Sign-in to Ask A Doctor - 24x7
OR
Sign in with Google
What Do Elevated Liver Enzyme Levels Indicate?
Question: Ast 49 alt 112. 2-3 drinks per day on average. Was eating lots of red meat. Changed things up since last test and have gone without alcohol, started exercising, and tweaked my diet. Really hoping there is nothing to be alarmed about. Been 9 days since last test. Next one is in 4 days. Thoughts?
Brief Answer:
Information
Detailed Answer:
Hello,
Having elevated liver enzymes means that your liver cells are inflamed and spilling more enzymes.
Common causes for this are alcohol, medications, and fatty liver from high triglycerides or carbohydrates.
Hepatitis such as from a virus can also cause this, but in the US, this is a less frequent cause.
It may take more than 12 days to see the elevation resolve after changing your diet and eliminating alcohol, but it is reasonable to recheck at 12 weeks to make sure that the enzymes are not rising instead of staying the same or going down.
If they are rising, and you have eliminated possible aggravating causes such as alcohol and are decreasing weight if overweight, then an ultrasound of the liver is the next step.
Most likely, given your change in lifestyle, you will see the enzymes either stay the same (because 12 days is a short time) or go down.
In addition to the check at 12 days, I would recheck again about 6-8 weeks after the lifestyle changes were initiated, because it can take that long for liver cells (hepatocytes) to regenerate.
So, I totally agree with your doctor's plan.
If you are used to having 2-3 drinks/day, are you replacing the alcohol with something else (some activity or healthy food as well as something for stress), because if not, there will be a void that you may feel the need to fill again with alcohol down the road when the thought of elevated liver enzymes isn't fresh in your mind.
And yo-yo-ing (starting stopping repeat) can do harm. The lifestyle dietary and alcohol reduction changes have to be long term.
Hope I have answered your query. Let me know if I can assist you further.
Information
Detailed Answer:
Hello,
Having elevated liver enzymes means that your liver cells are inflamed and spilling more enzymes.
Common causes for this are alcohol, medications, and fatty liver from high triglycerides or carbohydrates.
Hepatitis such as from a virus can also cause this, but in the US, this is a less frequent cause.
It may take more than 12 days to see the elevation resolve after changing your diet and eliminating alcohol, but it is reasonable to recheck at 12 weeks to make sure that the enzymes are not rising instead of staying the same or going down.
If they are rising, and you have eliminated possible aggravating causes such as alcohol and are decreasing weight if overweight, then an ultrasound of the liver is the next step.
Most likely, given your change in lifestyle, you will see the enzymes either stay the same (because 12 days is a short time) or go down.
In addition to the check at 12 days, I would recheck again about 6-8 weeks after the lifestyle changes were initiated, because it can take that long for liver cells (hepatocytes) to regenerate.
So, I totally agree with your doctor's plan.
If you are used to having 2-3 drinks/day, are you replacing the alcohol with something else (some activity or healthy food as well as something for stress), because if not, there will be a void that you may feel the need to fill again with alcohol down the road when the thought of elevated liver enzymes isn't fresh in your mind.
And yo-yo-ing (starting stopping repeat) can do harm. The lifestyle dietary and alcohol reduction changes have to be long term.
Hope I have answered your query. Let me know if I can assist you further.
Above answer was peer-reviewed by :
Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar
triglycerides at 171. may be related? replaced drinks with seltzer. dont feel a need to drinks - i just enjoy a good craft beer or bourbon i will continue to follow my doctors advice. just wanted to rule out whether i should be alarmed. from what i gather, i don't need to be. but i need to make changes and have already started to. would like to bring tge drinks to 1 a day and have the occasional cheat meal. am i pretty much on point?
Brief Answer:
Thoughts on this
Detailed Answer:
Hello,
Your triglycerides are borderline high and may be contributing to your liver cells being unhappy.
I expect with your alcohol and dietary changes that these will come down as well.
Increasing vegetables in your diet (and fruits, legumes, nuts) along with decreasing simple carbs and alcohol will usually help the triglycerides (and the liver cells).
Your liver enzymes are elevated but not alarming as long as they don't remain high.
Whether you can have 1 drink a day every day, it's hard to say as some people do fine with this, while I have seen elevated enzymes in others with just 1 drink a day.
Wait till the enzymes come down, then you might try that pattern and get your enzymes checked after several weeks to see.
Some people are more sensitive to alcohol than others, and it may be that you will have to either do without or have just an occasional drink. Usually an occasional "cheat" meal is ok too.
Hope I have answered your query.
Take care
Regards,
Dr Bonnie Berger-Durnbaugh, General & Family Physician
Thoughts on this
Detailed Answer:
Hello,
Your triglycerides are borderline high and may be contributing to your liver cells being unhappy.
I expect with your alcohol and dietary changes that these will come down as well.
Increasing vegetables in your diet (and fruits, legumes, nuts) along with decreasing simple carbs and alcohol will usually help the triglycerides (and the liver cells).
Your liver enzymes are elevated but not alarming as long as they don't remain high.
Whether you can have 1 drink a day every day, it's hard to say as some people do fine with this, while I have seen elevated enzymes in others with just 1 drink a day.
Wait till the enzymes come down, then you might try that pattern and get your enzymes checked after several weeks to see.
Some people are more sensitive to alcohol than others, and it may be that you will have to either do without or have just an occasional drink. Usually an occasional "cheat" meal is ok too.
Hope I have answered your query.
Take care
Regards,
Dr Bonnie Berger-Durnbaugh, General & Family Physician
Note: For more detailed guidance, please consult an Internal Medicine Specialist, with your latest reports. Click here..
Above answer was peer-reviewed by :
Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar
Answered by
Get personalised answers from verified doctor in minutes across 80+ specialties
