Gamma gt levels high! Please advise.

[Hawaiiinthemorning]

Had blood test, lab range is 50 mine is 64.
Dr signed this off as ok, even though lab has put an exclamation mark on it.
How bad is this?

Anyone?

It’s a little over the normal range but on its own it doesn’t really tell u much. Could be an early sign of alcohol liver disease but also raised if using paracetamol frequently, virus, problem with bile ducts, some bone disorders. Some drinkers will be up in the 100s or even 1000s for drug users, and some will be completely normal. Only you can say if it is likely to be alcohol related ie you are drinking too much. But it’s not specific to alcohol liver disease. I wouldn’t worry about that level but if I was drinking heavily or using a lot of paracetamol, I would cut back as much as possible. I am a binge drinker/ alcohol abuser for 10 years and my bloods have always been normal, even at my worst intake. Day 19 AF today!

@Hawaiiinthemorning- also - the lab puts an ! to highlight to doctor it is out with that lab’s normal range as it can differ between labs / tests eg some might be 10 - 40 some might be 15 - 45 type thing, if that makes sense?

The dr hasn’t mentioned it , I looked at the results and started to panic

The exclamation mark is literally the flag the lab automatically applies. They may well have a different flag for really high value, like 2 exclamation marks or something like that.

@Hawaiiinthemorning how much do you drink?

The ! Just indicates it is outside of the reference range.

Did you ever find out the cause of the elevated GGT OP?
Currently going through similar, GGT has come back normal at 35 but normal range is 5-36 so I'm a bit worried 😟

@CrystalQueen87 I wouldn't worry about that result. Mine was once 140. Because I was drinking heavily. It was back in the low 30s within 4 weeks of stopping. 35 is completely normal. Though if you are drinking too much and you are worried, or are having other health issues, it's good to cut down or stop. GGT is usually the test they do to assess problematic drinking as it's very good at showing who is drinking too much, so it could be there are other health issues going on that they are worried might be made worse by drinking.

Hello,
not sure if anyone will see this! I’ve had my results back as 225… I don’t drink at all anymore I had my son in January. Does anyone know of any other reason for it being so high?

Mine was around 500 for a while. It was due to chronic gallbladder inflammation.

Being overweight I think

@Cakeandslippers oooh that must have been painful! I’ve been getting pains in my lower right side since my son was born but I had ICP while I was pregnant which is linked to bile and the liver so maybe it’s that? Who knows, I’ll call the doctors tomorrow and see what they say!

Interesting - I also had ICP. There is a known connection to gallstones too so it might be worth getting checked out, though your gallbladder is upper right rather than lower and yes it was horribly painful for a long time until I had it taken out!

@Cakeandslippers I’m glad you’re all sorted now. Did it ever feel like the worst stomache pain you’ve ever had? I’ve had that a few times now it’s horrible, I’ve cried becuase it’s so unbearable. The only reason I had a blood test is becuase the GP prescribed naproxen for the pain but had to check my iron levels becuase I lost a lot of blood during my c section so I wouldn’t have known about my results if they didn’t prescribe me that!

Yes! That's exactly it, horrendous pain and nothing helps. It can also spread into you back when it's bad. Scalding hot water bottles sometimes used to take the edge off but it was still horrendous pain killers were useless, even stong codeine. For me, over years it became duller but constant rather than the severe attacks. Definitely ask about gall stones given your history and symptoms. I feel like a totally different person having had mine out.

@Cakeandslippers I spoke to the GP today and they said it very well could be gallstones but in the meantime no fatty foods! I was eating fish and chips at the time she told me that haha and my ultrasound is booked for next Wednesday so I’ve just gotta wait and see now. thank you for replying to my comment, you’ve been really helpful!

Oh wow what fantastic service! That's very quick. Glad I could be of help, fingers crossed they find out if it's that and that you get sorted soon 🤞

Hi there just wondering how it went @Mumtobe888 and @Cakeandslippers ?

i have pain in my right hand side and my gamma gt levels are over 150 😞 wondering what it could be

Aw sounds horrible. I had my gallbladder out in June last year and it was brilliant. The relief was instant though my pain had been awful for months and had for years before hand. My bloods slowly returned to normal. It took a few months which was longer than expected but I'd had gallstones for years and been on the waiting list for a long time so I guess it just took a bit longer to recover. I hope you find a solution.

What's your drinking like? When I was a heavy drinker (3 bottles of wine a day), my GGT was about 130.

I also had dull right side ache. It was most certainly pancreatic inflammation and I suspect liver inflammation as well. Probably a bit of stomach inflammation from all the alcohol.

When I stopped drinking, it went back to well with normal range within a few weeks.

@mindutopia I drink every month or two on social occasions but I was a heavy drinker in my teens and 20s (now 34) .. I have noticed it was brought on after drinking in Jan and then again this month. I still have pain today but I don’t know if I should wait for my scan or speak to my doctor again