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Liver function tests - ALT

I would be grateful for advice.

Does it matter if ALT are around 170? - been this for quite a while (year +) - had ultrasound scan and radiographer said it was ok - so cancelled the appointments with Doctor, and I think they have not noticed.  I am female around 45 kilograms.

Never been on a chat forum before.
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1225178 tn?1318980604
If I were you I'd ask for Hepatitis B & C antibody test. It sounds like a lot of the symptoms.

Better safe than sorry.
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1316972 tn?1274131228
My ALT is 170 and AST is 91...I had something similar to this around Oct. of 07' and it put me out of work for months b/c I felt sooo horrible. I don't know if it "just went away" or if I got used to it. I have chronic fatigue that has been "fixed" with pills like celexa, which still isn't fixed. I also have horrible sleeping patterns and can never get enough. The higher levels were found out Friday, so I am wondering what is going on. I went to a Gastrointestinal specialists last time (07') and he said it was "Epstein Barr Virus" wtf? I haven't worked in 1 week and 2 days (I am an EMT on the ambulance) and every thing I do wears me OUT and I get exhausted so easily. Can anyone let me know if this is normal to them or am I alone in this? Thanks...

Emtgrl
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Avatar universal
"it did not matter how high the levels were, be it 100 or 1000, that the number itself meant nothing and was
not indicative of more or less damage"

cuteus,

I was simply responding to what you posted. Higher ALT is indicative of damage occurring. And ALT that is ten times higher
(1000 v 100)indicates that a higher level of damage is occurring. The more cells destroyed = higher ALT. So I was in disbelief when I read that your doc said it was not indicative of more or less damage. Sorry if I miunderstood.
You take care,too.
PK
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Avatar universal
PKcolo;don't mind me too much sometimes, I am just getting some of my brain power and memory back, now that I am trying acetyl l carnitine, it is subtle,  but I think it is working. Califia mentioned it was used on stroke and alzheimer's victims with some success and I will try anything at this point. I want to remember things and correctly.
anyway, I see in an above thread that you have a pretty good sense of humor! quite funny post!


anyone reading; some ironic thing is happening with our little society finch, he seems to be experiencing liver disease, or so the vet suspects. But there is nothing that can be done for the little one, talk about ironic!
At least i know he did not get it from me, I hope.
stay well, everyone.
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Avatar universal
bottom line, if it is consistently elevated whether it is a high or low elevation, seek medical assistance.
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Avatar universal
no, YOU misunderstood the post, which does not surprise me one bit. I am not talking about vl or the relation to the enzymes level. I was stating that is the elevation itself, the fact that is out of the normal range, that is the concern of the hepatologist, not the number. HE stated that people freak out when they hear the ALT is 1000  more than if it was 100, let's say, but that we should be concerned more with the fact that it is out of the normal range because 1000 does not mean that the damage is higher than with the 100.  If that is still not clear, read Dr Bernsteins publications sometime.
take care
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Avatar universal
That doctor is either a quack or you misunderstood him. The higher the viral actvity the higher the ALT. Do you even know what ALT is and how it enters the bloodstream ? And why ? And what it represents ? The more ALT in the blood equates to more cell death in the liver. Sheesh.
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Avatar universal
One interesting statement my hepatologist made at the conference I attended was that it did not matter how high the levels were, be it 100 or 1000, that the number itself meant nothing and was not indicative of more or less damage, the fact that the levels were ELEVATED was the important factor, not how much. We have this belief that enzymes level are like blood pressure, the higher it is, the worse it is and the more harmful it is. But according to Dr B, is the elevation itself, not the number, that prompts further testing.
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Avatar universal
you are truly gifted what a  talent cant wait to see your updates.....
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Avatar universal
Well I feel that in order for your liver enzymes to be that high SOMETHING is going on in there and it's NOT worth sticking your head under the sand and letting it go until it's too late.

Of course that is a viable alternative and one a LOT of people DO in fact choose - just not me.
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Avatar universal
"My ALT and AST were in the 200s before I started treatment. "High liver enzymes like that means for some reason something is killing your liver and causing irreversible damage to it.

The ultrasound will only tell you if you have things like tumors - it wont show the fibrosis that most likely you do have with a number like that. I think you really DO need to find out what is causing the elevated number because it's VERY high and proves there is something in there destroying your liver somehow."


Let's not scare newbies needlessly. Above normal ALT readings are not necessarily causing "irreversible damage". In fact in most of the cases they are not indicative of that at all. ALT 170 is not "VERY" high. Doctors become concerned when ALT levels reach 5X normal on repeated exams. I also think it is more than presumptive on your part to predict fibrosis (scarring) based on the info given and further scares for no reason.

PK
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Avatar universal
I concur that based on what you've written, there's no reason to suggest you may have "irreversible liver damage".

First, your ALT is not that high. ALT readings are not linear and ALT 170 is not twice as bad as ALT 85 -- it is only considered slightly (and perhaps insignificantly) higher.

Also, ALT is not associated directly associated with liver damage. You can have abnormal ALT's with no liver damage and normal ALTs with Cirrhosis. In fact many cirrhotics have normal ALTs.

That said, the really important thing is to find out why your ALTs are elevated, because elevated ALTs can be caused my many different things.

So, if you haven't seen a liver specialist yet, now would be the time to really sort things out.  They're called hepatologists and can be found at your larger teaching hospitals.

Good luck and let us know what you find.

-- Jim
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Avatar universal
Tracy and Goldyn, Thanks ladies, I just hadda get those worda out so I had room in my head to focus. The dream kept replaying.
There's some stuff here. http://easysite.com/donnypics

Cajun- I'm  way behind reading here but I saw your reply to me
about disciplining the kid. Thanks I always feel like I'm just winging this thing(parenting). So afr I'm still havin a lot more good hours than bad hours so figure ADs as a backup. My mnetal staus was probably so miswired beforet tx thta they might backfire.
My eyes are more of a problem lately(blurrier). That I have to go see somebody for. Thank you.

Don
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Avatar universal

God has truly Blessed you with the gift of words...
I would love to see your paintings also.
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says.....Sometimes I don
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Avatar universal
Thank you.  Peace to you my friend.  I'm searching hard for that place today :)
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Avatar universal
Glad to see you're back...Let us know when you're published.:)
Is there a place online to see your artwork?...
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Avatar universal
The morning after the dream I woke at 6:30. By 9AM  my daily household chores were done.  I
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Avatar universal
I'm here alive and very well. Amazing 3 days.

I woke at 3AM Thursday from a very bizarre, emotional dream. It refreshed my hope and led me through a wonderful chain of events the next morning.

The Dream:
I was driving across town towards an area of Rt. 1 and colonial homes, where I use to tend bar. Something was wrong, detours and disarray. I parked in a field a
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Avatar universal
Where you been? You didn't take a header off one of those two story houses did ya?
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Avatar universal
I don't know if you have hepc or not but as said that's what is wrong with us (aside from being a little nuts :)

My ALT and AST were in the 200s before I started treatment. High liver enzymes like that means for some reason something is killing your liver and causing irreversible damage to it.

The ultrasound will only tell you if you have things like tumors - it wont show the fibrosis that most likely you do have with a number like that.  I think you really DO need to find out what is causing the elevated number because it's VERY high and proves there is something in there destroying your liver somehow.

Just try to relax and realize things go wrong with our bodies, it's part of life, and thankfully medical science in this day and age is getting better and better and we CAN fight the things instead of sticking our head in the sand and pretending they don't exist (what I wanted to do). And that would be the worst thing of all to do in the world.

Best of luck
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Avatar universal
We are not doctors but patients with hepatitis c here.  I will say based on what I know about the liver that your liver enzymes are way to high.  Is your AST high too? Do you know if they have tested you for hepatitis c?  You need to go back to see your doctor or ask for a referral to a gastrointestinal doctor.  Ask anyone here how precious a healthy liver is!  Please don't ignore those high levels.  That means there is ongoing damage being done to your liver.  You can get lots of good information on this board.
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