Sikcell: People living with Sickle Cell

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jaundice

how many of u got junduce and how to deal with it

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Permalink Reply by Preston on November 14, 2009 at 10:26pm

I've always had yellow eyes. Ever since I was little people would ask why are your eyes yellow??? I used to say I don't know, they've just always been that way. Lol!

Have you not always had it? I thought that was just one of our symtoms. I've never personally known someone else in our situation.

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Permalink Reply by Sickle Cell Warrior on November 22, 2009 at 1:20am

I was looking at some pictures I took last week and man, I look so jaundiced. Ick! For those of you that don't know, jaundice is a condition caused from the increased production of bile pigments in the blood. It usually affects people with all kinds of liver diseases but it affects Sickle Cell Warriors as well.

To most of us, the gall bladder is one of those inconsequential organs that one knows very little about. One of the primary functions is to store bilirubin, a by product waste that the liver creates when hemoglobin is broken down. Hemoglobin is the primary component of red blood cells (RBCs). The average red blood cell lives 120 days. The average sickle cell lives 10 days --wimps!. So when these cells die, they are broken down in the spleen and then shipped to the detoxifying unit, aka the Liver. The liver processes wastes of RBCs as bilirubin, and there is so much of it that the body can't get rid of it all. So it just sits in your bloodstream, turning your skin and eyes yellow. Not a fresh look.

I've been jaundiced all my life but sometimes it's worse than others. I can usually tell how anemic I am from how jaundiced my eyes look. And honey, they look like a cat's eyes right now.

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Permalink Reply by HB on May 16, 2011 at 7:04pm

Jaundice can be helped by herbal remedies that help to clear toxins from the liver and support healthy liver function. They can be purchased at health food stores and will contain products such as milk thistle, goldenseal, red clover, dandelion root , artichoke leaf, etc. They come under various brand names.The one that I am currently using is called Liver Support by GNC, however there are many brands available. I also take a prescription medication called Actigall (ursodiol or ursodioxycholic acid). It has been on the market for over 20 years in the USA and is used for dissolving gallstones and to prevent gallstones in persons who are undergoing rapid weight loss. It is also used to treat other conditions. If you search it on the internet you can learn more about it.

These products help with jaundice because they help the liver to work more effectively in getting rid of the excess bilirubin. Excessive bilirubin causes jaundice. Our bilirubin levels are higher because our cells break down faster. Consequently the liver has to work harder to rid itself of the bilirubin which is the by-product of red blood cells. If bilirubin levels are high the jaundice is more noticeable.

Bear in mind that this is a waste product so you want to make sure that you have regular bowel movements and drink lots of fluids to eliminate this waste from the body. You may also notice that when your doctor checks your bilirubin levels they may be lower. I've come across this remedy because I refused to accept that I had to always be so noticeably jaundiced. I started conducting my own research to obtain a solution. So far, this has really been helpful.

~ Ann