AST and ALT Elevated Since Starting TRT - Is This Unusual?

johnt · May 9, 2017

I have been on TRT for 8 weeks now and due to have my follow-up labs at week 12. However, last week I was able to get some labs completed and all looked good except for ALT and AST are now high, out of range. In all my prior blood work AST and ALT have always been in range. The only thing I am doing differently is TRT and working out consistently (5 days per week).

AST = 47 Reference Range 0 - 40 IU/L
ALT (SGPT) = 63 Reference Range 0 - 44 IU/L

johnt · May 10, 2017

Or perhaps it could be the Metformin I am taking? I take 500 mg twice per day.

Vince Carter · May 10, 2017

advice I give with CMP/CBC is to always do those fasted, 8-10hrs and always first thing in the morning. Since you mention gym time, too, I never do those tests within 72hrs of a gym session either as it seems gym activity artificially can/seems to affect certain markers in those tests, like Kidney and Liver.
I would test again whether you did those things and still got a high result, or not, or just to eliminate lab error.

johnt · May 10, 2017

@Vince Carter I agree, I always do labs in a fasted state and in the morning. I fasted approximately 12 hours and had blood drawn at 10 AM.

johnt · May 10, 2017

Spoke to PA at docs office and she said not to worry as they are only slightly elevated. She noted that things such as weight training, alcohol consumption as well as many other things can cause a temporary elevation. When they run my follow-up labs in 4 weeks they will see how levels look. It gave me a little peace of mind.

Vince Carter · May 11, 2017

Id encourage you to plan your labs around when you have 48hrs off from gym/weights/whatever and see if that has an impact on your numbers.

Tommy Wall · May 11, 2017

According my doc Metformin is good for ones liver

hotdog · May 11, 2017

Try a milk thistle supplement.
Dropped my AST/ALT from 25/38 to 15/15 gradually over about a year (age 57, weights 3x a week).
It MAY detox the liver and MAY help it regenerate!

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