M.C.

[maeve0]

MY CHOLESTEROL HAS RISEN FROM 5.2 TO 5.8 AND MY GAMMA GT HAS RISEN FROM 76 TO 105 IN THE LAST 3 MONTHS. I AM A LIGHT TO MODERATE DRINKER AND AM  A 61 YEAR OLD FEMALE. ALL OTHER BLOOD TESTS ARE NORMAL. I HAVE NEVER HAD ABNORMAL RESULTS BEFORE. WHAT COULD BE THE REASON FOR THESE?

[sanchez7315]

Fatty liver disease?

[test2009]

Help me understand - what are the units of cholesterol in? I am not familiar with values of 5.2 or 5.8 - also is this total cholesterol? Usually these numbers are more like in the 100-200 range so I am just a little confused.

Your GGT is a little high, but what are your AST, ALT, and Alk Phos values? If those values are normal I wouldn't stress. Did you drink a day or two before you got your lab workup - if so it could just be a little spike from that (and thus no concern).

[Red_Star]

Cholesterol rises to protect the body from harm. Thyroid hormone is also necessary for the healthy metabolism of cholesterol so hypothyroidism is another cause of elevated cholesterol.

The most accurate of the liver enzymes to test for alcohol liver damage is Gamma-glutamyl Transferase (GGT). Elevated GTT levels can also be due to liver disease, congestive heart failure, and use of many prescription and non prescription drugs.





Elevated GGT levels may be due to alcohol consumption, liver disease or congestive heart failure.