GGT

Diagnosed about 10 years ago with increased bilirubin..

Liked to drink my Duvel and my wines..

5 years ago hear that my GGT is way too high... so questI ones about my drinking.. surprising, because didn't feel like a drinker..

In 2014 had an echo. . Liver in perfect condition, expect for the GGT- values.. 300+

Then became expat in W-Africa for more than 2 years.. wine and beer...

After coming back to Belgium still a GGT of 286..

ALT and AST OK. .still last December..

Went back to Africa and had my drinks.. arrived in Belgium and stopped drinking from 16th of April till 24th of July.. (100days)

Went to my GP on 14th of June.. GGT lowered to 188 but ALT and AST slightly increased.. (however withing the ranges, but close)

2 weeks later I take this results (was complete blood-results) to the hospital in Leuven.. a highly rated hospital... they see the results and almost comfort me.. nice decrease of the GGT.. AST and ALT still within range.. everything looks good.. let us take new liver blood tests..

2 weeks later I hear from my GP that GGT has increased again to 204.. ALT and AST remained the same.. bit bilirubin almost doubled.. no drinks at all, but I was taking 2 tabets of Zolpidem every night between GP tests and hospital tests.. in hospital they touched my feet, my belly, my liver.. all seemed fine.. and now because of the increase of bilirubin and GGT they want a new echo in November.. Should I be scared??.Read less

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It's easy to get worked up when you get a health scare (I know I did!), but try to stay positive until you've had a proper diagnostic done.

With no other ominous symptoms going on (fatigue, swellings, bleeding, jaundice, weight loss), your worst case scenario may be your doc advising your drinking days are over. Most X-Drinkers do remarkably well provided they clean up their act before they become acutely ill.

This said, living with a GGT that is perpetually 3-5 times normal probably isn't something you want to continue to ignore. I had my GGT done back in my drinking days, and the highest I ever popped was around 160 after a boozy vacation. If you're not drinking more than around 6/day, GGT really shouldn't be into triple digits.

An advanced diagnostic like fibroscan might be wise, particularly if you're not planning on going teetotal any time soon. Alcohol related iron accumulation can also cause a persistent GGT elevation during periods of abstinence. An iron lab (ferritin & Iron Saturation blood labs) would rule this out. If your liver is in good shape (normal fibroscan) & iron is high, this is easy to treat with phlebotomy (blood donation), and should get your GGT back down into double digits where it belongs.

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Thanks for the info.. appreciate it..