Elevated liver enzymes; questions.

ebutcher

Member
Hello,

On a blood test, have you experienced elevated AST/ALT liver enzymes even with a liver protocol? I am and have been on TRT for 20 weeks now (I am 33 and was low-t most my life not knowing or accepting of that I guess - when I started my natural test levels were 127 ng/dL... Highest I ever got was in the 270 ng/dL naturally - so you can imagine the quality of life was suffering). Anyways, every 5 weeks I have had a blood test; a full blood panel every time. Until I get to a point where the blood tests are not as frequent I chose to do more "mild" steroids while on TRT like Anavar as I did not want to raise suspicion in my panels. I purchased the Anavar from a Mgurus approved source; Beligas brand. (side note, great to actually see some good progress in 5 weeks on this compound. I started at 203 lbs with 18% body fat, in 5 weeks I weighed in at 193 lbs 15.2% body fat measured by hydrostatic weighing) .

I started with 25mg a day for about 2 weeks, then 50mg for 2 weeks, and before my most recent test I took 100mg for about a week. All throughout the 5 weeks lifting heavy, at least 30 mins of cardio a day on top of lifting and eating clean with low carb, low fat and high protein diet). Throughout this time I took it with TUDCA 500mg and NAC 1000mg; both per day. The blood test came back elevated liver enzymes, as I was suspecting would happen eventually, but not so soon especially with the protocol.

So, they were quite concerned at the clinic because my enzyme levels AST doubled and ALT tripled between my 10 week test and my 15 week blood test. So they were probing to try and figure it out and I was able to dodge their inquiries thankfully and recommended vitamin E to aid in flushing my liver. Originally they wanted me to get an ultrasound...hard pass. I can't admit what I have been taking because I would not be allowed to have the therapy any longer.

My question is, of you more experienced oral steroid users out there, even with a liver protocol will you always have "stress" on your liver due to the nature of the 17a-alkylation of oral steroids regardless of the liver protocol?
 

HGH.to

Well-known member
My question is, of you more experienced oral steroid users out there, even with a liver protocol will you always have "stress" on your liver due to the nature of the 17a-alkylation of oral steroids regardless of the liver protocol?
yes, this is the exact reason why i don't recommend people use oral steroids for longer than 6 weeks. even this period can be too long with harsher orals such as Halotestin or Superdrol
 

ebutcher

Member
Thank you @HGH.to. I will be more mindful of timing and dosage rate of orals in the future. Appreciate the insight in that you will always expect elevated liver enzymes while using oral steroids regardless of the vitamin support. I guess the answer is there too, liver "support". It only reduces the harshness of the steroid, but does not eliminate since the liver cannot breakdown compounds with 17a-alkylation.
 

Twizted

Well-known member
Your best bet is to just stay on your dr prescribed test dose and not add anything to it that might mess up your bloodwork. I'm sure if you do this and keep steady levels on your bloodwork your dr will extend the time between bloodwork and then you can experiment 😉
 

EMachine

Well-known member
4-6 weeks should suffice when using orals. You don’t compete so why risk it? 100 mg of Var is too high for you. 25 mg should give you great results if your diet and training are on point.

Liv-52 is in my view the best product for liver protection/health. They have more studies than any other company and sell 13 billion pills per year. I use 2 per day when I’m cruising and 4 per day when blasting along my liver protocol.

At this point I would suggest continuing with Tudca and Nac (raise it to 2000 mg per day), add Liv-52 at 4 pills per day in divided doses, and Choline & Inositol at 2,000 mg (I get mine from the brand NOW at Amazon).

Also, when you take an oral, any oral (referring to 17-A) always take it with omega-3s. I learned this “secret” when I was competing and have recommended it to literally everyone I coach and on this and other forums (only active on this one). When I cruise, I take 4 omega-3 per day when blasting up to 9. The above liver protocol and the omega-3s will help you restore your values and health.
 

EMachine

Well-known member
I forgot to mention that a lot of bodybuilders also use N2Guard. Checking out. I use virtually the same product but cheaper by Nutriissa.
 

ebutcher

Member
Your best bet is to just stay on your dr prescribed test dose and not add anything to it that might mess up your bloodwork. I'm sure if you do this and keep steady levels on your bloodwork your dr will extend the time between bloodwork and then you can experiment 😉
This is pretty much where I am at now...exactly. The clinic took bloodwork every 5 weeks for the first 15 weeks to establish what my body needed. Now blood tests are every 12 weeks, so I have been doing supplemental doses.

Or you can so your own trt protocols, your own labs and keep experimenting like I'm doing 😁
I could, but as long as I can continue to pass bloodwork at the clinic I have everything covered by insurance. Not gonna jeopardize weekly monitoring and injections essentially free to experiment. I have been doing supplemental lab
Also, when you take an oral, any oral (referring to 17-A) always take it with omega-3s. I learned this “secret” when I was competing and have recommended it to literally everyone I coach and on this and other forums (only active on this one). When I cruise, I take 4 omega-3 per day when blasting up to 9. The above liver protocol and the omega-3s will help you restore your values and health.

work through Quest by getting lab orders through Walk In Labs. It is very inexpensive, and I have been using to see how my body responds to blasting as I cruise.

4-6 weeks should suffice when using orals. You don’t compete so why risk it? 100 mg of Var is too high for you. 25 mg should give you great results if your diet and training are on point.
Thank you for the advice. I did not feel or really notice a difference between 50-100mg, but then again I was not taking that high a dose for very long. It was diminishing return on quite an expensive compound.

Liv-52 is in my view the best product for liver protection/health. They have more studies than any other company and sell 13 billion pills per year. I use 2 per day when I’m cruising and 4 per day when blasting along my liver protocol.

At this point I would suggest continuing with Tudca and Nac (raise it to 2000 mg per day), add Liv-52 at 4 pills per day in divided doses, and Choline & Inositol at 2,000 mg (I get mine from the brand NOW at Amazon).
Thank you for this advice. I appreciate it, and I will follow your advice when I cycle orals back in the mix in the coming weeks. Since I have bloodwork from the last time I did Anavar without this specific protocol I would eager to see what they are following your recommendations.

Also, when you take an oral, any oral (referring to 17-A) always take it with omega-3s. I learned this “secret” when I was competing and have recommended it to literally everyone I coach and on this and other forums (only active on this one). When I cruise, I take 4 omega-3 per day when blasting up to 9. The above liver protocol and the omega-3s will help you restore your values and health.
Thankfully I was already doing this. I was, and still am taking about 6g a day.
 

Twizted

Well-known member
Awesome! I'm glad it worked out for you. I figured the dr would eventually spread out your bloodwork once things leveled out.
 

Hchero

Well-known member
If you only use orals to load a cycle for 4-6 weeks you should have no problems. Keep in mind during that time drink plenty of water and avoid alcohol or acetaminophen or anything toxic to your liver. Your enzymes will increase then normalize. A Liv 52 type product will help. You can also get most of those compounds in a painless oily solution if you got a good source.
 

suppsforlife

Well-known member
If you only use orals to load a cycle for 4-6 weeks you should have no problems. Keep in mind during that time drink plenty of water and avoid alcohol or acetaminophen or anything toxic to your liver. Your enzymes will increase then normalize. A Liv 52 type product will help. You can also get most of those compounds in a painless oily solution if you got a good source.
agreed. also, avoid the use of multiple oral steroids to avoid even more liver strain
 

Juicydog2121

New member
New here, & registered bcz of this exact topic. ive done 4 ONE Month long cycles in my early years. 19/20/21 Y/O. (Not back 2 back) ive been having a hard time since I’ve been on strictly HRT now. My liver enzymes have gone up quite significantly. i‘be got benign tumors in my body. Not sure wat to do. Colon/gut is quite painful, scheduling a colonoscopy next week to see what’s going on. I KNOW I have tumors in my colon, as I can feel one in the side of my neck (On the smaller side).

what can I do to remedy this? Is GH an option for me @ this point? I feel that GH targets the liver, heart & kidneys (amongst other things as well). What are the thoughts?

I know it’s expensive AF but so is my life at this point.
 
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