I have hypothyroidism with high TPO antibodies. I used to think this was Hashimoto's, but I don't have a goitre so now believe it is called Ord's disease. I'm on 75mcg levothyroxine a day, and now I'm gluten-, dairy- and egg-free I feel in good health and have no debilitating tiredness.
I'm about to start a course of isotretinoin for acne rosacea, but my blood test results for ALT (alanine aminotransferase) are 44 and my doctor says the reading should be less than 33. If my next blood test (due in November) does not bring the ALT reading down, my doctor may cease my treatment. Does anyone know if autoimmune hypothyroidism can result in elevated ALT levels? Thank you.
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cat_alli
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When did you last have your thyroid levels checked?
Do you always get a print-out of your results? If so, post your last results on here, with the ranges and let's have a look.
There's a chance that your acne rosacea may be caused by your hypo, mine was. And it went away when I started levo. So, you need to know that you'r optimally medicated.
High ALT, on the other hand, appears to be linked to hyperthyroidism, so maybe you were having a bit of a Hashi's 'hyper' swing at the time of the blood test.
When were vitamin D, folate, B12 and ferritin levels tested
Unless extremely petite 75mcg is a low dose levothyroxine
Which brand of levothyroxine are you taking
Do you always get same brand at each prescription
Recommended that all thyroid blood tests early morning, ideally just before 9am, only drink water between waking and test and last dose levothyroxine 24 hours before test
Testing options and includes money off codes for private testing
I don't know the answer to your specific question, but I've had over-range levels of ALT in the past which I fixed by reducing my intake of sugar and high carb food.
The first time my ALT went high it was 42 and 127% through the range. Then I cut down on sugar and high carb food. Eight months later it was 18 and 53% through the range.
Its gone above range again since then, but it was after a period of poor eating. Since then it has dropped again, and was most recently 21 and 63% through the range.
I was taken off a totally inadequate dose of T3 only because high ALT results apparently showed that the T3 was "putting pressure on my liver." I was very, very hypo at the time.
When I increased t3 up to 35 with 87.5 t4 my ALT levels went high and I got blood pooling on feet but when I started to lower the t3 down, the ALT improved.
It was a long time ago, but I think I was on 30mg T3. What you're saying makes perfect sense to me because on that dose I was very hypo. Three years later I managed to get onto Levo, which was life changing
Yes, high ALT levels are associated with hypothyroidism, mainly when treated insufficiently.
If you think, the thyroid hormones are the 'drivers' of your metabolism, and assist with processing things like cholesterol and glucose. If you are under-medicated, glucose and cholesterol levels can increase, as the body has difficulties processing these components. A further result can be that liver enzymes such as ALT and AST can be elevated up to 5-times the normal value, due to an impaired liver metabolism, which also relies on adequate levels of thyroid hormones.
However, studies showed, that once patients were adequately treated for their hypothyroidism, the liver enzymes (including glucose and cholesterol) returned to normal.
You might need an increase in your thyroid hormones so your metabolism can adequately process lipids.
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