[Carito71 August 15, 2012 at 7:11 am Post count: 333]

#1059283

Hello everyone.

Has anyone here experienced liver problems related to Graves Disease?

Has anyone heard from their Drs or read anything about the relationship between the two?

I’m highly interested in this subject since it seems that my liver might have been affected by hyperthyroidism. My liver enzymes were elevated when labs were done at the ER before a GD diagnosis and continue to be elevated 8 wks later after treatment with Methimazole. The #s have decreased but are still elevated.

Any information on this is greatly appreciated.

Hope everyone is doing well today,
Caro

[KimberlyOnline Facilitator August 15, 2012 at 11:13 am Post count: 4294]

#1173858

Hello – I know that Alexis (adenure) had issues with liver function tests after starting anti-thyroid drugs, so you might do a search for her posts.

Also, if you go to the “treatment options” thread in the announcements section of the forum, you can check out the section on anti-thyroid drugs, which includes some information on liver function testing.

Take care!

[Carito71 August 15, 2012 at 11:25 am Post count: 333]

#1173859

Thank you Kimberly. I was meaning more about the liver being affected by the actual hyperthyroid/GD and not necessarily the medication. I’ll check Alexis’ posts and the other recommended information maybe someone has mentioned something about it there.

Caro

[Carito71 August 16, 2012 at 7:52 pm Post count: 333]

#1173860

Anyone?

[snelsen August 16, 2012 at 9:14 pm Post count: 1909]

#1173861

No I have not ever heard of the relationship.

I do know that they can be elevated for a few reasons then revert to normal. Unrelated to anything sometimes. Next strp is to wait a small period of time and drs
Aw another lab, look at the trend.
Shirley

[KimberlyOnline Facilitator August 17, 2012 at 10:22 am Post count: 4294]

#1173862

Hi Caro – Hyperthyroidism *can* cause liver issues, which the ATA/AACE guidance that I mentioned touches on. This is why a baseline liver function test is recommended for patients starting on ATDs, as it helps sort out in future labs whether any irregularities might be due to the meds or the hyperthyroidism. And if liver function is severely compromised, ATDs are not recommended as a treatment option.

However, I don’t have any specific info on how quickly liver function returns to normal once hyperthyroidism is corrected.

Take care!

[Carito71 August 22, 2012 at 1:32 pm Post count: 333]

#1173863

Thank you Shirley and Kimberly.

I will check out the “treatment options” thread Kimberly.

As I mentioned, my liver enzymes were elevated at my last appt. but they were elevated when I went to the ER in June even before starting Methimazole. I had been having headaches and taking Tylenol before I went to the ER and I wonder if that caused some problems. My enzymes have been coming down since then, even on the Methimazole, but they are still elevated and my Dr. wasn’t too happy at my appt. He kept mentioning RAI and surgery. I mentioned that they were less than the triple, which is what I read was used for Rx concerns but he said that he gets worried if they are double the normal range. Mine is 71 (normal < 32). At the ER the # was 103. Anyway, I'm kind of sad thinking that the liver enzymes, related to Methimazole or anything else, might be the end of my ATD treatment. I’ve done some research and there is such as thing as Autoimmune Hepatitis and this can happen with GD. I’m still researching. I have made an appt with my general Dr to see if she can run some autoimmune tests to see if it is autoimmune related. I’m hoping to get answers before my next appt with my Endo. Thank you!
Caro

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