Hi, I have some questions regarding lab work that I had done last month. I have not been diagnosed with liver disease, but I suspect that I am having problems. I can't get answers or insight anywhere, so I thought that maybe some of you have more knowledge in this area and might be of help.
I am 27 years old and have been a pretty heavy drinker on and off for 8 years, with this past year being the worst. Anyway, I recently started experiencing hair loss last October/early November. I just brushed it off and assumed it was due to drinking and not getting enough water and/or stress. I finally went in to see a doctor last month and got a complete blood count and metabolic panel done. Here were my results. My liver function was fine, but there are other areas of concern that are seen in liver disease or cirrhosis.
MCV - 103.4 (normal range: 81-99) *I know this can be a direct result from heavy drinking or it can indicate liver disease. My vitamin b-12 levels are good, so I know that's not the other possible cause.
Vitamin b-12 - 628 (normal range: 180-914) - so, this leaves the only causes for my macroblastic anemia being liver
disease or heavy drinking alone
Ferritin - 61 (normal range: 11-306.8)
Iron - 33 (normal range: 65-175)
Transferrin - 187 (normal range: 250-380) *this is especially concerning because I know that low transferrin can indicate anemia of a chronic disease, most likely liver disease. I can't really find any other explanation other than kidney problems or autoimmune disorders.
Liver function test:
AST - 26 (normal range: 8-40)
ALT - 29 (normal range: 7-35)
Alkaline Phosphatase - 36 (normal range: 38-126)
Bilirubin, total - 0.6 (normal range: 0.4-2.0)
Protein, total - 7.6 (normal range: 6.4-8.3)
Albumin - 4.7 (normal range: 3.5- 4.8)
Kidney Test:
BUN - 8 (normal range: 6-20) *this seems low!
Creatinine - 0.6 (normal range: 0.5-1.2) *This seems low, too!
Anyway, it seems like the results all point to liver problems, other than my liver function test. The doctor called me back and said that I am simply just iron deficient and need to take supplements. So, I was doing that until I received my lab results in the mail. After researching, I have found that with low transferrin, taking iron can be dangerous because you're at risk for an iron overload. So, I stopped taking iron. Normally, with low transferrin, iron and ferritin are high, but my levels are also low. And, I called the doctor because I was concerned about my MCV and transferrin.. That's not normal! He never even mentioned it and is now referring me to a hematologist.
Do these weird results indicate liver disease pretty strongly? I can't find anything else other than that. And, I know hair loss is a common symptom. I don't have any symptoms, other than that, really. But, I know that liver disease doesn't always affect liver function results, and you don't usually have initial symptoms. It just seems like the research I have done says those types of results are usually found in cirrhosis. Wouldn't that show something else if I had it to that extent? I don't know.. I haven't had a drink in 21 days now because I'm too terrified to drink anymore, and I plan on quitting for good because of this.. Any insight or thoughts would be greatly appreciated! Thanks so much.