medical help via google

[Barewolf]

I am writing this from Hospital bed. I was told my Gamma GT levels were above 450 when the norm is 0-50. Trouble is i cant seem to find out the medical seriousness of this, IE: what complications will i sufer. How high does gamma levels go before serious complications occur?

Ive tried google but cant find any tables or charts. Can anyone help? Im limited to what i am allowed to look for on the premier system.

[gazzae]

I am writing this from Hospital bed. I was told my Gamma GT levels were above 450 when the norm is 0-50. Trouble is i cant seem to find out the medical seriousness of this, IE: what complications will i sufer. How high does gamma levels go before serious complications occur?

Ive tried google but cant find any tables or charts. Can anyone help? Im limited to what i am allowed to look for on the premier system.

Er if you are in hospital why not ask a doctor?

[Barewolf]

Er if you are in hospital why not ask a doctor?

because they wont tell me anything except not to worry

[Alanmelon]

This test is used to detect diseases of the liver, bile ducts, and kidney; and to differentiate liver or bile duct (hepatobiliary) disorders from bone disease.

Greater-than-normal levels may indicate:

* Congestive heart failure
* Cholestasis (congestion of the bile ducts)
* Cirrhosis
* Hepatic (liver) ischemia (blood deficiency)
* Hepatic (liver) necrosis (tissue death)
* Hepatic tumor
* Hepatitis
* Hepatotoxic drugs



From http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/003458.htm

[Chris]

... which will be why they're not giving further details at the moment. It can't be helpful to be talking about some of the serious-sounding stuff on that list when it may be nothing of the sort.

They will wait until they have further information to assist in the diagnosis and then I'm sure they will explain things fully.

[Barewolf]

hmmm ok thanks

[Chris]

hmmm ok thanks

Mate you really don't want to be using the internet for self-diagnosis while you're lying in a hospital bed! Mental wellbeing is important for good health. They won't give you details until they are reasonably sure what you have. They certainly won't want to scare you unnecessarily with talk of blood deficiency or tissue death until they have good reason to think that's what it is.

Let them get on with their job, and you get on with yours - which is relaxing and getting well. ;)

[Acathla]

Gamma gt stands for gamma-glutamyltransferase which is a liver enzyme in the blood level that is elevated with excessive alcohol consumption (The liver breaks down and clears alcohol from the body and this enzyme is involved in the process).

The rate of gamma gt decline within the blood after stopping drinking varies between individuals. Usually it declines to normal levels in the absence of alcohol consumption after three months. There is no medicine, unfortunately, that can speed up the cleansing of the liver.

As for as I can tell, a high Gamma gt can also prevent you getting a driving license.

Alcohol isn't the only reason you can have high Gamma gt however (as I don't want to comment on your personal life). It can be raised by certain drugs, particularly those used to treat epilepsy.

--

As to not freak you out or anything, bear in mind that if gamma GT is raised but all other liver tests are normal, the result is usually of no consequence and suggests you may have inherited a naturally high level. There will be a good reason they aren't saying anything until all test have been completed and results returned.

[Stuart]

Mate you really don't want to be using the internet for self-diagnosis while you're lying in a hospital bed! Mental wellbeing is important for good health. They won't give you details until they are reasonably sure what you have. They certainly won't want to scare you unnecessarily with talk of blood deficiency or tissue death until they have good reason to think that's what it is.

Let them get on with their job, and you get on with yours - which is relaxing and getting well. ;)

I'll back that up. The problem with looking medical things up anywhere (not just on the net) is that you only have part of the data needed for a diagnosis. This means you might read that your symptoms match up with those of condition X (which is fatal), or condition Y (which is treatable). In my experience, most people (me included) would convince themselves they have condition X.

The doctor may have access to more data, and will have more experience in diagnosis than you. He or she will also be able to call for more tests if needed.

Let them do the diagoisis, and suggest any possible remedy.

[lauzjp]

aw, you poor thing... :( hope you get better soon. just relax and enjoy being taken care of!

ps. If they see what you have been trying to do on the internet, they'll take away your access :p:

[dilli-theclaw]

I made the mistake of looking up the second op on my eyes that I have coming up -Oh how I wish I hadn't ;)

Best leave it alone.

[Jules]

Hope you are better soon BW, best advice I can give you to sit it out and wait for the docs to give you the answers

[Salu]

Mate you really don't want to be using the internet for self-diagnosis while you're lying in a hospital bed! Mental wellbeing is important for good health. They won't give you details until they are reasonably sure what you have. They certainly won't want to scare you unnecessarily with talk of blood deficiency or tissue death until they have good reason to think that's what it is.

Let them get on with their job, and you get on with yours - which is relaxing and getting well. ;)

I really think this is the best advice for the moment. It's very frustrating not knowing anything but I’m sure when they know the cause they will talk to you. Different patients want different levels of information so don’t be afraid to ask questions as the Dr will not know if you want a detailed breakdown or a rough guide.

Gamma gt stands for gamma-glutamyltransferase which is a liver enzyme in the blood level that is elevated with excessive alcohol consumption (The liver breaks down and clears alcohol from the body and this enzyme is involved in the process).

The rate of gamma gt decline within the blood after stopping drinking varies between individuals. Usually it declines to normal levels in the absence of alcohol consumption after three months. There is no medicine, unfortunately, that can speed up the cleansing of the liver.

As for as I can tell, a high Gamma gt can also prevent you getting a driving license.

Alcohol isn't the only reason you can have high Gamma gt however (as I don't want to comment on your personal life). It can be raised by certain drugs, particularly those used to treat epilepsy.

--

As to not freak you out or anything, bear in mind that if gamma GT is raised but all other liver tests are normal, the result is usually of no consequence and suggests you may have inherited a naturally high level. There will be a good reason they aren't saying anything until all test have been completed and results returned.

A raised GGT can point to many things other than alcohol consumption and drug toxicity. The problem with it is its lack of specificity. It's not diagnostic on its own. The bigger picture needs to be assessed.

Also a raised GGT will not prevent you getting a driving licence nor cause you to lose it. The level of GGT may be measured when an application for a licence reinstatement is made following a serious drink driving disqualification though.

[LSainsbury]

I'll back that up. The problem with looking medical things up anywhere (not just on the net) is that you only have part of the data needed for a diagnosis. This means you might read that your symptoms match up with those of condition X (which is fatal), or condition Y (which is treatable). In my experience, most people (me included) would convince themselves they have condition X.

Excatly....this morning on GMTV, Fiona informed me that I might have meningitis...thanks Fiona - what a nice way to start the morning. :dozey:

[joglynne]

Hope you get some good news and feel better soon. Not knowing is the hardest thing to put up with when you're stuck in Hospital, especially if it's the dreaded Hospital I think. Forever to get there by bus and nowhere to park in a car.

Don't worry, I live miles away and shan't be popping up with grapes.;) Just memories of hospital trips in my younger days.
Jo

[Jules]

Excatly....this morning on GMTV, Fiona informed me that I might have meningitis...thanks Fiona - what a nice way to start the morning. :dozey:

I take it you don't ;) lol



Hope things are improving for you BW

[Ramrod]

Not a lot else to add apart from that I hope you are well asap Barewolf :)

[Jules]

Any news on how you are doing yet?

[Barewolf]

Well thanks for the support folks.

The problem initially was i passed out last friday 30th. Was taken to A&E and i saw a doctor there, i was tachycardic or how ever you spell it, pulse was 145 and wouldnt go down.

I had a blood test done there and then and asked about my lifestyle, which consisted of not eating for 3 months and drinking 15 cans of lager per day due to depression over my girlfriend. Ive always drank heavy but not this heavy, and ive always kept regular blood tests on my Gamma GT levels.

As you know its 0-50 for the normal, a heavy 3 day binge wont put it up above 50, and mine in 2005 to 2006 was around 90 which wasnt a concern really.

I was admitted to a Observation ward and hooked up to a heart monitor and i had a IV drip in called pabronex i think. Next day i was moved to a cardiac unit so i thought it was my heart until the doctor told me it was my Liver. At that point i thought oh SH*T.

I asked about my gamma levels and he told me it was 457. At that point i nearly passed out in shock. I did see a nurse called Eric who i know and he took me to his office in A&E and showed me my other levels for the liver, my ALT Level, and my Urea Level, all to do with the Liver, it was basically failing.

The weird news is 24 hours after i had my blood done i had results from my second test, my gamma GT dropped to 320 from 457, Which shocked the Doctors as i hadnt eaten and i still had alcohol in my system, no drugs they gave me would make it drop that fast in that time.

I started to eat as i was told if i didnt i would basically die. on the 4th Day my results were gamma 270. And on day 6 when i left it was down to 180.

According to the Doctors this drop should happen over Months not days as someone already said in this thread, and the doctor told me it would be 3 months.

So its been 8 days since i was admitted and day 6 was 180 GT. All other results are normal, i have my Biochemistry sheets which im not supposed to have lol. Sneaky.

Anyway im off the drink and wont be going back on it, me and my girlfriend have resolved the issues we had and she has a new respect for me, she says the change in my personality is bizzare.

I have bought Milkthistle to speed up the healing process, and i am on Very strong Vit B compound and Thiamine. I have also changed my diet to antioxident food, carbohydrates, and high protien.

Although my liver is working on reserve still it will be back to normal within 2 weeks with what i am doing.

My advice to you all is if you drink dont let it take over you, when i was lay there in that hospital bed rigged up to machines and drips my life changed, i am very very lucky to be here.

And so bloody glad to have my keyboard back :)

6 Days and £48 to use the internet in there, and the admins banned me from loads of websites which were not even pornographic, *******s lol.

[Damien]

Glad to hear you ok. You had a lucky escape by the sounds of it.

[Barewolf]

Indeed. And as a result i sent this to my GF....

My Angel - My New Begining
The feelings I carried with me where not what I wished for
The weight was unbearable
Like I was carrying 3 bags of sand up a vertical cliff
The 3 bags containing my anger, hate and sadness.
The only thing keeping me from falling
Was the hope they would one day leave me be
The hope that one day all my troubles would be washed away.
The darkness that caused the burden of these feelings was killing me
You could see it in my eyes. I could hear your cries.
But the struggle was hard, and i had only disregard
The whole time I thought I needed no help
To cope with the struggle of this sordid life I led
But when I heard you cheering from he top of the cliff
I didn't feel alone anymore, I never really heard you before
Yes I did slip from time to time
But the knowledge of the goodness in life and my love for you saved me
And the cheering from the top of the cliff acted like a rope
Keeping me from falling deep into depression and without expression
My hope love and determination brought on a new determination
Alongside the help of Louise and friends saved me
And the strength it brought me will ensure I never let myself fall again.

Carl

[Jules]

I hope you go from strength to strength and if there comes a time when you and your girlfriend split up you are strong enough to cope without hitting the self destruct button

[joglynne]

I agree with Jules. You sound like a great guy Barewolf. Take care of yourself, and don't spend to much time on your keyboard.
Jo

[Barewolf]

:O) thank you