blood test showed high ALT levels

[Junkjournal1]

Hi so recently had a blood test done everything was fine apart from my liver my ALT level 18 months ago was 26 now it’s 106 🤷‍♀️. My doctor has booked me in for an abdominal scan so waiting on that. Nothing has changed for this to warrant this reading. I suffer from IBS and I am currently pre menopausal also I take Sertraline which I have done for a number of years. Any information on this would be greatly appreciated as I’m quite worried about it. I haven’t actually seen my doctor about this when I spoke to the receptionist I was told the results. Thank you for taking the time to read my post.

[MyStar86]

Hi, Sorry to hear of your suffering and lack of explanation by a doctor that really annoys me the way patients are treated causing more anxiety. I am no doctor but Your body uses ALT to break down food into energy. Normally, ALT levels in the blood are low. If your liver is damaged, it will release more ALT into your blood and levels will rise.

Lots of things external things like medication can affect the ALT level so try not to worry, the ultrasound is most likely to look at your liver.

Hope that helps a little. Good luck x

[j1a2n3]

Hi there, my son was on Sertraline for years. When he titrated slowly off it he became extremely mentally ill and went into a psychiatric hospital for 4 months. He is still v ill. I am now in contact with two other people where the same think happened. One tried to commit suicide and had 6 weeks in The Nightingale Hospital and now takes resperidone. Sertraline is a black box medicine. GPs are unaware of the effect it has. When you come off it do it incredibly slowly titrating down by very tiny amounts over 2 years. That way you'll hopefully be fine. Also hopefully your doze is 50mg or less. My son was on a lot more. Best wishes.

[Nhwell]

My liver levels have been elevated for years, I am also on sertaline, pre-menopausal and have been diagnosed with IBS by my GP. I was sent for an abdominal ultrasound last month to check my liver and they found nothing remarkable. I am going back to recheck my bloodwork next month but I wonder about the impact of stress and anxiety on liver function…and of course it contributes to IBS too. I wish I had more answers to share but you’re not alone. I have been frustrated by the lack of answers too.

[Casand11]

My liver levels were also higher than normal so I was sent for an ultra sound. Two or three gallstones showed up which apparently can affect your liver. Was told lots of people have gallstones and as I haven't suffered any pain and was unaware I had them, no further action is needed but have annual blood tests since,last one was normal! Good luck !

[Sparrow58]

I have had the same all of a sudden my ALT and GGT are high. It was a private blood test and I passed results onto GP. I do not drink alcohol so cannot be that. I have had my gallbladder removed years ago, the only thing that has changed was about 2 months ago I took Lansoprazole for a couple of weeks. Going to retest in about 3 months hopefully they will have lowered.

[Junkjournal1 in reply to Sparrow58]

Thank you i hope when you get retested things are back to normal 🙏. I just want the appointment to hurry up and come through the post for my abdominal scan. Hopefully it will put my mind to rest 😬.

[Blue_Dahlia]

Something similar to me and it turns out I have gallstones too

[RainbowGirrl]

How did you get on with the doctors..? Wondering what the outcome was.

I have had my liver function test come back and my ALT is up in the 300s. I have had a sickness bug and the nausea wouldn't go away so the doctor sent me for some bloods.