Buprenorphine

[Ced60]

Good Morning,

I wondered if anyone could help with the following.

I have had a call from my GP asking me to go in to see him about a couple of Liver Blood Tests I have had recently which show elevated SERUM GAMMA GT and ALT/SGPT serum levels.

I want to be prepared in case he says that the Buprenorphine could cause this to happen (it is the only medication which I take).

Does anyone have any knowledge of whether these elevated levels could be a side effect of the Buprenorphine ? I did wonder also whether it could be a result of the Iron Infusion I had last year.

I may well be overthinking this but I just want to be prepared in case he does say I have to stop the Buprenorphine.

Many thanks.

[LotteM]

It can be. See drugs.com/sfx/buprenorphine... and scroll down to under hepatic (which is about the liver). Just wait and see what s/he says about what it may mean. We are not doctors.

[Ced60 in reply to LotteM]

Thanks LotteM , much appreciated …. Yes no point in jumping the gun but better to have some info up my sleeve just in case ! There are people on here who know a lot more about RLS than any doctor I have ever seen !

[Joolsg]

medicalnewstoday.com/articl...

Interesting. I had blood tests prior to starting my new MS drug. It's a chemotherapy drug and can cause liver damage as it's excreted through the liver. My AST levels were raised one month after the drug treatment, although under 100, and I have to repeat bloods while they monitor. Clearly, my liver results were fine in November 2023, after 2.5 years on Buprenorphine, but they've gone up in February on the new chemotherapy drug.

I have been drinking more coffee, and taking B12 and folic acid to bring levels down.

You can try the same as set out in the article above.

Try avoiding any sweet, carbohydrate type foods and alcohol for a while. The hospital pharmacist told me they often see raised AST and ALT levels after someone has come back from a holiday. Eating lots of treats and drinking alcohol on holiday can temporarily raise levels.

Hopefully, the results are not linked to Buprenorphine.

There are a few articles that link Buprenorphine to liver damage, but most cases were in former drug abusers who were switched to Buprenorphine to help them off opioids. And there was evidence of Hep C infection from needle use.

So, the raised liver AST could be simply a dietary blip.

Before next blood tests, eat a healthy, Mediterranean diet for 2 weeks, avoid sweet treats, drink more coffee, take B12 and folic acid supplements ( assuming it's safe to do so) exercise more and hopefully, next blood tests will be fine.

I had my follow up blood test this morning, so I am hoping my levels have dropped!

[Ced60]

great advice as always thanks Joolsg - I wish I’d been on holiday - that’s booked for next month though , looks like I’m going to have to be good on that 🤣…. I’ll definitely follow your advice re the Coffee etc , I think that really strong coffee helps with RLS but I have cut down on it massively recently … I don’t drink alcohol too much as it has a horrific affect on my RLS .

Let’s see if he mentions the Buprenorphine as a potential cause 🤔

[Joolsg in reply to Ced60]

I had the results back today from my blood tests. After 2 weeks on folic acid and B12, and drinking coffee and cutting back on treats ( biscuits, cakes, chocolate) my liver tests are now completely normal again. The AST was 69 and is now back down to 30.I hope you have a similar improved result.

[Ced60]

That’s amazing Joolsg … well done … I’ve started today with Med diet and will hopefully see some improved results too

[Joolsg in reply to Ced60]

Fingers 🤞

[Ced60]

Saw my GP this morning , my Serum Gamma GT (which should be around 30 I think) has gone from 61 in February to 108 in March - the good news is that she does not think that it is related to the Buprenorphine. She is referring me for a scan and repeat blood tests in 2 weeks. I am following your advice re reducing the levels !

[LotteM in reply to Ced60]

I hope it turns out to be “nothing”.