Elevated ALT readings

Recently applied for medical insurance and had blood work donw by they ... I got an email that stated that my test results showed elevated ALT readings and therefore I was uninsurable ... can anyone tell me how to get these down .. I have been told that sometimes it is something we eat or take .. I had taken an herbal tea to cleanse my system for about 10 days .. every evening ... in contains SENNA .. my research shows this can cause readings to be effected ... I can retake tests, at my expense, and go through an appeal process to clean my records ...  

Or, there may be something terribly wrong with me, in which case I have no insurance ... I live on the central coast of Florida .. If anyone could help me I would be most appreciative

jazzgal

[jmjm530]

Well, first of all, you really should get checked out by a good liver doctor and find out why your ALT is elevated. Among other things, they may want to do a test for Hepatitis C, although there can be many other reasons for elevated enzymes.  Cannot emphasize taking this step very soon.

That said, I've been able to reduce my ALT over the years by going on a strict diet where total daily fat calories are under ten per cent of total daily calories. The diet I followed was called the Pritikin Diet. Keep in mind, this is just my experience and my enzymes were only mildly elevated. You mileage may vary.

-- Jim

[jazzgal]

Thank you  ... I will take your advise very seriously ... does anyone know of a good liver specialist in Brevard fl...

thanks again

[jmjm530]

Not sure what part of Florida you're at, but one of the better hepatologists in the country is Dr. Eugene Schiff in Miami.
http://www.hepatitis-central.com/hcv/drs/fl/miami.html

If that's too far to travel, maybe someone in Schiff's office can make a recommendation to a doctor more local. All the best.

-- Jim

[FlGuy]

Depending on your insurance and allowable providers...You can try the Shands Clinic at the Univ of Florida in Gainsville.  They have a Liver Clinic.  Try calling 1 866 548 3783 for information.  They may also have locations in Jax.  If you have a Pri Care Doc, may need to go through him.  Shands won't discuss appt. until they get a referral (if needed) and copies of records.  Univ. of Miami also has well-known clinic.  Or find a Gastro or Hepatologist in your area.

[sunspot]

There should be hep docs in Orlando. I assume you are in Brevard <i>county</i>?

Dana

[PasoPerson]

Your regular doctor can do further labs without a specialist.  Mine noticed my elevated AST and ALT.  Did a 2nd test and determined it was Hep C.  Did a 3rd test and determined the genotype.  Also did a sonogram.  THEN, and nly then, did I get sent to the Liver Care Center at Shands.

You can find out a lot before going to any specialist.

[jazzgal]

I thank all of you ... No, I do not have  a regular doc nor do I have insurance .... I will find a doctor next week and see what they say ... thanks again

[cuteus]

I didn't know you could fix your name without re registering! could you tell how?  anyone knows if we can change the password to something we can remember?

[FlGuy]

All I did was change the lowercase l (in FlGuy)to uppercase L.  When I access medhelp a cookie automatically signs me on to post.  All I did was delete the cookie, access medhelp and since there was no cookie I had to manually sign on again.  This time used the uppercase L, which set a new cookie.  So in the future when I auto log on it will be with the upper L.  No change to password, no re-register, just getting the 'l' out of there.  Just got to remember to do on other PC too.  All this cookie talk is making me hungry!