Don’t Use Enzyme Results Alone as an Assessment of Your Liver Health and Subsequent Drinking Habits
I started drinking to take the edge off due to anxiety when I was around 32. I continued to slowly increase my drinks until I was having about 6 cocktails daily. When Covid hit, I really increased my drinking to the point where I got to almost finishing a 750ml a night. I realized I had a problem and decided that I needed to get my liver enzymes tested. Predictably, the results were well outside of normal range with the doctor saying I needed to substantially reduce my drinking before things get worse.
I freaked out and stopped drinking for 3 1/2 months. I got another liver enzyme test to see where things stood and these were my results on 8/18/21:
Total Protein: 7.6
Albumin: 4.8
Bilirubin: 0.9
Alkaline: 48
ALT: 16
AST: 17
I was ecstatic that these numbers had improved significantly. All of them were well within normal range and the doctors commented as such. I felt like I had undone most of the damage over the years. And that, sadly, gave me the opening to start drinking again. I started to have a drink here and there and then it slowly ramped up until I was drinking close to a 750ml again.
Now on 2/18/22, six months to the day of that good test result, I was diagnosed with cirrhosis/ascites. I still can’t believe it. I wish I had never gotten that second test and just assumed that I needed to continue on the path that I was on. It hadn’t occurred to me that I could still have serious underlying liver damage after the positive enzyme test results.
Please don’t be as naive as I was. Don’t assume that everything is okay (or not okay) due to blood work and blood work alone.
Best health to you all.