High ALT and AST

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Andrea - 14 Dec 2005 19:16 GMT

My ALT (142) and AST (65) levels are very high .

I often drink alcohol, but only on weekends,
and my BodyMassIndex is 26

Should I really worry ?

Thanks in advance

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JEDilworth - 15 Dec 2005 06:01 GMT

Why were these blood tests run in the first place? What does your doctor
say? What caused you to go to a doctor to get an order for these to be
drawn?

http://web2.airmail.net/uthman/lab_test.html

Scroll down on this page for interpretation of elevated ALT and AST.
Necrosis of hepatocytes can cause elevation. This translates into "death
of liver cells."

Only you know how much you're drinking on weekends. How much are you
drinking on weekends? Till you're blotto? Binging?

Your liver can only take so much. Quit while you have a chance to let it
heal. You may be asking for cirrhosis depending on your habits. My
father died at age 50 of a massive alcohol-induced cerebral hemorrhage.
His liver was well on its way to being shot. When your liver goes, your
clotting factors go also. Coagulation factors are produced by liver
cells. You can hemorrhage with a bad liver. Women can't get away with
drinking as much as men can because they're generally smaller in
stature.

You get my drift....

Judy Dilworth, M.T. (ASCP)
Microbiology

"Andrea" <nioskidol@yahoo.it> wrote in message

> My ALT (142) and AST (65) levels are very high .
>
> I often drink alcohol, but only on weekends,
> and my BodyMassIndex is 26
>
> Should I really worry ?

Reply to this Message

Andrea - 16 Dec 2005 09:34 GMT

Thanks, Judy.
I already decided not to drink for a while
and not even eat sooooo much *every night* before I go to bed.

But my question was,
are these levels so high I should really worry or they might just be a
temporary problem ?

Thanks again

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JEDilworth - 16 Dec 2005 14:54 GMT

Hopefully they are temporary if you're kind to yourself and there isn't
anything else going on. I assume your doctor wants you redrawn and
retested at some time interval. Hopefully you will go back and have this
done.

I don't know your lab's normal ranges. Elevated liver enzymes are a
warning sign - a shot fired over the bow so to speak. Your liver has the
capacity to heal, but only if you don't further "insult" it. This is
assuming there is not another disease process going on.

Again, what does the doc say? Does he want you to undergo any further
testing?

Judy Dilworth, M.T. (ASCP)
Microbiology

"Andrea" <nioskidol@yahoo.it> wrote in message

> But my question was,
> are these levels so high I should really worry or they might just be a
> temporary problem ?

Reply to this Message