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Dr. Andrew Rynne
MD
Dr. Andrew Rynne

Family Physician

Exp 50 years

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Elevated Liver Levels Due To Excessive Alcohol. Indicative Of Permanant Liver Damage ?

Hi. I am a 29 year old female. I just got routine bloodwork back and I have elevated liver levels. My GGT is 208, AST 74 and ALT 84. The doc said this was due to my excessive alcohol use (8 drinks most nights or more for a few years) and I was told to stop drinking and to retest in 2 weeks. My question is are my elevated levels indicitive of permanant liver damage or can I expect them to drop once I quit drinking?
Thu, 16 Aug 2012
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Endocrinologist,  's  Response
Hi,

Your doctor is right. Because of continued alcohol intake your liver has developed early inflammation. There are various stages of alcoholic liver damage- the earliest is alcoholic fatty liver - then alcoholic hepatitis and finally cirrhosis of liver. With raised AST and ALT you have started to develop alcoholic hepatitis. continued abstinence from alcohol can reverse some of the damage caused to the liver. Also drugs like ursodeoxycholic acid can reverse some liver inflammation. You need not retest so early- you can have a repeat LFT after 3 months of abstinence. Also there are some other drugs that are advised in alcoholic hepatitis - your doctor with calculate what is known as a Discriminant fraction and would advise you for the same.

I would also advise you to undergo Fibroscan- a non invasive test that would test the stiffness of the liver and can estimate how much permanent damage that has already happened to the liver.

Hope this helps

Regards
Dr. Om
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Internal Medicine Specialist,  Dr. Akhilesh Dubey's  Response
Alcohol is not good for health toooo much is injurious to liver in early stages it may be liver functions returns to normal if you stop drinking may be some medicines for liver.
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Elevated Liver Levels Due To Excessive Alcohol. Indicative Of Permanant Liver Damage ?

Hi, Your doctor is right. Because of continued alcohol intake your liver has developed early inflammation. There are various stages of alcoholic liver damage- the earliest is alcoholic fatty liver - then alcoholic hepatitis and finally cirrhosis of liver. With raised AST and ALT you have started to develop alcoholic hepatitis. continued abstinence from alcohol can reverse some of the damage caused to the liver. Also drugs like ursodeoxycholic acid can reverse some liver inflammation. You need not retest so early- you can have a repeat LFT after 3 months of abstinence. Also there are some other drugs that are advised in alcoholic hepatitis - your doctor with calculate what is known as a Discriminant fraction and would advise you for the same. I would also advise you to undergo Fibroscan- a non invasive test that would test the stiffness of the liver and can estimate how much permanent damage that has already happened to the liver. Hope this helps Regards Dr. Om