Elevated Liver Enzymes

[Vincentpre23]

Hi everyone I hope you are all staying safe and healthy in these unsettling times. I wanted to post a quick update and a few questions that I hope someone can help me out with. I am in my second month of minocycline at 200mg each day and my symptoms continue to get better. Every month I plan on completing a CBC and CMP. After the first month of taking 100mg each day my liver values have gone above normal. AST is 45 ref rang. 5-34, ALT 77 ref range. 0-50. Iv’e tested multiple times pre antibiotics and they were always mid to lower range. My doctor and I are a little worried and I have retested and waiting for the results . I expect them to be even higher now that I have doubled the dosage. We have also run a hepatitis panel just in case it’s causing this rare side effect. Going into the second month I started taking Milk Thistle 3x a day and I really hope this helps. I’m wondering if anyone else has had problems with liver so early on? I would hate to stop therapy because it has been so helpful to me. Are there any other antibiotics that I can possibly switch to that a less harmful to my liver? Should i cut the dosage down and take it less frequently so that my body can adjust? Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Thank you

4/19 symptoms onset
UCTD , 1:40 ANA Speckled, Now negative
Mycoplasma P IGG IGM, EBV, HSV1, Igenix Bartonella IGG
Doxycycline 100mg b.i.d. , Bactrim ds 960 mg b.i.d. , Biodisrupt, fluconazole 100mg q.d , Monolauren, Visbiome probiotic 112.5b b.i.d ,B-complex, Vitamin D , Quercetin, saccharomyces boulardii, raw garlic , paleo, WHM

[vinny]

I have been on 100mg per day Minocycline since 2008 and have not had any change in my liver function. I use Minoz orange tablet which work best for me. I think tablets metabolize more slowly with less stress on the liver. Powder filled capsule probably are the worst on the liver.

Psoriatic Arthritis: 100mg Minoz Minocycline TABLET daily; twice daily 400mg Pentoxifylline;125mcg Levotyroxine: Have been using some level of Minocycline since 2008

[Awil19]

I just got my labs back yesterday and am experiencing the same thing! I take Doxycycline 100mg 2x/day Monday Wednesday and Friday. I’ve been on the Antibiotic Protocol for a year. I’m so afraid I’ll have to stop taking antibiotics because I feel it’s working for me. My ANA last year was 1:5120 and now it’s 1:1280. I feel so much better. I don’t take anything for pain anymore because I really don’t have much anymore.

[Maz]

Hi Vincent and Awil19,

The ideal is for the treating doc to run a full hepatic panel, including anti-smooth muscle antibodies (anti-SM ABs). This should help to narrow down what is going on. Many things can cause elevated liver enzymes, from gall bladder issues to bacteria and viruses, to alcohol or Tylenol. Rarely, minocycline-induced hepatitis can occur, which is determined by elevated anti-smooth ABs and an overall determination based on the exclusion of other potential causes.

If all else is excluded, and Minocycline hasn’t been taken for long, it is worth asking your doc of the potential for herxing. Yes, bacteria and viruses can infect organs, too, so all kinds of odd anomalies like this can occur. However, in this scenario it is important to rule out any other causes first.

When first infected with Lyme, my liver enzymes were highly elevated. My experienced LLMD said this was not uncommon for Lymies and other tickborne coinfections. After running all the exclusionary labs, I was started on high dose triple therapy with tetracycline, biaxin, and plaquenil. Within a month, the LFTs normalized.

Please let us know how you make out with your testing. Wishing for the best possible outcome for you both.

[Vincentpre23]

Thank you for the quick replies. I just got my CMP back today and my liver enzymes have gone back down. Using a different lab my AST is 29 ref range. 10-40 and ALT 50 ref range. 9-46. This is very encouraging as I was expecting numbers to be way higher with the doubling of Mino dosage. Maybe the milk thistle is helping with detox?

Vinny: Thank you for your input I’m on Par 513 tablets, so far they have been working great for me.

MAZ: I will mention the anti-SM ABs to her. I did ask my doctor if it could be from herxing and bacteria die off if the liver is metabolizing this.

Awil: 19 Try taking milk thistle 3x a day if you haven’t done so yet.

4/19 symptoms onset
UCTD , 1:40 ANA Speckled, Now negative
Mycoplasma P IGG IGM, EBV, HSV1, Igenix Bartonella IGG
Doxycycline 100mg b.i.d. , Bactrim ds 960 mg b.i.d. , Biodisrupt, fluconazole 100mg q.d , Monolauren, Visbiome probiotic 112.5b b.i.d ,B-complex, Vitamin D , Quercetin, saccharomyces boulardii, raw garlic , paleo, WHM

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