Here again.
I am just so worried still. My liver enzymes were high. Managed to stay off the booze. Alt gone down slightly but ggt gone up a lot. Iron is low. My g p keeps saying it’s mental health issues but surely that cannot make my bloods deranged. She did an e consult to hepology and he said I ve clearly not damaged my liver but with an alt of 97 and ggt of 500 how can he say that ? Any feedback would be appreciated x
From all earlier tests it concluded you have fatty liver - that will account for your high GGT too. Remind us how long you have been off the drink.
The fatty liver isn't going to go away over night or even in a few weeks, it's probably going to take some time to remedy but what is important is continued abstinence, exercise and a good clean, balanced diet and hopefully in time all your blood results will come back into range and the fatty liver will go away.
Tests have shown and hepatology seems to be in agreement that you haven't done any permanent/non-reversible damage.
Your profile doesn't say whether you are male or female or your age. If you are a lady and still menstruating then you may fall into the category of those who have iron deficiency without anaemia (10-20% of ladies do).
Maybe try adding some iron rich foods to your diet (don't over do it) and don't supplement without a doctors say so.
Time and good diet is key and hopefully you will turn this around.
Katie
Thank you for replying Katie.
I am female aged 57. I was drinking very heavily for five months, vodka all day due to health anxiety which you know. Extremely stupid and selfish . So I weened off it for a few weeks now. Don’t understand how ggt can double . Please excuse my spelling, hepatology 🤦♀️. Having more blood tests next week . Just soo tired all the time. Can a ggt that high not be cirrhosis? X
Your tests have already shown you don't have cirrhosis, a high GGT shows you have ongoing liver inflammation [probably alcohol related hepatitis - hepa (liver)/itis (inflamation)] and it's only a few weeks that you have been off the drink so bloods can take a while to catch up.
Keep going with the sobriety, healthy diet, exercise and this should all come good in the end.
Have they suggested iron supplements or said whether you have anaemia. "Alcohol can contribute to the development of anemia in several ways:
Suppressing blood cell production: Routinely consuming large amounts of alcohol can suppress blood cell production, making anemia worse.
Nutrient deficiencies: Alcohol abuse can lead to deficiencies in nutrients needed for blood production and clotting, ultimately causing anemia.
Interference with nutrient absorption: Alcohol interferes with the body's ability to absorb and store important nutrients like iron, vitamin B12, and folic acid, which are essential for preventing anemia"
Have they checked your vitamin B12 levels? Have they checked your thyroid function? All of which can contribute to fatigue.
Katie
My full blood count all good so she says I m not anaemic. Iron saturation was 18 % which is low and tibc high. She is now testing ferritin levels. Thyroid always ok. My mental health problems just think the kpa score was wrong with such a high cap score. My albumin level has shot up too. I m just not coping well at all at the moment. I really appreciate you responding. Thank you xxx
I remember a young doctor I saw some years ago. He said when he goes out at the weekend and binges and then does a blood test on Monday his GGT would show a little spike. GGT is the most sensitive marker.
Seems like you have a fatty and a slightly irritated Liver, which isn't surprising after 6 months of daily Vodka. How ever, it takes years of inflammation to damage the Liver beyond repair, unless its an Acute event, which would spike ALT, AST, GGT in the THOUSANDS, I've seen some with 3000+ for ALT, AST. An Acute event like that and you would be seeing many of same symptoms as Cirrhosis. Your Liver would be so swollen it wouldn't be able perform its functions, hence why the same symptoms as Cirrhosis occur a lot of the time.
Some people have gone to the Dr and got bloods like yours and then found out they Hepatitis C and have done for decades, decades of inflammation. They then have to get rid of the virus and alot fully recover if its not scarred their Livers too badly.
You don't have to kill a virus 1st and you haven't had inflammation for decades, you just stop drinking and cause of the inflammation is gone. Things will look alot better within 3 months, probably before. The Liver is a very tough organ, eat well and get some exercise.
Thank you so much for your response. It has helped me a lot .
Just to add, your ALT has already gone down from ~135 to ~90. Well that's about a 30% drop. ALT going down is more important than GGT. GGT is found in the bile ducts, ALT is in the main body of the Liver if you will. So, already things are calming down. Your Fibroscan is good too, under 7kpa is golden.
I am also worried that my Fibro scan was under estimated. Can this happen ? As I see it my liver was inflamed with blood results but Fibro scan kpa normal . I m just beside myself with worry. X
Where bloods show inflammation fibroscan tends to inflate the score not show a lower than accurate result. Remember you also had an ultrasound which showed diffuse fatty liver and no cirrhosis plus a fib-4 that didn't indicate cirrhosis. Take the good results as a huge positive, deal with the fatty liver, live clean and live your life to the max.
* just as a hypothetical what would change if you did have cirrhosis? Not much. There is no treatment for it apart from what you need to do to 'treat' the fatty liver and inflammation that you do have. Then deal with symptoms as they crop up.
You've dodged a bullet, take it as a positive and keep up with healthy lifestyle, get retested in a few months after a good, long spell of abstinence.
There are many folks here who would jump for joy with results like yours.
Katie
Thank you, Katie. Just don’t get the ggt rising x
I see on another your post Albumin is rising, a struggling Liver cant produce Albumin aswel as a healthy one, so it goes lower. Your ALT dropping and Albumin rising, so your Liver swelling has gone down and its now carrying out its functions better.
GGT rising after quitting booze is pretty common, in some even ALT and AST go up short term. Since your Liver has been under some stress, its no surprise it has to "find its feet" again now the poison is removed. The Liver is designed for the cells to die and be replaced, hence why ALT,GGT,AST are never 0, its constantly repairing.
As already sort of said, there are many out there who would have a limb amputated for your numbers and results. Seriously, check out some HepC forums, there are people with rising Fibroscan scores confirming Fibrosis and they are battling to get rid of the virus before it gets to Cirrhosis.
Also Liver damage from alcohol is about the easiest to detect with a Fibroscan, the scarring type is "micronodular", basically means a uniform level of scarring through out the Liver. Its not patchy scarring with large bits spread out in between that are healthy.
I m soo sorry for nagging but I m honestly struggling to believe with such high liver enzymes my liver will be ok. Everyone on this site with ggt that high has cirrhosis. I ve f …Ked up big style xxx
Its no surprise that on a Liver forum you will find people with elevated numbers and Cirrhosis etc. Fatty Liver is common too, there will be millions walking around with elevated GGT and not know it.
The Liver doesn't just instantly turn Cirrhotic when GGT is elevated or ALT and AST for that matter. I have read many thousands of accounts of Cirrhosis and Alcohol. I once read a female got Cirrhosis from drinking Vodka 24/7, for 5 years. Its usually takes about 10-20 years of heavy drinking to get to end stage.
If you are in the UK and would find it useful to talk things over, our nurse-led helpline is open Monday to Friday from 9am to 3pm on 0800 652 7330 (excluding bank holidays)
Best wishes
British Liver Trust
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