Why can blood tests be so different on retest 4 weeks later & better not to react.

[kkatz]

Well 4 weeks ago I had liver tests that showed ALT over the recommended levels.Sent docs & myself into full reaction level.Chat with nurse & pharmacist re diet & medication.Retest results back perfectly fine.On first test Alt 42 s be less than 40 .Today's result 27 without making any changes.Only thing different time of day.

Just to let people know wait till retest before panicking.

[BobD Volunteer]

Totally agree. My platelets came back raised recently and generated all sorts of tests, x rays etc looking for cancer, all of which came back negative since when it all went very quite and no further response from GP. Sometimes ignorance is bliss.

[mjames1]

For ALT, the difference between 42 and 27 is negligible and could simply be lab variance. But you're right, never make changes based on one lab test, without re-testing.

Jim

[Autumn_Leaves]

Good advice. A lot of people panic when they have even a marginal blood test result and are convinced there’s something wrong. Abnormal tests should always be repeated if there’s any doubt, just to make sure there’s nothing untoward. It’s the longer term changes and whether there is any upward or downward trend that matters, not just one blip. With LFTs you can’t take one of the tests in isolation, it’s always in relation to the other LFT results.