SWFLSkins Posted June 10, 2010 Share Posted June 10, 2010 Blood work came back with an elevated ATL at 65 and they are suggesting an ultrasound, but alas I am self pay. I read that the couple glasses of wine I had the night before could affect the score. Also ranges of normal readings seem to be wide. From 40 at the top to 75? I am confused and figured someone on here may know if I really need to test or just monitor it for the future, or should I jump off a cliff>J/K I am going to have a glass of wine while I wait for an opinion. BTW 48, good health, just started a HB med. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
twa Posted June 10, 2010 Share Posted June 10, 2010 Well I work on car bodies so thats close enough.... Yes the wine can effect it and it is not very elevated imo W/o knowing your specific meds or weight and history:beatdeadhorse:,I will suggest taking another in a week or two after abstaining. I assume you don't have previous test levels for comparison? Pay the lady at the door. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bcl05 Posted June 10, 2010 Share Posted June 10, 2010 I'm a doc (pediatric metabolic geneticist - not necessarily relevant to you, though my research is in inherited liver diseases). ALT of 65 is high, and it would be nice to know why, but going straight to an ultrasound seems like an awfully big jump to me. That elevation is very minor (I've seen many patients with ALTs of several thousand), but probably shouldn't ignore it. There are lots of reasons an ALT could be high (medications - including tylenol, fatty meal, alcohol - even a modest amount, infections, muscle problems, celiac disease, inflammatory problems, tumors, etc). The vast majority of causes in a healthy, relatively young person are minor. Ultrasound would only help with the worst-case scenario, which is also the least likely scenario. Was it a fasting sample? If you were my patient, I'd probably just repeat it in a few days or weeks to make sure it was stable or going down. Just my 2 cents. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bcl05 Posted June 11, 2010 Share Posted June 11, 2010 I should add that my opinion is based on the assumption that all the other labs are normal. If your bilrubin is up (for example), it is a different story... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Corcaigh Posted June 11, 2010 Share Posted June 11, 2010 Didn't they tell you to avoid alcohol the night before? There could be other factors but repeating the blood work would seem a sensible first step. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brandymac27 Posted June 11, 2010 Share Posted June 11, 2010 That has happened to me too. When they told me it was my liver, I thought I was dying and needed a transplant lol! Anyway, they did an ultrasound and retested my levels along w/ a **** ton of other blood work to find out I had fatty liver. In other words: my diet sucked and they told me to eat healthier foods, etc. My advice, don't freak out. It's probably nothing if your otherwise in good health. Personally, I would wait a week or so after you flush your system of the alcohol and then retest to see where ur levels are. If they're down, you're probably good to go. If not, get the ultrasound. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Reic Posted June 11, 2010 Share Posted June 11, 2010 As an Aside, I wonder what the ES Canton crew's results would have been after the Monk/Green HOF weekend. I really have no other input besides that, don't mind me, hope you are well my friend. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
China Posted June 11, 2010 Share Posted June 11, 2010 <object width="640" height="385"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aclS1pGHp8o&hl=en_US&fs=1&"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aclS1pGHp8o&hl=en_US&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="640" height="385"></embed></object> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TD_washingtonredskins Posted June 11, 2010 Share Posted June 11, 2010 I was told that medications (check), alcohol (check), and recent working out (??) could all impact an elevated liver enzyme level. I recently had that too and they are having me get re-checked in several weeks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bcl05 Posted June 11, 2010 Share Posted June 11, 2010 The issue with workouts is not that it is specifically bad for your liver. The same enzymes (ALT and AST - the transaminases) are also present in muscle. Those labs are generally referred to as liver tests, but muscle damage (like a vigorous workout) can mimic it. The ratio between the AST/ALT can help distinguish between a muscle and liver source, though not always. The last child I diagnosed with muscular dystrophy had been through a big workup with the liver docs because they assumed the kid had a liver disease rather than a muscular one. In reality, though, the significant majority of the time that they are elevated, it's a liver issue. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TD_washingtonredskins Posted June 11, 2010 Share Posted June 11, 2010 The issue with workouts is not that it is specifically bad for your liver. The same enzymes (ALT and AST - the transaminases) are also present in muscle. Those labs are generally referred to as liver tests, but muscle damage (like a vigorous workout) can mimic it. The ratio between the AST/ALT can help distinguish between a muscle and liver source, though not always. Good to know. I don't mean to hijack the OP's topic, but I was a little surprised to hear that I had elevated (though slightly elevated) levels. I'm in good health, but just chalked it up to the gym + the medication I'm on. Being as open as you feel comfortable, what is the worst-case scenario that these elevated levels could mean? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bcl05 Posted June 11, 2010 Share Posted June 11, 2010 Being as open as you feel comfortable, what is the worst-case scenario that these elevated levels could mean? The issue with these labs (particularly the transaminases) is that they are extremely non-specific and can mean almost anything. Based on the transaminases alone, it is hard to tell the difference between infectious hepatitis, liver cancer, a couple of glasses of wine, and a few too many milkshakes. A good doc will take all the evidence together and try to see patterns or red flags. In a healthy person with no concerning history or symptoms, I wouldn't worry much at all. A single, marginally elevated transaminase wouldn't raise my concern. Heck, I had my labs checked a few weeks ago, and my ALT was a touch high. Didn't give it a second thought, because I know my diet sucks and I don't have any other symptoms. Now if its more elevated (100's to 1000's), it definitely deserves more investigation... I have a hard time imagining that a person with a ALT>500 would be feeling real good, though... Please consider the source here everyone. I'm a pediatrician (geneticist) so if an adult hepatologist tells you something different, its entirely possible that they know this subject better than me... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TD_washingtonredskins Posted June 11, 2010 Share Posted June 11, 2010 The issue with these labs (particularly the transaminases) is that they are extremely non-specific and can mean almost anything. Based on the transaminases alone, it is hard to tell the difference between infectious hepatitis, liver cancer, a couple of glasses of wine, and a few too many milkshakes. A good doc will take all the evidence together and try to see patterns or red flags. In a healthy person with no concerning history or symptoms, I wouldn't worry much at all. A single, marginally elevated transaminase wouldn't raise my concern. Heck, I had my labs checked a few weeks ago, and my ALT was a touch high. Didn't give it a second thought, because I know my diet sucks and I don't have any other symptoms. Now if its more elevated (100's to 1000's), it definitely deserves more investigation... I have a hard time imagining that a person with a ALT>500 would be feeling real good, though...Please consider the source here everyone. I'm a pediatrician (geneticist) so if an adult hepatologist tells you something different, its entirely possible that they know this subject better than me... I appreciate the input and the disclaimer. What you stated is pretty much what the doctor and my mom (a nurse) told me. Basically, within the context of the rest of my health, this is probably nothing. But, no harm in re-testing them in 6-8 weeks. Thanks again. And to the OP, good luck with everything but it seems like this isn't something to get too concerned about. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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