high liver enzyimes and liver biopsy

medsmomx2 · 06-17-2002, 02:24 PM

Hi,
I am really hoping to get some help and some answers! My husband is 29 years old and he was on medicine for high blood pressure and high cholestral. He recently switched primary care doctors and his new doctor asked what the old doctor did about his liver enzyimes being high. My husband told the new dr. that the old dr. said "oh you're liver enzyimes are a little high, but not to worry", end of story. The new dr. was mad and ripped the pages from the old dr. out of his chart and said to hold on to it. Well, when you look at his lab work it shows that normal for the AST is 0-42 and his was 58 and for the ALT normal is 0-48 and his was 171! Now I ask you...are those a little high or a lot high? The new doctor took him off of all meds (his b.p. is perfect now), his cholestral is a little high, but dr said that alot of times when the liver enzyimes are high, that makes the cholestral high. So no meds, no tylenol, no alcohol for 2 weeks and then a retest. Does everything the dr. says, liver enzyimes are still high. Ok they re-test again a week later, still high. Now we are starting to get worried! He was really watching his diet, following dr. orders and they are still going up. This last test (which was about 1 1/2 week since the last test), his enzyimes went from,AST- 63 up to 114 and the ALT from 189 to 332! So now I am getting really worried! The docotor told him that he has a form of hepatitus, N.A.S.H. (non-alcohol s..... hepatitus). We just went to the drs. on friday and now he is scheduling a liver biopsy for my husband to find out what exactly is going on with his liver. The dr. did say that my husband does have a fatty liver. Another name for NASH was diabetic hepatitus, which diabetes does run in his family (father and uncle both have it). My husband is not a big drinker, he has been watching what he eats, and the dr. also told him that his liver is swollen and that could be the reason he has put on weight. Has anyone had this same problem or something similar? Sorry to make this post so long, but I really am looking for some help as to what to expect with all of this. Thanks so much for any help!!

Denise
SAHM to 2 beautiful little girls!

medsmomx2 · 06-17-2002, 09:48 PM

HI-
I forgot to add that my husband had gone for an ultrasound of his pelvis in May. So he has had some other tests done before the dr. scheduled the biopsy.

Denise
SAHM to 2 beautiful girls

ralve · 06-22-2002, 03:26 AM

Hi, I am going through the high liver enzyme thing also. My story is that they found the high liver enzymes when I went to the hospital with chest pains, and since then I have had hepatitis tests done, and the first hepatitis test came out positive for hepatitis c, but then I went to a specialist (GI) and he took two other sets of tests, checking for HepC, and those came out negative. He seems to think now that I don not have HepC, but a fatty liver. There's some good info out there on this subject. Is your husband overweight? I am now, I never used to be, but started gaining weight when I had the kids, and now I've been overweight for about 7 years or so. Anyway, I have been trying to loose weight, but the way I understand it, if you have a dysfunctional liver, which is true of a fatty liver, then it's really hard to loose weight. I got on a website from Sandra Cabot M.D., and ordered her book and liver cleansing diet, but I have yet to use it, cause I want to ask my GI first if it's safe. I don't like taking anything, even herbs, if I don't totally check it out. Anyway, from what the GI says, liver enzymes are really sensitive, and can be elevated for almost any reason, but fatty liver is hard to turn around, and the liver enzymes will stay elevated until it's corrected. I still am learning about the consequences of fatty liver, I know that it's usually a benign disease, but that it can have a progressive course I think, probably if there are other assalts going on towards the liver, like alot of alcohol. Also, it seems to put you at high risk for diabetes, which really has me worried because that's already in my family. Anyway, alot of doctors don't worry much about high liver enzymes because there are just so many causes, like if you drink at all, tylenol, etc. And, supposedly they are not that easy to go down, like if he has a fatty liver, I think they will continue to stay high. I went to "Ask Jeeves" on my computer, typed in fatty liver, and it brought up some interesting sites, including the one my Sandra Cabot. I can't really recommed her since I don't really know anything about her program yet, I am just letting you know what's out there. Good luck! Val

medsmomx2 · 06-25-2002, 12:01 AM

Val-
Thanks for the response!I would have to say that yes my husband is over weight for his height. He said the dr. said he is not.The dr. did say that he could have put on extra weight due to the swollen liver. Thanks for the suggestion to check out "Ask Jeeves". I will also check into the book at the librabry, or others like it! Glad to hear that we are not the only ones going through this! Let me know what your dr says about the cleansing diet. I too don't like to try stuff without checking into it first!

Denise
SAHM to 2 beautiful girls

ralve · 06-27-2002, 05:57 AM

Hi, I haven't been on here in a while, I hope things are going ok!! I haven't been to my GI yet, and I really need to make this appointment tomorrow. I feel ok, just really tired alot, and I have alot of weight in my abdomen right now which I feel is just not in proportion to the rest of me, or normal. I'm worried about having fluid accumulation which I have been reading about. By the way, I couldn't find Dr. Sandra Cabot's book at the bookstore, I ordered it from her site, it may be available, I just couldn't find it. And, I have another good book on liver disorders that goes into detail about fatty liver and NASH. This one was called Dr. Melissa Palmer's Guide to Hepatitis & Liver Disease , What you Need to Know, by Melissa Palmer, MD. This one I found at Barnes and Noble. I don't understand yet really the difference between fatty liver and NASH, I suppose NASH is the consequence of fatty liver, but I'm not sure yet. I wish I knew what was going on with my liver right now, and then I could help myself more. I know I should be sticking to a good diet, but for some reason, I keep being really bad about that! By the way, do you know if your husband's GGT levels were high? I had a high reading of those also, and I was reading in one place where that can be due to fatty liver, but then in other places I read where that is due to other liver disorders. I know that some dotors always due biopsies to determine for sure that it's fatty liver, but my GI didn't think it was really necessary. I guess he was just so sure about what the diagnosis would be. Anyway, good luck, and I'll let you know more about fatty liver when I go to my doctor. Val