Ast 61 Alt 41 everything else in perfect range....

[Katesss]

Hi! Due to a muscle injury in 2017/2018 I had my blood tested frequently (like 20+ times) and liver enzymes were perfect. April 2018 Ast 23 Alt 21 (all normal). I do drink frequently and had another injury with my spine and pelvis causing limitations in mobility and depression until November. After getting cleared to workout, I started getting it together and seeing a functional medicine doctor in December. Test result came back from bloodwork with Ast 61 and Alt 41 (the Alt was still in high normal range). I was on vacation and binge drank the weekend before my test and even thought I didn’t drink Monday-Friday, I was sick with a cold and taking sinus meds before giving blood Friday. When I was talking with my doctor about my results he was completely calm. Said I need to get my diet right, take liver detox (milk thistle and other supplements) and then come back in a few months to test again. I decided to stop drinking to allow my liver to heal and it’s been two weeks. I’m going crazy with stress and was wondering how long does it take for mildly elevated enzymes to come down when abstaining from alcohol and is three weeks too soon to be tested again? Thank you in advance for your support.

[jojokarak]

You have nothing to worry about things will improve the result the doctors worry about and shows your liver is struggling is your alt

Just stay off the booze for a while eat and exercise and relax and just get your bloods done in a few weeks if that makes you happy 😊

[Hidden]

I would like to just point out that the use of Milk Thistle and the taking of supplements over here in the UK is rather frowned upon and people are advised against taking them: britishlivertrust.org.uk/li...

The liver is a wondrous organ that has the ability to repair it's self unaided. It's job is to detox the blood system and doesn't need to be detoxed it's self.

I have been looking into the world of supplementary liver detox treatments found on Amazon, and other online websites. It would appear that a lot of these products are both spurious and misleading. I have passed my findings on to a healthcare body, and am considering approaching a Consumer Association for further investigation.

Please don't waste your money, and remember, every tablet you take ends up having to be processed by the liver, if the liver is already damaged, further damage could occur.

[loveallpets in reply to Hidden]

Hi Richard, I enjoy reading your posts full of great information. I took milk thistle for a short time and while on it, my liver enzymes blood test came out nice and low but I always wondered if the milk thistle was falsely lowering my liver enzymes or was it really helping to heal the liver that's why enzymes went lower. I quit taking it because I thought it was falsely altering my test result. Do you recommend any supplements to improve liver health? for me, eating healthy foods, is the key.

[Hidden in reply to loveallpets]

Sadly there's no magic formula, or secret elixir that's going to make that healing work any faster. It goes without saying that any further risk of damage should be avoided. Too much damage, and scars will begin to form. As you'll no doubt now be aware, this scaring over time, can lead to fibrosis.

I was just like so many other people, as why l finally realised that my liver was now damaged, my first instinct was to want to make it better. I ask my consultant at the time, the very same question you'd just asked. I knew that the liver stored iron, and sl asked the consultant if l should take iron supplements? He went on to tell me that in some cases there can be more iron in a damaged liver, than in a healthy one.

Had l not had asked that question, l most likely would have taken iron supplements, not knowing the possible damage it was causing. My personal advice is to follow the advice of the healthcare professionals and don't go putting all your faith into Dr Google.

[Grank]

Did your doctor say to take milk thistle? It can possibly do more harm than good.

[Katesss in reply to Grank]

Yes. He said that will help take some stress off my liver and allow it to process whatever it needs to process.

[Peter_Plymouth]

Having seen positive and negitive comments on this thread regarding Milk Thistle I thought I’d chip in my two penny’s worth.

I have taken Milk Thistle for around 30 years now and I consider this along with diet and healthy lifestyle to have allowed my liver to make it this far before needing a TP.

I was recommended Milk Thistle by my liver consultant - she was head of department at Oxford - and I only have two recommendations. One, you make sure you inform your local team so that they are aware of all medications you are taking, two, that you ensure that the Milk Thistle is from a reputable source. This means that it must carry the THR kitemark in the UK (more details here gov.uk/government/publicati... )

This does make Milk Thistle more expensive but at least you know exactly what you are getting and that it is consistent batch to batch. Yes you need to be careful what you take as it is all processed by the liver but this is one thing that can help. There are a number of peer reviewed published papers in the medical press supporting the use of Milk Thistle in liver disease.

Peter

[Katesss]

UPDATE: My AST and ALT were both back down to 16. Doctor doesn’t know if it was the exercise, but assumed it was caused by that. In regarding my sister, she relapsed and has been in the hospital for the last month. This time she caused herself brain damage and has lost her ability to speak and now has brain leasons. Whatever caused my enzyme spike was a blessing for me to wake up and put my health above all else. Many blessings to you all!