Is this a thing? Or an over-careful physician? So far I’ve been called back twice for “slightly elevated liver enzymes” (I’m not a big drinker) which on second blood draw were normal. Now I get to go back for something called “low ceruloplasmin” results which have something to do with copper. Which I never wear.
Anyone else have these scares that turn out to be nothing?
It’s good your MDs are paying attention. Elevated liver enzymes can be an early signal of a serious condition, or just a blip. I’m glad my mds err on the side of monitoring.
Once is just an occurrence, twice is a coincidence. If it happens a third time and the results wind up being normal after re-testing, I’d tell your MD that it’s time to send your blood to a different lab.
Elevate liver enzymes - Happened to one of my kids. A retest a few months later and it was all good again.
Said child was popping a lot of OTC painkillers due to a sports related injury right before the annual physical. My guess is the abnormal blood test was influenced by that.
Nothing happens in a vacuum. Any symptoms?
Offhand (especially with follow-up normal results) I’d say over-cautious.
Never heard about copper problems. What is your doctor testing for anyway?
I had elevated liver enzymes several times when I was taking antibiotics. Fortunately, once the antibiotics were done the levels returned to normal. I agree that it’s worth considering using a different lab for blood work to see if you get fewer false positives and less anxiety. I’ve never been tested for copper–what test is that anyway?
Thanks all for posting! Apparently, the “copper” test was ordered when he did the 2nd blood draw to see if liver enzymes had calmed down. There is this thing called Wilson’s disease which shows itself via low ceruloplasmin readings. The next step if my c** reading is low again is to check out my eyes for these rings which have a German name.
But I would only have Wilson’s disease if both parents had it, which they didn’t. Assuming I’m not adopted, I don’t think that’s it.
I also had my physical 2 days after completing the NYC marathon (my first). I’m not doctor, but I wonder if all the exertion and bouncing around doesn’t alter results?
VeryHappy – another lab might be the way to go here.
Gouf78 – I have zero symptoms. I have no issues; low BP (110/70); low cholesterol; low heart rate (48). I lost weight recently but over about 9 months and it was all menopausal pudge.
doschicos – interesting about the OTC painkillers – I have taken some ibuprofen while training for the marathon (pyriformis syndrome) – is that what did it for your child? How much is too much?
HIMom – I totally agree - better to be cautious – I just can’t stand the “waiting for test results” thing.
Google ibuprofen and liver enzymes and you’ll see A LOT on the topic including more scientific journal-ly type stuff. I kind of freaked when we heard my kid’s results and did a lot of reading at the time trying to get a sense of what could cause it in an otherwise healthy 18 year old. Was seeing scary stuff like hepatitis and rare diseases, liver cancer, etc. I read the stuff about NSAIDs and I knew some larger than normal doses of either Advil or Aleve (or both) were being popped for several days before the blood work the first time, so that is my best guess at what happened (unless it was too much gap year partying in the months prior 
). Doctor ordered a full battery of liver related tests as a result of the elevated levels and all came back normal. It was nerve-wracking though until the second battery of tests came back.
Class, didn’t you just run a race? That will throw your system in a crazy overdrive. Wait a month and get a repeat. That was what my doc did after my Boston - sent me home without blood work and asked to come back in a month.
Wow doschicos – thank you – sounds like you went to h*** and back – I’m so sorry – there’s nothing worse than having your child sick. You’d so much rather take it on yourself. Yes so crazy – otherwise healthy – there’s no reason for the results other than ibuprofen.
BB – yes just did the marathon 2 days before the initial blood work. No recent races before the retake. But I think there is insufficient info on affect on test results post-marathon. Found nothing on Runners World. I think wait a month is a good plan. Thanks!
I approve your plan! B-)
Your muscles are rebuilding after the race…
This one says so:
Liver enzyme elevations are incredibly common and, speaking from personal experience, the bane of doctors’ existence. They can be caused by too much alcohol, many meds, herbals, being overweight, viral hepatitis and many, many other infections, or more obscure conditions like Wilson’s disease, or nothing that we can put a finger on. Most of the time it’s nothing serious, although it can be hard to tell for sure without a lot of testing. Wait a month an get a repeat is a pretty common approach.
There is a ton of studies done on distance runners that can be found in PubMed. Probably too technical to link here! 
Given the race and pain killers you might have taken, that would be my unprofessional guess in your case as well. The liver’s job is to detoxify and both the painkillers and the high levels of exercise are stressors to your liver. I can’t remember the numbers for my kid but they were pretty elevated.
My kid felt completely fine so most of the worrying was in the waiting and fear of the unknown. Try not to worry to much as you have good reasons for the test to be out of whack.
Found this online
http://www.runnersworld.com/ask-the-coaches/ask-the-coaches-enzyme-levels-alt-ast
Another abnormal blood test results story:
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/27/health/nutrition/27best.html
BunsenBurner – doschicos – thank you so much for these links - they are so reassuring. It’s so scary trying to figure this out on your own. You really helped a fellow worried soul here.
Yes it was AST and ALT that were out of whack:
Nov 8 (2 days post marathon):
AST 49 (should be < 32)
ALT 36 (should be < 33)
Nov. 16 (10 days post marathon):
AST 26
ALT 33
My oldest D has had elevated liver enzymes her last 2 physicals. Both times with the retest they came back normal. She doesn’t drink at all but is an intense athlete. Her Dr felt it was due to heavy exercise prior to blood draw.
The other odd thing was my other D had the same abnormal enzyme but also normal on the retest.
Tylenol has been shown to elevate liver enzymes and in some cases, folks have died from taking too much. Be careful taking acetaminophen if you are taking other meds that are also processed through the liver. One of the chemo meds I used to take meant I could only take ibuprofen, because the chemo and acetaminophen were both processed through the liver. My current chemo and my beta blockers conflict with ibuprofen, so I have to take acetaminophen instead.
Gee, never checked to see if my beta blocker conflicts with any other med, but rarely take any other meds anyway. I guess I ought to check since I’ve been on the beta blocker since a July and am likely to be taking it for life. Thanks for the heads up.
Those LFTs (liver function tests) are barely up. I would not worry. You worry about levels in the hundreds. And to even do bloodwork in a person otherwise feeling okay (I assume, of course) who’s just run a marathon is probably ill-advised unless it was for a very good reason.
Looking for Wilson’s Disease in this case imo is a bit of a safari (as they say in the medical world…). Good luck to you!