Specimen was Lipemic ????

[TashaZZ]

My alt came back good at 42 but under the results the following statement was written  "The above test was performed; however the specimen was lipemic."  Does anyone know what that means?  Thanks

[Brat53]

I use to do bloodwork for a living. When blood is spun it separates the serum from the cells. Serum is clear and slightly wheat colored. When blood is lipemic the serum is cloudy. If it is highly lipemic it will actually form a lump of fat that has to be removed and the specimen respun. It can be a disease marker or the patient ate very fatty food.  Coming in after a large meal of fast food will make your blood cloudy.  If it is still cloudy after a 10 hr fast they may want to check for possible disease or you may want to rethink your diet if it is high in fat. Fat will start to form plaque on the walls of the arteries and cause blockages.

[austriank01]

it means fat in the blood

[labtechjen]

Just to help..Lipemic means: after we draw your blood, And spin down the cells to seperate your redblood cells from either you plasma or serum,depending on type of test, the part thats seperated from the cells looks like a thick milky pink color.  Most likey because the patient either has very bad and or alot of fatty cells floating around in your blood/ and or ate a very fatting meal before the blood was drawn.  thats all.  if its too thick to read we have the doctor get a redraw.  No worries, i see it everyday all day.  In healthy people too.

labtechjen

[TashaZZ]

Thanks for the clarification.  The blood work that the Dr. ordered did not require fasting.  I did the cholestreral test before tx.  I will ask him if I should be tested again.

[l-horn]

That's too much. I only read the prime numbered posts.

[jmjm530]

How's your dad doing? Did they find out why he was retaining so much water?

-- Jim

[jmjm530]

To save time, I generally only read the odd number posts, but thanks for the heads up.

[ladybug52]

But it was already posted in C-4

[jmjm530]

" Lipemia can falsely elevate ALT and AST. Additionally, it can indicate that the patient did not adequately fast for 12-18 hours before having the specimen collected. In this situation, glucose and triglycerides will be elevated."
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http://bioreference.com/specqual.htm

[Bill1954]

OK, *definately* and *defiantly*!!

[Bill1954]

Lol, our posts keep crossing! Yeah, I kinda remember he might have jumped the gun a little a while back

[ladybug52]

I didn't see your question till I posted mine to you. I don't know yet about the bugs. I was tested a week ago Friday and waiting for results. Had a heptimax, blood work looked ok, my cholesterol was higher than ever, I think it might have something to do with my tx  diet of rocky road!
Bug

[ladybug52]

I'm sure you're right (words my husband never hears) I know a little knowledge makes me dangerous, I go on assumption a lot. I was looking thru the archives and several other people have gotten that lipemic lab result, you explained it well. I just know lipids from some science class, plus what is the name of the procedure where they draw the fat off thru surgery? Little words escape me, but I think defiantly sounded better.
Trigger was so hot, then he posted to only you weeks later. He said" Any other words but I'm sorry are complete fluff" . I feel bad for him, I always wonder what happened next like I'm reading a novel: Did his mom give him money again? Did he tell his brother where to go? Is his son able to complete his tx for cystic fibrosis? (these are all Trigger related questions, based on what he told us abouthis life)
Always good to see you name here, you kinda come and go, but always have a lot of good info.
Bug

[ladybug52]

From what I understand, the blood goes through a centrifuge and the plasma looks cloudy. Not an experts answer by any means.

Bill: I've been waiting for you to resurface! Triggertime posted you an apology a few weeks ago and then hasn't posted again. Do you know what I'm talking about?
Bug

[Bill1954]

Just saying hi-- you're still bugless, I assume?

[Bill1954]

Ooops, after a re-read, you're obviously in treatment; hang in there,

Bill

[ladybug52]

Long nails--great! I don't have long or strong nails but a soft hair brush did well!
gjonez was right to ak if you fasted first. My blood sugar came out really high once and I immediately thought I was diabetic! Fasting blood sugar was a lot lower.
You have a great attitude! Hang in there with those long nails!
Bug

[Bill1954]

Hi Tasha;

I don

[gjonez]

Hi TashaZZ,

I Googled "specimen was lipemic"

http://bioreference.com/specqual.htm

"Lipemia can falsely elevate ALT and AST. Additionally, it can indicate that the patient did not adequately fast for 12-18 hours before having the specimen..."

[TashaZZ]

Before I started this fun fest my cholesteral and everthing except the elevated liver levels were normal.. Do you think it could just be another side effect?  I tried looking it up but it didn't seem to be related to hep so I wondered if it was just another possible sx.  It is hard to tell what is a sx, allergies, cold etc.  On a positive note sides are getting better and my fingernails are getting long and strong.  Better to scratch with! Thansk for trying to firgure it out !

[ladybug52]

I'm sorry to even try to tell you what it is, when I'm not a dr. But it really does have something to do with fat. I don't know how they tell with a blood test, it seems like you would have to have a biopsy for that.
Well I just searched and lipemic blood can be a result of low thyroid function. Not saying that it is, just that it means you have high LDL in your bloodstream, which is the bad cholesterol. Have you had your triglycerides checked too?  Talk to your dr, try not to worry.
Bug

[ladybug52]

I'm guessing lipemic means having fat? Lipids= fat, have you googled it to find out?
Bug