What can this mean? I also have mild pain almost every day in my liver. I have a total bilirubin of 20.3.

Question

I took a blood test and my total bilirubin is high, what should I do? Thank you for your answer! The prescriber never told me about my blood test, so I checked it myself with my health record on the internet. I do not take any medication and I have no health problems. I don't do anything young I eat several times a day and I have a very complete diet in nutrients because I do a lot of physical activities so the only vitamin deficiency I could suspect would be in vitamin D because I work at night so I am rarely exposed to the sun. I try to balance this problem with vitamin D3 supplements (10 000 ui per day). Now to answer your questions: my pains are located on the right side under my rib cage. my pain is a tightening. they are not intense pains, about 3/10, but they are very frequent almost every day. The pain lasts about 30 minutes. i have not noticed if the pain seems to be related to a particular meal or food. I don't do anything to relieve the pain, it doesn't stop me from functioning, I just wait for it to go away on its own. My bowel movements are normal. Thank you very much for your advice. I will make an appointment with my doctor. Have a nice day!

Marie-Laurence Gauthier · Accepted Answer

Hello! When the value of a blood test is abnormal, the prescriber must contact you. It is difficult for me to answer you without having your complete file and without knowing the rest of your laboratory values. Several factors, other than a disease, can influence the bilirubin: certain medications, sports activity, a problem with the sample, fasting, a deficiency in certain vitamins. Ideally, you should talk to the person who ordered the blood test. I imagine that he contacted you if you know the bilirubin value? As for your pain, I would have a few questions to better advise you: When you say it's in the liver, where exactly is it? What form does the pain take (tightness, burning, cramps)? What is its intensity on a scale of 1 to 10? How long does the pain last? Is its presentation related to meals or to certain foods in particular? What gives you relief when it occurs? Do you have abnormal stools (blood, black stools, yellow stools)? I am waiting for your answers! Marie-Laurence Gauthier, pharmacist. Hello and thank you for your answers! If the prescriber did not contact you it means that the result was not a concern. I would tell you that in general, one would be concerned about severe liver disease if other results would be abnormal or if the bilirubin level is above 30. For the vitamin D supplement, the dose of 10,000u per day is quite high. It would be recommended in cases of significant deficiency or malabsorption (following bariatric surgery for example). I would advise you to take 800 to 1000 units per day or 10 000u per week. Finally, for your pain, I would advise you to keep a diary of this pain to see when it appears. If it is not too intense, it is less worrying. It would be necessary to consult quickly if the pain prevents you from functioning, if you have difficulty swallowing, if there is red or black blood or bile in the stool or if you lose unwanted weight. The pain could be related to your stomach, you could go to your pharmacist to try antacid medication to see if it would help. As I said earlier, I don't feel comfortable reassuring you completely here as I don't have the whole picture and I am not the prescriber for this blood test. If you are concerned about your situation, I encourage you to make an appointment with your doctor to discuss it. Have a nice day! Marie-Laurence Gauthier, pharmacist.