Females 6 month pcr

[alwaysconfused]

To all you gals out there who were undetected at their 6 month post pcr, would you share your ast alt results please.  I keep reading that the upper limit for alt for women is 19 IU/ml.  I will have my 6 month test done at the end of May and my alt at 14 weeks post had climbed to 20 IU/mlfrom 13 IU/ml 4 weeks post.  Just curious to see what others have at 6 months post.  Thanks.

[merryBe]

ok, here lets unconfuse the issue....even if you are at 40 not 20 many docs will be perfectly fine with that.

why?

Is it ideal???

no, and ideal is the operative word used above so lets run with that.

what the general ideal is...is IF you don't have to take any other meds that are hard on the liver, and IF you don't have large sections of scar tissue remaining from your HCV that are still impairing your general liver function, and IF you are young, not old, and that cell repair is going on at normal rates and hasn't been impaired by a slower pituitary and/or thyroid function...and IF several other medical conditions that can and do effect liver enyzemes don't exist in you, and IF you didn't happen to eat any of the foods that induce higher liver enyzmes in the day or 2 before your draw.....

then yeah, you could say 19 or 20 would be ideal...but for the majority of HCV people some of the above IF's will apply.... and so a 30 or 40 is not that uncommon, nor does it mean you necessarily have more cell death than your body can handle, nor does it mean you have the virus back. It could be from any of the above.
The first suspect, assuming the virus is gone, would be other drugs, legal or illegal.
Everything you smoke or drink, every pill you pop can do damage...sometimes a lot.

To try and deal with high enzmes search in this forum for the P450 threads,...learning what drugs and foods to avoid can help your livers cell death to be lower (and ergo your ALT to go down). If you work in a toxic envirionment, inhaling any fumes at your work or hobby these can also raise your enzymes.

mb

[ladybug52]

I'm posting again in the hope that more will read this and post their lab results after treatment. I am very curious now to see if I'm abnormal and should be worried. I wish I understood IR more, if any one has input on the subject please explain it to me. Explain it in simple terms as I have a hard time wrapping my mind around the text book journals on the subject.
Thanks,
Bug

[ladybug52]

Yes, I am still UND. That was the one constant when my labs were all over the place.
My  dr was sure I was pre-diabetic. My fasting blood sugar was always elevated, but when I checked it at work, it was always normal. He finally ran an A1C and it showed that I was within normal limits. Now I wonder if I am developing IR.
Your name so-o-o describes me....the more I learn, the more I'm confused.
You've made me think by starting this thread. Thanks!.....I think, I have more to worry about now:)
Bug

[alwaysconfused]

Thanks for the numbers.  It's interesting that your alt went from 22 in June 07 to 44 in October and then back to 27 in May 08.  I guess they do bounce around a lot.  Were you UND at 6 months post tx?  What about one year post tx?

[ladybug52]

I finished treatment at the end of March 07.
Here are my labs:
                         AST          ALT
April 07 :            18              27
June 07:             15              22
Oct  07:              17             44
May 08:              17             27
Here's the real kicker:
Dec 08                28            64
I know that the December lab results had glucose, cholesterol and thyroid all elevated. The medical director where I work said that I needed to get my labs redrawn after I started the synthroid for the hypothyroidism.
I don't have copies of my latest lab, which is uncharacteristic of me, but the labs were normal I was told. I'm going to call tomorrow and get my latest lab report.
I'm glad you posted this, I'm a little anxious about my ALT now, although I was still UND
I treated for 16 weeks. I was genotype 2 and had been undectectable since week 3. I really felt like I would stay und, and treatment was driving me crazy. I know......I'm a wimp.

[kimmypoo2]

11 and 12
was mine and

[Marcia2202]

Oh, I'm not posting my numbers, 'cause I only finished tx a few days ago, so not relevant to your question.

[Marcia2202]

The upper limits Dr. D is talking about are the ideal upper limits. The upper limit shown on lab results are the so called 'normal' limits, which correspond to the 'normal' population, which might not always be all that healthy...

I have noticed that ALT also corresponds to what you eat and what you put on your body. Someone being on a liver friendly diet, 100 organic, no smoking, no alcohol, and 100 % organic products on body and household products will have a lower ALT than someone who doesn't. Does one live in a polluted area or not, etc.... any factors contribute to ALT levels, besides medication...

[alwaysconfused]

I wish more ladies would post their numbers.  I guess I have nothing to worry about looking at your numbers.  It seems like the upper limit of 19 for ALT for women that Dr. Dietrich talks about doesn't necessarily mean that you can't be UND or SVR if your numbers are higher than that.  Thanks again DSDgirl.  I'm sure everyone knows how nerve wracking it is to wait for your 24 week post-tx pcr.

[GSDgirl]

3/11/08--------alt--31
11/4/08--------alt--14
1/22/09--------alt--40

It seems to change around

[alwaysconfused]

Thanks you so much for responding.  I am so glad to hear that you are still UND.  Looks like you are SVR for sure!  It's also reassuring that your ALT was 40 at 10 months post tx and you are still UND.  Did you happen to get your ALT number when you received your PCR?

[GSDgirl]

My last complete blood work was 10 months post TX and my alt was 40.  My last PCR was 5 weels ago and I am still UND but I think at 6 months it was 19.  I was kinda worried.  

Denise

[alwaysconfused]

These are the upper limits that Dr. Dietrich uses on his video:

19 for women
30 for men

You can watch the video here:

http://www.mssmtv.org/player_alf/player.php?id=alf_2007_01

He talks about it at approximately 27 minutes into the video.

Now you can see why I am asking the question and why I am concerned.  I am really looking for women who have been undetected at 6 months post (or SVR as they call it) and have ALT levels post treatment that are higher than 19.

Thanks.

[merryBe]

20 is not the upper limit

www.labtestsonline.org

[lalapple]

i think alt was around the 20's not sure of ast but the lab results usually tell you the normal ranges so you can compare.

best of luck to you :)