ALT elevated slightly

tangandchris

My ALT and AST have been slightly elevated the last 3 labs. This last one my AST had gone down, but ALT is still elevated. MO is wanting to go ahead with CT this time. Last month I asked to wait and retest, so we did and it's still high so now we go down the scans route.

I HATE this, the stress of the scan is intense. When they called I literally felt like a panic attack was coming on. I'm trying to tell myself that this is just a safety precaution. My ALT is elevated at a 55, the norm from the lab is up to 40. So, this is not an alarming rise...right? Wouldn't it have to be higher than 55 for it to be mets??

tangandchris

Well, I'm still waiting for this scan to be scheduled and I'm still wondering if it is an overreaction. I'm scared and I hate this crap! I'm googling....yes I know, but actually it seems to be showing more signs toward fatty liver disease as being the culprit. BUT, I just need to know if cancer is a possibility, I mean really could it be a possibility?? uggg please someone answer. just need some feed back

marijen

You can go to rxlist.com, go to understanding tests and search for ALT, it will tell you what elevated ALT may mean.

LaCombattante

Are you on AI or Tamoxifen? I switched from Tamoxifen to Femara two and a half months ago and in my last labs liver enzymes are elevated (were fine on Tamoxifen). My MO thinks this is due to Femara and is not too concerned. I will retest in January

KayaRose

tangandchris, My ALT/AST numbers were high during chemo. My MO said there were several drugs that could cause them to go up including a couple that I had been taking - Tylenol and Lipitor. My levels were much higher than yours and were due to a combination of infection, chemo, etc. They did come back down to normal after a time. If you are taking Tylenol or Lipitor, maybe you should mention that to your doctor. Just a thought.

tangandchris

I'm not currently taking any drugs that could lead to this type of elevation, so that drives some of my anxiety too. I'm scheduled for scan Tuesday and I just keep telling myself that this is a total overreaction by the doctor. I have to fast and drink contrast dye which sounds awful, hopefully it won't be that bad. Thanks for the input ladies, sometimes I just come here when I'm freaking out. I feel a little better this morning. I just hate that this is going on right before Christmas *sigh*

tangandchris

I'm not doing chemo currently.....I'm hoping for fatty liver lol

KayaRose

tangandchris, so many things can effect the liver - even a slight infection somewhere else in your body. I know the fear you feel. Just yesterday my surgeon said I need to get a little bump in my mastectomy area biopsied. She said most likely scar tissue but better safe than sorry. Since she's going out of town for the holidays, I can't get it done till Jan 7th. Sure puts a damper on my Christmass, too. Oh we'll,all we can do is try to stay positive. Good luck to you!

tangandchris

KayaRose, that really stinks that you have to wait that long....geesh!! I had a lump in my mx area and it was necrotic tissue, so here's hoping the best for you as well. ((hugs))

KayaRose

Thanks for the hugs tangandchris - I need them. I was really looking forward to this Christmas especially considering what bad shape I was in last year at this time. I thought I was doing so well and now another biopsy. I also have to go for more physical therapy because my skin is still too tight around my incisions. Doctor said I need massage and exercises so I don't get a frozen shoulder. I'm trying to stay positive but sometimes it's hard. Thank goodness for grandkids - they really lift my spirits.

MEG2

tangandchris, I've had issues with elevated liver enzymes for the past 15 years, prior to my BC diagnosis. I'd had two liver ultrasounds and several blood tests for all the hepatitis (A, B and C), any and all auto-immune disorders and nothing was ever found...a dilemma to the specialist I was seeing at the time. I appeared healthy but had these elevated numbers...they continued to fluctuate from normal to high year after year, we never knew what they would look like. Sometimes they'd be normal for a few years and then they'd jump back up for a few years...it has been a very odd medical journey.

Fast forward to my BC diagnosis in 2013; they'd been high for the few years prior but dropped during my treatment (following this odd pattern we'd seen). Recently they went up again (AST 72, ALT 87). We waited a month and did a re-test (AST 52, ALT 90) so they stayed high but flat. Just for some perspective they have been as high as AST 100 and ALT 177 so these numbers did not alarm me at all; I've tracked the detail on my own since I saw a specialist and they couldn't offer a real diagnosis or reason for elevations and it made sense to me to see if any other health issues were related. My PCP suggested a liver ultrasound, my Onc suggested a liver/pelvic CT. Just like you I felt like they were overreacting and thought the test was unnecessary, but...there is the fact that now I am/was a cancer (survivor, patient, whatever) so I decided that I should take the test just to prove them wrong. I had horrible anxiety, had bad days and sleepless nights, actually canceled the test once and ignored phone calls from their office to re-schedule but knew it was better to be safe than sorry. I had a CT on Friday the 11th and got the call on Monday the 14th that I had...fatty liver! Ugh, not sure why that was never part of the diagnosis before (although it had been suggested but the liver ultrasounds never confirmed it).

That was the best news I could have gotten (compared to what I believe my Onc thought - mets), the nurse told me to lower my fat intake and up my exercise and weight loss. The problem is that weight loss has been elusive since the tamoxifen and AI. I have an appt. with my Onc next week so I'll be speaking with her about the issue and trying to find a balance between what they see in test results, what my past liver test history has been and taking all other history into account before I have to go through the scanxiety again. Plus hoping she has some suggestions on keeping my liver healthy as well. I understand that it is NOT life threatening and can be reversed so that is what I am hoping to accomplish in the new year.

At any rate, I am passing along the readers digest version of my story so you have some hope to look towards as you wait for your own CT. Feel free to PM me if you need more info. Of course, I'm not a Doc or Clinician so can't say much about what is a low, moderate or high increase and everyone is different but you can ask all those questions of your team and hopefully find a balance too. Best wishes to you

tangandchris

Kay-I know....this dx just makes us weary for a long time. Just try to stay in the moment as much as possible and I lean on faith a lot to get me thru.

Meg-thanks for the input!!

So Saturday in the shower I felt something in my non cancer side, under my arm. I feel a hardening there and at that moment in the shower I thought I was going to puke. I found my original tumor in the shower

This one feels different though and at first I thought I wasn't really feeling anything because it is so deep. I had dh feel and he felt it as well *sigh* I'm going to call BS this morning, but honestly ya'll I'm soooo tired of this. Tired of the fear that this brings up. I'm thinking that BS might not be available this week since it's Christmas, but we will see.

((hugs))

7of9

TangandChris - hang in there...you are not alone. Going through this fear through the holidays and having to numb myself down with Attivan so I don't keep crying infront of my six year old is really the pits. Thanks for crapping on Christmas cancer - even potential cancer.

tangandchris

Thanks 7of9, just hanging in there like you said. I know what you mean too, I have a 6 year old as well and I don't want her to see me upset. She's already seen enough ya know?? ((hugs))

KBeee

keep us posted. Thinking of you. Hoping you get evaluated soon and get good news

tangandchris

currently sitting in the waiting room of BS's office. She's going to check the lump and from here I go over to hospital for abdominal CT. w

tangandchris

So, lump is negative....nada and that is good. The lump was worrying me more than the ALT level. I had the scan as well and those results are supposedly back tomorrow but we'll see.

tangandchris

CT is back and there is a cyst with high level of protein involved. Nurse wasn't able to tell me what that meant, but that MO spoke to radiologist and that the suggestion was either a follow-up CT in 3 months or a more comprehensive MRI for liver only sooner. I asked what was recommended and she said MO couldn't/wouldn't tell me. I don't understand this mentality btw, why can't he???

As of now I'm waiting the 3 months, I'm going to assume that if there was real reason for alarm here MO would be all over it. Honestly, I'm not sure that I feel completely at ease with any of this. Any ideas on what high protein means?