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High ALT Level. Do I Have A Problem With Liver? Taking Omeprazole For Acid Reflux
Question: hi
I recently had liver and kidney tests (i asked my doctor for them because I have been a bodybuilder for several years and I am now changing my lifestyle to do more cardio etc and I wanted to make sure my liver and kidneys were OK), everything came back normal but my doctor said that the alt level was 250 and asked if i had a virus!? i feel ok but the weekend before the test I drank a lot on Friday, Saturday and Sunday (a lot!). The test was on Wednesday. Now my wife is worried that it is my drinking that is damaging my liver. I don't drink very often (maybe once per month) but when I do I tend to drink a lot. The doctor wants to see me on 4th september (he's on holiday at the moment) but didn't sound concerned over the phone (he told me it wasn't anything to worry about). I haven't had a drink of alcohol for about 3 weeks and I'd like to get this sorted out ASAP because I am going on holiday 15th september and i definitely want to drink then - will it be ok for me to have a drink on holiday or do i have "a problem" with my liver? All of the other tests were normal / perfect apparently - only the alt was elevated. I have never been tested for Hepatitus A /B / C but I don't think this could be it, at least I hope not!? Feel healthy in every other respect, but I am a little overweight having been a BB for several years, which is why I am not doing a lot more cardio to get fit and lose the extra flab.
I don't take any medication apart from Omeprazole for stomach acid / reflux (20mg) once per day and I have been on this for 2 years.
Thanks
I recently had liver and kidney tests (i asked my doctor for them because I have been a bodybuilder for several years and I am now changing my lifestyle to do more cardio etc and I wanted to make sure my liver and kidneys were OK), everything came back normal but my doctor said that the alt level was 250 and asked if i had a virus!? i feel ok but the weekend before the test I drank a lot on Friday, Saturday and Sunday (a lot!). The test was on Wednesday. Now my wife is worried that it is my drinking that is damaging my liver. I don't drink very often (maybe once per month) but when I do I tend to drink a lot. The doctor wants to see me on 4th september (he's on holiday at the moment) but didn't sound concerned over the phone (he told me it wasn't anything to worry about). I haven't had a drink of alcohol for about 3 weeks and I'd like to get this sorted out ASAP because I am going on holiday 15th september and i definitely want to drink then - will it be ok for me to have a drink on holiday or do i have "a problem" with my liver? All of the other tests were normal / perfect apparently - only the alt was elevated. I have never been tested for Hepatitus A /B / C but I don't think this could be it, at least I hope not!? Feel healthy in every other respect, but I am a little overweight having been a BB for several years, which is why I am not doing a lot more cardio to get fit and lose the extra flab.
I don't take any medication apart from Omeprazole for stomach acid / reflux (20mg) once per day and I have been on this for 2 years.
Thanks
Hello, XXXXXXX,
High ALT level certainly indicates some degree of inflammation
of the liver. The timing of your blood test and the moderately
heavy alcohol that you consumed is consistent with the lab
findings. Binge drinking can cause as much damage as regular
drinking. If you don't have risk factors for Hep-C or never been
exposed to Hep-B , still the tests are needed to rule them out.
Now that you have not been drinking for over three weeks,
your liver tests should be normal or near normal with significant
drop in the level. At this point, I would strongly advice you not
to have even one cocktail or Beer, untill you have repeat blood
tests. Stick with Red grape juice. Also, I want you to take
a good B-Complex vitamin supplement once a day. Fresh
fruits and vegetables and cut back on fatty or greasy foods.
Wish you well.
High ALT level certainly indicates some degree of inflammation
of the liver. The timing of your blood test and the moderately
heavy alcohol that you consumed is consistent with the lab
findings. Binge drinking can cause as much damage as regular
drinking. If you don't have risk factors for Hep-C or never been
exposed to Hep-B , still the tests are needed to rule them out.
Now that you have not been drinking for over three weeks,
your liver tests should be normal or near normal with significant
drop in the level. At this point, I would strongly advice you not
to have even one cocktail or Beer, untill you have repeat blood
tests. Stick with Red grape juice. Also, I want you to take
a good B-Complex vitamin supplement once a day. Fresh
fruits and vegetables and cut back on fatty or greasy foods.
Wish you well.
Above answer was peer-reviewed by :
Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar
Thanks Doctor - that's a great response, very informative.
I bought myself a vitamin b complex and some red grape juice and i will take both every day from now on. I googled the red grape juice and this sounds like a super antioxidant which i didn't know about so that is definitely a bonus!
I guess the vitamin b complex will help my liver in some way as well? It says on the packaging that it helps the body to get the most out of the food you eat or something like that ...
When i see my doctor on 4th september i will ask him if i can do the liver/kidney tests again and also if he could include test for HEP A/B/C as well, just to be sure. I hope he agrees to the re-test otherwise i won't be able to drink when i go on holiday 15th september.
Do you know if there is any other way to get this test? Is there a "home testing kit" you can buy for this sort of thing i.e. for ALT etc?
Thanks again Doc ...
XXXXXXX
I bought myself a vitamin b complex and some red grape juice and i will take both every day from now on. I googled the red grape juice and this sounds like a super antioxidant which i didn't know about so that is definitely a bonus!
I guess the vitamin b complex will help my liver in some way as well? It says on the packaging that it helps the body to get the most out of the food you eat or something like that ...
When i see my doctor on 4th september i will ask him if i can do the liver/kidney tests again and also if he could include test for HEP A/B/C as well, just to be sure. I hope he agrees to the re-test otherwise i won't be able to drink when i go on holiday 15th september.
Do you know if there is any other way to get this test? Is there a "home testing kit" you can buy for this sort of thing i.e. for ALT etc?
Thanks again Doc ...
XXXXXXX
Hello,XXXXXXX,
Glad that you were able to see my response.
The short answer to your question is, NO!
Unfortunately, there is no test you can do at home
for good reliable liver tests.
Wish you well.
Glad that you were able to see my response.
The short answer to your question is, NO!
Unfortunately, there is no test you can do at home
for good reliable liver tests.
Wish you well.
Above answer was peer-reviewed by :
Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar
hi doc
i booked in for a re-test of liver and kidneys and i asked them to include HEP A/B/C and i rang this morning to get some of the results and the nurse said that ALT was 354 and the doctor wants to see me tomorrow morning.
She said she only had some of the results HEP B was NEGATIVE apparently but it sounded like there was something she didn't want to tell me over the phone, perhaps I'm just being paranoid.
I haven't touched a drop of alcohol in 3 weeks and I've been drinking red grape juice and drinking loads of water - so what could be wrong with me?
Do I have to worry about this? Could it be the omeprazole (20mg) I take once per day?
Help!
XXXXXXX
i booked in for a re-test of liver and kidneys and i asked them to include HEP A/B/C and i rang this morning to get some of the results and the nurse said that ALT was 354 and the doctor wants to see me tomorrow morning.
She said she only had some of the results HEP B was NEGATIVE apparently but it sounded like there was something she didn't want to tell me over the phone, perhaps I'm just being paranoid.
I haven't touched a drop of alcohol in 3 weeks and I've been drinking red grape juice and drinking loads of water - so what could be wrong with me?
Do I have to worry about this? Could it be the omeprazole (20mg) I take once per day?
Help!
XXXXXXX
forgot to mention that i've also been taking the vitamin b supplement you recommended!
can't work out why ALT is going up and not going down ...
worried!
XXXXXXX.
can't work out why ALT is going up and not going down ...
worried!
XXXXXXX.
Hello, XXXXXXX,
I am glad that you had those additional tests done.
Hep-C can be tranmitted through blood transfusions
and other means. I can't tell you what results are
pending. Even though the ALT level is high , that is
usually the enzyme that stays abnormal for a longer
period of time , but will come down eventually.
Continue with the Vit-B complex.
Keep me posted as to the rest of lab work.
Good luck.
I am glad that you had those additional tests done.
Hep-C can be tranmitted through blood transfusions
and other means. I can't tell you what results are
pending. Even though the ALT level is high , that is
usually the enzyme that stays abnormal for a longer
period of time , but will come down eventually.
Continue with the Vit-B complex.
Keep me posted as to the rest of lab work.
Good luck.
Above answer was peer-reviewed by :
Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar
ok here is the latest ...
got my test results - everything normal, HEP A+B+C all NEGATIVE
made appointment to see my doctor - he said everything fine apart from ALT which has gone up to 350. He wants me to stop taking ALL supplements including Omeprazole altogether and then re-test me again on Monday.
Any ideas what I can do to cleanse my liver ahead of Monday's re-test (so I can get my ALT level back down to normal) and also what might be causing this?
Doctor said he will also include sugar test for diabetes on Monday ...
PS: Should I still take the vitamin b complex? Or shoudl I do what he says and not take any supplements at all ?!
Thanks
got my test results - everything normal, HEP A+B+C all NEGATIVE
made appointment to see my doctor - he said everything fine apart from ALT which has gone up to 350. He wants me to stop taking ALL supplements including Omeprazole altogether and then re-test me again on Monday.
Any ideas what I can do to cleanse my liver ahead of Monday's re-test (so I can get my ALT level back down to normal) and also what might be causing this?
Doctor said he will also include sugar test for diabetes on Monday ...
PS: Should I still take the vitamin b complex? Or shoudl I do what he says and not take any supplements at all ?!
Thanks
Hello, XXXXXXX,
I am glad to hear the Hep-B & C were negative.
I agree stopping the Omez for a short time.
I would definitely continue B-Complex.
As I mentioned before don't worry about the number.
If you do the test in two different labs, results will not
be the same. Eventually it will all work out for you.
Wish you well.
I am glad to hear the Hep-B & C were negative.
I agree stopping the Omez for a short time.
I would definitely continue B-Complex.
As I mentioned before don't worry about the number.
If you do the test in two different labs, results will not
be the same. Eventually it will all work out for you.
Wish you well.
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Above answer was peer-reviewed by :
Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar
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