Tests & medicines: questions answered
What your lab report means line by line, and how to use medicines safely.
What do high liver enzymes on my blood test mean?
Raised ALT or AST means liver cells are irritated, not that the liver is failing. The everyday causes dominate: fatty liver, alcohol, recent viral illness, some medicines and supplements, and vigorous exercise before the blood draw.
What is a normal eGFR and when should I worry?
eGFR estimates kidney filtering from your creatinine, age and sex. Above 90 is full function, 60 to 89 is mildly reduced and common with age, and persistently below 60 for three months defines chronic kidney disease.
Why is my TSH high, and what does it feel like?
A high TSH usually means the thyroid is underperforming and the pituitary is pushing it harder, but several ordinary things raise the number without any thyroid disease at all.
What actually happens if my vitamin D is low?
Real vitamin D deficiency thins bones over years, aches muscles and bones, saps energy, and in severe cases softens bone outright. Indoor lives, covered clothing, darker skin at high latitudes and older age drive most of it.
What are the signs of low B12?
The signs of low B12 build slowly. They start with fatigue and pallor from anemia, then the nervous system, tingling hands and feet, unsteady walking, memory dulling, low mood, sometimes a sore smooth tongue. Nerve damage can arrive before anemia does.
Why would my platelets be low?
Platelets dip with viral infections, alcohol, some medicines, liver disease, pregnancy and immune conditions. Lab clumping artifacts can also fake a low count. A repeat test exposes that.
How many hours do I need to fast before a blood test?
Fasting glucose needs 8 to 12 hours, water allowed. Cholesterol mostly no longer requires it, though triglycerides read truer fasted. HbA1c, thyroid, kidney and liver tests need no fasting at all, so the honest answer depends on which test you are having.
Can I take paracetamol and ibuprofen together?
For most healthy adults, yes: they work differently and combine safely for short-term pain, either together or staggered. Respect each label's daily maximum and count combination cold-and-flu products, which hide paracetamol.
Why won't my doctor give antibiotics for my cold?
Colds and flu are caused by viruses, and antibiotics kill only bacteria. Taking them for a virus adds side effects and breeds resistant bacteria. The cold runs its identical course either way. Green mucus does not mean bacterial. It means the immune system is working.
How common are statin side effects really?
Blinded trials tell the honest story: muscle symptoms occur at nearly the same rate on statins as on placebo, a far cry from internet lore. True statin muscle damage is rare, and serious liver problems rarer.
What does a CRP blood test measure?
A CRP blood test measures inflammation in the body. CRP is a smoke detector for inflammation anywhere: infections, flares of autoimmune disease, injury and more all raise it. It shouts that something is happening without saying what or where.
Can I stop my antidepressant now that I feel better?
Do not stop your antidepressant just because you feel better. Feeling better is the medicine working, and stopping at the first good stretch is the classic relapse recipe: guidelines suggest at least six months of feeling well before tapering after a first episode, longer after repeats.
My uric acid is high. Do I have gout?
High uric acid does not automatically mean gout. Most people with high uric acid never develop it. A hot swollen joint is what makes the diagnosis. Classically that is the big toe at 2 am, red and exquisitely tender.
What is the difference between HbA1c and a glucose test?
Glucose is a snapshot, the sugar in your blood this minute, swayed by the last meal, stress and sleep. HbA1c is the film: sugar has been sticking to red blood cells for their three month lifespan, and the test reads that accumulated coating.
Which supplements turn up most often in liver injury?
The supplements that turn up most often in liver injury are green tea extract, high-dose turmeric, ashwagandha, garcinia cambogia, kava, black cohosh and bodybuilding products containing anabolic steroids. Herbal and dietary supplements now cause a meaningful share of drug-induced liver injury.
Does it matter what time I take my blood pressure medicine?
Consistency beats clock time: the same time daily keeps levels steady, and the best-known trial found morning versus evening made no difference to heart outcomes. Some medicines pick their own slot, diuretics in the morning to spare your night, anything that causes dizziness at bedtime.
What is ferritin and why does it matter more than hemoglobin?
Ferritin is the iron warehouse; hemoglobin is the delivery trucks. Stores empty long before deliveries fail, so you can be significantly iron deficient, tired, breathless, shedding hair, restless legs, with perfectly normal hemoglobin. Testing only hemoglobin misses that entire stage.
Are generic medicines as good as branded ones?
Yes, generic medicines are as good as branded ones. Generics must prove the same active ingredient, dose and absorption profile as the original, and decades of surveillance keep confirming equivalence; most doctors take generics themselves. The price difference funds marketing and recovered research costs, not quality.
What does protein in my urine mean?
Protein in urine can be an early sign of kidney trouble, or completely harmless. Healthy kidney filters hold protein back. Fever, hard exercise, dehydration and standing all day each spill protein temporarily.
Can I drink alcohol while on antibiotics?
For most antibiotics, moderate alcohol does not break the medicine; the blanket ban is folklore. The hard exceptions: metronidazole and tinidazole, where alcohol triggers flushing, vomiting and pounding heart, wait 48 to 72 hours after finishing, and a few others where doctors advise abstaining.
Why did my doctor order thyroid antibodies?
Thyroid antibodies answer the why behind an odd TSH. High TPO antibodies point to Hashimoto's, the immune system slowly dialing the thyroid down. That is the most common cause of hypothyroidism. Different antibodies confirm Graves disease when the thyroid runs hot.
Why does every doctor keep asking for my full medication list?
Your full medication list matters because interactions and duplications hospitalize people daily. Two doctors may innocently prescribe similar drugs. A supplement can block an antibiotic. A painkiller can quietly strain kidneys already on a diuretic. The list is the collision map.
What does it mean if my eosinophils are high?
Eosinophils are the allergy-and-parasite wing of white cells. Mild elevations most often track allergic conditions, asthma, eczema, hay fever, or medication reactions; parasitic infections matter with relevant travel or exposure; rarer causes exist for persistent high counts.
What should I ask before starting any new medicine?
Before starting any new medicine, five questions cover most trouble. What is this for and how will we know it works? How and when exactly do I take it? What are the common side effects and which rare one should make me call? How does it sit with my other medicines and supplements? How long will I be on it and what is the exit plan?
Is a TSH of 5.4 high?
A TSH of 5.4 mIU/L is mildly raised: above the usual 0.4 to 4.0 range, in the band doctors call subclinical hypothyroidism. The same applies to 5.0, 5.5, 5.8 and 6.0.
Is a TSH of 7 high?
A TSH of 7 mIU/L is clearly above the normal range but still usually subclinical, meaning the thyroid is working harder yet keeping hormone levels normal. Values of 6.5 to 9.9 sit in the same band.
What does a TSH of 10 mean?
A TSH of 10 mIU/L or above means an underactive thyroid that is usually treated, even when free T4 is still in range. Ten is the line most guidelines use.
Is a TSH of 0.2 bad?
A TSH of 0.2 mIU/L is low: below the usual 0.4 floor, which points to an overactive thyroid or, in someone on levothyroxine, a dose that is slightly too high.
Is an eGFR of 60 bad?
An eGFR of 60 is the lower edge of the normal range. Above 60 with no protein in the urine is considered normal kidney function; 45 to 59 is stage 3a chronic kidney disease if it persists for three months.
What does an eGFR of 45 mean?
An eGFR of 45 means the kidneys are filtering at about 45% of a healthy young adult's rate: stage 3a chronic kidney disease, the boundary with 3b, if it has been there for three months.
Is a ferritin of 15 low?
A ferritin of 15 ng/mL (µg/L) is low. Under 15 is iron deficiency on almost every lab's range, and 15 to 30 is low enough to cause tiredness and hair loss in many people, especially women who have periods.
Is a vitamin D level of 20 low?
A vitamin D of 20 is at the boundary, and the unit decides which side. 20 ng/mL (50 nmol/L) is the level the NIH calls adequate for bone health; 20 nmol/L (8 ng/mL) is deficient and needs treating.