Liver function

[robbo87]

Not really sure if im posting this in the right place... but anyway, I've had a copy of a letter from my gastroenterologist this morning telling me that i have "quite markedly deranged liver function" and also that my CRP is still highish at 76,mg/l (although thats a hell of a lot lower than it had been it was near 300 for a while)

is this sort of liver thing common in people who have crohns or take lots of meds? I don't really know what it means and google is just confusing me!

 

[Jessi]

Hey Martin. During my last flare in May (before I was diagnosed so not medicated yet), my blood work showed that my liver was over active. I think maybe it has to do with a flare. After I started on pred and Asacol, my liver went back to normal.

Just a thought. Hope it helps. :hug:

 

[happy]

Hi robbo87,
I think that your test results could mean a variety of things and that it really depends on the specific tests and their levels.

I have had elevated liver enzymes many times which has caused me to undergo many other tests as I have previously had a form of cancer and sometimes metastatic cancer can show up with elevated liver enzymes. I'm not telling you this so that you think that you have cancer! What I am trying to say is that many times I was very concerned (as were my doctors) because of the test results. However, no reason was ever found for the high results, but I suspected problems with my gallbladder because I would sometimes get really bad pain in that area. (Although, all gallbladder tests were normal.) A few years ago the elevation stopped.

Now I'm being evaluated for nausea, pain, and a high level of a pancreatic enzyme called lipase. I suspect that my gallbladder is at fault again and a stone or some sludge has blocked the common duct.

Many things can affect the function of the liver: medications, alcohol, a high fat diet, trauma. I don't know the details of your surgery, perhaps there are still some effects on your liver from being ill and having the surgery.

Make an appointment to see the doc to find out what he is thinking and what he wants you to do next. Good luck!:hug:

 

[JMC]

High CRP indicates that you have inflammation probably related to your Crohn's. Taking certain medication can cause you to have abnormal liver function tests, this is certainly a concern with azathioprine which I take. If it is any consolation, my liver function tests have always been outside the normal range even when not taking medication, and despite having lots of tests (including a MRI scan on my liver) nothing seriously wrong has been found.

 

[Del]

I was on Imuron 50mg at first along with preb and 5asacolon. When I finished my course of Preb they upped my Imuron to 75mg and my liver function went through the roof......
They had no choice but to take me off the Imuron...Thank heavens as well..
So...yeah LF can go high with our meds..which is why they are trying to find a fine line between getting on top of the flare and not doing any further under ling damage to our liver etc...

 

[robbo87]

The weird thing is im not currently on any meds for crohns anymore.. I've been on pretty much everything at some put in the last few years and a few months of infliximab up until april when i had a resection and a few months later had the ileostomy. Im on codeine and loparimide but i wouldnt of thought theyd cause problems. hopefully it will turn out to be nothing to bad, I just tend to work myself up over what can possibly be nothing at all to worry about.

 

[Cat-a-Tonic]

I believe I've read that liver problems are not all that uncommon with IBD. I'm not fully diagnosed yet (my GI has said that it's IBD but he can't figure out the specifics) but when I had a CT scan last year, it found "nodules" on my liver. An MRI got a better picture and I was told that I have 4 "focal nodular hyperplasias" on my liver. They're apparently benign tumors and don't seem to affect me - no pain or symptoms, no treatment required, and they aren't messing with my liver itself and they aren't the cause of my tummy troubles. But it's still disconcerting to know that my liver has these weird tumor things on it! I hope you can get your liver issues figured out and that it's something that's easily fixed, like as others have mentioned a change in meds.

 

[glum chump]

I don't have much to add to the above, except to say that elevated liver enzymes were an issue for me when I was on Imuran, and even though I"m feeling the best I have in years, my CPR rate is in the 400s. No one is immediately perturbed, although I'm scheduled for a blood test next week, and if CPR is still elevated, the GI said we'd have to think about treatment (like you, Rob, I'm not taking any meds since my ileostomy).

But I have another nitpick: are doctor's trained in the most inappropriate way to communicate their findings? Is there a special class towards the end of their degree where they reconfigure/make topsy-turvey/skewer the English language? I mean really: "DERANGED liver function"?? Out of range liver function, sure. But deranged?? Am I missing something? I remember reading my GI's note to my GP where he wrote: "this patient presented with an exquisite fistula in her..." Again, 'EXQUISITE'?? There's a lot of things I would have liked to call that pain-in-the-butt, but exquisite wasn't one of them.

Okay, getting off my high-horse and ending rant/bewilderment now.

I hope you're not deranged for too long, Rob! (Although sanity can be over-rated!).

Cheers,

Kismet

 

[outlier]

I keep being warned about how my liver and kidney functions due to medicines. Livers just aren't meant to take what we through at them. What surprisingly acetometiphin is one of the worst things for your liver and is what causes damage to your liver from most meds.
good luck! hopefully this is just blip

 

[Cornfieldgal]

Just had my first flare in 13 years and my liver functions were high too. Scared me to death but my GI wasn't too concerned once they ruled out hep. He said a large portion of people have high liver enzymes and most of the time they don't know why.

 

[robbo87]

Had a ct scan 2 weeks ago and just had my results today, they said my liver looks ok, bile ducts arent blocked etc etc but there is an abcess/collection on the top of my liver. So they are gonna speak to radiology about possibly having it drained. but they dont really know of the best way to go about things because of where it is. i had an abscess which was drained but it seems that this could possibly have been left overs from that. hmmm

 

[happy]

Hi martin,
I hope they sort this out quickly for you. Do they think that it is an infection? How have you been feeling?

It is time for life to stop throwing you curve balls so that you can get on with fully healing and getting your life back. Did you hear that Universe? Leave Martin alone, ya big bully! All of us IBD'ers are gonna give ya some pay back if ya don't!! :voodoo:

Seriously Martin, we are all thinking of you and expecting some good news to come your way soon.

 

[robbo87]

well the doc said that because i seem to be generally well and "asymptomatic" that they dont think its causing any infection but just maybe inflammation and what not. other than being ill last week i feel ok otherwise so it doesnt seem to be doing much harm at the moment which is why they want to discuss it with radiology to decide whether to drain it or even if it can be left.

 

[happy]

Well at least that is good news! Do be sure to let them know if you develop anything new. May they sort out the plan soon and get on with it.

 

[lulu2]

I get a sky high ALT (liver enzyme) when I flare and my CRP barely moves (but it does a bit). My GI told me this can be seen quite commonly with crohns....

 

[NicoleKS]

For the past couple of years I've very consistently had elevated liver enzymes. But my GIs have just chalked it up to my weight gain. :yrolleyes: My next appointment I'm going to ask them to follow up with an ultrasound and find out what is actually going on (I'm wondering if there is scarring on my liver now). I stopped taking acetaminophen several months ago so that's not the issue...