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Monday, October 4, 2010

Is there a Cure for Hypoalbuminemia?

Is there a cure for Hypoalbuminemia?

Well, depending on what the cause of your case is, there just might be. 

Some albumin loss can be contributed to conditions that can be addressed.
Heart defects, Celiac disease, vasculitis and other conditions can be addressed through surgery, diet or medications.

  However, other conditions may not be curable, in which case treatment of symptoms might be the doctor’s only recourse.  I have an idiopathic form of the condition.  This means the cause of my low albumin is unknown. 

While the doctors haven’t yet given up on finding a specific cause to address for me, they have been focusing on the treatment my symptoms.

Diuretics, Albumin infusions, infection control, dietary and other strategies have been brought to bear.

Also, I’ve tried a number of drugs, both injections and oral, to try to address the low protein issue itself.  I’ve had moderate success with Humera, but had to discontinue it due to a Tuberculosis side effect.  I’ve had some success with Prednisone but had to stop due to Vision and other uncomfortable side effects.

I tried a chemotherapy drug called Cytoxan, an IV drug.  That was rough on me.  It seemed to help a little too.  That’s not a drug to be on indefinitely.

Well, this is all for now.

  

4 comments:

Phizz said...

Have you come across Heparin as a treatment?
Try this link to some work by Hudson Freeze.

Daniel Taverne said...

Yes, they tried Heparin, but it didn't work on me. I had success with Humera but it caused a spinal fluid infection. I did Cytoxan, amuran, prednisone, methotrexate.. the methotrexate did the best in recovering my protein level. Unfortunately it caused a serious lung infection (methotrexate lung). This was really bad.

but my protein levels went up to just about normal and stayed there for a few weeks.

Also, sometimes it seems not eating for several days actually improves my albumin and total serum protein. I've found that following surguries when I can't eat for a few days that my protein levels spike.

delmerblog@gmail.com said...

hey there
i have idiopathic hypoalbuminia as well. i had edema when i was 15 and tests revealed an albumen level of 2.3 dh/l. since then i have had every test under the sun done, and it seems that my problem is idiopathic.
i am 24 now, and i don't remember life without this condition (you never pay attention to problems you don't have). i also don't know what the other symptoms might be-- i have edema, but perhaps my astoundingly high cholesterol and general fatigue are related as well. the thing is, i can't know what the symptoms are if i don't know what my body is like with a normal level of protein.
i would love to find out, but i don't really know how to get my levels up, even just for a few days.
do you have any advice? it seems like you have taken some serious drugs and you have a fair amount of experience with this problem...
thanks
adrian

Daniel Taverne said...

Adrian,

I think the most beneficial treatment I get on a regular basis is the Albumin infusions. Unfortunately, by Albumin levels get below 1 and I get in excess of 25 pounds of accumulated edema to be removed.

As you may have read here, the albumin in conjunction with the I.V. lasix does a good job of getting my edema down.

For a few days following my week long process, I'll continue dropping fluid wile taking my by-mouth lasix. It is during this time that my albumin level is till higher than 'my normal' level.

I feel pretty good then... higher energy level.

You have to make sure that anything you do to try to change your protein level is supervised by your doctor.

There was one drug that worked well to raise my protein levelH Humera. It helped to raise my level to near normal for about a year. Unfortunately it had a side effect of tuberculosis... not good.

Another drug that helped was Methotrexate, but I developed a terrible lung condition that reversed after I stopped taking the drug.
These side effects are good reasons to keep close contacet with your doctor.

You should also know that when getting albumin infusions, the increased albumin level is very temporary. If you are "spilling" albumin into your gut like I am, Your blood-albumin level will depleat rapidly after being infused. I was told it only takes 6-8 hours for the infused albumin to spill into my gut.

I'm lucky for having the VA to take care of the medications costs. The Albumin is very expensive, I'm told.

As far as diets go, I seem to do better when I eat alot of fish.

You will also do yourself a favor if you take fat-soluable vitamins (A D E K S). Additionally, taking omega-3 fatty acids (fish oil) is good for people with this condition, I'm told.


I hope this helps, Adrian. I post as frequently as I can, so feel free to visit often.

Best regards:

Dan