platelets

can you really have liver cirrhosis if you have normal values of platelets?

[AyrshireK]

Whilst low platelets are common in cirrhosis the fact someone has normal platelets probably wouldn't rule out cirrhosis. Depends what other tests are revealing.

Katie

[Hidden in reply to AyrshireK]

I've seen people write that you can have completely normal blood tests and still have cirrhosis. some test must be abnormal right?is it as everyone says that ast is twice as high as alt in cirrhosis? (alcohol)

[devkermeg in reply to Hidden]

The ratio is only of value when the numbers are out of range. Many liver Drs and Gastro Drs have made that comment on other sites

[Hidden in reply to AyrshireK]

another question, can a seHcat examination tell something how the liver works?

[AyrshireK]

In well compensated cirrhosis then bloods can return to near normal (my hubbies are ..... after an initial period of very deranged bloods - he's had a cirrhosis diagnosis for 10 years). Doctors may look at the AST:ALT ratio in someeone with known cirrhosis to help establish cause, usually when bloods are significantly out of range.Sorry until you posted it I have never heard of seHcat so can't offer comment on that.

Katie

[Hidden in reply to AyrshireK]

thanks katie for taking the time to reply!

[Aotea2012]

I have cirrhosis and normal platelets. My INR and thrombin times are also normal. I thought at one point that they must have got my diagnosis wrong. My ultrasound definitely shows cirrhosis though. My liver, whilst damaged, is still functioning ok. I feel very well and look after myself these days. No alcohol, good diet and exercise.

[Hidden in reply to Aotea2012]

how nice that you are doing well despite the circumstances! I've had a few ultrasounds, but then they checked the gallbladder. but I guess they had seen cirrhosis then too…

[Rshc]

whilst my partners platelets are usually low (although not dangerously so) he has had a couple of blood tests where the platelets came back up into the lower part of normal range. He definitely has cirrhosis

[Roy1955]

All the tests have been done and there's no indication you have cirrhosis.Its probably time to stop picking apart the individual tests and stop trying to convince yourself that somehow the Dr's have got it wrong.

[Cat-B]

Hi you need to talk to your doctor, be glad you’re platelets are normal, but what are your other bloods showing, you can’t look at one test in isolation. Good luck

[Hidden in reply to Cat-B]

my platelets are quite high, ast, sodium, apt time, creatinine are all normal. white blood cells have been high. and Alt has been a little over sometimes.

[LorraineLouise]

I have Cirrhosis, and always have high platelet counts

[kensimmons]

It possible but unlikely to have cirrhosis with normal platelet values. But one test alone isn't enough to really say. And like many tests they can go up and down. AST and ALT can go up and down by fifty percent the same day.

Other things besides cirrhosis can cause low platelets and be completely unrelated to cirrhosis. Pregnancy and arthritis and lymphoma will lower them as will some medicines.

Normal platelets is a good sign for sure, but no guarantee.

[islandanonymous]

I have cirrhosis and all my blood tests have been normal for years, including my platelet count.

[devkermeg in reply to islandanonymous]

How did you come to know you had Cirrhosis?

[islandanonymous in reply to devkermeg]

A gastroenterologist diagnosed me after doing a Fibroscan. My liver and spleen were enlarged. It was a big shock. My palms were yellow and I had some spider nevi across my abdomen. After doing bloodwork he told me the cause of cirrhosis was PBC. I also had a CT scan and was told I may have liver cancer. The GE had them re-do the CT at another hospital where his team worked and they only found two small cysts, no cancer. I then had an MRI to confirm this. My bloodwork returned to normal pretty much as soon as I started taking Urso but I also stopped taking what I believe kicked off the PBC in the first place, which was some little Chinese herbal pills called Jin Bu Juan that were supposed to relieve insomnia...I took them for about 10 years before discovering that they had been banned in Canada because they suspected they caused liver, brain, and nerve damage. My doctor had ignored my out-of-range blood test results for over a year.

[Hidden in reply to islandanonymous]

so you had bad blood values but now they are normal?

[islandanonymous]

Yes. It took a few months for them to come down and they have been normal since then. I was diagnosed in 2013.

[Hidden in reply to islandanonymous]

I'm glad you're well! thank you for the answers

[islandanonymous]

No problem! Take care!