abnormal LFT

[rupertj]

I’ve posted several times over the last couple years convinces I have cirrhosis. All my labs and imaging has been normal other than an ultrasound a few years ago stating “mildly heterogenous liver” all scans since have noted normal appearing liver. My lfts have never been out of range until today. My ALT is 61(ULN is 55) and my ast is 30(ULN 35) not out of range but it’s usually around 18. I am a nervous wreck.

[rupertj]

also my wbc keeps going down is almost out of the normal range. My platelets are at 290 but also consistently getting lower. Always been over 300

[AyrshireK]

There is nothing there of any concern - certainly nothing to ring any alarm bells. Bloods go up and down all day, every day . If they are in range they are normal regardless of them being lower end of normal/upper end of normal - they are still normal.

Your ALT being a teeny bit above normal is also no issue, ALT can rise in response to exercise, minor bugs and so long as it's not 3 to 4 times upper limit of normal then no doctor will be concerned.

Katie

[rupertj in reply to AyrshireK]

thanks you for always replying. It really helps out my crippling health anxiety about all of this! My ALT six months ago was 18, so seeing 61 pop-up in my chart has me in a bit of a panic. I’m still eating a healthy diet and not drinking so it was quite unexpected.

[AyrshireK in reply to rupertj]

It really is nothing to be concerned about with it being only marginally elevated and like I say ALT can rise with exercise, minor bugs and goes up and down through the day. Doctors only get concerned with significant elevation and a few points is neither here nor there. If it were into the 100's or even 1000's then yes it would be alarming.

[mtk0925]

mines bounced between 30-70 up and down over the years… could be your response to certain meds, etc

[Confused-one]

Hi Rupert

I hope you are reassured by these responses which I also concur with. However, I suspect you will not be because of course you have refered to your 'health anxiety'. First of all, well done in recognising that and seeing it for what it is - anxiety (about health) not a physical health issue itself.

I helped run a Covid support forum for 2 years having got an extremely bad dose of Covid in the first outbreak. One of the largest learning experiences of that was just how many people visiting the forum were afflicted with not just general worry which so many of us had but actually with bad to crippling health anxiety. National estimates are that between 3 and 7% of the population suffer from what would be diagnosed as a clinical level issue with anxiety (about health). Why the brackets? To emphasise that it's the anxiety that is the issue, not your health.

I have seen this become an absolutely debilitating issue for many people and so I'd like to give you one insight and action point which I would be really happy if you could follow. Health anxiety is never resolved by posting into forums seeking reassurance. It sounds like it's the most logical thing in the world, right? However, what you're actually doing is feeding the anxiety in a little stimulus and reward (for the anxiety) loop. What you need to do is address the health anxiety itself directly and head on and see it for what it is - not a truth but a condition in its own right.

Every GP surgery in the country is fully up to speed with the importance and damage caused by anxiety. If you pick up the phone and explain calmly what you think may be the issue, the health professionals there will have heard it all before and be very happy to give you a GP appointment to start you off. You won't find any judgement there - it is a medical condition in itself and it's also one that directly affects the surgery in terms of numbers of calls and visits so they would far rather help address the underlying driver. Do that today - not tomorrow, but today - just pick up the phone and call. Good luck.

[Anon888]

My liver enzymes fluctuated to numbers considered mildly elevated with some normal reads in-between for+2 years. Numbers higher than yours and hepatologist unconcerned. Bloods showed low neutrophils at one point - 1.7 - bloods retaken 6 weeks later and neutrophils within range. My consultant relayed that the ranges for bloods are based on the Western world and won't take into account ethnicity, hence when there are fluctuations, often no need for concern. It's easy to let the minds run wild. We have all been there.