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What Do Lipase Level Of 499 And Amylase Level Of 80 Indicate?

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Posted on Mon, 14 Sep 2015
Question: What could a lipase level of 499 and an amylase level of 80 indicate? I am an age 65 male. I have no pain. I got tested a week ago. How soon should a retest be done?
doctor
Answered by Dr. Dr. Michelle Gibson (38 minutes later)
Brief Answer:
chronic conditions

Detailed Answer:
HI, thanks for using healthcare magic

HIGH lipase and LOW/NORMAL amylase may indicate chronic pancreatitis, liver disease, pancreatic cancer and pancreatic insufficiency (pancreas not working as well as it should).


Lipase is produced by the pancreas, liver ,intestine, tongue , stomach and a few other areas.

The upper limit in most labs is approx 160 U/L though this can vary from one lab to the next.
There are some labs that may have lower limits.

High levels may be due to different causes.

Amylase can have an upper limit of 140 U/L though some labs have an upper limit of 85 U/l.
Amylase would normally go up in acute (short term, recent onset) conditions such as pancreatitis, gall bladder attack, intestinal block etc but would not go up in chronic pancreatitis, pancreatic cancer, pancreatic insufficiency (pancreas not working as it should), liver disease.

High lipase and normal amylase may indicate one of these long term conditions- chronic pancreatitis , pancreatic cancer or pancreatic insufficiency, liver disease


Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar
doctor
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Follow up: Dr. Dr. Michelle Gibson (21 hours later)
What would be the next step? Is it normal to wait a month to get retested? Could the high lipase level be temporary? Are their any symptoms such as pain and weight loss I could expect? Are there medications that could be prescribed?
doctor
Answered by Dr. Dr. Michelle Gibson (20 minutes later)
Brief Answer:
would need specific diagnosis for treatment

Detailed Answer:
HI

Retesting is necessary, doing this in a month is fine.

During that time period you may want to consider an abdominal ultrasound to take a look at the abdomen specifically the pancreas and liver to see if there are any issues that can explain the problem

Since the cause of the high lipase is not known (and possibly the repeat may show a decrease), the specific symptoms would not be known.
If it is related to one of the conditions mentioned then weight loss can occur.

Medications would be given if the repeat lipase or the ultrasound show any problems.
Would need a specific diagnosis to treat

Please feel free to ask any other questions

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

General & Family Physician

Practicing since :2001

Answered : 16835 Questions

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What Do Lipase Level Of 499 And Amylase Level Of 80 Indicate?

Brief Answer: chronic conditions Detailed Answer: HI, thanks for using healthcare magic HIGH lipase and LOW/NORMAL amylase may indicate chronic pancreatitis, liver disease, pancreatic cancer and pancreatic insufficiency (pancreas not working as well as it should). Lipase is produced by the pancreas, liver ,intestine, tongue , stomach and a few other areas. The upper limit in most labs is approx 160 U/L though this can vary from one lab to the next. There are some labs that may have lower limits. High levels may be due to different causes. Amylase can have an upper limit of 140 U/L though some labs have an upper limit of 85 U/l. Amylase would normally go up in acute (short term, recent onset) conditions such as pancreatitis, gall bladder attack, intestinal block etc but would not go up in chronic pancreatitis, pancreatic cancer, pancreatic insufficiency (pancreas not working as it should), liver disease. High lipase and normal amylase may indicate one of these long term conditions- chronic pancreatitis , pancreatic cancer or pancreatic insufficiency, liver disease