Abnormal Liver Test, am intensely scared.

I just wanted to knock this reply out in case it's reassuring to you.

There are all sorts of reasons for abnormal liver test results - many many reasons, and often they resolve themselves after a short period of time.

At this stage, if there was something serious up you might see some results indicating more serious disruption of liver function - doesn't sound like that's the case.

The chances are that the liver results that were elevated were liver enzymes. These enzymes are produced when the liver is inflammed. The liver can become inflammed for a number of reasons - have a few drinks for example and then take a liver test - but the liver is extremely good at regenerating cells and repairing itself - did you know you can cut half off and it will grow back!! True!. Also you can live normally with only 20% or so of your liver functioning. If however the inflammation continues unabated - from whatever cause - the damage leads to progressive scarring of the liver tissue and if it continues long enough cirrhosis, which is a fully scarred liver which can't recover (although even then it's possible to function quite well). In your mind you should separate the inflammation of the liver from the level of scarring. You may have inflammation but very little scarring.

So your doctor is right to check in case there is anything that has caused inflammation. So he can stop it. Fat can do this too so the best thing you can do now is to get as healthy as possible - you'll have to do this in any case so best to start now. If the cause of the inflammation can be found and dealt with then prospects are good as the liver keeps repairing itself and scarring short of full-on (and not early) cirrhosis can reverse.

Of course its entirely possible that this is a small episode and that the results will improve of their own accord. This happens all the time and is likely what your doctor is expecting.

So right now I'd say relax and focus on losing weight and being healthy, you don't have any reason to panic based on what you've said.

Hope that helps. Do keep checking back in here - it's a very helpful forum.

Best regards.

There isn't always an obvious cause for elevated liver results, mine have been up and down for 6+ years and despite further tests including s biopsy no cause has been found.

Are you taking any medications ? as some can cause enzymes to go up.

I ditto what MisterX has said, don't panic, may be nothing but a blip 😀

You need to stop researching ! and worrying ! if your doctor thought it was anything urgent and worrying you would be booked in now for scans and further tests, the fact that he has requested bloods in 2 months means he isn't worried you have something that needs immediate attention.

Yes I'm on meds for ulcerative colitis but stopping them for 4 weeks didn't improve results, my Gastro Consultant is not worried and I'm ok with that although after so many years it would be interesting to find out why but I may never know.

No point in worrying, waste of precious time and energy 😁

Yes I'm in the UK, no liver symptoms at all but I have high alkaline phos, ALT and GGT, never drink alcohol or smoke and I'm normal weight so its a bit of a mystery. I'm waiting for an ultrasound appt to compare with one I had a few years ago but doc is not expecting to see anything

Hope all is OK and good luck

X

I always thought paracetamol was bad for the liver. Turns out ibuprofen is just as bad, if not worse. Also elevated liver function tests can indicate gallstones! I'm having my gallbladder out 2 weeks today. Had high readings of LFT for years. Was told it was due to alcohol but I don't drink much anymore so never really believed that. Anyway I have mild fibrosis which I have to live with, but managed to clear the fatty liver up. But ultrasound showed 5 large gallstones. When you diet and alter your nutrition by training and weight loss etc this can lead to gallstones so always take your time and lose weight sensibly and slowly. The only way to lose weight is reduce calories below what you require daily. It doesn't mean eat lettuce for every meal. You could eat 1500 cal's of donuts a day and lose weight. As long as you burn 2000cals a day. Anyway eat healthy for next couple months. Do some light weight training. Don't bother running, that's not how the body loses weight. Lift some weights. Work the muscles to burn fat efficiently. Even 20mins 3x a week.

Have an ultrasound if you're really worried. NHS will charge £113 for the latest one including the bit which checks liver flexibility. (For fibrosis)

Take the supplement N-Acetyl Cysteine. It's an amino acid and 600-1200 a day is good. Holland and Barrett stock it.

Most of all, unless you're galling asleep tired all day long, have gone yellow and have pale stools, I'd not worry.

Good luck and don't hesitate to ask questions on here. There are a lot of knowledgeable folk.

I had elevated ggt (410) had elevated alt and ast. I have mild fibrosis. F1-f2. No fatty liver. I spent 950 on blood tests and all came back clear. hep a b hiv etc strangely my high results were from blood samples taken after a night in a hotel both times, large meals +dessert, and a large cooked breakfast, stuffed my face basically as I was told it wouldn't make any difference to the results. (No alcohol involved at all) results were high. Turns out the gallstones can give high results. Have you been checked for gallstones? 20% of the UK population can he expected to have gallstones and these will give you high LFT results. Before you start to panic or go running to a&e (a&e is for people in emergencies who are basically dying and you aren't,) let a&e alone and go revisit your gp, explain your concerns and ask for referral for an ultrasound scan on liver and gallbladder. Worst case it'll cost you £100 but it may put your mind at risk. Whatever you do, don't start googling things. Especially if you're a worrier, which is how you're coming across. Sorry for saying it. If you aren't in pain then no a&e. If you feel OK and don't have the obvious liver problem's and symptoms then speak to gp first and request a quicker service to put your mind at rest. Sorry for being blunt.

Hi Jjjo1,

When I first complained of pain in my liver area my Dr. tested for everything right off the bat. My liver was also enlarged and could even be felt from a physical exam although I wasn't told that until I had seen the liver specialist and he said that it also showed up on my ultrasound too, which the GP's office had told me was normal. Anyway, they tested LFTs, Hep A, B, &C virus's (I had been vaccinated for Hep A&B years ago) and autoimmune antibodies and the results were flagged for mildly elevated ALP and AMA antibodies. A biopsy later, which turned out not to be an autoimmune disease but a fatty liver Dx., which is not great , but is usually considered benign and reversible. Sometimes Drs have a knack for creating unnecessary fear and I'm surprised he would just single out Hep's testing to you on the phone. Hes probably going to check a lot of things and see what comes up if anything. Also, if I were you, I would get copies of any testing that is done so that you know exactly what was done and if anything was abnormal. Please don't worry yourself too much and good luck with your tests! Please let us know how they turn out!

Hi Jjjo1,

The pain bothers me most I guess and I'm often fatigued too even when I get a good nights sleep, but I also have untreated hypothyroid Hashi's, which I think has played a role in the fatty liver too. And, to be honest I'm overweight and need to lose weight but haven't lost a pound yet. I could be doing better with that and work harder on my diet. To be honest even though autimmune liver disease (PBC) wasn't found its theres a chance that I could still have it or develop it in the future despite the negative biopsy and that scares me more than the fatty liver. But, I've had fluctuating liver enzymes for a few months now, I wouldn't put too much stock in one report unless it was really high. Do you have any pain or fatigue?

Hey Everyone!

Just for update, I got hold of my liver test result today. The ALT is 60 u/l (0 - 41) "High"

and the Bilirubin level is 41 umol/l (0 -20) "High"

These are the only concern the Dr have. I am suspecting Gilbert Syndrome for the high Bilirubin as the white part of my eye has forever been slightly yellowish.

And for the high ALT I am suspecting the ibuprofen and co-codamol that I used recently. My research reveal that ALT will usually be around 500 for Hep C or B or ALT could be normal in rare cases even with the presence of Hep B and C. Though some part of me is ruling out Hep B and C.

What do you guys think.

I found this answer from an online Q&A and the person had an elevated ALT of 84 and a high Total bilirubin (TBIL) count and this is the Drs response

User avatar Hi AR1,

It may turn out not to be your liver at all. ALT can come from red cell break down. The red cells that are broken release hemoglobin which is broken down into bilirubin.

If you have something causing your red cells to break down faster it can cause an elevated ALT and bilirubin.

Gilbert's syndrome would not typically cause an elevation in ALT. Rather it is an isolated minor elevation of the bilirubin.

I would recommend having your hemoglobin and hematocrit tested to see if they are low.

Best wishes.

Also, my liver book says that an elevated bilirubin is associated with worsening liver disease or with bile duct blockage (cholestasis) but with the bile duct it is ALP enzyme that is usually elevated. Possible causes lists various liver diseases, Gilbert's included, but also Hemolysis- Red Blood cell (RBC) destruction.

In answer to your previous question my ALT has only been elevated twice which unlike AST, ALT is almost always liver, I believe, except for hemolysis if my understanding is correct.. The first time in Aug of last year is when all 3 liver enzymes were elevated ALP "120" with 37-107 range, ALT "61" with 0-55 range, AST "47" with 15-46 U/L range were elevated and then in July my ALP "132", ALT "148", AST "85" same ranges. A couple of ALP isolated elevations in March of last year "114" and of Oct last year of "121" and in between all was normal. I hope he sends you for an Ultrasound that may give a better idea of what's going on, if not then maybe a biopsy if nothing else is found. Best of Luck!

Exactly the same happened to me and I had a 2nd blood test that came back abnormal and then they sent me for a scan which showed my liver to b slightly enlarged and the texture was course and now they say I have early liver cirrhosis and am just waiting to c a specialist an appointment that has been cancelled 3times by them with no explanation of why so I am stuck in limbo I do not drink or smoke

Wow this thread is attracting interest. Going back to your first post JJ, apart from not revealing what took you to the GP in the first place, you did reveal you were 2 St overweight. And that the GP, via an external examination, a medical history and a few blood tests made an initial diagnosis of "fatty liver". Which is a condition that fits with your weight. As all good doctors should, your GP is continuing with other tests to rule out other liver conditions, such as viral hepatitis. However, in my view, at this point fatty liver, or NAFLD is the diagnosis you have and the easiest one you personally, without medication or further tests, can start to self treat. By losing weight.

Stop giving yourself more stress and anxiety googling your symptoms - whatever they are. The only tests you say are elevated are ALT (this is only minimally elevated, people with severe inflammation have results in the 1,000s) and bilirubin which can go up if you are a tad dehydrated when the test is done. Running the same tests a week later will reveal no or little change and be a waste of money and time. Let the GP do their job which is leave a decent gap and then run them again to see if they were a "blip". If in 2 months you have lost weight, trust me, I will put a bet on the results will be better. As I said before,unless you can pinpoint a moment when you know you were at risk of Hep C or Hep B contamination/infection, stop stressing about this. The GP is ruling it out not implying you have it. They are quick relatively cheap tests to run.

Stop researching Gilberts, cirrhosis, viral hep etc and start researching a sensible diet for NAFLD and take it from there.

I got the call today from the GP that I tested positive to Hep B. He however wants a retest just to rule out false positive. Am very sad!!