Confused

[Friendlychic]

Hi all,

In November I had high alt and ast. After retesting they sent me for an ultrasound that came back ok. Doctor told me to greatly reduce my alcohol intake and that was that.

I have literally drank about 6 drinks since November and really really worked hard to break the cycle of drinking every day.

Last week I paid for a private liver function test. My alt is still high but has halved which was fab however my gamma is 110 which had reduced from 125.

I am so confused as to why this hasn’t reduced as much as the other tests.

I know that zero alcohol is the way forward which is my next plan of action. I have no follow ups arranged with my gp but can’t understand why the ultrasound came back ok but gamma still so high.

Thank you for reading

[AyrshireK]

Ultrasound only pics up major damage to the liver indicated by changes to the liver 'echo texture' and physical shape it isn't going to pick up relatively minor inflammation which is what would be indicated by your blood results. As you've acknowledged zero alcohol is really the way to go together with general improvements to diet, health and exercise. (There are more causes that alcohol for causing liver inflammation so if bloods persist in being out of whack with good clean living you might eventually want to seek further tests as to why these are out of range).

Guidance for Non Alcohol Related Fatty Liver might also be pertinent at this time (together with reduced alcohol intake - britishlivertrust.org.uk/in... )

It will all take a bit of time to reduce, not a quick fix.

Katie

[Friendlychic in reply to AyrshireK]

Thanks katie. I was so pleased as my alt had dropped from 82 to 42 but the gamma is still so high.

Yes I think I will ditch the drink completely then retest in a few months. Like you say that way I will at least know.

Thank you for your helpful reply

[patrick00032001 in reply to Friendlychic]

You may be insulin resistant like me, which means your liver isn’t as sensitive to insulin, this can create a slower metabolism which will over time cause mildly fatty changes to the liver. This can greatly affect your GGT, ALT and AST in the absence of alcohol consumption. You may want to have your doctor check your fasting insulin level which can be done with a simple blood test.

[Friendlychic in reply to patrick00032001]

Thank you. I will mention that. I called yesterday and he is also going to look at my cholesterol as that is always high as well although not high enough for statins. We have agreed to retest in a few weeks and see what happens