Newbie, with question on how long to wait to get fibroscan after cessation of drinking?

[Yourmomontoast]

Hi everyone. Recently had a blood test that showed high lfts ( alt 97, ast 47) had another test a month later and alt 44, ast 26. I quit drinking alcohol and started exercising and eating a strict liver friendly diet. I saw a gastro and hepatologist that weren’t very concerned with my numbers, even given my history of heavy drinking on and off for 10 years.( anywhere from 3-9 beers a night) but with periods of abstinence in between.) just wanted to know what would be a good time frame to get a fibroscan done? I quit drinking just over a month ago, but don’t want to get false results.

[Owlie]

Hi, I don’t know about the timescale, have you asked your Doctor? What I do know is the healthy eating, exercise, weight loss and the fact you have stopped drinking will help your liver hugely. It did mine, blood results went into normal. There have been quite a few posts recently where people have improved the health of their liver by eating more healthily and exercising, me included, and I think that’s brilliant as it doesn’t seem to be Widely publicised. I have only had 1 fibroscan, have you had an ELF blood test done? Mine was high initially then started coming down as I got healthier, it was very accurate when compared to my fibroscan result so perhaps you could ask for that? Hope this helps, Owlie

[Yourmomontoast in reply to Owlie]

Thanks for the reply, but can’t get an ELF due to the fact that I live in the US. Will keep up the liver healthy habits, and will push my dr’s to do more testing.

[whodunnit_author]

Not sure how representative this is, but I saw my hepatology nurse five weeks after hospital discharge, and she did a fibroscan then. She said that inflammation has to reduce enough before doing the test, so I guess it's down to your medical professionals to advise. Best wishes

[HermioneGranger]

I would say two months (or more.) Considering the rate at which your LFTs have reduced, and where they stand now, another month or two should see them both well back in the normal range, so inflammation would no longer be a concern. Were you tested for GGT as well? That's often high in drinkers and with any luck would also come down at the same rate.

[Yourmomontoast in reply to HermioneGranger]

They didn’t test my ggt. I’ll push to have further tests done. It might be complicated by the fact that I’ve been in and out of the obese range since I was a teenager.

[HermioneGranger in reply to Yourmomontoast]

No worries, Fibroscan has a very well-reviwed XL probe for patients with BMI above 30. You should get an accurate reading.

[anon_username]

In the U.S. ask your hepatologist for a FibroSure test. It's a blood test that can tell you everything you need to know about the state of your liver and much easier to get. Your doc should have no problem ordering it along with regular blood work. Said to be as accurate as a biopsy. I just had mine done and waiting on results currently. I must say, though, be prepared for quite a few vials of blood to be taken. Drink lots of water before.