Concerns after physical and blood work

LeeH · 12-11-2004, 08:10 PM

Thought I'd be smart and get a physical before my wife's company changes insurance carriers at the first of the year.

The doctor's office called and said that one of my liver function numbers, AST, should be under 40 and came back 107(?). Another liver enzyme, ALT, is in the normal range. Then they ask how much alcohol I drink. "Ummm, none." She says the doc wants to retest in three months. After reading about these numbers on the internet I'm wondering if I should wait that long or not for a retest.

I read through the new insurance info and didn't see anything about pre-existing condition exclusion, but am also concerned about that. Looks like I need to call the benefits department on Monday.

Do you typically tell your doc you're going to get a second opinion or just go get one?

Moses · 12-11-2004, 08:48 PM

AST elevation can arise from strenuous muscular activity, alcohol consumption, hepatitis and lots of other things. Don't worry too much, it may be normal in three months. Just make sure to do the follow up. Second opinions are always a good idea, just make sure you go to a higher level of expertise. Whether or not you discuss this with your doc is your choice. Don't worry about hurting feelings. In this case, you might want to check with a gastroenterologist.They specialize in liver disfunction.

Joeaksa · 12-12-2004, 06:59 AM

Lee,

Also, you are at a good age to look at getting a PST (or PSA) test for your prostate. My doc recommend that I get one at 40-45 years old so that they would have a baseline reading.

Now that I am over 50 they check it every couple of years and look back to the test results when I was younger to compare with.

Joe A

Karl2bdc · 12-12-2004, 07:44 AM

ALT enzymes are more abundant in the liver than AST enzymes, and is typically a more reliable indicator of liver damage. Your ALT enzymes are in the normal range so that is good. There really isn't much to get a second opinion about, Lab values are lab values, AST and ALT are very commonly looked at. Just remember to get the blood work done again in 3 months. If your ALT enzymes were 2-3x normal as well, then you might want to follow up immediately.

LeeH · 12-12-2004, 08:39 AM

Thanks for the info. Is the three month wait typical? It just seemed like a long time.

Karl2bdc · 12-12-2004, 09:05 AM

Since your ALT levels are normal, I would say the 3 months is probably fairly standard. Again if the ALT numbers were through the roof, they probably would have you come in sooner.

M.D. Holloway · 12-12-2004, 10:11 AM

is it possable the lab made a mistake? What would it hurt (other than a pin prick) to get it run again asap?

LeeH · 12-12-2004, 05:18 PM

From what I've read the most common, non-urgent factors that can cause the AST levels to be elevated are alcohol use (I don't drink), strenuous exercise (I exercise fairly regularly, but not what I would call strenuous), and heavy acetaminophen use (I took Nyquil a couple of times the week before the test for what might have been a sinus infection, but don't take it regularly).

Last years AST level was 27 and I was probably exercising more heavily then. I guess I'm more concerned since I can just about rule out all of the easy answers. Yes, lab error would be good.

Before the internet, I would have just showed up in three months for the retest. Since I'm so highly educated

on the matter I have more to worry about.