High Bilirubin 1.9 and 0.5: Hi, I had a... - British Liver Trust

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High Bilirubin 1.9 and 0.5

sevastiancarrillo20 profile image

Hi,

I had a blood test on May and my ALT levels were at 113, then again in june and they were 100. So Doctor did an ultrasound and fatty liver was fpund eith boderline enlarged liver. I got in a diet for 4 months since May, and lost 30lbs. Went and got some more tests done and now my alt levels are at 44, and all other enzymes are normal, except my bilirubin, which is at 1.9 and 0.5. Doctor has now refered me to a GI doctor for some further investigation. I did some research and all the possible causes are freaking me out. I did go to a souna tge day before and was fasting for about 15 hours, not sure this could have caused my bili levels to be affected. Also I've had a little pain, not major, but it does bother in my right upper qudrant right on my rib, or maybe a tiny below it. Any clues? Also my gall bladder, pancreas and duct were all cheched back in June and all were normal. Not sure how eating healthier and losing weight could've made things worse. Now I can stop thinking about cirrhosis, canser and tumors abd every other terminal desease. Thank you, and sorry for the long text.

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sevastiancarrillo20
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18 Replies
jojokarak profile image
jojokarak

Hi as your other blood's have improved they won't be overly concerned bilirubin is always slow to come back to normal. You sound like you have done a fantastic job in changing your lifestyle and it shows in the improvement in blood's 😁 just keep doing what your doing and please don't Google it's the worst thing to do your doctor /consultant will just keep an eye on your blood's x

sevastiancarrillo20 profile image
sevastiancarrillo20 in reply tojojokarak

Thank you. Whst confuses me is that Bilirubin was normal back in May and ALT was high, and now Biliribin is the one elevated. And all other enzymes are normal.

Weegster profile image
Weegster in reply tosevastiancarrillo20

Hey there. Yeah mine have done the same. I was at a 99 for Alt and 66 for Ast now I’m at a 23 alt and 21 ast but my bilirubin is 1.7. So I freaked for a moment. I also have a mild fatty liver

Miche49uk profile image
Miche49uk

Hi there,

I'm a bit confused about the bilirubin result are you in the U.K.?

Well done on the weight loss that is excellent! You've achieved so much in such a short space of time :)

What is causing you the most worry? Google can be a recipe for sleepless nights...

Michelle xx

sevastiancarrillo20 profile image
sevastiancarrillo20 in reply toMiche49uk

Hi, thank you for response. I'm in USA. The normal range should be under 1.4 and under 0.4. Thank you, and yes, Google has dome that to me... I'm freakinvmg out.

sevastiancarrillo20 profile image
sevastiancarrillo20 in reply toMiche49uk

My biggest worry is that my GI doctor will find that my liver is failing do to fibrosis or cirrhosis or tumors or cancer... It just worries me that I had to be refered to a GI....

sevastiancarrillo20 profile image
sevastiancarrillo20 in reply toMiche49uk

Bili total converted to how I think it's read in UK.

My results were:

Bili direct:

0.5 mg/dL = 8.55 µmol/L

Bili Total:

1.9 mg/dL = 32.49 µmol/L

Hope this gives a better understanding of my numbers. Thank you.

Miche49uk profile image
Miche49uk in reply tosevastiancarrillo20

Hiya I think the site aren't too keen on anyone commenting on results as obviously there are so many things that cause liver issues and we aren't liver specialists either.

Mine was alcohol related and I know my bilirubin was 38 at the end of Feb and then went down to 17 so normal (for me) as are all my other results now. ALT too went from 175 to 87 to normal levels but that's just me and not to be compared, just giving you my figures and cause. I have also had a fibroscan recently and know the result of that too so hopefully all heading if not already back to normal.

I had plenty of symptoms.. first I was Yellow! Good indicator that something's not too good, second I was sick a lot, deranged liver blood tests, low level ascites, my liver stopped getting better so was given a pile of steroids, I lost just over a stone and had very weak muscles, everything tasted awful and I had no appetite for ages.. alcohol related Hepatitis, self inflicted injury that by removing the cause (alcohol - permanently removed) I still feel tired, bloated but that could be age/endometriosis/lack of moving about.. whatever.. I may as well throw a dart at a wall!

Best thing to do in my humble opinion is seek clarification. Try not to worry. I am very sure if they were very worried or felt you were very poorly you would be in a hospital. I was there 3 weeks.

I was under the impression that if a person literally doesn't eat at all,, then our bodies think we are starving and start storing fat... I could be wrong but when anxious I eat far less so with this in mind I at least try and have a banana or something whether I want to eat or not...

Consultants will look at the whole picture to determine diagnosis if any and won't just focus on one thing I'd imagine. The Mayo clinic seem to have a lot of info but so does the British Liver Trust.

Best wishes to you,

Michelle x

sevastiancarrillo20 profile image
sevastiancarrillo20 in reply toMiche49uk

Thank you, and glad you're doing a lot better.

I'm not yellow or any other symptoms, to the contrary, I feel great apart from a bothering upper right abdomen pain, not aweful, but I know it's there. I hurt 3 ribs a few months ago, so not sure if the pain is related to that or my liver or gallbladder or pancreas.

Thank you for sharing your story and giving me some good advice on waiting to see what the GI specialist finds. Just anxious that he might find something terminal. I know I might be a little extreme, this is what Googling has caused me.

But will try to stay positive, eating healthy and doing exercise.

Another thing that I forgot to mention is that I went to a sauna the day before my tests and was fasting for about 15 hours, not sure if this could've impacted my bili results in any way, since I probably was a little dehydrated.

Also I've had b12 and d3 vitamins deficiency, and haven't took my b12 since started eating healthier at my GP's request. Starting tp take b12 again now, since this might have somthing to do as well, at least that's what I found on Google, but not sure.

Miche49uk profile image
Miche49uk in reply tosevastiancarrillo20

Sounds good sevastian, I once cracked a few ribs, time is all that heals those! It sure did hurt.

Remember what was said in June, gallbladder, pancreas and duct all normal, hold on to the positives if you get anxious.

Anxiety is awful. My partner once had cholecystitis and was in chronic pain, a GP diagnosed it as a pulled muscle, 9 days of hospital with slightly yellow eyes, no sign of gallstones but an inflamed gallbladder (cholecystitis so don't google lol) the meds set him right again.. for him to go to A & E is unheard of!

If all else fails try distracting yourself! Gym sounds great, I used to be a daily swimmer before I had my daughter and I remember always thinking well I must be pretty well to do 30 lengths in half an hour :)

Michelle

sevastiancarrillo20 profile image
sevastiancarrillo20 in reply toMiche49uk

Thank you, you're right! I'll try to stick to the positive.

I just can't help thinking that I developed something in under 3 months, although I'm eating way healthier and working out a lot more. It doesn't make sense to think that after taking care of myself a lot more it'd make things worse.

But only time will tell... I have an appointment on the 27th. By the way... Had to schedule out of town, since there was no appointments available here in town until next year. I told this to my doctor and he said I can wait till next year since it's not urgent, but I opted to go out of town since for me the sooner the better...

Miche49uk profile image
Miche49uk in reply tosevastiancarrillo20

Crikey next year!!! Good for you I think I'd leave the country to get seen sooner than next year as I'd have no hair left! It's only now growing back again after malting like goodness knows what 🐶

sevastiancarrillo20 profile image
sevastiancarrillo20 in reply toMiche49uk

Yes, you're absolutely right. It's crazy... Luckily I found one and hour away for the 27th. Hope it all goes well, I'll be anxious until then and maybe will also have a few panic attacks, but I'll try and stay positive as much as possible. Thank you again, you've helped me vent and also helped me see and hope for a more positive outcome.

MisterX profile image
MisterX

Well done on the weight loss. Be sure to keep it down.

There are a number of reasons you may have had high ALT. The fact that it's come down is a good sign.

At this stage obviously your consultant will be best placed to investigate thoroughly but one candidate for the pain could well be your gallbladder - fast weight loss can lead to gallstones in some cases and they can be hard to stop.

Everyone on this forum will have gone through the process of googling to understand the results and then getting into a panic once they read all of the very serious things that may be wrong with them - but in reality - that is a very long road.

Almost normal ALT and slightly high Bili not a cause for panic just yet.

Good luck.

PS - Once you lose the weight a combination of taking care over what you eat and exercising will help keep it off.

sevastiancarrillo20 profile image
sevastiancarrillo20 in reply toMisterX

Thank you, and yes, I read that fast weight lost causes gallstones, hope this is not the case, but it would be better than something more serious. Also I didn't think it was that fast of weight lost, since I lost 33lbs in 20 weeks, which is about 1.6/week, but maybe that's a little fast for my body.

Hi,

Welcome to the forum, we hope you find it a supportive place to visit.

Regarding posting your test results;

Differences in normal range for different laboratories can make it difficult to compare or comment on individual test results specifically. This is due to the different brand of tests that are used and how these are interpreted. This may also be especially significant if you are not in the UK.

This forum is here to share experiences and provide support to each other and we would advise against posting any test results or asking for specific medical advice. This is not a medical forum and should not be used to try and make diagnoses or replace advice from your own medical practitioners who have a much wider view of your health and test results.

We appreciate how worried you are and hope you can still post with regards to support and information but it is against the rules of our forum to post test results and to ask for specific medical advice,

You may find The British Liver Trust publication on liver disease tests explained useful to read;

britishlivertrust.org.uk/wp...

However, it really would be best to discuss your test results with your own doctors who know you best,

Best wishes,

BLT Admin

Hi, just wanted to update this in case anyone finds it useful. I went to my GI doctor and his diagnosis was that I have Gilbert's Syndrome, (according to him, this is harmless and it's not considered a desease) It was a HUGE relieve to find out it wasn't anything that was going to kill me or make me sick for a long time or ever. He also congratulated me on losing 36.6lbs in 5 months, now my liver enzymes are back to normal. Thank you everyone for your replies, they were very helpful!

Also a little recommendation: Whatever you do when wanting an answer about your health.... PLEASE DON'T GOOGLE YOUR SYMPTOMS!!! Otherwise you could be miserable until you see a doctor. So please be calm, and wait until you actually talk to a specialist in person. Trust me, I learned this the hard way.

Thank you all! May God bless! Wish you all lots of health and happiness!!!

Miche49uk profile image
Miche49uk in reply tosevastiancarrillo20

Great to hear I wish you all the best xx

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