Anti-depressants and liver enzymes (Not kitty related!)

Since I know that there are many of us here that suffer from depression, I thought I'd post this question.

I just got a call from my doc that my liver enzymes were elevated. I know this can be caused by anti-depressants. Has anyone else experienced this? What is the treatment? Will I have to go off the A/D?

Thanks for any info you have!!

Originally Posted by cla517

Since I know that there are many of us here that suffer from depression, I thought I'd post this question.

I just got a call from my doc that my liver enzymes were elevated. I know this can be caused by anti-depressants. Has anyone else experienced this? What is the treatment? Will I have to go off the A/D?

Thanks for any info you have!!

Click to expand...

Cla, Did your Dr tell you if the enzymes were mildly elevated or grossly elevated? What antidepressant are you on, if you don't mind me asking? Are you symptomatic. Usually if you have symptoms they would be, lethargy (tiredness) but of couse that could be depression as well, poor appetite, again, a sign of depression too. Possiblly jaundice, yellow, skin and eyes..but that would be if your liver enzymes were very high...and other symptoms.

Your psych Dr will prob want you to see a medical doc for a through exam and he/she will orDer any blood work or tests, maybe an ultrasound. If you are very depressed right now you doc might want to switch your med to one with less chance of liver side effects, or maybe a mood stabilizer. If you are stable, they might just take you off the antidepressant for a while and watch and see. I hope this info helps.

BTW...I've been on about 6 diferent antidepressants in 10 yrs not counting mood stabilizers that can also cause increased liver enzymes. It never has for me. I'm saying this so people will NOT stop their meds just because of the possibility of a side effect...it does not happen to everyone. And generally they are managable.

I AM NOT A DOCTOR, JUST AN OLD NURSE, DO NOT TAKE MY WORD AS GOSPEL, SEE YOUR DOCTOR. IF YOU TAKE ONLY MY ADVICE I WILL BE FORCED TO CHARGE YOU... WATCH OUT NYC PRICES ARE HIGH!

Yep, I have slightly elevated liver enzymes - and I've been on prozac going on 17 years. Not sure if it is related to the prozac, but the doctors are just keeping an eye on it for now.

I am taking Altruline (also known as zoloft). Scares me when I read this thread, the only changes I have when I took this anti-depressant medicine was I sweat when I sleep during the night or day. My morning head ache was gone since I took this medicine, I have been taking this for almost 4 months.

Aneelk...Please don't be scared. Every med, for every ailment has side effects. Even aspirin and tylenol. Tylenol in fact can cause liver damage in large doses...what's a large dose...it varies, person to person. When you hear the commericials on TV promoting a drug and at the end of the commericial thay say...may cause this, may cause that, it could scare the crap out of you. However, when they test any drug they have to report EVERY side effect. Example: Let's say they test drug A on 1000 people, 3 people experience diarrhea, then they have to report that. Hence at the end of the commerical or warning label they must say...may cause diarrhea, even though 997 people did NOT get diarrhea...get it?

After all these years of taking psych meds...dozens of them...I have never experieced a severe reaction, not even a rash. However everyone's body chemistry is different. The only "bad" reaction I have had, is some of them did not work or did not work for long. I am on 5 different meds a day now, I do have some side effects, but none life/health threatening.

Please take your meds, follow up with your DR, and be an educated patient.

There are many things that can make a liver misbehave. Zoloft might end up being the problem, but I would work with your doctor and get a very thorough checkout as there are other things that could be causing this too like excessive build up of liver "gall" stones, etc. I would go back to your doctor with an open mind and push the doctor to be thorough in his investigation of the issue. Though it would be "easier" (for the doctor) to have you quit the zoloft for a bit and then re-do the blood workup, I wouldn't be satisfied with the results of a test like that, because what if you need to take some other medication down the road and the issue crops up again? Also, (and I don't know how you'd do this) you should educate yourself on what diagnostics are available for troubleshooting issues with the liver. So, if you know a RN or someone in the field they might be good to talk to. And remember, it never hurts to get a second opinion! As Barbara said... "be an educated patient".
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I've been on quite a few different anti-depressants over my lifetime and never had a problem. Currently on Paxil CR.

My daughter, however, is on multiple anti-depresant/anti-anxiety stuff as she is bipolar and OCD, and she has to have blood tests every three months. She has had liver problems off and on over the years. How often do you get blood tests?

Don't panic. Most of these things are completely reversible. The elevated enzyme levels have never left lasting effects on my daughter or her liver.

Thanks for your advice guys. Well, my psychiatrist said that the "only" side effect is I am gonna sleep too much, which I did, a month ago I sleep for 24 hours without eating and getting up from the bed, it happened three times. Besides that, I feel good myself, I don't cry much, but my friends told me that I got skinny, I think I did, I lose like 6 lbs., well, my weight was 98 lbs, now it's 91 lbs. When I was reading online, the people who was taking zoloft, said, that they gained like 20 lbs, I don't know why it's the opposite to me. My Doc gave me another prescription called "Tafil" for anxiety disorder, I only took that for 2 weeks. The doctor told me that I am going to take this anti-depressant medicine for 8 months. I have been searching in the internet about the bad things of Zoloft, and it scares me (I wish I did not search on it), but at least I know now

Thanks Cla157 for bringing up this thread. Your the one who was asking for help, I wish I can help you too, but we have the same problem

eneelk...Try to focus on the good things the drug can do for you...it outweighs the bad. The internet while a glorious thing, can be a dangerous thing. One thing I forgot to mention , the class of drugs we are talking about are called SSRIs, they include (not a complete list) paxil, zoloft, prozac, celexa, lexapro, etc. If theses meds are stopped suddenly they "can" have horrid side effects...it is known as SSRI Flu Syndrome. You have flu symptoms for weeks, even months. If you ever had the flu, you know how bad that can be. If you need to stop any of these drugs you need to taper off under a Drs. care. The only time these meds should be stopped abruptly is if they caused a life threatening side effect.

REMEMBER, I AM NOT A DOCTOR, JUST AN OLD NURSE...DO NOT TAKE MY WORD AS GOSPEL, SEE YOUR DOCTOR!

Originally Posted by cla517

Since I know that there are many of us here that suffer from depression, I thought I'd post this question.

I just got a call from my doc that my liver enzymes were elevated. I know this can be caused by anti-depressants. Has anyone else experienced this? What is the treatment? Will I have to go off the A/D?

Thanks for any info you have!!

Click to expand...

I would ask for a copy of the blood test, so you can see which enzymes were elevated, and by how much, but I wouldn't worry w/o more information. The GGT liver enzyme for example is elevated in many people and often is reactive to what you ate or drank the day before the test. My understanding of the liver panel tests is that they generally need to be evaluated in tandem with each other, as well as other physical symptoms. My GGT has been elevated for years. I recently had a detailed liver panel done because I began taking an anti-cholesterol med which has specific liver warnings, and my internist decided to take a reading after I'd been on the drug for 2 months. He was underwhelmed by the GGT result.
As others have said, you will probably want to discuss the test results further with a knowlegeable MD (in this case an internist more likely than a shrink), but you should not panic as a result of the phone call.

Here is the best website that I've found on clinical laboratory tests.
(The US National Library of Medicine links to it, so the underlying association is a legitimate one.) I hope that you find it helpful. They have a selection item called 'liver panel' in the box in the upper right corner. When you go to a specific test page, the key info is under the tab called 'The Test'.

Lab Tests Online

I know this is an old resurrected thread but....I've been on both Prozac (with Xanax) for a while and then later on Zoloft.  They both only worked for a short time it seemed, and I hated the side effects.  I don't recall having elevated liver enzymes at the time or not.  Other meds could be to blame for that as well.  Statins (anti-cholesterol) are bad for that.  Honestly, to me, it wasn't worth being on the antidepressants because it didn't seem to help much at all.

So, since then I've been on nothing.  And I've experienced many ups and downs.  Quite by accident, I noticed that when I cut sugar way down in my diet, I noticed almost immediate relief  of depression and anxiety.  I've always had a battle with sugar though.  And I can tell you several times now I've seen the depression and anxiety return sharply when I start eating it again.  So, just quit?  Easy for anyone else to say, but every time I knuckle down and stop the ice cream and popsicles and candy bars, and replace that with good vegetables and fruits and plenty of protein, there is an immediate improvement in my mood.  Try it and see!  

And if you have any tips on how to STAY the course, please let me know

Also, I noticed a new book in my email notifications just 2 days ago, if anyone's interested in the link between diet and depression:  

http://kellybroganmd.com/amindofyourown/