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Can Antibiotics And Xanax Elevate Liver Enzymes?
Question: Hello...I am actually posing this question for a friend of mine, who suffers from health anxiety. About one month ago she was diagnosed with a sinus infection and prescribed amoxicillan for it. While on the amoxicillan she developed bad headaches and also a skin rash. She followed up with her doctor, who diagnosed an allergic reaction to the amoxicillan and gave her steroids and Benadryl and ordered a panel of blood work.
Her bloodwork came back normal with the exception of her three liver enzymes which were elevated; I’m attaching a copy of a portion of the bloodwork showing those elevated enzymes. Upon follow up with her doctor, her doctor is sending her for repeat blood work three weeks after the last bloodwork was done, as well as testing for hepatitis C. My friend is now extremely anxious and worried about liver damage and/or hepatitis C (she was immunized for hepatitis B). She drinks one to two glasses of wine a night and is not taking any prescription medications other than Xanax. She has never used IV needles and therefore no contaminated needles, etc.
Do you feel her levels are very worrisome and do you feel they could be due to the allergic reaction and/or antibiotic (her bilirubin was normal)? Also, do you feel there is much chance of it being Hepatitis C? Finally, would it be okay for her to continue to take Xanax prior to her repeat bloodwork in one week (she has stopped drinking alcohol)!
Thank you for your kindness and expertise!
Her bloodwork came back normal with the exception of her three liver enzymes which were elevated; I’m attaching a copy of a portion of the bloodwork showing those elevated enzymes. Upon follow up with her doctor, her doctor is sending her for repeat blood work three weeks after the last bloodwork was done, as well as testing for hepatitis C. My friend is now extremely anxious and worried about liver damage and/or hepatitis C (she was immunized for hepatitis B). She drinks one to two glasses of wine a night and is not taking any prescription medications other than Xanax. She has never used IV needles and therefore no contaminated needles, etc.
Do you feel her levels are very worrisome and do you feel they could be due to the allergic reaction and/or antibiotic (her bilirubin was normal)? Also, do you feel there is much chance of it being Hepatitis C? Finally, would it be okay for her to continue to take Xanax prior to her repeat bloodwork in one week (she has stopped drinking alcohol)!
Thank you for your kindness and expertise!
Brief Answer:
No chances of hepatitis C
Detailed Answer:
Hello,
Firstly I would like to tell you that only when the level of liver enzymes are elevated 3 times more than the upper normal value then LFT is considered significant.
Your friend is an alcoholic had a history of taking antibiotics and regular Xanax.
All these drugs are metabolized by the liver. The liver acts as a detoxification plant of body and any drug taken is detoxified by it.
During this process of detoxification liver too suffers few injuries and therefore mild to moderate elevation of liver enzymes could be seen.
Ask you, friend, to start taking a liver rejenuvator called milk of thistle or silymarin. It helps to regenerate liver and take a course of 1 month.
I don't think that hepatitis c is an option with normal bilirubin. Stop alcohol. Follow a high carbohydrate diet and a low-fat diet.
Repeat tests after a month things would be fine. Get an ultra sound done to check for fatty liver. Stop Xanax and start lorazepam (it bypasses liver).
Hope I have answered your query. Let me know if I can assist you further.
Take care
Regards,
Dr Ramesh Kumar, Gastroenterologist
No chances of hepatitis C
Detailed Answer:
Hello,
Firstly I would like to tell you that only when the level of liver enzymes are elevated 3 times more than the upper normal value then LFT is considered significant.
Your friend is an alcoholic had a history of taking antibiotics and regular Xanax.
All these drugs are metabolized by the liver. The liver acts as a detoxification plant of body and any drug taken is detoxified by it.
During this process of detoxification liver too suffers few injuries and therefore mild to moderate elevation of liver enzymes could be seen.
Ask you, friend, to start taking a liver rejenuvator called milk of thistle or silymarin. It helps to regenerate liver and take a course of 1 month.
I don't think that hepatitis c is an option with normal bilirubin. Stop alcohol. Follow a high carbohydrate diet and a low-fat diet.
Repeat tests after a month things would be fine. Get an ultra sound done to check for fatty liver. Stop Xanax and start lorazepam (it bypasses liver).
Hope I have answered your query. Let me know if I can assist you further.
Take care
Regards,
Dr Ramesh Kumar, Gastroenterologist
Above answer was peer-reviewed by :
Dr. Nagamani Ng
Hi Dr. Kumar! Thank you so much for your kind and reassuring response! I passed it along to my friend (this honestly is for a friend!) and it most certainly eased her anxiety!
She was relieved to hear that it doesn’t appear to point to Hepatitis C. She did have a theoretical question though...when she had prior routine blood work done back in 2013 and also in 2015, all results were within normal range (I presume this included the standard liver function tests). If, theoretically, she had been exposed and had hepatitis C for some time, do you feel it would have shown in her bloodwork in those prior years, with elevated liver enzymes or bilirubin, etc.?
Thank you again immensely for your kindness, expertise and compassion!
She was relieved to hear that it doesn’t appear to point to Hepatitis C. She did have a theoretical question though...when she had prior routine blood work done back in 2013 and also in 2015, all results were within normal range (I presume this included the standard liver function tests). If, theoretically, she had been exposed and had hepatitis C for some time, do you feel it would have shown in her bloodwork in those prior years, with elevated liver enzymes or bilirubin, etc.?
Thank you again immensely for your kindness, expertise and compassion!
Brief Answer:
Follow up advice
Detailed Answer:
Hello,
Maximum incubation period of hepatitis c virus is 180 days and your friend had been tested twice in year 13 and 15 so its very unlikely that virus could remain incubated(hidden) inside her for complete two years.
Hope I have answered your query.
Take care
Regards,
Dr Ramesh Kumar, Gastroenterologist
Follow up advice
Detailed Answer:
Hello,
Maximum incubation period of hepatitis c virus is 180 days and your friend had been tested twice in year 13 and 15 so its very unlikely that virus could remain incubated(hidden) inside her for complete two years.
Hope I have answered your query.
Take care
Regards,
Dr Ramesh Kumar, Gastroenterologist
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Above answer was peer-reviewed by :
Dr. Remy Koshy
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