What is the liklihood of elevated enzymes of the liver being serious...?

Question

in a man in his 40s and in good health otherwise?

JB The 1st question I asked him was if he takes alot of Tylenol.His answer was no.Not a heavy drinker.

Answer 1

You have to check which enzymes are elevated. Check the bilirubin and elevated enzymes indicate a hyperactivity of the liver. I wouldn't say it is damage, I guess it is some medications he takes that can cause such elevation. Ask him if he's taking any medication and find the side effects associated to it. Is he having any infection?

Answer 2

Elevated enzymes can be very serious. NSAIDs, all NSAIDs including Tyenol are bad for the liver. Think not? Give a Tyenol to a cat or dog and watch them roll over dead in about 5 days. Not a heavy drinker? A single beer with a Tyenol is known to cause fatal liver failure. 40 years old with all that. He will be lucky to be alive at 50. Skip the Tyenol and face the pain. I have an arm full of hardware as multiple other wounds over 60 years. I take nothing for pain. Dentist drills my teeth, even a root canal. No shots to numb. I say if I flinch, give the shot. Tough? No. Anyone can do the same. Other than reducing a temperature or being heart healtyy (aspirin) NSAIDs never did me any good. Just burned my stomach. Nature designed you to handle any level of pain that an NSAID can treat. Yeah! If you have moderate to severe pain you probably need something. But it will be a stronger medication than an NSAID and your doctor will actually prescribe it instead of merely doubling the quantity of an OTC medication.

Answer 3

Elevated liver enzymes indicate some damage is occurring to the liver. You need to find out what is causing this. Is it medication he is taking, is it the amount of alcohol he is consuming, is it the amount of tylenol he is using per day or does he have some disease process going on.