Liver Tests....
 

Hey guys,

I haven't posted here in a while. I have been struggling on and off....some weeks a little, some weeks a lot. I recently had a physical done, and the Dr called and said that a few of my tests came back high(didn't say liver tests or not) but that I am Vitamin D deficient. Is this something common with liver disease? Would liver disease have shown up on my tests? I know he said don't worry about anything....but I do. Any thoughts/insight?

I'm not a Dr papitodd, and I know it's easy to worry that our drinking has doomed us, even after we stop....but if my Dr said not to worry I'd tend to go with that :)

D

I had countless liver tests done when I was drinking which all came back normal, I didn't believe one of them, whilst simultaneously using it as an excuse to carry on drinking. A recent doctor I have been seeing says he tries to avoid doing liver tests on active alcoholics for that reason. It is amazing how our bodies have the capacity to recover though. I wouldn't worry about it unless you carry on drinking x

i would say next time, ask your doctor very specific questions about them.

I actually just had some blood work done today to test liver enzymes, and just got my results over the phone. Everything checked out. But what the practitioner did say was that doing the blood work for the liver isn't always a guarantee because it can't fully assess the organ, you know? It can only count so many components of the liver, it doesn't exactly take a snapshot of it... That's why they say liver disease has so many phases, most of which you can't tell are happening. It's like a creep up on you type of disease. Today, I was told my liver seems to be "normal." But what does that really mean, and what contributed to that diagnosis? The doctor and I both know that this doesn't mean I should continue abusing alcohol just because everything seems fine. Right? That's just my 2 cents. Just sharing. I'm still cautious, and still working toward sobriety.

I've been living with the fact of Hep C for over 10 years, so my "liver count" is high.

I'm 55 and so unless they get a easy cure, I'll probably die with it. No biggee, really, because we all die.

value size -- 300 tablets at a very good price
 

Sunshine gives us vitamin D.....make sure you are getting outside a bit, too and call your doctor back to find out what your course of action should be.

Right on the money, thanks Dee.

Don't let the worries eat you up inside papitodd. If you aren't drinking and nothing seems wrong right now, good chances are then nothing is wrong.

I live in the pacific northwest US (Oregon) and my doctor told me that almost everyone in this region is deficient in Vitamin D, due to lack of sun exposure.

Depending on where you live, low Vitamin D might be expected, and easy to fix.

That is so, so true.
Blood tests can miss certain things.
Ultrasound images are probably more accurate, but there is still room for error.
I would also say its not just your liver that takes a battering from alcohol.
If you drink your chances of certain cancers are higher.
Your chances of mouth, throat and tongue cancers are also high, even worse if you smoke too.
There is a risk of significant damage to your GI tract which overtime may lead to a life threatening bleed.

My best to you x

advocate for supplementation of D in the winter
 

Coinciding with the first week of summer, a study published today underscores the importance of getting adequate amounts of sunlight for its vitamin D-boosting benefits. The research, published in the Archives of Internal Medicine, shows that those with the lowest vitamin D levels have more than double the risk of dying from heart disease and other causes over an eight-year period compared with those with the highest vitamin D levels. The researchers cite "decreased outdoor activity" as one reason that people may become deficient in vitamin D. Another recent study found an increased risk of heart attacks in those with low vitamin D levels.


In the winter, it's impossible to produce vitamin D from the sun if you live north of Atlanta because the sun never gets high enough in the sky for its ultraviolet B rays to penetrate the atmosphere. But summer is a great time to stock up on the nutrient. When the sun's UV-B rays hit the skin, a reaction takes place that enables skin cells to manufacture vitamin D. If you're fair skinned, experts say going outside for 10 minutes in the midday sun—in shorts and a tank top with no sunscreen—will give you enough radiation to produce about 10,000 international units of the vitamin. Dark-skinned individuals and the elderly also produce less vitamin D, and many folks don't get enough of the nutrient from dietary sources like fatty fish and fortified milk.

The government's dietary recommendations are 200 IUs a day up to age 50, 400 IUs to age 70, and 600 IUs over 70. But many experts believe that these recommendations are far too low to maintain healthful vitamin D levels. They advocate for supplementation in the winter of about 2,000 IUs per day and a dose of daily sunshine in the summer.

The sunshine vitamin may protect against a host of diseases, including osteoporosis, heart disease, and cancers of the breast, prostate, and colon. What's more, sunlight has other hidden benefits—like protecting against depression, insomnia, and an overactive immune system.