Abnormal liver test - really worried 😩

I went for bloods last Friday as I had been experiencing some symptoms which I thought were related to possible low B12 (I'm vegan and my results last time were on the lower side of normal)

I called up for my results expecting them to be normal or just show low B12 and instead I get the shock of my life when the receptionist tells me there's a problem with my liver. I have high ALT and I need to be rechecked in 3 months.

I was totally taken aback. This was on Friday so I've spent the entire weekend googling and crying, naturally, and got myself into a right little state over this. I'm waiting on a call back from the GP to discuss it further but I'm wondering if anyone else has experience of this?

I'm 29. I don't drink or smoke but do take painkillers every month for period pain (ibuprofen & paracetamol).
I also run regularly. I would even say that I am the 'fittest' I've ever been in my life.

I've seen there's a whole host of reasons for the elevation of this enzyme but of course my brain is thinking the absolute worst.

I'm also currently on my period, I have endometriosis so my pains are unbearable and I desperately need to take painkillers but now I'm afraid I have liver failure.

So yeah, that's where we are right now. I wish I was normal.

Hi

This is just a courtesy reply to let you know that your post was moved from its original place to a sub-forum that is more relevant to your issue.

This is nothing personal - it just enables us to keep posts about the same problems in the relevant forums so other members with any experience with the issues can find them more easily.

Please also read this post:

http://www.nomorepanic.co.uk/showthread.php?t=213239

They wouldn't leave it 3 months if it was serious though so I wouldn't worry that much.

Hi Andromeda, I went through this exact same thing 4 months ago. I was having more bloods done because I was still worried about health stuff (bowel cancer, IBD at the time) Typically my inflammatory markers and anything bowel related were fine but My ALT came back high and I panicked! Read through my thread from pg 29 onwards https://www.nomorepanic.co.uk/showth...worries/page29

I repeated the test 4 weeks later and it was normal again. I dont drink alcohol much, which the doc said could be the culprit and she also said some meds could be causes - pretty sure I've read anti inflammatories like Ibuprofen can cause high ALT levels.

I never found out why mine was high, but doing my own research, there are theories that IBS can affect it, and I was having terrible IBS symptoms at the time (diarrhea/bloating/pains). Another one was muscle damage causing the liver to release more enzymes. And 4 days before I had the bloods taken I went to the gym for the first time in years and my whole body was aching and sore. I was also taking a few tablets, paracetemol for the muscle pain, immodiums, colofac (IBS meds) and colpermin (IBS meds again).

Difficult not to worry because I did as well, but my GP did say these findings are very common. Did you do the blood test when you were taking ibuprofen??

Maybe ask if you can retake them in a months time? I told them I was worried and they let me retake them earlier than planned.

Hope that helps.

I have this on and off. I was diagnosed with a fatty liver. It's not the end of the world but you gotta do more exercice and eat better. Last year when I started eating better the enzymes went back to normal. Now that I'm eating a lot of junk food they're slightly elevated again. You shouldn't be scared. It can be anything.

Hi, I had high ALT of 51 on 30/04. Had the test repeated on 26/04 and they’ve decreased slightly to 36. Worried that it hasn’t decreased much though and could just be a regular fluctuation. How much did yours decrease over 4 weeks?

Hi, I've also had this, it went to 48 (which is marginal) and had been rising with the normal range for some years. I'd been taking anti-inflammatories more often and the Dr suspected this was causing it.

I've decreased them and also went gluten free about the same time, the next test was back to normal again and have continued to do so. I also added a high potency one-a-daily milk thistle tablet and have been taking these for 6 months now. They detox the liver. I was alarmed at first but all is well.