Newbie/Pain follower wanting to ask an opinion

[Cloud9-71]

Hi.... I hope you are all well. I am asking for a friend... no honestly I am! Who has a horrible ex who has emotionally abused her and is now taking her to court to try and take her son away. I have known her a long time and sometimes we have a glass of wine together and on rare occasions when neither of us has kids we may have a bottle.

A real unfortunate thing happened early this year and she found herself stranded and stupidly drunk drove and was caught.

This has formed the basis of her ex's gleeful attempt to stop her seeing her son. Shes more than fair considering and they are almost 50/50 share currently. He insisted on a blood test as he has said she has a problem with drink - and the GGT has come back at 75!. Everything else was in normal ranges. I am not stupid.... and I AM a nurse but certainly no liver expert. Is this the level of a heavy drinker? Surely something else would show. She had no issues taking the test and was looking forward to proving him wrong so is gobsmacked and horrified!

I want to advise her to have a repeat, those who have had a GGT test, drinkers and non drinkers- is this wise?

Shes a wonderful mum and the little boy is stuck in the middle not wanting to upset dad but clearly wanting more time with his mum.

Thanks

[GrandmaDylan]

You sound like a lovely, supportive friend. I'm new to this and don't drink but I hope that somebody better qualified can give you advice.

[Hidden]

Your friend's GGT is moderately raised at up to a little over double the upper limit of the normal range for a female depending on which reference range is used. Her raised GGT level is lower than you'd see in a heavy drinker or an alcoholic. It's probably raised because she occasionally drinks a little too much. Note here however that when I was a drinker and sometimes drank too much or too frequently I never had a GGT above normal in all of the many blood tests I've had over the years. It takes up to 6 weeks of abstinence for GGT to return to normal. It might take less time in her case because her GGT is only moderately raised. She should wait at least 2 or 3 weeks before having another blood test. Repeating the test straight away won't do any good unless the result was a testing error which is unlikely.

[Cloud9-71 in reply to Hidden]

Thank you... its reassuring - not least because I drink a similar amount !!!!!!!

[Hidden]

Even a moderately raised GGT like your friend has indicates that she's drinking too much. If you drink a similar amount to her then the same applies to you. You should both cut back on your drinking. The raised GGT should be taken as an early warning which if heeded could save both of you a lot of heartache in the future.

If the above warning doesn't scare you then perhaps the following quote from 'Dr. Melissa Palmer's Guide to Hepatitis & Liver Disease' will. I'm not suggesting that your friend has any of the following. It's a worst case scenario of what might happen if her current level of drinking continues long term.

"Some causes of elevated AP and/or GGTP include the following:

• Primary biliary cirrhosis

• Primary sclerosing cholangitis

• Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD)

• Alcoholic liver disease

• Liver tumors

• Drug-induced liver disease

• Gallstones "