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When to contact your PSC doctor

When to contact your PSC doctor (non-routine situations)

If you are at all concerned about your health and suspect that the issue is related to PSC, let your doctor know.

It’s important to contact your doctor in certain situations, including:

Suddenly feeling generally unwell, fluey and itchy

This could be a bile duct infection (bacterial cholangitis).

Sudden jaundice

If you develop jaundice all of a sudden (skin getting a yellowish tinge, whites of eyes becoming yellow), contact your PSC doctor immediately so he or she can make the appropriate assessment and investigations.

Sudden pain or itch

Please don’t ignore sudden itch or pain in PSC. Let your PSC doctor know so he or she can make the appropriate assessment and investigations.

Sometimes sudden pain is associated with an infection in the bile ducts which may respond well to antibiotics (see bacterial cholangitis).

Itch that is not resolving even with medicine

Let your doctor know. There are several different medicines for itch that work differently, and another type might be more suitable for you.

An unexplained cough (when you have advanced PSC)

Let your doctor know. This could be an indication of varices.

Sudden unintended weight loss

Let your doctor know. There are a number of causes of unintended weight loss which your doctor will investigate, and you may benefit from professional dietary advice.

Nausea shortly after eating

Let your doctor know if this persists. This could be related to your IBD or be related to the jobs your bile is supposed to do causing steatorrhoea. This may be manageable with expert dietary support.

Signs of a blood clot

Sudden onset of swollen calf or thigh. Sudden onset of shortness of breath or pain in the ribs that is worse when breathing in.

There is in an increased risk of clots in the veins of the legs (deep vein thromboembolism) and also in the lungs (pulmonary embolism) in patients with PSC. If any of these ever develop please seek urgent medical advice and treatment.

Remember, this list is not exhaustive and if you are unsure, please check with your doctor.

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