Harm Reduction Liver-Function Tests -- How Often?

[Michael_25]

Hey all,

I like to indulge in binge drinking on Friday and Saturday nights. I typically drink 25 to 30 standard drinks. I am now 33 years old. Clearly I'm giving my liver a beating, and therefore worry about cirrhosis. Is is normal for regular, heavy drinkers to take liver-function tests? I'm the only one, whom I know, who takes them. I got my last LFT result back 2 days ago and two enzymes were raised, but they decreased from the previous LFT. However, still over the accepted level.

I asked my GP whether I should get another LFT done and he stated not to bother with it. Now I've seen this GP since I was 20 years old -- he's really on the ball and knows his stuff. (I also do CWE's on T3's and Percocets 2 or 3 times a week ...)

So, are routine LFTs in order?

Thanks!

P.S. This may be posted in the wrong forum, but I didn't know which other one would be acceptable for this question.

 

[BeachBum4u]

OK, I'm no doctor but I would think it is something you need to keep an eye on. I would guess annual rechecks would be appropriate based on your age. I'm not saying you are going to be OK if you basically cease the sort of bingeing you've been doing. However, being you're relatively young, your body will probably start to heal itself (if the abuse stops or is seriously reduced), so your prognosis is most likely guardedly good.

The human body is an amazing machine and in many instances is capable of repairing some pretty horrific self abuse. My best recommendation to you would be to do some serious self examining of exactly why you continue to do this to yourself even though you clearly recognize the danger it's causing you or could down the road. Hope this wasn't too windy but just thought I'd throw some ideas back at you. Good luck!

 

[falsifiedhypothesi]

Do you take breaks some weekends or are you doing this every weekend? If you do it every weekend you might be justifiably paranoid about your liver because doing it every weekend would amount to binge drinking ~104 days out of the year.

I?m not a doctor so i can?t speak about liver heath or the dangers of X amount of binge drinking but i would be concerned about my health if i drank heavily that often. Im not judging though, i like to get fucked up with my friends once or twice every couple months.

How long have you been drinking like this?

 

[Jekyl Anhydride]

There have been instances where supplements like SAM-e and to a lesser extent oral N-Acetyl -cysteine have shown some benefit in liver health where APAP is concerned. While this isn't something to replace having Transaminase levels tested it might be worth trying since you have a metric for assessing the condition of your liver. Even if you increase the time between tests I wouldn't advise in skipping them because the levels haven't been spiked (above 400U/L) in the past.

 

[BurritoJimmy]

It couldnt hurt. Dont let it give you a false sense of security tho. 50 to 60 drinks every weekend is going to take its toll. At 33 it could start getting bad pretty quickly. It happened in my mid 30s. There's always the anomalies that can do this their whole life but I think you'll be happier in the long run if you moderate a bit.

 

[busted.produk]

There have been instances where supplements like SAM-e and to a lesser extent oral N-Acetyl -cysteine have shown some benefit in liver health .....

Milk thistle is also a good supplement in regards to liver health.
Its cheap, accessible and at least worth looking into....

 

[xxanxxtwo]

There have been instances where supplements like SAM-e and to a lesser extent oral N-Acetyl -cysteine have shown some benefit in liver health where APAP is concerned. While this isn't something to replace having Transaminase levels tested it might be worth trying since you have a metric for assessing the condition of your liver. Even if you increase the time between tests I wouldn't advise in skipping them because the levels haven't been spiked (above 400U/L) in the past.

Isn't gamma glutamyl transpeptidase the first enzyme associated with excessive Etoh abuse? If so, wouldn't 400U/L be extremely elevated? I'm on my phone and can't look it up now.

To the OP, I was a daily-drinker (1/2gallon of vodka a day with hep-c) for years. As already stated, everyone is different - and there are anomalies such as myself - my LFT tests are perfect.

Also, a LFT only goes so far. I've read and been warned about their possibly deceiving results. Still a good idea, though! I have tests done every 3 months.

 

[Jekyl Anhydride]

In medicine, the presence of elevated transaminases, commonly the transaminases alanine transaminase and aspartate transaminase, may be an indicator of liver damage. Other terms employed include transaminasemia, transaminitis and elevated liver enzymes. Normal ranges for both ALT and AST are 8-40 U/L with mild transaminesemia noted to the upward numerical limit of 250 U/L. Drug-induced increases such as that found with the use of anti-tuberculosis agents such as isoniazid are limited typically to below 100 U/L for either ALT or AST. Cirrhosis of the liver or fulminant liver failure secondary to hepatitis commonly reach values for both ALT and AST in the >1000 U/L range.

...

 

[xxanxxtwo]

Thank you for the clarification on that.