Alcoholic. Have Elevated Sgot And Sgpt Level. Concerned For Liver Problem
I assume based on the numbers your are giving that those are your liver enzymes, specifically the AST and ALT (also known as SGOT and SGPT). They are indeed elevated, and this is definitely secondary to drinking alcohol everyday. However I am mostly concerned about your platelet count, which is 107. This is very concerning, as usually patients with a lot of damage to the liver (also known as cirrhosis), end up having an enlarged spleen which takes up the platelets, therefore patients with cirrhosis, have low platelets. The level of the platelets correlate fairly well with the degree of scarring and damage in the liver. The normal value for the platelets is over 150.
Regarding your liver enzymes, these fluctuate more often, and they can come down to normal even if your liver is destroyed, so it is not a good indicator of cirrhosis. It just reflects there is active inflammation in your liver, but if you stop drinking alcohol, these may come back down to normal fairly quickly.
It is also important to control your diabetes, as this can also worsen your liver disease if it is not controlled.
To have a better picture of how your liver is working, it would be nice to also know the rest of your liver enzymes (including your bilirrubin, total protein, albumin, alkaline phosphatase). Also your coagulation factors (that are produced by the liver) can reflect how well it is functioning (those are the PT and INR tests).
Hope that helps.
Let me know if you have any further questions or concerns.
The final diagnosis can be made with a liver biopsy, however oftentimes it is not necessary as we can tell most of the time based on imaging studies and labs.
The fact that your bilirrubin and albumin are normal is really good. Cirrhotics usually have a low albumin, and bilirrubin tends to go up.
Cirrhosis will not give you any symptoms until your liver is extremely damaged and terminal (you can become confused, throw up blood, develop "ascites" which is accumulation of free fluid in your abdomen, you can develop certain skin spots on your back typical of patients with cirrhosis).
Regarding the beer addiction, I understand if you can't quit cold XXXXXXX but you should decrease it substantially and seek help. There are "AA" (Alcoholic anonymous) meeting in all areas of USA. So there should be one close to you. The good thing about those meeting, is that you XXXXXXX people with the same addiction, you see which medical problems they ran into, and how they got better after quitting. It is very rewarding and helpful. I have sent many patients to them, and those who have the courage to go, are those who really quit and get better.
Again, alcohol abstinence is important.
Continue good diabetes control with your diet and medications.
Hope that helped.