Statins and liver count

[Sunhat]

Tomorrow I pick up my blood test results- the last test I had raised liver count (again) not as high as it has been. I have had a liver scan (clear), Hep blood tests (clear) and nothing detected causing the raised count.
I have just registered with the Spanish health system so hopefully I will get to see a Dr next week. Up until now, since being diagnosed, about 5 years ago now I have seen a GP via the private insurance who has just kept an eye on me via blood tests, no medication.
Does anyone here have strange liver counts, before taking statins? If so, how did the statins affect your liver?

I am expecting a not too good HaB1c (?) result as I had a few days of very high glucose readings after being sick with food poisoning. (12-13 without eating)

I have taken off 1 stone 8 lbs in 10 months, so that should help my readings, and now the weather has cooled I am able to get out walking more. Not a huge amount of weight, but I have gone down a clothes size (and tighten my belt 2 notches tighter) and folk are commenting on my weight loss, so it is noticable

I take a cholesterol ´drink´ every day (unless I forget) and an asprin tablet once a day. It is just my flippin liver count that is a nuisance. If I have 1 glass of wine in 3 months that is a lot!

Sunhat

 

[phoenix]

HI,
You've obviously graduated to permanent residence status in Spain, I should imagine that's a big relief (I live in France and am well aware of the health care issues when you live in an EU country)
As to the statin issue. You will find that they are controversial medicines on here.
Here is some info
a) about taking statins if you have raised liver enzymes:
http://www.medpagetoday.com/Cardiology/ ... emia/23592
b) about testing for liver function as a result of taking statins ( in most places they used to test soon after starting and then at least once a year. The FDA (US )now says that they should test soon after starting but liver damage caused by statins )is extremely rare. It also can’t be predicted by checking liver tests every few months
http://www.health.harvard.edu/blog/fda- ... 1202294429

 

[Sunhat]

Many thanks Phoenix for the information. I have had the funny liver count readings on and off now for about 12 years (possibly longer) The Doctor back in the UK wondered if I was an alcoholic :lol: I honestly drink maybe 1 glass of wine very rarely- now if I could drink- I would be a Bacardi and coke lady- :lol: :lol: But I get hungover after one glass so I don´t bother. The Dr said with the count as high as it was I should have had yellow skin and eyes, he assumed my liver did not like the starvation blood test.

The Spanish have made a few changes to the system- if you are a fiscal resident (pay tax/put in a tax return up to 24th April 2012) you are eligible for medical cover- it was introduced on 1st September. If you are a new resident, under pensionable age (we are) you have to have proof you have sufficient money to pay for medical insurance if you become a resident. So it has paid us right by doing everything correctly and not ignoring the rules, as lots of Brits do here. Gosh we felt like dancing when we left the medical centre today :lol: We have to go back on Friday to get the paperwork.

My Dad died with gangrene in both feet,he was type 2, a very heavy smoker for years, even after he wad diagnosed with type 2. My brother died with kidney failure, was blind, due to glaucoma, diabetic retinopathy (?) and macular degeneration (he had them all) and he had a leg amputated just before he died. He had buried his head in teh sand and refused to be checked- he was an idiot and dead at 61 years old. He was a type 2 too, the Dr said he had possibly been diabetic for over 10 years before diagnoses. I class myself as lucky to know I have diabetes, I was told I had IGT so I knew I was ´on the way´ to being a diabetic.

One funny thing out of being diabetic was seeing the dietician, she told me I could eat muffins..... so if we were out and I had a coffee I would have a muffin as a treat- then one day the penny dropped, she meant a ´bread´ muffin and not a chocolate one :lol:

Sunhat

 

[Indy51]

I would recommend the book "The Liver Cleansing Diet" by Dr Sandra Cabot.

About the same time I was diagnosed with diabetes, I also had raised liver enzymes and the doctor was puzzled because I very rarely drink. I was also diagnosed with fatty liver and pancreas via ultrasound.

In the book Dr Cabot goes into what the various levels of raised liver values mean and in my case, her interpretation was:

If your GGT is above 100, and your ALT is less than 80 and your ALP is less than 200
This could mean that:
* You are drinking too much alcohol
* You are taking recreational drugs such as ICE or heroin
* You have diabetes
* You have a fatty liver (in my case - and pancreas and large gallstones!)
* You have very high levels of the blood fat called triglycerides
* You are taking certain prescribed drugs that have stimulated your liver to make more
enzymes for example – barbiturates, benzodiazepines, anticonvulsants, warfarin,
tricyclic antidepressants, paracetamol, pain killers (codeine) or immunosuppressants.

The bolded values absolutely described what was happening with me. Luckily, the LCHF diet I've adopted is exactly what Dr Cabot prescribes for liver cleansing, so I'm reassured I'm doing the right thing by my liver and my diabetes...

 

[phoenix]

The Spanish have made a few changes to the system- if you are a fiscal resident (pay tax/put in a tax return up to 24th April 2012) you are eligible for medical cover- it was introduced on 1st September. If you are a new resident, under pensionable age (we are) you have to have proof you have sufficient money to pay for medical insurance if you become a resident. So it has paid us right by doing everything correctly and not ignoring the rules, as lots of Brits do here. Gosh we felt like dancing when we left the medical centre today We have to go back on Friday to get the paperwork.

We've been here 11 years now and did everything by the book, paying into the French scheme, fill in French tax forms. As you say a lot of people didn't and have had problems. The EU changed their rules a few years ago and we had a period when then the French decided that they would apply these rules retrospectively and withdrew eligibility to those who paid into the scheme. ( conveniently ignoring any mention about the 5 year rule)
It was a very worrying time since I had developed late onset T1 since arrival and wouldn't be able to get insurance After almost a years lobbying by a well organised group they changed their minds at the eleventh hour.
Unfortunately contributions have risen by a huge amount recently (they went up by over a third this year) and we have to have an extra top up insurance; so it's now very expensive. I shall be very glad when I reach UK pension age and both get the pension and form S1 (we'll be rich :lol: )


Hope that your doctor's visit goes well. I'm not sure about bread with your coffee , I would have though it would be better to give it a miss. One thing I do find in France is that the rough country, sourdough breads and nut breads (not baguette)are much kinder on glucose levels than anyt of the breads I can buy in a UK supermarket. Don't know what Spanish bread is like.

 

[Sunhat]

Spanish bread is either hard or doughy!! I do not eat it often, if I do it is the supermarket wholegrain and not the bakers white bread.

My results are in, my triglicerides are 1.17 so well within the range (here the number is 104 and the range 50-200)
My LDL cholesterol was 2.83 and the HDL 1.58
The HAb1c was a little high 7.2 which I had expected to be high due to the high glucose readings I was getting when I was being sick last month (about 3.5 weeks ago I think)
My GOT-AST_ASAT reading was 39 (5-38)
GPT-ALT-ALAT reading 97 (5-40)
Gamma-GT reading 56 (7-50)
The numbers in the brackets are the figures I should be within, in the Spanish readings.

I had a liver scan/gall bladder scan last year- all was clear and a Hep blood test. I have had this problem on and off now for about 14 years- the Dr back in the UK decided my liver did not like being starved and if I had had the liver problems my blood test was throwing out I would be very yellow. I spoke to a lady at the British Liver Trust (?) and she said a muscle injury can give a high reading (I had had a slipped disc and strained ligaments in my hand) I have had a sore/stiff neck for a while so maybe that is throwing things out of sorts :crazy: I get another liver scan on Monday, I do not expect it to show anything odd. In the last 2 months I have had 1 drink and before that, possibly 1 very small drop of wine, about an eggcup full topped with sugar free soda type water.

We got our medical papers today for the DR, so I have an appointment on Wednesday, I have to take my medical history- it could be a long morning :lol: :lol: :lol:

Sunhat

PS no liver problems in the family- diabetis, gangrene and cancer instead!