Lowered ALT

[Marcia2202]

One months ago my ALT was 136  today it came back 56. Could it be because I have eliminated all toxins from my diet since I was diagnosed a month ago? I've gone 100% organic with food, creams, shampoo etc. Am only drinking filtered water and showering with filtered water, too. What I have understood is that ALT scores don't really mean anything much.

Thanks, Marcia

[Marcia2202]

Isn't she...

Best wishes to you too. Hope you will be able to decide on doing tx. They say the earlier one treats, the more likely it is to get rid of it. But maybe waiting for telaprevir is a good move, too. God bless, marcia

[pitter]

you are just too dang funny!!!

best wishes to you Marcia.

[Marcia2202]

I think you have just as much commitment, if not more. I've read what you went through with tx. The whole bozo thing, etc. That's tough and that does take a lot of commitment and strength. And then you always have kind words for everyone on the forum. And a lot of humor.

Thank you so much for the kind words.  I'm a bit of a health freak and have been for a while. Yes, in the beginning it was difficult, but I like challenges. And it always felt so good when I didn't give into what I was craving for. Like mars bars etc. Gummi bears, ice cream. It's funny how one changes after some time. Wouldn't even eat that stuff, if one paid me to now.  I think that it's all in the mind, seeing certain foods doesn't trigger the crave anymore. That's why it was easy to do the last few adjustments one month ago. The milk products, were the last thing I quit, but I was starting to feel sick after even having a bite of nice French raw milk cheese.

But now I understand why I have been doing it. It's funny, but obviously the preparation has been leading up to finding out that I had this little dragon neatly tucked away, maybe since the early 80's. I hope it will not be too ferocious when it becomes unleashed..... But I think I've got a lot of little swords tucked away, too. And you guys all have big ones, so I might ask to borrow them.  

I've never worn make up on a daily basis, so that's not a problem. Anyway, Bare minerals is supposed to be all natural. Skin care creams have always been my passion, but I found an all organic brand from the U.K called green people, they also do soaps, scrubs, shampoos and conditioners. Now I just gotta find some natural organic hair color. And then I will be all set. My twin daughters were obviously happy, as they got all my stuff. They went home with a whole bag full of goodies. :-)

Hugs, Marcia

[meki]

Dang Marcia -- I wish I had just a portion of your commitment...

I dunno if I could break away from the freaking Pringles...

I have to have my coffees with cream... and I have to wear enough make up to make Tammy Faye look like she's wearing nuttin.

LOL!

I'm not joking either.... I'm just maybe a better makeup artist than she is... LOL!

You're amazing for being able to do all of that. WOW!

Meki

[Marcia2202]

Haven't had a sip of alcohol, nor a cigarette in 10 years. I also have been vegetarian since. The only thing I've done differently, is stopping milk products, eating only organic food and throwing out all my creams and cosmetics. I exchanged everything with all organic stuff. I also bought new cookware, which is 100% toxin free. Obviously I have been doing something right. I also stopped taking anything with sugar or refined grains.

I'm so happy for you that you are SVR. It must have been a super long bumpy road. 72 weeks is a very long time. I'm still awhile away from tx. I am still waiting for my GT result and then I will have to go through the biopsy etc.

Thank you for all the valuable information.

God bless, marcia

[nygirl7]

I treated for 72 weeks and it ended about 16 months ago now. I have been SVR all that time, thank God!

If for some reason the virus isn't as active as it was in the past (say you used to drink or do drugs but now you do not) and it is low it sure doesn't mean you have no liver damage. You could have developed that at any time prior to the test. Mine happened to be very high when I was first diagnosed - I had no idea I had the disease - but as it turned out after I had my biopsy I was already stage 3.  I was very lucky even though that wasn't so great because in the years passed....I was NOT good to my body at all and went through quite a bit of drugs and alcohol before I grew up.

Knowing our liver enzymes is one way we can see what is going on inside. However with that being said they can just go up and down for reasons we don't see and on pegasys sometimes they don't go all the way down like they do on pegintron.

I hope that helps. Once you start treatment - you'll see them immediately go down to almost nothing most likely. And that makes you feel good!

Good luck!

[Marcia2202]

Thank you. I was not aware that the ALT count was actually representing the CURRENT amount of damage being done. That really makes sense then, since i have eliminated any possible toxins, since the last test. I'm not on tx yet, so it is simply my diet. I also cut all dairy products. That sounds encouraging and explains why people can have cirrhosis and low ALT.

Hope tx is not driving you to mad...

Marcia

[nygirl7]

They do go up and down and up and down but I wouldn't doubt at all that living a liver healthy lifestyle has helped you.

ALT and AST are important because they represent the amount of liver damage that is currently being done to your liver.  They do matter very much to us.  When I was diagnosed mine were in the 200s.  The first month I started treatment they went straight down to the low 20s.  The lower the better - consistent low liver enzymes is a great wonderful thing to have.

Good luck.

[Marcia2202]

Just found some interesting info

Normal ALT

Approximately 30 percent of patients with chronic HCV have normal ALT levels, and another 40 percent have ALT levels less than two times the upper limit of normal. Although most of these patients have disease that is histologically mild, some patients may progress to advanced fibrosis and cirrhosis. Experts differ on whether to biopsy and treat these patients. Numerous factors must be considered in recommending treatment, including favorable genotype, presence of hepatic fibrosis, patient motivation, symptoms, severity of comorbid illness, and the patient's age. SVR rates do not differ in patients with normal or mildly elevated ALT when treated with interferon monotherapy. Studies of PEG-interferon with ribavirin have not been completed in patients with normal ALT levels.

Do patients with normal ALT respond the same to therapy? Prior study found ALT could elevate during therapy.

Bruce Bacon, MD, St Louis University Division of GI & Hepatology, delivered a talk on patients with normal ALT at the NIH hearing which including response & safety of therapy: