Red palms, liver disease worries?
Posted , 3 users are following.
Hello everyone. I'm really new here, my friend recommended this website because, apparently, there are many people out there who gives really good advice ( I know you guys can't give diagnoses but pieces of advice are good enough). I'm Lilly and I'm 12, about to be 13 in 2 months. I recently got really bad health anxiety. I've always had anxiety but it started to get really bad just these past 2 months. I feel like the more I'm stressed, the more symptoms? Well now, I'm getting really worried about liver disease (I'm 12, so no alcohol or smoking). I do have family history (usually the guys, they drink A LOT) but it's because of excessive drinking. My aunt, who doesn't drink, did have some problem with her liver but she took some liver supplement and now she doesn't. I heard somewhere liver disease can be genetic...great. Well, I started to look at my hands and fingers more, and noticed some stuff that made me so stressed out even though it's probably normal. My nails are NOT white, but they kinda look like terry's nails which scares me. I wouldn't say half white half pink, more like a lighter pink near the cuticle and turns into a more pink, pink. My hands are what worry me the most. Red palms is a sign of liver damage. My palms do get red a lot! I also wouldn't say it super red, like fire-y red, just a bit pinkish-red? It's not always red, most of the day, it looks pretty normal. I feel like when my palms are red, they also feel hot. Like these past few days, it's been really hot where I live and my face and hands and feets are getting hot and red. But sometimes, when it's not even hot, my hands still sometimes get hot and red again. My skin is itchy but I don't think it's because of a GI problem. Where I live, the weather is unpredictable and not very good (better than some places tho). Almost everyone in my family has itchy and dry skin. Even lots of people we know who live here! I also have been annoying everyone because I've been constantly asking them if I look different, like do I look yellow, do my eyes look yellow? They all say I look perfectly fine and my skin is normal and my eyes are perfectly white. Pale stools and dark urine is also a symptom? My urine has always been pale and clear even. Occasional dark yellow when I'm dehydrated but never orange or brown. My stool is about a medium brown color. Sometimes it can go tan-ish or light brown but the usual stool color for me is medium brown. I have never ever seen red or black. White or clayish stool is also a symptom of liver damage but I didn't even know those exist until now. The lightest my stool has ever been is yellow/tan. I get those when my stool is really loose/diarrhea. I occasionally get pain in the upper right abdomen but it's very dull and goes away within minutes. Especially with a bowel movement or gas. Help?
0 likes, 11 replies
Melissa4579 lil_lily
Posted
Hi lilly,
You poor thing I am so sorry you are feeling this way. Have you been to a dr to have any tests at all done? Chances are you are right and it is just health anxiety. Alot of great advice has already been given to me regarding anxiety. Try and stay away from googling symptoms any time you catch yourself wanting to just tell yourself no and try to distract yourself.
It sounds like in regards to your palms being red it could just be hot or possibly because your anxious about it they are hot. My hands get hot and sweaty when I am having heightened anxiety. And as for your stool color it is normal for your stools to be different color. The main thing my dr would want to know if there was blood in the urine or stool or if the stool looks like coffee grounds. It's hard sometimes knowing what runs in our families because it can make us afraid of something that may never happen to us. Just know that because someone in your family may have something it doesn't always mean you will get that. Just eat right and take care of yourself. No one can predict what we will get.
Just try to relax or find a really good friend that you can have come over and distract you. Have you told your parents about your worries? Definitely let them know you have concerns so they can take you to the dr for a physical and that should ease your mind..
lil_lily Melissa4579
Posted
I'm scared to go to the doctors. Like really scared. I went a few months ago for 3 shots and they also did some physical exam things. Like I also had to pee in a cup but no blood test? They checked my abdomen and height and weight. Apparently, I'm all fine and normal...or at least everyone tells me that. The red palms thing, well, I kinda figured that out. I have a group chat and I literally demanded pics of their hands (ugh, anxiety) so I can calm down. Basically, my palms are normal and it's a bit more red than usual because I was hot. Now that I cooled down a bit, it's not that red anymore. About my shoulder pain, I think I also found an answer. At school, I'm constantly reminded to sit up straight and have good posture (I don't get pain) but everyday when I go home, I sit in front of my computer, hunching forward with my left shoulder resting but my right is always in the air with little support (does this make sense?). But, again, anxiety just gotta make you wonder all the time.
I swear, my friends are so annoyed with me constantly asking them is this normal, is that normal? Like I said, EVERYONE says I'm absolutely fine!
Can you still have gallbladder or liver problems but still have brown colored stool and pale urine? No pain while urinating though. Don't see blood either. I do get itchy skin but I think because I think about itchy skin so much that I start to itch and also, where I live, the weather isn't the best. I keep forgeting to mosturize too. People say I don't look yellow or anything. I get abdominal pain, though. But I'm also suspecting IBS.
lil_lily Melissa4579
Posted
Melissa4579 lil_lily
Posted
I had a gallbladder problem and had to have mine removed. Mine I had no symptoms from until it was bad though. It was very horrible pain and I just kept vomiting and when I thought I had nothing left in me to vomit I still was vomiting up lots of bile. That was my experience and it happened that I went to the hospital because I was so dehydrated from vomiting and couldn't keep fluid down. Lucky for me cause I needed to have surgery to remove my gallbladder. My mom had gallbladder problems and she experienced pain and heartburn with hers. If your urine is pale then you are hydrated. Where is the pain is it on the right or left side? Does it radiate to your back? Is it a constant pain you feel all the time? Sadly without knowing details there is no way of knowing. Kind of a weird question but have they looked at your ovaries because ovulation. An sometimes give you crampy pain. Ibs can cause bloating and you would have constipation and diarrhea and stomach cramps. But anxiety can cause digestion issues also.
It's good though that you are figuring out the reason for your shoulder pain and for your hands. Alot of time when we are in pain we tense up which just further tenses the strained muscle. But I am sure you already know that since you are going through physical therapy.
lil_lily Melissa4579
Posted
I have abdominal pain EVERYWHERE. Upper abdomen, mid abdomen, lower abdomen. I get upper abdomen pain a lot but it's 95% of the time with bloating. And mid doesn't happen a lot but it usually feels crampy. Passing gas kinda helps. And then lower abdomen. I feel the most pain here. Rarely on right, usually the lower middle or lower left. I rarely feel pain anywhere on my right side abdomen, but it does sometimes happen. Most of the time, a bowel movement would help relieve my pain or it will slowly go away. I wouldn't say its persistent, just happens randomly and go away. I sometimes get back pain too. Lower back pain.
Melissa4579 lil_lily
Posted
Do you notice it more if you wleat certain foods like breads or pasta? Is it every single day?
Might want to see the gyno just make sure your good there. I had to when I was young and found that my pain was from my ovaries getting harmless cysts but they didn't feel good at all.
I don't care to go to the dr either but I always treat myself to a reward ( new shoes was my thing) it made going a little easier knowing I had something fun to look forward too. And if we don't go to the dr then all we can do is speculate what is going on.
If you feel like you are having very bad pain and it is interfering with you being able to be happy then keep pushing your parents to take you to the dr till you get the answer. If you think it might be ibs then have them take you to a gastroenterologist. Ibs can have flareups due to stress.
And yes no one can tell you exactly what is wrong with you but a medical professional people can relate to some of your symptoms and tell you their experience but things can act differently in everyone. Just like my gallbladder pain was way worse then my mothers and she lived with hers for years before she had hers removed. And sometimes if someone tells you what they think it could be then it may spark a whole other fear in you and it may not even be anything harmful. So it is best to see the right kind of doctor who will do the right tests. At least then they can figure out what is causing the pain. Jn the meantime write down your symptoms, when it happens, where it's at and how strong the pain is. This is all going to be beneficial to the dr who will treat you.
lil_lily Melissa4579
Posted
If I worry a lot or eat lots of unhealthy foods like a lot of ice cream, fried and fatty foods, or basically too much diary or fat in general, I get abdominal pain and it also changes my stool appearance. Here goes the genetic thing again, is IBS genetic? My aunt and 2 cousins have IBS. My dad also have something like IBS (diarrhea and those stuff) but he doesn't have a diagnosis of IBS, just a weak difestive system or something. The pain is not unbearable or anything close to severe. It's usually mild or moderate. Happens for only a few minutes, if diarrhea, but can last for hours if I'm constipated.
Does diarrhea or loose stools cause a lighter stool color? I having a bit of loose stool and it's a bit lighter than normal, like a yellowish color, almost. But when its firmer, I looks more of a light/medium brown.
Melissa4579 lil_lily
Posted
Hi lilly,
It could be ibs symptoms. My mom thinks she has ibs because her sister has ibs. But there is so many things that can cause stomach problems like allergies to foods, ibs, stomach flu etc the list is endless. If you notice that when you eat certain types of food then try to avoid eating it and go with healthier options and see if that decreases the stomach problem.
I still recommend you go to the dr for a evaluation so you get the right diagnosis and will get relief from knowing and also will have a game plan on what to do to fix it.
When your stool is loose it can look yellow because it is mixed with lots of water. I don't think your bowel movement color sounds like a problem. But if you bounce back and forth from constipation to diarrhea then you want to see a medical professional so they can help find out what is causing it. Luckily in the medical world there is so much advancement that once you get that under control and with regular follow up you will have a wonderful life and look at this as just a bump in the road.
Try to relax and not check the color of your bowel movement. Everytime you tell yourself you are not going to give into the temptation of worry it is a battle over come.
lil_lily Melissa4579
Posted
I'll try to seek a doctor so maybe, and hopefully, I would get my life back. I'm just 12, shouldn't I be hanging out with friends instead of just me and my computer, on google? I'll try to get a diagnosis but one more thing, are the symptoms I'm describing sound more like IBS or gallbladder or liver?
doglover2005 lil_lily
Posted
Same! I'm around the same age as you (13) and I just got over my fear of colon cancer and now my anxiety worry of the month hs turned to liver/gallbladder problems. Ugh, I know how you feel.
lil_lily doglover2005
Posted
Are you suspecting or have IBS? Does what I'm describing sound like more of anxiety and IBS or gallbladder/liver issue.