Abnormal Liver Test - Liver & Pancreas Disorders Message Board

friendly2 · 06-20-2005, 04:18 PM

Hi,

I went in for a normal check up last week, and my doctor did routine blood work.

I got a phone call last Friday right before the office closed by one of the doctors in the practice (not my doctor) to tell me my liver tests were "highly abornmal". he asked me if I was feeling okay, if my skin was yellow, if I drank - all sorts of questions that made me feel like I should be gravely ill - , and I had just seen my own doctor Wednesday! anyway, he said my doctor would call me monday. (im not sure why he called, just to worry me?)

anyway the nurse in my doctor's office called today and said I should stop all tylenol, alcohol and herbal supplements. I don't drink that much at all, so that is no problem. I asked her which levels were high she said "all of them". she was not real helpful, she said to come in to the lab to have more blood drawn (I did this afternoon) and she scheduled me for an ultrasound for Wednesday morning.

I have been feeling fine, but of course reading about all sorts of asymptomatic diseases. . I remember once back in 1994 when I went in to another doctor for something else, they did my liver tests over again because they were slightly elevated. but I have had routine ones since and this is the first time this has ever happened.

Anyway, no one has said to me "you're probably fine, it's probably nothing" - but it doesn't sound like they could really know much at this point?? I haven't had any weight loss or fatigue - I walked 8 1/2 miles Saturday morning! I know this will be resolved by the end of the week, but I just wondered if the ultrasound just seems like the doctor is being thorough, or if anyone has ANY thoughts on this.. I'm trying not to freak out!

thanks!

paborn · 06-20-2005, 05:55 PM

They are doing the ultrasound to see if your liver looks OK. They want to rule out fatty liver or tumors etc. I had this done after having high liver enzyme readings and found out that I have a slight fatty infiltration of the liver, which I understand is not that uncommon.

happyelf · 06-20-2005, 06:33 PM

Hey friendly2;
I'll say it for you--"You're probably fine" .

High liver enzymes can be scary-esp when they come out of left field. I know what you're going thru--been there. The dr's being thorough...as paborn said they want to check for fatty liver, cysts, tumors etc which are very common and not a big deal. Most ppl that have them don't even know it as they don't usually cause any pain. You may not even have any. It could be as simple as this: Anything we eat, drink, breathe--even viruses (colds, flu--also why he was asking how you felt) and infections can cause our #'s to go up. Some drs feel vigerous exercise right before the test can elevate your #'s. The good thing is if you stop all meds/alcohol, they usually go back to the normal range after a few weeks, so don't be surprised if they want to recheck them in abt a month. When a dr you didn't even see bombards you w/all these ?'s--and asks the "are you jaundice? how do you feel?" question, your paranoia kicks in...and rightly so. They don't want to miss anything--that's a good thing. Better safe than sorry. If you have any more ?'s I'll be happy to answer--I have quite a bit of exp (as a patient) in this field--and there are many others here who are VERY knowledgable too!! Hope this helps you.
Take care..Hang in there...
HappyElf/Gina

TheHappyMan · 06-21-2005, 01:42 PM

Hi Friendly2 - Your feeling good, in good health, and all of a sudden you get this news......Sounds hard to believe ???
It's almost as though your blood sample got contaminated or possibly they mixed it up with somebody elses ???????????

A retest should clear things up..........

You are probably fine... If I were you I would have asked them to postpone the ultrasound until after the results of the second blood test had come back..... An ultrasound isnt painful but they arent free either and it's a waste of your time if you dont need it.....

friendly2 · 06-21-2005, 05:07 PM

Thanks everyone for your answers and support. I am also a little surprised they are ordering an ultrasound so quickly - before more test results, but I know my doctor is going on vacation next week, so I guess she wanted to get everything cleared up. and for my peace of mind I guess it's good. but it does seem like an awful lot of excitement over one little test....