can anyone help decipher blood results?

hi to all, i hope you have a good day?.

i rang the gp today just to see if they had my hubby blood test results and they did! (they werent supposed to be back untill tuesday). although they had them there was no doctor available to tell me what they meant and flatly refused to book me an appointment. i had a mad moment and went down there with hubby and much to their disgust asked for a print out. they reluctantly agreed. then i calmed down and realised i have no clue what any of it means!! the one i do understand now, (thanks to you kind people here), is the platelet count is up to 101 from 91.

i wondered if i were to type out what it says on the results forms would anyone here be able to explain what it all is? i understand you are not doctors but you are all so wise with regards to your own medical stats maybe you could shed a little light on my very silly move this afternoon!.x natasha.x

Natasha, in the left hand side there should be a range of normal numbers (in the US it's this way), then to the right would be the actual results.  The ones that have H or h mean mean those are elevated.  The ones that say L or l mean those are below normal.

The ones you might want to post here are AST, ALT, Alk Phos (liver enzymes), bilirubin, creatinine.  You've already mentioned platelets and it's good that his count has risen.  If they did a tumor marker it would likely be AFP (alpha-fetoprotein.)

Hope this helps.

Hugs,

Connie

thanks connie, i think, that the actual results are left and the normal ratio is right on this paperwork, heres a few examples; plasma glucose level; 5.8 mmol/L 3.0-6.0.
serum gamma GT level 2194 iu/L 10-71
serum bilirubin level 42 iu/L <17
serum total protein 78 g/L 64-83
serum albumin 41 g/L 34-48
ALT/SGPT serum level 39 iu/L <41
serum alkaline phosphatase 234 iu/L 34-48
serum C reactive protein level 32 mg/L <10
serum urea level 1.3 mmol/L 2.1-7.1
total white cell count 6.5 10*9/L 3.7-11.1
red blood cell count 3.80 10*12/L 4.32-5.6
there are quite a few others and most of them feature an L in there or a H.
hope this makes some sense to you! thank you so much connie. xxnatasha.xx

Theres two im not sure of there - but im not allowed to post my own thoughts - and with respect - I wont.

Unless one of the two I know nothing about is "it" - I can tell you for sure that an ammonia level will also be a figure you need to post for information on - given that your husband takes lactulose for HE as you said in your original post.

Did they test for that?

If you have the figure there is a wealth of experience on here regarding levels.

Wifeof - look in your local papers for chemists open 24 hours. I dont know if you know that but there is ALWAYS one open for emergencies - normally a short drive or so. I live in "semi-country" - but I have one which is about 7 miles away which is open all hours.

http://www.webmd.com/a-to-z-guides/comprehensive-metabolic-panel-topic-overview

http://www.webmd.com/a-to-z-guides/complete-blood-count-cbc

Copy and paste into your browser and you should find out a lot of information that is helpful about CBC (complete blood count I think) and CMP (complete metabolic panel I think).

Mike's Alk Phos is high also and he has recently been diagnosed with HCC, hepto cellular cardinoma. The ALK PHOS is a tumor marker. Alpha Feto Protien (AFP) can also be a tumor marker.

Carol

thank you carol, i shall go onto that site and have a look. im probably being really dense here but is the alk phos being a tumor marker meaning that literally? that there could be cancer in there somewhere? i am aware that liver disease can lead to liver cancer but i just dont know much about any of this. im a reasonably intelligent girl but this just baffles me! you are all so clever to be taking all this in and each with your mind (and bodies) in utter turmoil. thank you again.xxx natasha.xxx

Carol, thanks for those links.

I think the AFP is used more as an indication of liver tumor, especially in my case, combined with MRI.  My alk phos has always been normal.

Hugs,

Connie

thank you to you all, for your advice on this. i guess i will have to wait untill tuesday when we are lucky enough to have been given a ten minute phone consultation with our g.p! i could scream with frustration, they just dont seem to want to actually do anything. the specialist at the moment, is not willing to see him sooner than the november appointment. the help he receives financially from the government has been stopped due to the fact, he is not deemed ill enough to receive it. and the g.p we saw last week is now on holiday for a month!! my gosh, im so sorry to moan like that. you all have so much more going on and i never see you whining like that! please accept my apologies to you all. thank you so much for all the help and support you give me.xx natasha.xx

well Natasha... to get the doctors over here to "talk" sometimes one has to be pretty convincing... persistent... and a pain... in the rear side.... that was my case always....I remember the doctor asking Mike about his symptoms... when Mike was confused... and Mike wouldn't remember anything...and before it would go any further... I would politely tell Mike to be quiet... and tell the doctor... he doesn't understand... and on to the correct page... but it took lots of intervention... from SSI to the doctors... Mayo everywhere... it was a full time job coordinating his medical care...and then we got to the pharmacy and that was a horse of a different color... I was fighting coverage of a prescription and participated in an appeal the day after Mike died... it took three more months before it was approved... all I can say is get your attitude on... and present yourself... with the facts... and don't stop... the squeaky wheel gets the attention...and the Brits would listen to this big mouth broad...ooops sorry if broad means a bad word to the Brits... ok .. keep up the good work.. Natasha... you go girl...

broad is not a bad word so no worries!! i am going to have to start getting stroppy with these people its true, its just like banging my head against a brick wall! mind you, i have 3 boys and hubby so in truth, i am quite used to doing that already!. connie, so you should kick up a stink, thats an awful long time to wait. i still wish you were our doctor, you know more than any g.p we have seen. any time i cant get an answer from them i say to myself, i shall go and ask connie and my other wonderfull american friends and they shall tell me!!. i was just starting to calm down after last weeks events and now im confused all over again.
ive just been to the threads that carol posted for me and can see that some of those figures from the bloods are way high as you said, others seem to be borderline and others really low. who knows what the doctors will come up with next,.
red meat was included when g.p. told my hubby to eat lots of meat! im starting to think they actually want to kill him off. thanks to david for letting me know that red meat is off the menu, hubby chose beef for easter dinner, but i shall stick with getting a turkey.xxnatasha.xx

W.O.D.,

Alk phos is short for alkaline phosphatase.  It's an enzyme that is usually elevated in cirrhosis and during alcohol abuse.  Afp is alpha fetoprotein...that's a tumor marker.

So the AST and ALT (the usual suspects) are transaminases (one type of liver enzymes).  The Alk Phos and GGT are cholestatic liver enzymes.  All of these when elevated can indicate liver disease.  And they will elevate differently.  Most of the time ALT is higher than AST but they are usually elevated in general inflammation (which could be for a number of reasons)...that kind of thing.  Those are the 4 main liver enzymes to be concerned with. 

Apparently, high GGT and Alk Phos can mean bile duct blockage.  I also read that high GGT could mean the presence of alcohol (but not necessarily) and both are elevated in smokers.

So is he still drinking and does he smoke?  That would make things a whole lot worse.

Also, at least here in the States, you can get a couple of days supply when a prescription runs out whilst they are waiting for approval from the doctor....so it would be a good idea to check with the pharmacy as soon as you can.

pork is "the other white meat"     I think it's better than red meat.  I'm not sure where the other game/exotic meats fall like ostrich which is super duper red but low in cholesterol.  Is red meat just from a cow?