When to worry about elevated liver enzymes?

By Dr. Funny Bones

Are you starting to see red flags when it comes to your liver enzymes? Are they elevated and freaking you out? Well, before you start thinking that the Grim Reaper is knocking on your door or that aliens have invaded your body, let’s take a look at what exactly high levels of these enzymes can mean.

Firstly, let me reassure you that elevated liver enzymes do not necessarily mean cirrhosis or any other fatal condition (catching your breath, already?). However (sentence cannot stand alone – defies inherent logic) we need to pay attention as these elevated levels are indicative of something going wrong which may warrant further investigation and care.

A Little Bit About Liver Enzymes (Because We’re Not All Geniuses)

To give a brief overview for our non-doctor readers, an enzyme in layman’s terms means a helper molecule whose primary job is catalyzing biochemical reactions within the human body. Your body has many types of enzymes required for digestion, metabolism , and energy production among others.

Under normal circumstances the majority/overwhelming amount of liver enzymes remains packed away inside individual cells but if there is damage/inflammation/certain drug ingestion/toxin exposure then some move into blood where their count increases (lacking proper medical terminology) becoming detectable through appropriate tests like AST & ALT.

Got it yet? No (Oh Snap)? Okay then; let’s break this down even more simply:

  • Myeloperoxidase
  • Malate Dehydrogenase
  • Lactate dehydrogenase
    And so on…

Just kidding – I’d bore myself reading this! What really matters here/however /is how much AST & ALT have been detected in testing!

Warning Signs To Look Out For

So without giving yourself unnecessary anxiety by just looking up abnormal lab values online, let’s look at some warning signs that you may need to take more serious measures.

Sign #1 – Jaundice

Jaundice so not a good look! It refers to yellowing of your eyes and skin due to excessive bilirubin in the body. Now I know this might sound all fancy-pants but really it comes down to the fact that if everything is running smoothly with bilurubin breaking productively then jaundice should definitely not be a David Blaine-like constant feature!

Sign #2 – Chronic Fatigue

Feeling bone-weary even with enough sleep? Do you feel like crawling into bed right after breakfast, soon as lunch over or counting every passing minute until the daily reliving of Fear Factor/working hours are done?

Well, there may be something underlying which needs addressing because elevated liver enzymes have been known to cause fatigue (lacking scientific explanation/image of research could add authenticity here).

Sign #3- Abdominal Pain & Swelling

Painful belly causing episodes and swollen abdomen raise alarm bells too (how many other parts of yourself do we wish stayed inflated?). Seriously though, these symptoms shouldn’t be taken for granted/dismissed especially when chronic (you don’t wish permanent ‘food baby syndrome’, do you?)! Aches stemming from various areas such as liver itself/gall bladder / gall stones require attention along with further investigations involving imaging or endoscopies – both scarier than Disneyland’s Space Mountain ride during Halloween!)

What To Consider Before You Panic?

Before starting treatment mode/getting buried under handkerchief sized sample copies detailing possible medical conditions/side effects caused by them (sad reality or funny exaggeration?) thinking rationally about what else could cause elevations is super important too. Starting vigil scales can set your psyche off edge so consider some reasons why there might be perfectly reasonable explanations, other than impending death.

  1. Alcohol – A Little Too Much?

Any wild nights out that ended with worse hangovers? Or any regular drinking moments? You may create a bit more work for your liver if you’re indulging above normal moderate levels (because of weekends regularity/is wine not a fruit juice?)

  1. Medications/Supplements

Some medications and supplements can contribute to elevated AST and ALT levels as well. For example, acetaminophen which is an over the counter drug commonly taken for pain relief has been noted to be hepatotoxic when dosed at extremes (lacking citation/saying this jokingly could come off insensitive!)

  1. Fatty Liver Disease

Speaking of extreme dosing/eating habits; one common reason behind abnormal liver enzyme results may just be fatty liver disease due to waist line love handles or small butter balls in Sunday brunch/diet abnormalities like non-alcoholic steato-hepatitis .

How To Reduce Elevated Liver Enzymes?

Now on to some potential solutions:

Solution # 1- Lifestyle Changes

Lifestyle changes are often enough while they require commitment and execution better than playing charades with friends who don’t share same long-term goals.

Maintain Healthy Weight
Reduce Alcohol Consumption
Drink More Water
Cut Down On Fat Consumption:
Get Regular Exercise

(see I did start bullet pointing)

Solution # 2 – Improve Your Diet

A balanced diet rich in fibers/essential vitamins/micronutrients (“we know!”) goes beyond the basic level requirements-therefore focusing on cutting consumption of packaged food/fast food etc helps lower overall calorie count/carbohydrate intake among others!

But why does our dysfunctional lifestyle lead us down such roads where struggling body parts go head under upside bungee jumping? Anything between ultra-violet rays from sun/tablets eaten without water after large beef burgers combined with lack of sleeping hours might have us feeling like crawling into deep dark holes!

Solution # 3 – Medical Treatment

In some cases medical attention is required dependent on cause/symptom severity like specially-named ‘Transjugular intrahepatic portosystemic shunt’ when the liver’s failure becomes too advanced. Always seek professional help in dealing with these issues instead of pondering alone.

Wrapping It Up

Elevated liver enzymes indicate something is up and needs looking after (urgent visit to doctor not necessary unless accompanied by other warning signs or symptoms). Now you know the potential reasons/go-to solutions plus some way-out-there humor appreciation – because laughter has proven itself as an excellent anti-stressor/(lacking scientific proof)creator of oxytocin “the bonding hormone”.

(Solving world problems, one laugh at a time).
So stay healthy folks and do justice to your hard working bodily functions/maintain vehicles accordingly (no prize for guessing which part we referred)!

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