What is elevated LFT's on bloodwork lab?

[demtenjeep]

Last edited Mon Apr 23, 2018, 08:33 PM - Edit history (1)

inquiring minds want to know


I have Crohn's disease and get chemotherapy infusions every 5 weeks.

I get monitored on my labs a LOT.

I also have slightly elevated WBC

I have been taking the infusions for 10 years. I figure one of these days it will no longer work.

[Cirque du So-What]

1. liver function tests

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liver_function_tests

[wishstar]

2. Elevated liver enzymes can indicate inflammation or damage to liver cells

Certain chemicals leak into bloodstream at higher than normal levels when liver cells are injured or inflamed. Can be caused my several different disease conditions and/or medications.

[likesmountains 52]

3. I deal with this every year..

I get blood work done, LFTs are elevated ( not horribly so, but high). My MD orders more lab, wanted to do a liver ultrasound this year..and always, the repeat lab work done a few months later is normal. I don't know why...but unless you have elevated results on multiple lab draws a month apart, I would not worry too much. The liver is the body's trash can..results might vary on what trash its working on at any given time. If you have not been checked for Hep C, you should do that though.

[Blue_true]

6. As I have gotten older, my body does strange things to sugar.

I don't have diabetes or a pre condition. But if I eat too much sweet stuff, and too much isn't much. If I eat sweet stuff for a few days, I develop dry skin spots, when I stop the sugar intake, they go away. It is to the point where I don't eat cookies, candy, donuts, processed foods like peanut butter or jam, packaged food that may contain high amounts of sugar. I can eat fruit, as long as I don't eat a lot of the sweetest fruit.

The body and it's processes are amazing things, I am sure that you have gotten to know more about your liver than you ever wished to know.

[likesmountains 52]

10. So true, it is all a balancing act!

[Docreed2003]

4. Could be several things...

AST (aspartate aminotransferase) and ALT (alanine amonotrasferase), typically help to look at liver health; Total bilirubin is helpful because bilirubin elevations can be due to intrinsic liver issues or extrinsic liver issues; Alkaline phosphatase & GGT can be helpful in liver disease as well...

I guess I would ask, what are the liver panel results? I truly dislike the term "liver function tests" because some individuals with liver failure who have burned out their livers will have "normal lfts". It's only meaningful in the context of a particular patient's clinical scenario.

Hope that helps....

[Blue_true]

7. What do you mean by "burned out", in percentage terms or something like that? nt

[Docreed2003]

11. As the liver damage becomes more severe...

Levels of AST and ALT will begin to normalize because of the damage to the liver. It is not uncommon to see normal levels of AST/ALT in people with fulminant liver failure...

[Blue_true]

20. Ok, thanks. nt

[demtenjeep]

5. Thanks...that makes sense

ya-all are great

[heather blossom]

8. Are you taking statin medication?

I had to switch from Lipitor to Vytorin because of elevated LFT's on my bloodwork.

[demtenjeep]

9. no I get infused with Remicade

and take norco 4 times a day

also since dotard I have been taking lexipro

[pnwmom]

12. I have inflammatory bowel disease that is controlled by not eating gluten.

One of my children had elevated liver enzymes that went down after she went off gluten.

So maybe there's a connection. Have you ever tried a strict gluten-free diet? Unfortunately the standard tests yield some false negatives. Sometimes the only way to know for sure is to try an elimination diet.

[demtenjeep]

14. hubby is GF

AND MOSTLY i DO THE gf THING BUT NOT ALWAYS

[pnwmom]

16. Even the tiniest amount -- the amount in a prescription pill, for example,

can give me intestinal bleeding. But when I eliminate every bit, my symptoms go away.

You're already a step ahead since you know how to cook without it . . . maybe you should consider trying a really strict elimination, for several months. Long enough to know if it's made a difference.

I don't miss the gluten foods anymore - they all look like rat poison to me.

[Aristus]

13. If AST is higher than ALT, usually but not always, alcohol is the reason for the

abnormal test results.

[demtenjeep]

15. because of my illness

i CAN'T drink.

[Aristus]

17. I'm sorry.

That was more just for general knowledge.

I should have kept it specific to your condition.

[Hawaii Hiker]

18. My AST has been high for decades

but the other liver function tests are normal...As was a liver ultrasound done last year...

I don't drink alcohol....Doctors haven't come up with reason why my AST is always high when everything else related to liver health is normal....

[Ms. Toad]

19. Ask your doctor to evaluate you for primary sclerosing cholangitis

Most of the drugs to treat IBD (crohn's and ulcerative colitis) can be liver toxins, so that may be all that is going on. But primary sclerosing cholangitis is a companion disease to IBD, and elevated liver functions (LFT) is one of the early signs.

Do you have insane itching?

About 85% of people with PSC also have IBD. Only a small fraction of people with IBD have PSC, but everyone with IBD should be screened - especially if liver functions are elevated. If your Alkaline Phosphatase is elevated much more (proportionately) than ALT or AST, that is a stronger suggestion for more aggressive screening. If it is advanced, it can be seen on an ultrasound; if not it takes an MRCP. Don't let anyone do an ERCP as a diagnostic procedure (doctors who are dramatically out of date, or who don't treat this rare disease often, often use an ERCP, - an invasive test that shows nomore than an MRCP).

(My daughter is living with this cursed disease. Her LFTs were so close to normal initially that her doctor initially insisted nothing was wrong with her. PM me if you want more info)

Elevated WBC is normal for IBD -I doubt my daughter's has been normal in 22 years. She's just started on infusions