Question:
What does it mean when liver enzymes are rising?

I talked to my doctor yesterday and was told that my liver enzymes are getting higher and need to see a specialist.I don't know what this means.He said since my surgery in March they have continued to rise.Before surgery I was told I had a fatty liver whatever that means.Any info would be greatly appreciated..Thanks    — Bobbie D. (posted on September 26, 2003)

September 26, 2003
Here are some things that causes liver enzymes to rise: *Viral hepatitis *Excessive alcohol intake/Alcoholic liver disease *Liver inflammation from medications and certain herbs, *Auto-immune hepatitis - a condition where a person's immune system mistakes the liver for an invader and attacks it. *Fatty liver- fat build -up in liver cells, called *steatohepatitis when the fatty liver is inflamed *Inherited liver diseases *Liver tumors *Heart failure I hope this helps... Take Care
   — baybekmbrly

September 26, 2003
Hi Bobbie. Check the archives on this question (click on "Library"). My liver enzymes were normal pre-op and for the first few months post op. Then, at about 8-10 months post-op, they shot way up out of the normal range. I read some posts in the AMOS library (and on yahoo) suggesting that, after WLS, the liver can become overcome by all the fat being processed through it during our heavy weight-loss period as post-ops, causing elevated liver enzymes in some post-ops for awhile. Whether this is true or not, I don't know (I'm not a doctor!). Some of the posters suggested that the enzymes will regulate themselves back down to normal over time; others suggested taking milk thistle to help bring the enzyme levels down.<P>I haven't been able to take milk thistle consistently yet due to other conflicting (non-WLS) medical treatments, but I've noticed that in the past few months, my liver enzymes are slowly but surely heading back down into the normal range without my doing much of anything about them. Personally, I'm going to wait and see if my liver enzymes continue to drop on their own, because my gut tells me this *is* a temporary WLS side effect, not a sign that I have liver disease. *But* elevated liver enzymes can be indicative of very serious disease, so I won't wait much longer to see a specialist if my enzymes don't drop to normal.<P>You have to make your own decisions on this, but for sure, you should at least ask your docs to check into whether your WLS somehow might have something to do with your elevated liver enzymes (and if so, whether it's a temporary condition). Neither my bariatric surgeon nor my endocronologist had ever heard of this, by the way, though they're both tracking my enzymes closely at this point. Good luck!
   — Suzy C.

September 26, 2003
My liver enzymes were normal for the first 6 mo then at the one year checkup they were elevated enough that it concerned my PCP. He said to come back in a month and get them checked again, at which point they had gone down. I'm inclined to think like Suzy C that this may just be one of the things that occur to us on our post-op journey. Read up on this in the library and share the info with any specialist you go to. It may help to avoid expensive tests during their diagnosis phase.
   — Cindy R.

September 27, 2003
Hi, just my 2 cents worth, they found elevated liver enzymes with me, come to find out I had Hepatitis, got very scared and couldn't figure out where I could have gotten it. Any how, I read the Doctors Guide a few months ago and found that MO are apt to get Hep it is called Nash, can be a side effect for obese just like diabetes can. Don't know alot about it, You might want to see a liver specialist if it is definite. I was worried it would stop my surgery, my surgeon said he has operated on alot of people with Hep and he is good with the liver, he wants to run his own biopsy and get his own results, so 2 birds with 1 stone I guess. Good luck. Patricia 9-30-03 314/???
   — pateblkbrn

September 27, 2003
Ruling out true liver disease, it means to me that you've had a gastric bypass. I started taking milk thistle (it's an herb, in a pill) about 2 yrs ago and have had normal LE since. Before doing anything, ask the doc if he's ok with a trial period on MT. Don't just dump in there, ok?
   — vitalady