liver health test?

[TSR]

not that i'm overly worried, but i've put a fair amount of alcohol through it. only at the weekends, though, not like i'm drinking 1/2 a litre of vodka a night. but still mildly concerned

is there an easy way to find out how screwed your liver is?

[bikuki]

In a word, no.

[TSR]

didn't think so
ta much

i'll just stick with my plans to cut back again hopefully i'll stick to them this time

[Jaemi]

Originally Posted by bikuki

In a word, no.

In more than one word:

I thought there was, I seem to remember the BBC doing a "road show" type health program, where people dropped into a wee caravan for some sort of liver test and got their results while they were there.

Is that not what he might be on about?

[hotblonde]

By easy do you mean walk into a shop and buy something off a shelf you can pee on and get an answer in 2 minutes? You can get a blood test to check the various proteins to test for basic liver function, but chances are you'll only be outside the normal ranges if your liver is really inflamed or damaged. Blood tests are fairly easy. I think there's also a kit you can buy for around a hundred pounds or so.

[bikuki]

I should have probably put it in more than word, fair enough

Basically what hotblonde said - you *can* get live funcion tests done, but unless your liver is grossly damaged the results will amost certainly be normal.
At a young age and without having a pretty significant drinking problem your liver is unlikely to be that damaged.

[Jaemi]

I'm fairly certain you can get your liver scanned, to see the extent, if present, of any scarring.

[LesMTS]

As far as I'm aware the liver function tests in a blood test measure the levels of certain enzymes but whether or not the liver is the source of any abnormalities is difficult to say.
So, unless you've got a bunch of other symptoms screaming "LIVER" the tests are pretty inconclusive.
That's how I understand it.

[bikuki]

LFTs are the measure of certain enzymes stored in the liver and products of the liver - their levels indicate either if the liver is failing or being destroyed. The range of normal levels is pretty big, though, so unless you have previous measurements it's pretty impossible to tell if these levels are rising or falling.
You can get an ultrasound scan of your liver, but only people with suspected severe damage will get this done. You can't just walk in off the street and demand an US scan of your liver, and even if you do the appearance of the liver is less important than a measure of the actual function.

[Potatojunkie]

Can't you just cut a hole in your torso and give your liver a wee squeeze?

[MarkMono]

I hope you die.

Just saying.

[LesMTS]

Originally Posted by bikuki

LFTs are the measure of certain enzymes stored in the liver and products of the liver - their levels indicate either if the liver is failing or being destroyed. The range of normal levels is pretty big, though, so unless you have previous measurements it's pretty impossible to tell if these levels are rising or falling.
You can get an ultrasound scan of your liver, but only people with suspected severe damage will get this done. You can't just walk in off the street and demand an US scan of your liver, and even if you do the appearance of the liver is less important than a measure of the actual function.

Will abnormal alkaline phosphotase levels not show up on an LFT even though it's produced in loads of tissues? Then immunological tests are needed to work out exactly which tissue it's originating from.

[Bunnylingus]

Originally Posted by TSR

didn't think so
ta much

i'll just stick with my plans to cut back again hopefully i'll stick to them this time

fuck that.

[hotblonde]

Originally Posted by LesMTS

Will abnormal alkaline phosphotase levels not show up on an LFT even though it's produced in loads of tissues? Then immunological tests are needed to work out exactly which tissue it's originating from.

Gamma glytamyl transpeptidase (GGT) is tested with ALP to check the source of ALP is the liver…I think.

[Goth_pixie]

Originally Posted by hotblonde

Gamma glytamyl transpeptidase (GGT) is tested with ALP to check the source of ALP is the liver?I think.

Yep, though different labs use different upper limits. Most labs take 30 as the upper limit of 'normal', while Glasgow ones sometimes take as high as 50, if I remember correctly.