Liver Blood Work
Posted , 3 users are following.
I'm a 59 y/o female that recently had some liver blood work done. My GGT, AST, and ALT were all elevated. GGT was 55, AST 39 and ALT 43. Albumin, bilrubin, and ALP came back normal. What can I infer from this? I am a frequent drinker and I assume I will need to cut down or be sober for a while until my results come back normal. Does this mean my liver is already damaged? I go to my PCM this Thursday but was worried so figured I should ask here. Any feedback would be appreciated. Also my BP has been high recently even under meds, could it be because of the possible liver inflammation or the enzymes that were released in my blood?
0 likes, 4 replies
Guest brit01
Posted
Your numbers are actually quite benign for an active drinker. When long term drinkers develop advanced disease GGT typically rises close to or into triple digits, and AST often floats over ALT in what is known as a "De Ritis ratio inversion". According to De Ritis, when AST is elevated and double ALT this is a red flag for advanced alcoholic disease.
Turning 60 is a great time to start practicing moderation, so I'd look at this as a wake up call, but not a particularly ominous indicator of advanced disease.
brit01 Guest
Posted
Appreciate the reply, that is good news and definitely a wake up call since I've never had high numbers in my previous blood work. It was my first GGT actually and my husband is an active drinker that has had high GGT numbers but normal liver enzyme numbers in the past so I was worried. I've been cutting down on drinking to once or twice a week, will have a follow-up blood work next month and hopefully it will drop.
joel66 brit01
Posted
Nothing really wrong with those numbers from what I can see. Very low, especially if you're currently drinking and those are your numbers. Doctors are more concerned with the AST is 2-3 times higher than the ALT, and GGT means nothing. You can be sober for a year with no liver damage and still have a raised GGT from your previous drinking history.
Do you know what your ALP was?
brit01 joel66
Posted
That's good to hear, my doctor always tells me never to be concerned about the numbers but instead to take it as a warning sign and change to a more healthy lifestyle, I've been controlling myself on the alcohol and although he doesn't expect me to be able to quit right away he said it would be best to cut down for my own good.
As for my ALP I believe it was 70. Will be having follow up blood work done within the next month after cutting down on my drinking.