What could cause elevated liver enzymes in an otherwise healthy 21 year old?

http://labtestsonline.org/understanding/analytes/liver-panel/tab/test
http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/hepatitis.html
http://sitesearch.familydoctor.org/?q=liver&sp_cs=UTF-8
http://www.rimed.org/medhealthri/2011-03/2011-03-61.pdf

My mom was a tea toteler and had elevated liver enzymes her whole life. She did die from liver cancer but she was 84. Funny thing is, the enzyme levels came down the last few years of her life. Don’t worry until you get your biopsy results and have conclusive answers.

I don’t know the answer, nor do I know what might have caused him to run the liver enzyme test, but I hope you are ok. Please let us know what happens.

Also, read whatever links @Rarebear provided. I didn’t read them, but he would know where to direct you.

That type of result is actually pretty common and can come from a a great many things, mostly innocuous. It is very doubtfully indicative of liver damage, although I’m not a doctor, nor do I know anything about your condition, but it’s unlikely in the vast amount of cases.

You just really have no way to tell until the doctor comes back with more answers.But usually it’s really nothing to be worried about. Don’t sweat it, and don’t get too caught up in researching stuff online. All that does is wake up the sleeping hypochondriac. Don’t sweat it!

Actually, I wouldn’t tell the OP not to worry about it. It could be benign, it could be serious. No way to tell. I think it’s okay to do research, which is why I provided the links. Any further answers need to come from a physician who knows the case.

@rarebear, I said not to worry until they get the biopsy results. There is nothing productive about worry.

@Judi I wasn’t referring to you, actually. What you said was fine. It was the other poster I was reacting to.

Elevated liver enzymes were an early symptom of my ulcerative colitis, a digestive disease that also causes the other symptoms you mentioned.

The doctor did mention at my initial consultation that my symptoms could indicate something like ulcerative colitis or crohns disease. I am not worrying too much about it, but I am a cancer survivor and one of the organs my cancer metastasized to was indeed my liver… mind you, this was years ago… but it is always on the back of my mind when things like this show up..

Liver enzymes are very finnicky. Even exercising can throw them off. It’s that in combination with your digestive symptoms that has me concerned.

Just for your information, years ago, my husband became quite ill. One of his symptoms was elevated liver enzymes. The health department got ahold of this news, and the next thing we knew, they told us we all had been exposed to infectious hepatitis, and that everyone had to have hepatitis shots. This was extremely embarrassing because we had college students as guests, and so we had to contact their families as well.

We all had the shots as we were told to, and then the health department decided it wasn’t hepatitis after all. Idiots.

They didn’t stop there either. First it was hep A, then B, then C, and so on, until they said it was Hepatitis undetermined. In other words, in these people’s minds, any indication of elevated liver enzymes meant hepatitis.

It wasn’t hepatitis at all. It was Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever.

@snowberry That’s horrible. I thought there was a test for hepatitis A? Well, being vaccinated for hep A isn’t a horrible thing, assuming you didn’t have any bad reactions. Did you bother to have the second shot? I think hep A is a series.

Edit: we posted at the same time, I just saw your answer above mine that they could not determine what hep it was.

@JLeslie No. We basically told them they were incompetent, and to go screw up someone else’s life.

@snowberry Well, I think for the OP there are other concerns considering his history. I’m hoping the elevated enzymes are some sort of blip, and everything goes back to normal.

The abdominal pain and weightloss are what I’d be concerned about. My liver enzymes are elevated also but the doctor just said not to drink or take Tylenol and I don’t do either.
You can have elevated enzymes just from taking too many vitamins and I am definitely guilty of that.
You are sadly in a system of testing that result in “inconclusive” results . Please post back what they find, if anything. You could just need a probiotic.

My liver tests were off when my thyroid was hyper. Especially if I ate red meat. I hope they are throwing in some thyroid tests because of the weight loss and diarrhoea. Are you also sensitive to heat, a bit shaky and sweaty? I was taking quite a few vitamin supplements at the time too, stupid me. And yes…@snowberry , moron doctors. I am sick of them.