TOPIC: Help with blood results?

I have posted before about a War Vet friend who has finally started being treated.
He's had two liver TP.
He's on tx for 24 wks.

He's been on Sof/Dac for about 5 weeks now.

He's had to fight to get some bloods done
But they didn't do a VL, nor did they do a VL at start of tx.

His bloods which he got a copy of, have some with asterix next to them & was hoping someone may be able to offer some idea what they mean?
His specialist is not helpful at all and very unapproachable.

The good news, his AST :25 & ALT is 18.
But: MCH - 33.8 (27-32)
MCV - 104 (80-100 )
Platelets - 120 ( 150-450 )
ALP - 120 (35-110 )
GGT - 204 ( 5-50 )

They wanted to do a VL at 12 weeks into tx , doesn't sound normal to me.
Anyway, hope someone may be able to help with these results.

Thanks for any help.

By the way, J is doing really well, happy and healthy, it's wonderful to see

Good luck to everyone.

Love Cindi x

CJ wrote:
CJ...I'm not a doctor but have had regular blood work for 15 years. How many blood tests has he
had in the past few years. Dropping platelet count needs further review. Most doctors' first question
on the GGT result is " Do you and how much alcohol do you drink?" Some Rx drugs can cause
elevated GGT ,also. Since his ALT and AST are pretty good, the doctors might think that his VL is
under control? Therefore, no VL test? Just guessing.

Since a lot of doctors think they are on a pedestal( not guessing) and not being privy to any conversation
your friend has had with his doctors, maybe there is some miscommunication.

BTW, glad to see your son is virus free. 10, 20 years from now, if he hasn't already, he will appreciate
more what you did for him......e.

What insurance co is this with?

Thanks Re_roll,
He doesn't drink alcohol , but I know he is on a few different meds other than his tx ones, because of his transplant, so maybe that could be it? yes he's had quite a few bloods done, I'll try to chase them up to compare.
I wish his doc was more approachable so he could find out this stuff.

Thanks about J. yeah you're probably right, it will probably take a few years for him to realise how lucky he is really to be hep free by such mild tx.

Hi Splitdog, Not sure what you mean?
Think the VL would be free, especially while on tx.
He does have a gold card because he served in the Vietnam war & got hep from their Vax needles.
x

That was what I meant. Why wouldn't they throw in a VL? Seems prudent.

Hi CJ,

The ALT/AST are of course good. Platelets of 120 are OK. The GGT is odd for a non drinker.

The main reason for monitoring is the anti-rejection drugs and their levels. Can you list the medications he's on?

Monitoring the viral load does not change the fact that it will fall over time. Treating patients and just doing SVR12 is not entirely unreasonable.

Thank you Dr J for your reply.

We've been onto our friend to contact the liver T.P. clinic,as they wont answer our questions.

Not sure at present what meds he's on, will try to find out.

..He's very vague.

But he says he's feeling noticeably better, so sounds good.
x

Elevated GGT can be caused by insulin resistance, diabetes, and fatty liver. Diabetes is common in Veterans because many of them got exposed to Agent Orange and diabetes is also common post transplant.

"Elevated serum GGT concentrations predict reduced insulin sensitivity and increased intrahepatic lipids."
www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15952086

Remember that he may have PTSD since Veterans were exposed to horrific things in Vietnam. That can cause him to be "vague" or not understand some things. He's lucky to have you watching after him. Please thank him for his service. Australia didn't have a draft, so all your Vietnam Veterans were volunteers. Something to be admired.

P.

Thanks Price,

Actually they did have a draft here, but this guy did volunteer, he was very young.
I agree, they are all to be admired, and treated with respect, which didn't happen when they all came home from Vietnam.

And yes he does have that PTSD as well as many others, we try to cheer them up, my husband's particularly good at that, he makes everyone laugh! He visits the clinics & gets on well with them.
Some have opened up to him, getting some of the horror out of their heads, which does them good, I'm sure.

We've made him cut down on sugar, and he very rarely drinks now ( he used to though)

Keeping a close eye on him, and he's now having more bloods done.

Thanks again,

xo