Take care of your liver

[audreyh1]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ronstar I got sick last June and went to the doctor. Chills, fatigue/weakness, night sweats. Did blood work and had a lot of things messed up - AST at 190 and ALT at 173. According to my test info, normal AST is 14-54. Normal ALT is 11-51. Doctor questioned how much I drank - told him about 2 beers a week. Problem could have been due to side effects of terbinafine, an anti fungal medication mixed combined with over exertion, dehydration, and overexposure to sunlight. So I quit the meds, drank plenty of water, stopped vigorous exercise, and stayed out of the sun for 2 weeks. Then had another blood test late June - AST at 40, ALT at 61. Then another test in August with AST at 24, ALT at 19. I’ll have another test in August this year.

Wow! Glad things normalized!

[Ronstar]

Quote:

Originally Posted by audreyh1 Wow! Glad things normalized!

Thanks. Foot doc prescribed Terbinafine Jan 2020. I had to take a blood test beforehand to see if my liver could handle it. That blood test was ok. Started the meds and took another blood test late feb. all was well. I had a similar but lesser illness mid March before the big one mid June. Script was done mid June. Haven’t had any problems since.

[doneat54]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Amethyst I figure the headache I get, with more than 1.5 glasses of wine or equivalent amount of other beverage, is my liver telling my brain "OK, she's had enough for now."

As we say, "My 'Check Liver' light has come on."

[doneat54]

Quote:

Originally Posted by braumeister Sure, I told him about it and he immediately relaxed and said that was undoubtedly the cause. No problem.

Yes, muscle stress is known to cause spikes in AST and ALT levels. Which are NOT, BTW, true "LFTs" (liver function tests)

[Amethyst]

Great saying. I used to be a little ashamed to admit my capacity is so low, because many women's idea of socializing seems to revolve around drinking wine during the day. But now I come right out and say it with a smile.

Quote:

Originally Posted by doneat54 As we say, "My 'Check Liver' light has come on."

[Winemaker]

https://nypost.com/2021/06/22/drinki...-liver-cancer/


Great news on the liver front! Keep drinking coffee!

[audreyh1]

Even decaf coffee! But that study looked like it had several confounders including a wealthier cohort drinking the good stuff.

[audreyh1]

We drink no more than one glass of wine a day with food, and not every day, and not even a full serving at that. So we have no worries about our wine consumption. We even think it’s probably quite beneficial. The Greeks and the Romans (and I think also the Phoenicians before them) spread grapes for wine and olive cultivation all around the Mediterranean, as they considered them so very important and wanted colonies to produce more. I think they were on to something!

[jim584672]

I had a slightly high AST and was referred to a Gastro doc. He said fatty liver is common, take Vitamin E, avoid sugar drinks and alcohol, and watch the weight. Last test was in normal range.

[braumeister]

Quote:

Originally Posted by audreyh1 The Greeks and the Romans (and I think also the Phoenicians before them) spread grapes for wine and olive cultivation all around the Mediterranean, as they considered them so very important and wanted colonies to produce more. I think they were on to something!

When your water comes from lead-lined aqueducts, drinking pretty much anything else is a good idea!

[audreyh1]

Quote:

Originally Posted by braumeister When your water comes from lead-lined aqueducts, drinking pretty much anything else is a good idea!

True, but I think they also had trouble with lead or some other contamination in their amphorae used to store and transport wine.

Here’s a good one:
The Disturbingly Long History of Lead Toxicity in Winemaking https://www.winemag.com/2020/07/20/l...-wine-history/

[athena53]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Amethyst I don't think athena53 needs any reminders on that score [exercise]

Thanks, and you're right. I think that one thing that kept me from drinking at lunch, even business lunches, was that typically I hit the gym right after work. Alcohol and exercise do not mix. I was in the insurance business and things calmed down after they cracked down on "three-martini lunches" but before that I knew quite a few older executives who had drinking problems. When my company moved out the suburbia, nowhere near any bars unless you got in your car, one guy used to go out and visit the brown bag in his car a few times a day.

[Jenna]

There is new evidence that Vegi/Seed oils are tied to many modern diseases. Tucker Goodrich and Dr Cate Shanahan both have lots of interview on youtube. Since giving them up/avoiding them for almost 3 weeks, Im feeling great. It takes several years to rid your body fat of these oils, but the benefits are promising.

[mpeirce]

Quote:

Originally Posted by athena53 Yes, I have to be careful about this. I may not get an immediate headache but I'll wake up in the middle of the night with one and possibly with bizarre dreams to go with it.

When I drink beer I almost always have lots of vivid dreams.

I almost never drink beer any more and nothing else produces these weird dreams. Not sure what's up with that.

[Chuckanut]

Quote:

Originally Posted by braumeister When your water comes from lead-lined aqueducts, drinking pretty much anything else is a good idea!

Didn't they also use lead in their eating pottery? Supposedly, the mental issues associated with lead intake contributed to the fall of the Empire. Or have I been lead astray?

[audreyh1]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Chuckanut Didn't they also use lead in their eating pottery? Supposedly, the mental issues associated with lead intake contributed to the fall of the Empire. Or have I been lead astray?

Yeah - see my article link above.

[Aerides]

Just a PSA that some borderline liver tests results are caused or cured by diet or lifestyle. DH had a test that was iffy for a while, but his prior doc was kinda relaxed about it and never took it further as DH's diet and drinking is totally fine.

Fast forward to a new Primary who wasn't as casual, several more tests and specialists before his ferritin level was found to be an issue. He has hemochromatosis, a not terribly common, mostly a genetic thing. Basically his blood makes too much iron. Untreated it can be dire.

Luckily treatment is easy enough and it was diagnosed before any damage had happened. He now has regular phlebotomies and keeps his ferritin in check at the low end of normal, as well as avoiding any iron in vitamins and limiting certain foods.

So, anyone going "welp i eat well, don't drink, exercise, my liver must be fine" - yeah still get your tests. A lot of these things don't show up in symptoms until you are rather ill.

[Scuba]

Thanks for the condolences. Our friend definitely drank a lot of wine over decades, and he didn’t exercise much. He didn’t eat processed foods often, but loved olive oil, bread, and cheese and was a bit overweight. Still, his death was a bit shocking as the day before, he was feeling great and optimistic about his recovery. Then he got a brain bleed and went downhill fast.

[Koogie]

Quote:

Originally Posted by athena53 Alcohol and exercise do not mix.

You've clearly never been around any "Hash House Harriers: The drinking club with a running problem"

[audreyh1]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Scuba Thanks for the condolences. Our friend definitely drank a lot of wine over decades, and he didn’t exercise much. He didn’t eat processed foods often, but loved olive oil, bread, and cheese and was a bit overweight. Still, his death was a bit shocking as the day before, he was feeling great and optimistic about his recovery. Then he got a brain bleed and went downhill fast.

Brain bleed - that doesn’t seem related to the liver.