Suddenly Elevated Liver Enzymes

Type 1 and LADA
1

I have been type 1 for less than a year now and have had the most God-awful time regulating my blood sugars despite keeping close control of my carb intake - 75-100 a day. I just went on the pump a few days ago hoping that this would help get me stabilized. So far nothing has gotten any better, but my trainer, doctor and I will continue tweaking the insulin levels so the jury is still out on whether it will actually help me. I have been on a constant roller coaster for 11 months 50’s then high 300’s - making me feel exhausted and sick a lot.

Today I got the results of my blood tests and when my endo looked at them, she was taken aback by the high levels of liver enzymes, which she exclaimed were off the charts: ALT 390, AST 356 and LDH 337. She compared them to the tests I took a year ago which were perfectly in range. She immediately told me stop taking Symvastatin which I’ve been on for more that 15 years and told me to go see a Gastroenterologist who could do more in depth studies.

I’ve been reading that uncontrolled high blood sugars and obesity could be causing this condition. When I started my diabetes journey last year, I was not overweight. In the past 11 months I have gained 17 pounds. I know that the weight gain is not due to poor diet. I have been very vigilant about my caloric and carb intake. I can only believe that the extra pounds are due to the 67+ units of insulin I am taking daily. I do not drink alcohol at all.

Does anyone out there have any experience with this liver issue and what have you done about it?

2

I am suprised that the Doc would not take you off the Simvastatin and do a f/u lab before referring you to a gastroenterologist. Statins are well known to elevate liver enzymes which can happen even after being on them for a long period. This is why the manufactuer’s recommend yearly lipid panel and liver enzyme tests.
As far as the 17 pounds of gain- unless this contributed to a fatty liver I would doubt this is the reason.
I work in a nursing home and see this frequently and usually taking them off the statin takes care of the problem. Of course not always.

3

A TDD of 67+ probably means you are insulin resistant. So yes it is possible that the insulin is the cause of you weight gain. Poor BG control is another factor. I think IR can lead to non alcoholic fatty liver syndrome too.

What to do? Anything that you can do to cut your TDD will help with weight loss. A low carb diet. And ask some doctor about adding metformin a type 2 drug that helps with insulin resistance.

4

I also think that it is the statins - that is common with statins.