OT: Blood Tests

Has anyone here had any unaccountable results from routine blood tests within the last couple of years? My lifestyle hasn't changed one jot since at least 2010, but lately I'm getting liver function results tending to indicate I'm becoming some sort of dipsomaniac even though my alcohol consumption is and has been embarrassingly very moderate. So I'm wondering if the testing methodology has simply become more sensitive in recent years? After all, many of us work in developing fields where improvements in instrument sensitivity are continuous and on- going and it would be daft to assume that the same hasn't also happened in blood screening. But would they tell us? I doubt it. Any excuse on the part of our nanny state to wag fingers and tell us we're very, very naughty. Permissible limits of every natural free/cheap antidepressant they happen to disapprove of are periodically lowered as we all know: salt, sugar, fat, alcohol, sunshine, nicotine; the war against quality of life (other than that obtainable via pricey Big Pharma's chemical concoctions) is unending. Anyone got any info?

Reply to
Cursitor Doom
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There have always been a band of normal limits for most blood chemistry.

Perhaps you should ask for earlier test information and see if that have changed, or whether the limits of "normal" have changed.

If it's a one-off unusual result, I would ask for a re-test and surprised the doc hasn't suggested that already?

Reply to
Fredxxx

Why are you having routine kidney function tests? Should I be having them? The only proactive test my practice has done is to call me in to put my arm in an automatic sphygmomanometer in reception. Or are you in Bupa?

Reply to
Graham.

Liver function can be affected by many things; alcohol is only one of them. Get another test and if it's the same make sure they follow up by checking all possibilities.

There are many tests all called 'liver function' and they tell the docs many different things.

Bill

Reply to
Bill Wright

You need to discuss it with your doctor. Unfortunately, some GP practices seem reluctant to tell their patients any detail about their test results. Whether this is because they take the old fashioned view that 'doctor knows best, and the patient must just accept what they say', or whether they just don't have the time, I don't know, but I'm sure some of the former still persists. Insist on detailed results and a discussion.

Reply to
Chris Hogg

he isnt. Liver function.

Reply to
The Natural Philosopher

On 27/02/2016 01:27, Graham. wrote: ...

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Routine liver function tests are normal if you are on certain, fairly common, types of medication. At least two of the pills I take require them, to ensure that they are not causing long term damage.

Reply to
Nightjar

In message , Cursitor Doom writes

Might be an age thing: where they test for age related changes. I have had a similar experience where the NHS were convinced I drank heavily. Have a look at familial fatty liver syndrome. This appears to have come down my mother's side of the family and leads to a type 2 diabetes risk.

I have no idea how they got the idea but, apart from dietary recommendations and a low dose of Statins they just do a regular liver function test.

Reply to
Tim Lamb

My doc almost accused me of being a secret drinker when that gamma thing test was higher than it should have been. My own hunch is that if you had a stiff drink the night before the test, you might fail quite spectacularly. The next test, 3 months later, was normal but I didn't imbibe the night before. ISTR reading that the test is regarded as a waste of time in some medical quarters.

Reply to
Stuart Noble

If you are having routine blood tests it suggests that you are on prescribed medication or your doctor may believe that your lifestyle may put you at risk. There is also a reason why your records may show that parents/siblings have suffered from certain medical conditions.

Excess alcohol may be a cause for concern but for a low moderate drinker there may be many other higher risk factors determining problems with liver function. Many routinely prescribed drugs can have side-effects (all drugs have side effects - its just balancing risk). I couple I take can effect the liver so my twice yearly blood tests include a check for this.

This may be the problem. Perhaps a lifestyle change of the _right_ type is required.

Don't just rely on one blood test. You need to see the trend. In my doctor's practice an abnormal result for an ongoing condition will result in me going for another test. Ask to see the results. The doctor or the practice nurse shows me my results in graphical form on their PCs. The results also show age related limits where the risks are deemed to be acceptable albeit with the doctor/nurse giving the advice things could be better with more of a lifestyle change.

You don't say how old you are but some conditions are age related and the deterioration may continue until you die in 10/20/30 years time.

Reply to
alan_m

Having been on pincushion duty for the past month (my crowning achievement was 15 vials over 3 hours) , it was apparent that selective blood testing can isolate the real problem from the numerous possibilities. I can say that blood testing works having gone from possibly terminal to probably sometime later in 3 weeks. Try to avoid the bone marrow sampling, OUCH!

Reply to
Capitol

are you overweight?

The indictor for excess alcohol can rise simply because one is overweight

tim

Reply to
tim...

In message , Stuart Noble writes

Gamma glutamyl transferase (gamma-GT) is pretty sensitive to alcohol consumption in the short term, and a single elevated result shouldn't automatically be cause for concern. Your GP should know that.

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P.

Reply to
A_Lurker

What you did the day before can upset tests. I had a kidney function test which gave an alarming result. I went and read up on the test before going back to the GP, and discovered you should do no significant exercise or body-building, nor each more than 100g of protein in the day or two beforehand. GP didn't know this either. I'd done 1200 kCals on the bike and eaten half a chicken the night before!

A retest without those gave a normal result.

Reply to
Andrew Gabriel

Yes - seen that on Youtube - looks horrible.

Reply to
Tim Watts

Yes I'm told my liver is too fatty, borderline, I'm also borderline diabetic and have a borderline platelets count. I have changed nothing. However they did say, come back in a month it might test differently then. Why? I sometimes wonder who actually sets what is normal. What is normal for me, might not be normal for you and presumably with the extra tech and presumably accuracy ,we now are seeing short term fluctuations that nobody noticed before unless the change was big. I don't even drink alcohol so... Brian

Reply to
Brian-Gaff

another thing in the last two years is that Urine tests throw up blood in the urine about one time in two. I can understand why, what with hard water and obvious passing of kidney stones and lifetime stretching of the urethras, its hardly surprising if the insides get damaged. Brian

Reply to
Brian-Gaff

The labtestsonline.org.uk site is a very useful place to go for quick reference. Sometimes a bit too brief, but tends to be relatively sound information.

Raised GGT concentrations indicate that something is going on with your liver but not specifically what. In general, the higher the result the greater the damage to your liver. Elevated concentrations may be due to liver disease, but they may also be due to congestive heart failure, drinking alcohol, and use of many prescription and non-prescription drugs including nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), lipid-lowering drugs, antibiotics, histamine blockers (used to treat excess stomach acid production), antifungal agents, anticonvulsants (seizure control medications), antidepressants, and hormones such as testosterone. Oral contraceptives (birth control pills) and clofibrate can decrease GGT concentrations.

Is there anything else I should know?

Even small amounts of alcohol consumed within 24 hours of your GGT test may cause a temporary increase in the GGT result, if you consume alcohol regularly. If this occurs, your doctor may want to repeat the test to verify the result.

Smoking may also increase GGT concentrations.

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Raised levels of ALP are usually due to a disorder of either the bone or liver. If other liver function tests such as bilirubin, gamma-glutamyl transferase (GGT) or alanine aminotransferase (ALT) are also raised, this usually indicates that the ALP is coming from the liver. However if calcium and phosphate measurements are abnormal, this suggests that the ALP might be coming from bone. In some forms of liver disease, such as hepatitis, ALP is usually much less elevated than AST or ALT. However, when the bile ducts are blocked (for example by gallstones, scars from previous gallstones or surgery, or by a tumour), ALP and bilirubin may be increased much more than either AST or ALT. ALP can also be raised in bone diseases such as Paget?s disease (where bones become enlarged and deformed), in certain cancers that spread to bone or in vitamin D deficiency.

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Hypothyroidism can most certainly cause funny things to happen to liver function tests. Some of them quite interesting - it appears that Thyroid Stimulating Hormone has direct effects on cholesterol and bile acid independently of thyroid hormones themselves.

Reply to
polygonum

This is a very good point: should they be measuring against a normal baseline averaged across all the population or should they be measuring against what it normal for you? I suppose they should do both, so they can say "your platelets/cholesterol/whatever is higher than the average person's but has not changed much since we last tested you".

If someone normally has an unusually high/low reading, but has been like that for many years then there's probably no real concern. If it's normally high but this time has gone low, even if that then brings it closer to the normal range for the population as a whole, that may indicate a problem.

Reply to
NY

The normal next question would be 'how about your weight'? That is perhaps the easiest indication of a decent diet.

Reply to
Dave Plowman (News)

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