High liver function test

[mikefed12379]

I am 30 yo non heavy drinker and i recently went to Drs due to high blood pressue and during which my liver function was high. ALT and AST i believe was what was high. One was at 48 and the other was 108. I know the levels are supposed to be between 5-45. My pcp says that usually two things will cause this. Heavy drinking and having hepatitis. I am totally freaking out over the new years holiday not knowing. How accurate would you say her assumption was? I wont know for about another few days till i get the HEP panel back... Any insight would be great appreciated.

[DD9th]

Thanks for the info.  The GI's didn't seem concerned about the alt/ast levels, they said they do fluctuate.  I just want to see them back in normal range!  Hopefully by the time I'm done with this (3 more months)

[chemister]

Pain meds are not stressing your liver if they are "clean" Codeine+paracetamol (Tylenol in US) will stress your liver in high doses. We have many drug addicts who take the hep C treatment with high doses of methadone, Subutex and morphine with the same result like people with no pain killers in Europe.

[chemister]

I read that you were UND at week 4, so you’re ALT and AST will go to normal after a while. Pretty sure about that. Drinking water is good, but very much (exaggerate) will also stress your liver.

[chemister]

My ALT and AST was little to high in 25 years. After treatment start the liver enzymes
level increases more. I am a RVR and get normal AST and AST after 12 weeks.
It is normal that these liver enzymes increase in the start of the treatment and go to normal after a while if you respond to the treatment.

[mikefed12379]

Thanks guys I appreciate the insight. I mean it could be any of the three A B or C or hopefully nothing at all. I was in the military from 1998-2004 and I figured I would of been required to have vaccinations in order to be accepted into the Navy or to get out of boot camp. Of course i was unable to copy my medical records before I got out.

[snadge]

even stress can raise LFT's - things you eat, excersize...

normal ALT and AST im aware of is 5-45 for both but normal figure is around 25/30 mark...  with this in mind I would reckon that your AST is high..!

ALT =  5-45 (normal 20-30) - yours 48
AST =  5-45 (normal 20-30) - yours 108

I dont drink or smoke at all or take any meds and my ALT was 90 and the Hepatologist said it was THREE TIMES OVER! and my AST was 60 - I of course had hep-c....

[DD9th]

Your levels are not so bad, so that should help you rest easy until you get more info from your doctor.  Mine where very  high:

Normal ALT = 0-65 (Mine was 210)
Normal AST = 0-37 (Mine was 143)

I thought that was over the top way too high (and it freaked me out so much that I quit drinking there right on the spot when I saw these results,and later did find that I had HCV)  

But I have seen some other folks posting here that were even higher than mine were.  So again, I think that while you should find out why yours are high, it might not be caused by HepC, but I would definitely find out for peace of mind.

chemister:
Do you happen to know what other medications can cause high ALT/AST?  I've been able to bring my levels down, but they are still high and I am wondering if it is caused by the pain meds I was taking.   I was UND at week 4, and still am at week 14, but my ALT/AST was higher on my last labs than the one previous, which was very disappointing to me.   Can drinking more or less water have an affect on this?  

[chemister]

High ALT and AST can come from different medicine. Yes alcohol, hep, sterioids and another drugs can result in higher ALT and AST. Your level is not very high, and tell your doctor what medicine you use.
Normal ALAT = 10 - 70 U/L    (you 108)
Normal ASAT = 15 - 45 U/L    (you 48)  These level is not very high.