Misschien maak ik me zorgen om niets?
SGOT (also called AST, for aspartate aminotransferase) is pretty nonspecific as a test of liver function. It rises when the liver is injured, but it is also present in muscle and heart cells, so it will rise when muscle is destroyed (as in working out with weights). When liver, heart or muscle cells are destroyed or injured, the SGOT leaks into the bloodstream and can be picked up on assay. When liver is injured, you'll see a rise in ALT and other fractions as well.
Liver enzymes are not indicative of liver damage.
Creatine kinase levels (CK) and your gamma-glutamyltranspeptidase (GGT) levels are the ones to look at.
They will indicate liver damage.
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Liver Function tests: These can be divided into specific LFT's and non specific LFT'S. The non- specific LFT's are next to useless, because they are enzymes that are folind in the liver, but also in muscle, heart and other tissues. SGOT and SGPT are usually elevated in people who weight train, and are further increased by intramuscular injections.
The other two commonly used non-specific LFT's (alkaline phosphatase and gamma GT) are not as high in muscle, and therefore are a much better guide to possible liver problems than the previous two.
However, they are not as good as indicators of liver stress from AS as the specific LFT, Billirubin. Billirubin is the breakdown product of the haemoglobin molecule contained in RBC to carry Oxygen.
The liver first metabolises the haemoglobin to bilirubin, and then conjugates it Ooins to another molecule) before excreting the conjugated complex.
For this reason biltirubin levels are reported on the blood test as total, conjugated and free billirubin.
It is usually the case in liver damage from AS use that the total and conjugated levels are elevated to a greater extent than the free billirubin levels.
This is due to the fact that the damage causes a slow down in the excretion of the conjugated product, rather than a change in the levels of billirubin production.
I believe that these levels are by far the best indicator of liver problems, the others are of questionable significance.
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Specifically on liver function tests, steroids elevate lactic dehydrogenase(LDH) and Alkaline Phosphatase.
Most of the other liver functions such as SGOT and SGPT would also be elevated simply from heavy weight training exclusively.
Many doctors, even sports medicine specialists, are not aware of this.
I have seen blood tests results of a steroid user with highly elevated SGOT and SGPT, but with LDH and Alkaline Phosphatase in the normal range.
So as far as steroid specific elevated functions, his steroid medications did not put him in a risk category.