be doing a biopsy to test for Celiac (forgot to ask.) I'm afraid since the bloodwork was negative he may not, but I've heard too many stories of people who had negative blood work but still had Celiac.