Alp level

[Sadicat91]

Hi everybody, I've had 2 lft's via my Gp over the past 2 months which have showed Alp levels of 221 and 222 which my Gp says are slightly above normal. As a result I am having another lft in 2 weeks time. Should I be worried?

[Hidden]

It's hard not to worry when bloods abnormal but they do seem slightly eleavated . Maybe some further checks just to check or monitor bloods to see of they go up any. Try not to worry,it is slight and if anything then caught really early but could be nothing xx

[ThreeSmiles]

Hi Sadicat

Welcome to our great forum 🙂. Can’t say anything about your detailed test results. We are not really meant to state specific numerical results data on here... BUT that doesn’t mean you can’t use words like high or very high 🙂. So that “rule” is easily manoeuvred around 😀👍.

Then to your results. I have been through the whole liver issue process from A to about W now 😀 having had a Transplant about 15 months ago. And do you know no one EVER told me the details of any blood test results until after the Transplant and I never even thought to ask! I was probably naive in not doing so but..... My approach was to listen intently to what the Consultants told me, do what they told me yo do, and remember as much as I could which became increasingly difficult as time went by - with more and more bouts of HE (Hepatic Encephalopathy) so then had to rely on my wife as my memory bank. 👍

My thoughts for your specific comments are ask your doctor to tell you what he/she thinks the result indicates. If they don’t tell you ask again and find out what the plan of action is for you! The first bit of advice all of us will tell you is - IF you drink alcohol stop now - completely stop - no ifs or buts. Of course alcohol isn’t the only cause of liver problems by any means unfortunately 🙁. But even if alcohol isn’t the cause of your high liver function results you should stop anyway!

I do hope you will ask for more information and what your next move should be. This is very important for your peace of mind! Seriously.

Good luck on finding your way through the “minefield” ahead. I do hope your result is a temporary blip - that can happen too. 🤞.

Sorry to have waffled on so much 😀 - I might come back and delete a lot of it in a minute 😑

Miles

🇧🇧

[Janty701]

My ALP is raised at around 227. They are playing around with my anti rejection medicines at the moment but the specialist has also booked a liver biopsy in December as the MRCP and CT scans show the liver working well. They're trying to get to the bottom of what's causing it.

[Kristian]

At this stage there's no point worrying. Having consistently raised LFTs, such as ALP, suggests that further investigations should be pursued to try and get to the bottom of the cause. If your next set of tests are still raised then I suspect your GP will want to do some more tests to try and bottom out the cause. It may be something quite straight forward, you just cant tell at this stage.

When you next go to your GP just ask what the course of action will be if the tests are still raised. They may arrange for some imaging to be done or they may just refer you to your local hospital to get a more specialist view. That would be pretty standard practice in my experience.

[Wass71]

Hi, ALP is not liver specific, it is also released in bone is regeneration. If you have any bone issues that could be the source.

In my own experience I can tell you raised ALP is a blood test that is raised in those with PBC, Primary Biliary Cholangitis, you would need to be checked for anti mitochondrial antibodies which is (usually) required for a diagnosis of PBC. It is generally a very slow progressing condition. It is quite normal to wait and recheck the bloods over the course of a year and see what the general trend is. You may find its just a blip, and they return to normal.

Try not to panic, as I said it could be nothing, just make sure your Dr keeps an eye on it.

Best of luck

Wass x

[Hidden]

Sadicat91, my ALP was more than double this before diagnosis and since then fluctuates by ten or so but remains under 200. A world-renown hepatologist says he's relaxed with 200 for his PBC patients. Like Wass, I'm one of these patients.

In any event, nothing to worry about because you are already doing all that's possible for a cause to be identified and treated if necessary. Best wishes, stay calm!

[Sadicat91 in reply to Hidden]

Thanks everybody for your very helpful replies.

Here is my full story -

In April 2017 After years of trouble I had my gallbladder removed via keyhole surgery, The operation was difficult and I was in hospital for 4 days recovering.

I had no problems for a year but then in May 2018 I was rushed into hospital with severe pains in my upper rh side and a temperature of 40c. Scans showed that I had a 6x4 cm collection of fluid between my liver and lung and my ALP was 700. The Consultants opinion was that all the fluid had not been drained away following my gallbladder removal.

This quickly became infected and turned into pneumonia. They operated on me to attempt to drain the fluid. However they were unable to drain all of the fluid as it was dangerously near to my lung. So I was treated with IV antibiotics for 7 weeks, 3 weeks in hospital and 4 weeks at home. By the end of this period I was much better and all my vital signs were back to normal.

In August 2018 following another CT scan the Consultant said that he was happy with the result and that only a small amount of fluid remained he said that this would disperse naturally and that there was no need for him to see me again.

Since then although I'm 77 I have felt very well with no symptoms at all. I suspect that a scan may show the possibility of the remaining fluid still annoying my liver.

Thanks for reading and for your replies.

[Hidden in reply to Sadicat91]

Thanks for the update Sadicat. I'm pleased it sounds so much like everything is going ok. At a recent haematology consult, after much pressing, I did get an admission that a test can differentiate between Alk Phos that's raised due to bone breakdown and liver causes. The HU bone site, if it turns out you have a bone issue, is well worth looking at if you are prescribed meds to prevent bone breakdown.