10.3kPa reading...should i be worried

[PhiliP2790]

Alt reading of 135 and fibroscan was 10.3 kPa. Serum feretin level of 825. Diagnosed with NAFLD. should i stop drinking completely?. Drink around 20 units per week at the moment. Excercise by cycling 8 miles a day. Don't smoke and healthy diet.

[Hidden]

A FibroScan score of 10.3 kPa suggests that your liver is heavily fibrotic & not far off cirrhotic. The score may however have been inflated due to your liver being inflamed. Stop drinking immediately if you don't want to die horribly from cirrhosis. With an ALT of 135 and a ferritin level of 825 your liver is inflamed & unless you do everything possible to settle it down it may pass the point of no return and become cirrhotic within a few years. You need a lifestyle overhaul before it's too late.

[Hidden]

Hi PhiliP2790

We would suggest that you consider making an appointment with your GP and discuss your blood and fibroscan results.

Are you under the care of a liver specialist? If not, you may want to consider requesting that referral as well with your GP. It is important you understand the stage of liver disease you have, get specific guidance and have additional investigations into the cause of your serum ferritin and ALT results.

Are you in the UK? If you are drinking 20 units a week, you are already exceeding the Department of Health's guidelines of no more than 14 a week.

If you have a known fatty liver, and if you do not abstain, or reduce the amount of alcohol you consume, you are at risk of developing serious liver damage. We suggest you talk to your own doctors about this matter.

Here is a link to our publications on alcohol and liver disease and also Non Alcohol Related Fatty Liver Disease (NAFLD) for you to read.

britishlivertrust.org.uk/wp...

britishlivertrust.org.uk/li...

We hope you seek out the specific medical guidance you need from your own health professionals and that you find the forum a supportive place to visit.

Best wishes

Trust1

[Porphyriamaniac]

I would pack it in totally mate, that ferritin and alt level is high but should drop if you abstain, the fibroscan score too maybe. I've been having treatment for high ferritin, once my ferritin lowered, so did my alt. Your ferritin and alt is likely high from some sort of inflammation, get rid of anything that could factor in this(20 units a week) and if it's not rectified and lowered after a couple of months, ask for further tests. All the best, Stacie. Xxxx

[Hidden]

I'm afraid anytime you've got liver issues going on, even moderate alcohol consumption has to end.

Your high ferritin may be an artifact of NAFLD, as rapid liver cell turnover spills liver iron into blood. Inflammation can produce a false positive for iron overload too.

This said, anytime you've got ferritin more than double normal, a full iron study including transferrin saturation (aka iron saturation or TSAT) is wise. Ideally, TSAT should be in the middle third of the normal range. When TSAT is high, or nearly so and ferritin is also substantially elevated, this strongly suggests a substantial iron elevation.

Men tend to accumulate iron as they age, & alcohol consumption increases absorption of dietary iron, which aggravates this issue. Alcohol & high iron are a bad mix, and can contribute to alcoholic as well as non-alcoholic liver disease.

There have been studies done to try and determine whether iron reduction might help with NAFLD with mixed results. A referral to hematology might be helpful, as these doc's know best whether iron reduction might help. Therapeutic phlebotomy can quickly lower an iron elevation, & it would be great if this might halt progression of disease.

Please insist on a full iron blood panel from your GP, & a referral to hematology if TSAT confirms iron is high. When GP's see high iron, they tend to shrug their shoulders and say "oh well, common problem with liver issues". When a hematologist sees high iron, they tend to say "let's treat it and see if it helps". If my iron labs were coming back high & my liver showed signs of distress, I'd want to try any legitimate therapy available that might help resolve the problem.