Elevated Liver Enzymes

I got my lab results back and "everything was great, except you have elevated liver enzymes"  I asked what that meant and she didn't know, put a message into the doc and they just called me and told me to tell my primary doc.  I did and they want to see me right away! I'm freaking out.  I don't drink.  I haven't had even a tiny drop since before my surgery and even before that I have never been much of a drinker.  A glass of wine a few times a year.  I am trying not to freak out but....

I also had elevated liver enzymes for years but no one seemed concerned.  Then I got a note in a set of labs that they were changing how they calculated the liver enzymes and it's been normal ever since.  I think it's common for folks after WLS to have them.  I know Gina can chime in about it too.

Don't freak out - but do some homework on it.  Your PRP probably doesn't know much about WLS and elevated enzymes.

Our liver enzymes are almost always elevated during the rapid weight loss phase and sometimes a little elevated if you're taking a lot of vitamins and your liver is struggling to keep up. Elevated by less than 100 isn't too bad and may be totally normal. Do you have any numbers you can tell us?

--gina

Thanks ladies, I don't but I am going to call my surgeon and ask them to send me a link to get the results in print.  I am sure my internist is going to want to see them and maybe it will keep me from having to get blood drawn again, which I HATE!  Let me see what I can find out and I'll let you know.  Thanks already for putting me more at ease though.

Ok, I just talked to someone, can believe how quick that was.  She said my AST was 73 and my ALT was 127

what are the "normal ranges".  Each lab can be different how they calculate it and what they consider to be "normal".

I highly recommend to get copies of your labs and keep a spreadsheet so you can see the trends.  Gina has one that I used as a template and modified to me.  When I get my labs done I have "copy to pt" at the top - usually I get one.  If not I call and they mail it to me.  If you can get a copy of the labs done prior to surgery and go from there it will give you a really good idea of your trends. 

I had elevated liver enzymes and I had to point it out to the Dr... they didn't catch it and it was like for 2-3 years....

That's not too bad. If you were seeing numbers over 200, I'd be more worried. It could just be the stress of weight loss and leftovers from fatty liver after being overweight. Hang in there and keep us posted.

--gina

Yikes Jody! 2 years?  I guess I'm going to have to be more concientious about this stuff.  I had already asked for my own copy when I asked them to fax the info to my doc but I really only did it to make sure she gets to see it.  

Yeah 200 I'd be freaking out.

Going to doc at 3:15 today so hopefully I'll know more soon.  

Thanks all!