Question:
Looking for a clear explaination of the numbers in my blood work.

I had a very thorough blood work done last month, and I came back low in zinc, that was an easy fix. But I was high in BUN at 25, BUN/Creatinine ratio at 31, high in GOT/ALT at 50, and CK was high at 179. Can any one tell me what that means or where I can read more about it? Thanks Peggy    — Peggy N. (posted on June 17, 2002)

June 17, 2002
I can tell you that BUN and creatinine are your kidney functions. ALT and GPT are liver functions. CK is creatinine kinase. You may be able to look these things up and check on them further. The best bet is just to call your doctor or nurse and ask them for a detailed explanation. If they don't give you a thorough answer over the phone, schedule a follow up office visit for the same.
   — Jennifer P.

June 17, 2002
Try going to this site, http://www.amarillomed.com/howto.htm. they provide a great how to read lab results guide.
   — Rosario T.

June 17, 2002
Ooops, I was a little premature. I wanted to include this site as well - http://www.bloodbook.com/ranges.html.
   — Rosario T.

June 17, 2002
My weight loss surgery was postponed on May 16, due to elevated BUN 23 and Creatinine 1.4 levels upon further evaluation they found out that I have Chronic Hydronephrosis. This happens when the kidney produces urine in the normal manner but the urine cannot drain out of the ureter into the bladder because of an obstruction. This is what happened in my situation and every situation is different. I don't think that this value is a reason to think you have kidney failure, but rather a value that should be repeated to establish a trend or a baseline value. I personally will not go changing my diet or go drinking enourmous quantities of water until a problem has been established. Normal lab values are meant to categorize the majority of people into safe ranges. You are slighty out of these ranges but, this simply means further evaluation or consideration of why these values are elevated needs to be performed. I get my info at www.medhelp.org. lots of hugs.
   — tanya G.

June 17, 2002
Peggy~ If your BUN was slightly elevated but your creatinine was normal, this is most likely due to a very mild dehydration, and I would kick up your water intake a little. A BUN of 25 is very mildly elevated though, and it probably means nothing of significance. As another poster stated, your ALT is a liver enzyme. This too also seems a very mild elevation, but one that should probably be repeated in three months just to recheck. If it's still elevated then or more elevated, that can be due to numerous things...medications, alcohol intake, or hepatitis. Would take alot of further evaluation, probably by a gastroenterologist/hepatologist to find the cause. But again...if it's normal in 3 months...then no worries. Last is the CK=creatine kinase. This is an enzyme released from muscle when the muscle breaks down. If you are post-op, unfortunately it's probably not that unusual for you to be burning a little bit of muscle as you burn fat. Try maybe to increase your protein intake if you're not meeting goal, and be sure to exercise to keep that muscle built up!
   — Sheri K.