Help .. got my bloodwork results .. not good

[Kimberp]

Hello everyone ... I was hoping to pick your brains regarding bloodwork and the Atkins Diet.

I went to the doctor because on this diet I feel very tired, rundown and just plain 'blah.' She took blood and did the usual battery of tests including hormones and I just got my results back ... I am very upset.

My 'total cholesterol' went up about 40 pts to 221 and my HDL about 20 .. although my triglycerides and ratio of good to bad are fine. While this has me concerned what has me more concerned is my 'liver enzymes' (ALT and AST) are way off the charts. What is supposed to be 40/35 max are 161/52!

Apparently my doctor said this could be due to a 'fatty liver' which means all the fat on this diet is clogging my liver (not good) and messing with my metabolism of everything. I have now been told to stop this diet immediately and start eating a low fat diet. So now I am on a low fat low cholesterol diet ...

Has anyone else had these results with their bloodwork? They took more blood yesterday to rule out (hepatitis ..they don't think thats the case, but want to rule it out) and I have an appt for an abdominal sonogram next week to look at my liver, pancreas, etc.

HELP! I am very upset about this ... thanks for your help :)
Kim

[scottjan]

Did you get bloodwork before you started the diet? If so, what was it? There is a possibility that these numbers are an improvement over numbers before the diet.

My two high liver enzymes went down considerably on this diet as well as my glucose.

[Rosebud]

Hi Kim,

First of all, you can only be diagnosed with a fatty liver if you have a liver biopsy. So unless that is done, your doctor is guessing. I hope he is planning further tests so you'll know what is really happening.

However, you may find the information in this thread about Fatty Liver (http://forum.lowcarber.org/showthread.php?t=104199&highlight=fatty+liver) to be helpful.

:rose:Rosebud:rose:

[Kimberp]

Yes I did have my bloodwork prior to starting the diet and everything was fine.

My doctor is in the process of ruling things out, including hepatitis and just mentioned the fatty liver.

She had my write down everything I ate over the past 3 weeks and basically told me that my diet wasn't good. I have been having problems adding carbs to my diet and was mostly eating proteins and fats ... maybe 5 g of carbs per day.

She thinks that this imbalance might be causing a problem and has told me to cut back on fats and we'll check my blood again in a month to make sure its going down.

I am reading about the liver biopsy and I am not a big fan of having a needle stuck in my check... having a hard enough time giving them blood whenever they want it ;) <big fear of needles> .. hopefully the biopsy won't have to be done.

[doreen T]

Very low carbs, ketosis and fat intake will not affect liver enzymes. Period. If they did, then there'd have been a pathological increase in your triglycerides and LDL "bad cholesterol", and a corresponding drop of your HDL "good cholesterol" ;)

The most common cause of elevated liver enzymes is alcohol or other chemical damage to the liver, including medications ... tylenol (acetaminophen, paracetamol) is a biggie. Viral and bacterial infections can be a cause too, and inflammations of the pancreas as well as mononucleosis (spleen) can cause elevated AST and ALT also.

FWIW, I read a few medical resources that stated rigorous exercise can cause transient elevations in AST especially, since this enzyme is released with muscle trauma.

Good luck to you, and I hope this is just a fluke :rose: Please keep us posted how you're doing.


Doreen

[Wenzday]

Its not hard to add carbs..you NEED to eat vegetables...

I guess you should do what makes you most comfortable though.

How long have you been doing Atkins? it takes at least a few months before it makes a difference in your bloodwork.

[Kimberp]

Thanks for the input ... I'm sorry, I am just upset, frustrated an annoyed (and ok, a little spooked!) It can't be alcohol related since I drink alcohol maybe one drink every few months, but since on this diet have been getting a lot of headaches and have been taking stuff to stop it .. tylenol, advil, etc.

I've been on Atkins since July 03 and went to the doctor initially because this diet is making me very tired and I am following it, maybe with fewer carbs than I should, but have seen very little results. I thought maybe it was due to something hormonal since I recently went off birth control, but according to my bloodwork, those are fine.

I guess I'll have to wait and see what the other bloodwork she just did comes in with .. and my sonogram on Friday.

I'll keep you posted as to what happens .. thanks for your help and support!

[dina1957]

Hi Kimberp:
fatty liver can be diagnosed not only by biopsy but also by unltrasound. what makes your liver fatty is not fat but sugar in your diet and extra weight. a lot of folks who carry extra weight have fatty liver. another thing that can contribute to elevated liver enzymes is metabolizing your own fat when losing weight. how else you think your body is getting rid of fat, liver is the major fat burning organ in your body, and it's working overtime now. if your liver enzymes were completely normal before this WOE, then may be you need to modiy it a little bit. try to cut back on fat and add more veggies. i hope it's not hepatatis. BTW, hormones do elevate liver enzymes. how is your blood sugar, often fatty liver goes along with insulin resistance and diabetes. i think that your doc will run all the tests. anyway, read Live Without Bread, it makes sense.
good luck,
dina

[jaddles]

If it makes you feel any better, my ALT & GGT levels are 3 times the max limit each, and after a battery of tests nothing significant has come up. Doc also suspected fatty liver, but I was cleared with an ultrasound.

One thing that can cause short term elevated liver enzymes is a common virus called cytomegalovirus (CMV for short), as well as glandular fever/mononucleosis. Perhaps you could have your Doc run a blood test to check for these when he does the next batch of tests.

[sexee_babe]

I am wondering if you had lower back pain with this????

[CherylAust]

I've been diagnosed as having fatty liver disease by ultrasound. I was suffering liver pain and was told to go very low fat. I lost nothing. I was told I had to lose the fat in the liver before body fat would start going. When I started LC and eating more fat I don't remember getting liver pain. But going off it and gaining the weight back I've noticed the pain was back. Not a constant pain but every so often. When I restarted LC I got liver pain on the 2nd day and it's diminished since, I haven't had any this week. I've not lost as much this time but am going quite well measurementwise.

[LisaS]

Thanks for the input ... I'm sorry, I am just upset, frustrated an annoyed (and ok, a little spooked!) It can't be alcohol related since I drink alcohol maybe one drink every few months, but since on this diet have been getting a lot of headaches and have been taking stuff to stop it .. tylenol, advil, etc

years ago I had elevated liver enzymes- and it was related to taking advil for migraines - but it wasn't until after the liver ultrasound ruled out something more serious that we attributed it to advil. a few weeks of no advil - enzymes came back down.

[joyholiday]

i've heard a lot about that., what is going on with your situation now?