New Labs-Liver Enzymes Down
I guess it was the Vitamin A.
This is less then 2 weeks after discontinuing the A. What ticks me off is that I have been fighting for over 6 months to have my A level, along with others, checked and my PCP refused because they had been normal the last time they were checked.
Thank you Gina for suggesting that my Vitamin A level could have caused the abnormal result.
This is why you need to check your levels regularly to adjust your vitamin intake appropriately. Especially fat soluble vitamins that could become toxic.
When my A was last checked it was at the lower end of the normal range so I upped what I was taking. My PCP didn't recommend I increase it because it was in the normal range but I wanted to get it up to be safe.
TABLE
| AST(SGOT) | 15-41 U/L | 83 | 101 | Combined. | 43 |
| ALT (SGPT) | 13-48 U/L | 164 | 224 | Combined. | 99 |
This is less then 2 weeks after discontinuing the A. What ticks me off is that I have been fighting for over 6 months to have my A level, along with others, checked and my PCP refused because they had been normal the last time they were checked.
Thank you Gina for suggesting that my Vitamin A level could have caused the abnormal result.
This is why you need to check your levels regularly to adjust your vitamin intake appropriately. Especially fat soluble vitamins that could become toxic.
When my A was last checked it was at the lower end of the normal range so I upped what I was taking. My PCP didn't recommend I increase it because it was in the normal range but I wanted to get it up to be safe.
WLS 10/28/2002 Revision 7/23/2010
High Weight (2002) 240 Revision Weight (2010) 220 Current Weight 115.
I'm so glad those levels are coming down. I hope you can get your docs on board, you've got to be able to watch all the levels of things you're supplementing.
--g
--g
5'1" -- HW 195/SW 187/GW 115 July 08/CW 121 Dec 2012
******GOAL*******
Starting BMI between 35 and 40ish?
Join us on the Lightweights Board!
DS on Aug 9, 2007 with Dr. Hazem Elariny
Thanks. I really appreciate the support I get on this board. It makes me sad to realize that if I had had this kind of support with my first WLS I might have been more successful and not needed a revision, although I really believe that my stomach was left way too large and probably contributed to my failure to a great extent and that would have needed to have been addressed because I was unable to fight the constant hunger I felt.
WLS 10/28/2002 Revision 7/23/2010
High Weight (2002) 240 Revision Weight (2010) 220 Current Weight 115.
did they recheck your A? I doubt that your A would go down that fast especially to affect your liver function tests such a difference. Something doesn't seem right - to go down from 224 to 99 in 2 weeks seems odd.
In April of 2010 my A was low because I had been off of it after being in the hospital for the few months in the winter. So, I went back on my normal dose of 50,000 units per day - I should have gone back on it slowly at 25,000 units but I didn't and my level skyrocketed - I went from 38 to 119 in 2 months. So, I cut back to 3 days per week since I was affraid to stop it after what after what happened last time I stopped it, so with taking it 3 days per week nothing changed - I think it was 110. So, I stopped it and I have been off of it since June - which has been 9 months and my level is still 110-120, for some reason my level will not go down and my liver function tests vary - one time they will be normal and the next time they will be elevated but only at around 60 - nothing like the levels you had. Which is why I am question if a high vitamin A and especially for only a short period of time like yours can shoot up a liver function test like that and then drop it back down in 2 weeks.
You really need to get your vitamin A retested to know if it is back to normal or not. You can't just assume it is back to normal that is what got you into trouble in the first place. I know your GP doesn't like to do testing - I think there is a website where you can get order your own labs but I think you have to pay out of pocket - post and ask - there is someone one here that wrote about it that does it.
In April of 2010 my A was low because I had been off of it after being in the hospital for the few months in the winter. So, I went back on my normal dose of 50,000 units per day - I should have gone back on it slowly at 25,000 units but I didn't and my level skyrocketed - I went from 38 to 119 in 2 months. So, I cut back to 3 days per week since I was affraid to stop it after what after what happened last time I stopped it, so with taking it 3 days per week nothing changed - I think it was 110. So, I stopped it and I have been off of it since June - which has been 9 months and my level is still 110-120, for some reason my level will not go down and my liver function tests vary - one time they will be normal and the next time they will be elevated but only at around 60 - nothing like the levels you had. Which is why I am question if a high vitamin A and especially for only a short period of time like yours can shoot up a liver function test like that and then drop it back down in 2 weeks.
You really need to get your vitamin A retested to know if it is back to normal or not. You can't just assume it is back to normal that is what got you into trouble in the first place. I know your GP doesn't like to do testing - I think there is a website where you can get order your own labs but I think you have to pay out of pocket - post and ask - there is someone one here that wrote about it that does it.
I did request a retest of my A but the lab specimen wasn't suitable to be tested. I am sure i will have to go back again.
My PCP said that it may be related to my body fat since A is fat soluble. I will talk to my doctor about it and see if she still wants me to see the liver specialist. My gut feeling is that it was due to my A level. That is the only change I have made in the last 2 weeks and yes, the difference is dramatic but I have no idea how long it takes for the A to go out of my system or if the reason it was high was due to my supplementing and not because I had so much stored in my body.
I cannot afford to pay out of pocket for my labs so I have to rely on my doctor ordering them.
My PCP said that it may be related to my body fat since A is fat soluble. I will talk to my doctor about it and see if she still wants me to see the liver specialist. My gut feeling is that it was due to my A level. That is the only change I have made in the last 2 weeks and yes, the difference is dramatic but I have no idea how long it takes for the A to go out of my system or if the reason it was high was due to my supplementing and not because I had so much stored in my body.
I cannot afford to pay out of pocket for my labs so I have to rely on my doctor ordering them.
WLS 10/28/2002 Revision 7/23/2010
High Weight (2002) 240 Revision Weight (2010) 220 Current Weight 115.
I was thinking it might be the new formula of BioTech's vit A not the A level itself. They've been using a different formula since 2010 or so and I know of at least one person who had serious liver and kidney reactions to it. Once he was off BioTech's A, his AST and ALT and kidney function returned to normal. He uses A acetate now to supplement his vit A.
5'1" -- HW 195/SW 187/GW 115 July 08/CW 121 Dec 2012
******GOAL*******
Starting BMI between 35 and 40ish?
Join us on the Lightweights Board!
DS on Aug 9, 2007 with Dr. Hazem Elariny
It is really weird because my vitamin A level was really low after being off of it when I was so sick last winter so I went back on it my usual high dose of 50,000 units and in 2 months my level skyrocketed from 34 to 119 - so my NUT and Endo had me cut my dose to 4 days per week. I did that and absolutely nothing happened - my leveled only went down to 110. So, I stopped it completely and now 9 months later, I had it tested last month and it was at back at 119. IT really makes no sense. I even stopped my multi for several months for various reasons - prior to my kidney stone surgeries I wasn't allowed any vitamins other than B's and iron plus I didnt' want anything with A in it. But that didnt' help anyway. So, after 9 months with no vitamin A of any type, and my vitamin A level is still is way over the top. Now try to figure that out.
As far as my liver function goes - sometimes they are high and sometimes they are normal - they fluctuate - it seems every other lab test. They go from 20's on one test and the 60's on the next test and then back to the 20's and then back to the 60's and then back to the 20's. So that makes no sense either. I am on a PPI and statin, so they can both elevate my liver function plus I take percocet every day but with my A as high as it is, you would think it would be much higher.
As far as my liver function goes - sometimes they are high and sometimes they are normal - they fluctuate - it seems every other lab test. They go from 20's on one test and the 60's on the next test and then back to the 20's and then back to the 60's and then back to the 20's. So that makes no sense either. I am on a PPI and statin, so they can both elevate my liver function plus I take percocet every day but with my A as high as it is, you would think it would be much higher.
I'm very glad to hear that your labs are moving in the right direction. Liver problems are nothing to ignore.
Now, I'm going to go out on a limb here and say something that probably will not be very popular. Lab ranges are just that- ranges. Trying to be at the tippy top is NOT always a good thing. And just because a lab is low-normal, that is NOT automatically a bad thing. It is important to follow trends, but most times a trend is more than one test. In the absence of other things that make up a big picture, lab change is often just followed and rechecked. There is a reason for this! Too much of a good thing, like Vitamin A, can turn into a bad thing. Granted, doctors are not gods, and many of them have crappy bedside manner, but they DID spend an unholy number of years learning about this stuff.
I have been very impressed by the knowledge in our community, and the people here are great resources and advocates, but PLEASE be careful with supplements. Extra Vitamin A, or potassium for another example, can be dangerous.
Now, I'm going to go out on a limb here and say something that probably will not be very popular. Lab ranges are just that- ranges. Trying to be at the tippy top is NOT always a good thing. And just because a lab is low-normal, that is NOT automatically a bad thing. It is important to follow trends, but most times a trend is more than one test. In the absence of other things that make up a big picture, lab change is often just followed and rechecked. There is a reason for this! Too much of a good thing, like Vitamin A, can turn into a bad thing. Granted, doctors are not gods, and many of them have crappy bedside manner, but they DID spend an unholy number of years learning about this stuff.
I have been very impressed by the knowledge in our community, and the people here are great resources and advocates, but PLEASE be careful with supplements. Extra Vitamin A, or potassium for another example, can be dangerous.
Most Active
Recent Topics
