FlyingJenny

Hi all,

I am 32 year old female in reasonably good health and I eat very well, don't smoke, don't drink caffiene, eat sugar or white flour and all that junk. A little over a month ago I was experiencing extreme fatigue and unexplained weight gain while strictly following the South Beach diet same as I have for the past few years. I have Fibromyalgia, but this fatigue was more than usual for me.

My test results came back completely normal except for an AST of 138 and ALT of 298 after being completely normal in July. I had a Hepatitis panel done and it came back negative. I had an abdominal ultrasound done as well, and everything was normal and I do not have a fatty liver. I am not a big drinker and have not been drinking at all for several months. I do not take Tylenol either or any other drugs that should affect my liver, according to the doctors. I have already had Epstien Barr as a child and Cytomegalovirus as a teenager that caused me to develop Autoimmune Hemolytic Anemia, but only for a short time, and then it was treated and went away.

After the ultrasound I was blood tested again to make sure the liver panel numbers were right and it wasn't just an error. The AST had come down to 94 and the ALT to 219, but they were still high enough that I was referred to a GI. He did some more tests to see if I had the "markers" for autoimmune hepatitis and I did not, but my ferritin was high. They didn't tell me how high, but sent me to have more blood drawn to test for hemochromatosis. I am still waiting for that result.

What the heck could be going on here? I mean if it is the hemochromatosis, that would explain it, but if not, what could possibly be going on? And I know I shouldn't have but after months of not drinking I had ONE 12 ounce beer last night and I woke up in the middle of the night with my liver hurting. Should I be very concerned? Any thoughts? And no, I don't planning on drinking any more alcohol, that is for sure.