# Had slightly elevated liver function enzymes



## manito2000 (Apr 20, 2010)

Hello everyone...So yesterday i went to get some blood work done and my liver enzymes are slightly elevated. They are still within the normal range but higher than they were 3 months ago. My doctor has scheduled me for an abdominal ultrasound.I started on Zoloft today. He thinks it will help my IBS symptoms and ease the anxiety.However, I still have lots of right sided back pain when I sleep and wake up in the AM. I've been doing some research online and it seems that back pain and slightly elevated liver enzymes are indications of gallbladder problems.


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## Kathleen M. (Nov 16, 1999)

Gallbladder pain most typically is after a meal (especially a fatty meal) and is severe and by the shoulder blade (when it it is in the back).A lot of medications even over the counter stuff can make the enzyme levels fluctuate in normal values so I wouldn't assume something serious, but worth running through a few tests to see if it is normal lifestyle type reasons for a change.Pain worse when you wake up tends to be consistent with IBS and the bend in the colon right next to the gall bladder can mimic gall bladder pain.


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## JackReynolds (Mar 31, 2010)

I don't think your doc is terribly concerned with your liver enzymes if he gave you zoloft. Like Kathleen said, lots of things can cause liver enzymes to fluctuate. Heck, an intense workout can throw off your liver enzymes.


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## Bonzi (Mar 18, 2010)

JackReynolds said:


> I don't think your doc is terribly concerned with your liver enzymes if he gave you zoloft. Like Kathleen said, lots of things can cause liver enzymes to fluctuate. Heck, an intense workout can throw off your liver enzymes.


Exactly. I had elevated liver enzymes in December, which the physical had been taken while I was hitting weights 5 days a week. True bodybuilding type weight lifting. My AST and ALT were slightly out of range. Took 3 weeks off from lifting and got the liver panel rechecked and they dropped all the way down to the middle of the normal range. Your liver creates those extra enzymes to help repair your body after workouts.


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## JackReynolds (Mar 31, 2010)

Bonzi said:


> Exactly. I had elevated liver enzymes in December, which the physical had been taken while I was hitting weights 5 days a week. True bodybuilding type weight lifting. My AST and ALT were slightly out of range. Took 3 weeks off from lifting and got the liver panel rechecked and they dropped all the way down to the middle of the normal range. Your liver creates those extra enzymes to help repair your body after workouts.


I thought the muscle fibers broken down by weightlifting released some of the same enzymes into your blood as when your distressed liver cells die, causing a sort of false positive.


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## Bonzi (Mar 18, 2010)

JackReynolds said:


> I thought the muscle fibers broken down by weightlifting released some of the same enzymes into your blood as when your distressed liver cells die, causing a sort of false positive.


Heres a study on it. It actually does affect the liver itself and the enzymes released(I may be wrong on the repair part, but the liver does release the enzymes.http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2291230/


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## JackReynolds (Mar 31, 2010)

Bonzi said:


> Heres a study on it. It actually does affect the liver itself and the enzymes released(I may be wrong on the repair part, but the liver does release the enzymes.http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2291230/


Ugh. They had the participants do behind the neck pulldowns? I wonder why they didn't just make them do chinups while hitting them in the back of the neck with golf clubs.Anyways, that's a real interesting study, but they didn't say that weightlifting affected the liver. Rather, "Bilirubin, γGT and ALP were almost unaltered during the 7-day measurement period. This finding was expected, as these enzymes are not present in muscle tissue, and is also in accordance with a previous study." AST & ALT went up while they were testing because they're both found in muscles, anyway.Regardless, no one who has done some hard physical work in the week before a liver function test should be concerned if their AST/ALT are elevated but nothing else is. It just means you should work out more


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## WonkyColon (Apr 22, 2010)

Don't worry about it. My doctor said that a single Tylenol or glass of wine can increase your liver counts a bit. Certain foods can, too. If you had a liver problem bad enough to cause pain, it would probably be more than a little elevated.


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