Puzzled by my liver enzyme test numbers.

[Az_lady]

Hello...I am a 71 year old lady whose liver tests have been really out of whack for a few months.... Was in the emergency room about a month ago with low potassium and dehydration and my ALT was 1837! ...now it is 232 but my GGT is 177...the ALP is normal... I had one ultrasound that said that the gallbladder could be packed however a CAT scan in the emergency room cleared all that and the organs looked fine.... I do not drink at all ....gave it up two years ago .....used to drink wine ..... Any help on what could be causing this would be appreciated ....I feel fatigued but have no other symptoms ..... Thank you I have enjoyed reading your posts very much and I'm happy to be a part of the group ..ps the dehydration I experienced in the emergency room was corrected by my cardiologist who lessened a diuretic (furosemide) from 40 mg a day to 20 mg a day .Read less

[briccolone]

Hi welcome and well done on a very clear post with blood tests and symptoms

Could have been a virus as things are improving. Hi GGT related to bile ducts so gall bladder is a common cause but scans are good....plus no alcohol

..hmmm? There is a link between high GGT and heart issues but your specialist should be able to answer that. Maybe you have fatty liver which isn't showing on the scan....I had GGT levels similar to you're which didn't show. Any digestive issues?

[Az_lady in reply to briccolone]

No,no digestive issues....just fatigue.. am going back to the gastroenterologist today and they're going to pursue the high liver enzymes further .... Possibly fatty liver ...I ran the GGT issue by my cardiologist and it seems here in the US nobody has heard of GGT and heart problems....! The cardiologist office is not presently using GGT as a marker for that issue! I am hoping to get more answers soon ... The cardiologist's office did tell me to stop all Tylenol and ibuprofen that I use for osteoarthritis.... Thank you very much for your reply .

[Az_lady]

No I see an endocrinologist for the hypothyroid, so it's supposedly all balanced ! Thanks for your reply .

[Az_lady]

I was hospitalized for dehydration for one day and they gave me iv fluids and then my cardiologist cut the furosemide dosage in half but my liver enzymes are still elevated . Have stopped all Tylenol and ibuprofen for Ostearthritis and will be having an ultrasound of the liver in the next month or so... The gastroenterologist is ordering it ... The gastroenterologist said he's not really very worried that it's not his liver ! Thank you for your reply .

[Az_lady]

I agree with you that endos go by tests and not how you feel...and I agree that they should pay more attention to how you feel... But they don't ! I have stopped all Tylenol and all ibuprofen so that can't be affecting the liver enzymes from this point on.. The first doctor I saw was my primary care physician and he thought the elevated enzymes were due to a bad gallbladder and was strongly hinting that I should have my gallbladder removed and even gave me the name of the surgeon ..... Since I have never had a gallbladder attack ...ever! .... I decided to see my gastroenterologist instead of a surgeon ....the gastro doesn't think it's my gallbladder and is sending me for a liver ultrasound this month...he's unsure of what it is at this point... But at least he's not pushing me towards surgery!🙄

[Az_lady]

Thank you for all the replies.. Went in for a second abdominal ultrasound this morning ....Hopefully will have some results and learn what's going on in the next few days once they send the results to the Gastro!

[Az_lady]

Received the results of my second abdominal ultrasound .... I do have gallstones but haven't had any attacks ... The liver looks good which surprised me because my liver enzymes have been high ... The ultrasound found a small 8 mm pancreatic cyst on the head of my pancreas which could be an IPMN... That's another new story as those are usually pre-cancerous cysts so I hope it's not an IPMN... So I'm one more test into this and still don't know why I have elevated liver enzyme's and fatigue ! I see my Gastro next week for follow-up !The plot thickens!🙄