Elevated enzymes .. nervous!

[RP9090]

Hi - I am a 30 year old female. I had lab work done during pregnancy which showed elevated enzymes. AST and ALT were in the 40s-60s. They attributed to preeclampsia. I went for labs to recheck the values 6 weeks after delivery and they were now almost doubled. The ALT was 90 and AST was 80. I am so nervous. I have had no symptoms other than one discolored stool today (bright orange) although I did have carrots last night. I am hoping it’s nothing serious but worried about cancer. Anyone have any ideas while I wait for my appointment in 3 weeks?

[AyrshireK]

Hopefully you'll get some follow up soon to discuss your results. Changes in liver enzymes are quite common in pregnancy so I wouldn't be panicking at this stage or convincing yourself you have anything too severe.

Katie

[Wass71]

Hi,

Try not to worry just yet. You have certainly had a challenging time. Pre-eclampsia is a serious condition, and can cause considerable disruption to the normal functioning of the body. Raised liver enzymes is common due to lack of oxygen to the liver (as the pre-eclampsia diverts resources), which can result in some temporary inflammation.

During pregnancy you have a larger circulating blood volume, so your normal blood levels can appear a bit lower (ie more fluid same amount of cells), so now you are post pregnancy you have less blood volume the values may appear temporarily higher. It may take time for these two combined issues to resolve. If the liver is a bit inflamed after going though your difficult pregnancy, it should improve with time. The liver is a very clever organ and can regenerate and repair itself.

As long as the Dr's are aware, and checking your bloods over the next weeks and months then be reassured by that. As long as the numbers start to go down then that should be enough to demonstrate it was due to the pre-eclampsia. If they don't reduce or carry on going up, then an ultrasound scan of the liver will help to discover the problem. Pregnancy does cause bile to become more viscous, and bile duct blockages/gallstones and gall bladder issues are common. However that usually manifests with high ALP and GGT. Either way, wait and see, hopefully all will settle.

Good luck, best wishes

XWassX

[RP9090 in reply to Wass71]

Thank you for explaining that to me! That makes sense and makes me feel better. I spoke with a GI doc on the phone who my GYN referred me to and he is ordering an ultrasound to be safe. I have an appointment in two weeks for the ultrasound and an initial appointment with the doctor in three weeks. Now I’m being a hypochondriac and every small ache or pain, I attribute to liver issues !

[25laval in reply to RP9090]

xWassx provided you good advice. ask provider to repeat labs/peace will follow soon/

25Laval