Smoker And Alcoholic. Abnormalities Seen In Liver Test. Are They Related?

Posted on Thu, 31 Jan 2013

Question: Hi Dr my Alt is 90 and ast is normal ....and my alk pho is 147 .... What does that relate to ? For your information i occasionally drink alcohol like one per week and some times one or two per month ... I am smoker...... Single.......

Answered by Dr. Charles S Narasi (7 hours later)

Hello, XXXXXXX,
I don't think your liver test abnormalities are due to alcohol.
But, I must state, that the amount of alcohol that you consume
even if it is infrequent can cause liver damage. I hope that is
not the case with you. You have to rule out Hepatitis B or C as
culprits. You need a complete Hepatitis profile to rule this out.
If you had ever engaged in risky behaviour for contracting
these, you should rule that out first. Even if you did something
few years ago, it is still possible you can have chronic hepatitis.
If you received any blood transfusion before 1990, had sexual
contact with someone with Hepatitis-C, exchanged needles
for drug abuse, had tattoos with dirty needles, shared toothbrush
etc. you may be considered a high risk for Hep -C. The other
things that can affect the liver are drugs, over the counter and prescription
ones. NSAIDs such as Ibuprofen, Naproxen can cause problems. Certain
antibiotics like Tetracycycline or Sulfa drugs can aslo do this.
I want to tell you that ALT stays abnormal longer than AST.
I would recommend that you stay away from all alcohol for at least
a month and have your tests repeated.
If the tests stay abnormal, I would have you get a sonogram of the
liver and gallbladder. This is to rule out fatty liver and gallastones.
In the mean time, I want you to start taking Vit-E800 units/day along
with Vit-C 1000 mg,/Day. A high protein diet is also recommended.
I wish you well.

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar

Follow up: Dr. Charles S Narasi (45 minutes later)

Thank u so much for your answer, I would let u know that.... At 2009, I did liver function test and my liver enzymes was high but i do not how much, even at that time I had never drink, then i did ultra sound and the doctor said my liver is normal ,,, but i was using cretain A cream with out prescription,,,, and I did hepatitis checks and i was negative from B and C , then I had 3 hepatitis vaccin shot.... I did start drink alcohol at 2011..... Then i did check for my liver enzymes at Jouly 2012 and they were normal ,,,, then last week I repeat check for my liver enzymes... And got alt is 90 and alk pho 147 ....and ast normal ........ For your information ,,,, i am drug free ..... And single never had sexual before ...... so do u suggest doing ultra sound ??

Answered by Dr. Charles S Narasi (8 hours later)

Hello, XXXXXXX,
I am glad to hear that you are drug free. As I said before
stay away from all alcohol for three months, follow a good diet,
take the Vitamins I recommended and re-test the blood.
If all normal, I would not worry about it. If still abnormal, yes,
get another sonogram of the liver and go from there.
I wish you well.

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Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar