Autoimmune hepatitis Puns

I have had two Smooth Muscle Antibody screens come back positive (one with my Rheumatologist and the latest one last week with the liver doctor I was referred to). IgG is 1,329 (on the high side but not out of range). The other liver screens and blood work came back "normal" so he said he would not diagnose me with AIH. Why would these Smooth muscle antibody screens always come back positive if I did not have AIH? I also have another autoimmune disorder (hypothyroidism).

Hi guys ,

6 months ago I was diagnosed with autoimmune hepatitis and sjogren's. I started corticosteroids and imuran . In the meantime my LFTs are rising , the rheumatologist is saying that it might be bcs of the imuran and suggested to switch to methotrexate while the liver dr doesn't like it 🤔 . Did any of you has similar experience , what alternatives could work for both autoimmune hepatitis and sjogren's without affecting the liver function?

I've recently been diagnosed with autoimmune hepatitis and the treatment is steroids and immunosuppressive therapy. They can exclude the steroids but the survival rate is much lower. The steroid treatment is usually v high dose and over 24 months. Recently budesonide has been approved as a treatment because it is less impactful to other systems of the body than prednisone.

So that's terrible news.

Has anyone here successfully been on long term steroid treatment for another condition with Type 1 diabetes? On prednisone? Or budesonide? I feel like I don't have any good choices here. Either I'll die from high blood sugar or from the hepatitis.

Hi everyone, I hope everyone's... as well as can be. I want to start by saying I am so grateful for this community and having you all to turn to in times of uncertainty. I got a new diagnosis and could use some insight.

I've been diagnosed with lupus for 5 years, celiac for 7. I've mostly had mild lupus, lots of joint pain and fatigue, a couple bouts of pericarditis. A few months ago I was told I had elevated liver enzymes and that I needed an ultrasound. Ultrasound showed nothing but liver enzymes stayed high. I moved and got a new, more thorough rheum who found I have actin antibodies and likely have autoimmune hepatitis.

He didn't put me on any new meds but gave me some steroids to take if I feel a flare coming on. I think because I don't have anything on imaging they're taking a conservative approach. But I dont fully understand what this means for me. Do I need to watch what I eat and drink? Will it get worse over time? Will I inevitably need a transplant or can I control this somehow?

I know a lot of these are questions for my doctor but I never feel like I have enough time to get them all out. Has anybody here dealt with this? Could you share some insight with me?

I was first diagnosed with elevated liver enzymes in 1999 at the age of 24...my doc asked me if I was an alcoholic (I'm not and never have been), then told me I had the liver profile of someone who had been drinking a six-pack a day for five years. (I also weighed about 190 at 5'11".)

Since then, I have followed my enzymes, and had to work hard to make them normal back in the day...and that didn't last. No symptoms at the time aside from occasional right upper quadrant pain. I had a liver biopsy six years ago, and that clinched a diagnosis of NASH (no longer NAFLD anymore folks, yay).

Today: my ALT is about 63 (normal 0-44), and that is with the help of 800 IUs Vitamin E and a homemade tincture of milk thistle, rosemary, grapefruit, and dandelion root daily. Both therapies were introduced separately, and both resulted in a noticeable decrease of both ALT and AST. (AST is now WNL for the first time since 2003, hooray!) Unfortunately, I have been noticing more fatigue and general sensation of fullness. Not fun.

A few days back, I read through the chart notes from my biopsy, which showed a positive SMA (smooth muscle antibody) but a negative ANA (anti-nuclear antibody). This makes me wonder about the possibility of autoimmune hepatitis. Anyone here have any insight into this?

Also, I have wondered about using Actos as an agent to help reduce fibrosis and further normalize enzymes. Has anyone taken this route?

I’ve never met another person with this condition. I’m 20F and got diagnosed via biopsy at 17. In addition to this, I also have hashimotos and panniculitis (probably from lupus, still getting diagnosed). Please reach out and remind me I’m not an alien. Thanks

I am 27 years old. I’m 5’9 150 pounds, lean and muscular as I workout 5 times a week and diet.

My blood work showed: AST leves: 126 ALT levels: 358 ASMA: 1 40 ANA: Abnormal

I was also on long term doxycycline for acne as a child, which is said to be a cause.

I mean, unfortunately, the diagnosis seems cut and dry. Could someone help me out here?

Hi everyone,

My mother (57) just told me she was diagnosed with autoimmune hepatitis, what exactly does this mean? Is she alright? Can this be controlled? She does not look sick at all or yellow or anything, if it wasn’t for her telling me I wouldn’t have noticed she was sick at all…

Apparently the doctor prescribed antibiotics to treat an UTI and after that they will look at what to do, what happens when someone has autoimmune hepatitis? She has had some thyroids issues before but they got it handled.

Any info is appreciated thanks !

Some additional info: she basically does not drink at all and thin/normal weight. Sedentary lifestyle though.

Hello, thanks for taking the time to read my post.

My dog is a 6 1/6 year old cocker spaniel and toy poodle mix. She was diagnosed recently with autoimmune hepatitis and has responded very well to steroids. She is 15 lbs.

The veterinarian we have been seeing put her on atopica 25mg as well, but after a few weeks of my dog seeming to not feel well after the meds, and after having read more about the medication, I took her off and continued with steroids. Her bloodwork shows one liver value going down still and her bilirubin also has gone way down. Her digestive symptoms are gone and she is back to being her sassy (if not a little too hungry) self.

Because steroids cause the other liver enzymes to be high, my vet wants her back to atopica so we can reduce steroid use to see how the enzymes are. My dog had high copper on her biopsy but the vet believes it is secondary to the inflammatory disease and did not want to use chelation therapy since at the time my dog already had gi issues.

I have been looking for a second opinion in my city but most vet practices are full. I read that many vets prefer to taper the steroid to every other or every 3 days and continue that rather than use atopica due to its side effects and the risk of cancer. What do you do within your practice? Is this drug as dangerous as it sounds? Would we be able to see enzymes lowered just by tapering the steroid down?

For reference, her liver is small but has minimal scarring.

, if there’s anyone out there who also has this o r any doctor in here that know if alcohol is going to banned from me for the rest of my life... I’m not an alcoholic obviously but I’m only 23 I still like to grab a drink with friends sometimes but I don’t know if once or twice a month of drinking a little bit can be too bad for me 🥺 and if I can still donate blood even though i have a chronic illness’s

28F -- 5' 7" -- 130lbs. Former juul smoker... quit 2 months ago.

A few weeks ago I went to my primary care doctor to receive some vaccinations for nursing school. I also had my blood drawn to check for antibodies in lieu of receiving additional vaccinations.

My doctor told me my liver enzymes were high. She has said this to me in the past, but she wasn't concerned- she figured I was just fighting a virus that would pass. And apparently it did, because my LFTs returned to normal at my next visit a year later. For some reason this time around, she was concerned and decided to do more testing. When she found that my blood tested positive for Smooth Muscle Antibodies and ANA, she called and told me I need to set up an appointment with a specialist, as my results "point towards Autoimmune Hepatitis."

I have no symptoms, which is good. What i'm wondering is, does the presence of these antibodies automatically indicate that I have AIH? Or could it be something else? Or nothing at all? My LFTs don't seem all that high, but I don't know how important those values are.

I have no symptoms, other than GI issues that I've had for the past 10 years, which include chronic constipation and/or diarrhea/loose stools. I had a colonoscopy 10 years ago and was told I had "microscopic colitis."

For reference, this is what my tests indicate so far:

ALT: 63 u/L

AST: 45 u/L

ALKP: 37 u/L

SMA: 1:80

ANA: 1:40, speckled/homogenous pattern

The GI doctor I saw today has scheduled an ultrasound and biopsy in a few more weeks. I would kill for a little peace of mind in the meantime.I certainly don't expect anyone to diagnose me, I guess I'm just wondering what your thoughts are and I would appreciate any and all input.

Thank you so much.

Hello! I have been having bad stomach issues and loss of appetite. It all started with a simple checkup/bloodwork when they noticed my Liver enzymes were a bit high, my ALT was 81. I was tested again and ALT shot to 155 and ast to 55. I know these are lower numbers than most cases of hepatitis but the doctor wanted to investigate. I had an ultrasound of my abdomen which was unremarkable, an endoscopy with mild gastritis and negative for h. Pylori. My Gastro then did another blood test on me to look for chromatosis, wilsons disease, and autoimmune. My ALT dropped to 100 and ast to 42. Negative for all viral hepatitis, iron normal, copper normal. My ANA tests however all sparked red flags, IFA positive, Actin Smooth Muscle Antibody (26) ref range >20 ANA titer 1:320 with an ANA of a speckled pattern. Anyone have any ideas? Waiting on Fibroscan results and follow up appointment with Gastro.

Hello, I am looking to start AIP. In addition to autoimmune hepatitis, I also have a diagnosis of Hashimotos. Last year, my knee swelled up for no reason and a steroid shot made it go away. It stayed off for over a year and then came back a few days ago. After breaking down about not being able to put my sock on cause my knee won’t bend, I’m ready to try something new.

One of my concerns though is the amount of shellfish and mercury. Can this make my liver condition worse?

Unrelated but I am also a college student and have a meal plan at the dorm. They have a pretty good salad option but not much meat besides fried chicken. Do you guys have any suggestions for cheap meals a college student can make? I have access to an oven but need to buy the pots and pans. If I had to break protocol and eat a type of meat not on the list, is there one I should ABSOLUTELY stay away from? Thank you

Does anyone have any general experience with this? I’d just like to hear your story/point of view

I was diagnosed last week after a blood test came back with elevated ALT several months ago and subsequent blood tests including ANA (1:1280). I just started taking Prednisone and will start with Azathioprine pending my genetic test.

I’m curious how I developed this out of nowhere - I have no family history of autoimmune diseases and I’m healthy/active (5’10” 200lb).

My doctor referred me to a hepatologist who basically said that all signs point to autoimmune hepatitis (specifically ALT & ANA) but that it is extremely rare for a male with no family history of autoimmune disease to develop this.

Looking forward to hearing from y’all!

Age: 19 / Sex: M / Weight: 150 lbs / Height: 5'9" (175cm) / Race: Mixed Hispanic (White, Native, Mestizo) / Current Medication: Meprednisone 40 Mg & Ursodiol 300 Mg 3 times per day / I don't drink, smoke, or use recreational drugs / Country: Living in Argentina but born and raised in Venezuela

For backstory, I had my gallbladder removed this year, the 29th of February, because of stones (small to normal size, about 4) and the cause of it was basically said to be because of family history due to my mother and aunt also having it removed at my exact same age, thing is the gastroenterologist who first checked me said my liver enzymes were high as they were because of the stones and that they should return to normal levels two weeks max. after the surgery. The surgeon said the same thing when I did my post-surgery check-ups, but he didn't send me to do enzyme tests again.

My enzyme levels at the time, before surgery (20/02/20): AST: 393 ALT: 938 ALP: 599

Time passes and then comes July 6th, when I decide to start again my acne treatment with a new doctor, since I had moved in, didn't know any local dermatologist, and been treating my acne since I was 12. New dermatologist prescribes me minocycline, but tells me to have a blood test on the final day of the treatment (August 5th) to see how my liver reacts. Of course my levels were high, too high in the opinion of the gastroenterologist who first check before my cholecystectomy so he told me to wait two weeks, and have a new round of blood test done.

Enzyme levels, last day of Minocycline (04/08/20): AST: 128 ALT: 254 ALP: 651

Enzyme levels, two weeks after ending minocycline treatment (18/08/20): AST: 172 ALT: 596 ALP: 585

After this, I had to wait until early September to go to the hepatologist because there was a queue. The doctor saw me and my case and said that I had AIH because I tested positive 1/160 for Antinuclear Antibodies and that I may have lived with it for a very long time but there is no way to know. Every other auto-antibody was negative (Maybe because of early diagnosis?). He then prescribed me with Mepredinose (A variant of the classic one, I don't know why) and Ursodiol because I also may have another "thing" going on that's causing me cholestasis. I also had a Protein Electrophoresis test the morning before starting with Meprednisone, which came normal, except for Albumin which came a little high with 5.25 g/dl.

My enzime tests 1 week with Meprednisone 40 Mg (08/09/20): AST:

I do have an attorney who took my case on contingency so the fact that they took the case gave me a little hope, even though I may get an initial decline and move to appeal. Now that SSA has all they need from me, they are just waiting until their doctor decides my fate. The last call from SSA was just a couple of weeks ago, so I know they are proceeding amidst the pandemic roadblocks. I know it’s a lengthy process, I began before Thanksgiving last year, so the SSA Q/A timeframe says 3-6 months. Any experience or feedback would be appreciated. Thank you!

Hello! I hope I don't make this post too terribly long, I will do my best to consolidate it as much as possible, but I have a lot of information to fit in here.

I'm 32, male, 5' 11", 230 lb, and caucasian.

I have two primary complaints (I don't think the two are related...):

1. Hypothyroidism (with low T4 and extremely suppressed TSH due to being on levothyroxine)
2. Recently diagnosed NAFLD (with chronically elevated liver enzymes dating back about 5 years)

Current Dx's:

• ADHD Combined Presentation
• Tourette's Disorder
• Bipolar disorder type 2 (with mood congruent psychotic features—only when depressed)
• OCD
• Circadian Rhythm Sleep Disorder (not sure which one???)
• Idiopathic Hypersomnia with Long Sleep Time
• Allergies (pollen/seasonal & dust mites)
• Asthma
• GERD
• Stage-1 HTN
• Hypothyroidism
• Essential Tremor
• Drug-Induced Tremor (antipsychotic)
• Either Conversion Disorder with Seizures or Convulsions or "Possible Paroxysmal Frontal Lobe Epilepsy" (as neurologist wrote in report from sleep-deprived EEG)
• Muscle spasm/cramps
• Tension/migraine headaches
• Hx of pre-diabetes (HbA1c currently 5.5%)
• Acne
• Hyperhidrosis

Possible/Working Dx's:

• Social Anxiety Disorder
• Panic Disorder
• PTSD
• Binge-Eating Disorder/Other Specified Feeding or Eating Disorder
• Borderline Personality Disorder

(Wow, didn't realize that list would be that long... ⊙︿⊙)

Current medications:

• desipramine (Norpramin) 50 mg 1 PO qam
• Latuda (lurasidone) 60 mg 1 PO qpm cc 350 kcal
• sertraline 100 mg 1½ PO qam (150 mg)
• oxcarbazepine (Trileptal) 600 mg 1 PO bid (1,200 mg)
• Trokendi XR (topiramate XR) 50 mg 1 PO qam
• dextroamphetamine (Dexedrine) 10 mg 2 PO tid (60 mg)
• montelukast (Singulair) 10 mg 1 PO qhs
• omeprazole (Prilosec) 20 mg 1 PO qam
• losartan (Cozaar) 25 mg 1 PO qhs
• propranolol LA (Inderal LA) 60 mg 1 PO qam
• tamsulosin (Flomax) 0.4 mg 1 PO qpm 30 min pc
• levothyroxine (Synthroid) 150 mcg 1 PO qam 1h ac
• Ozempic (semaglutide) 2 mg/1.5 mL pen 1 mg SC qwk
• Breo Ellipta (fluticasone furoate/vilanterol) 100 mcg/25 mcg/act. DPI 1 puff qhs
• minocycline 100 mg 1 po bid (200 mg)
• glycopyrrolate (Robinul Forte) 2 mg 1 PO qid (8 mg)
• hydroxyzine pamoate (Vistaril) 50 mg 1 PO x1 prn
• zolmitriptan (Zomig-ZMT) 2.5 mg 1-2 PO x1 prn
• trifluoperazine (Stelazine) 5 mg 1 PO bid prn
• ProAir RespiClick (albuterol inhaled) 90 mcg/act. DPI 2 puffs q4-6h prn
• levalbuterol (Xopenex) inhalation solution 1.25

As the title says just been to hospital apointment and been told they think I have cirrhosis. Been told I will need an endoscopy to check for enlarged blood vessels in oasophagus and another liver biopsy. Has anyone else been diagnosed with cirrhosis and what were the changes and how did it effect you? Also anyone ever had an endoscopy and what was it like? Thanks everyone

23M White 5’11 ~200 lbs Recently diagnosed with Autoimmune hepatitis Liver ultrasound was normal Perfectly healthy otherwise I do drink alcohol (only 1 or maybe 2 beers/day) I have an apt with a liver specialist next week

Last week I saw a new doctor who ordered some blood tests, my AST levels were elevated but not outside of the normal range, however, my ALT levels were significantly higher than normal (I believe 137). Based on what I’ve been able to read about Autoimmune Hepatitis [Cleveland medical clinic] an ALT level of 137 doesn’t fall into the “diagnosable” level of 5 times the average.

What do you think of the diagnosis? If correct, what kind of a condition is autoimmune hepatitis? (Will it change my life) How serious is autoimmune hepatitis (in regards to cirrhosis and other liver diseases)?

Are there any studies I can participate in? I’m from a scientific background and always wanted to help out others. I know autoimmune diseases in men are rare. I’m more than willing to be studied if possible.

Any council/advice/thoughts are greatly appreciated because my family friend was recently diagnosed with liver cancer at 50 years old and I’d be lying if I said this wasn’t making me a little anxious.

I am a female 62 years old 5’ 3 tall 130 lbs Canadian breast cancer when I was 38 and again at 58 my sister had bilateral breast cancer 3 years ago. I have just received my genetic results and my chek2 gene doesn’t work. I am so depressed because they have asked I release my med information to my siblings and my poor daughter . I told my sister and she screemed at me she doesn’t want to know. What to do ? I love all involved. I am on tamoxifen for my Breast cancer all I do is cry. I can’t even read all this information on the chek2. Also. 5 months ago I was in hospital for pneumonia and given antibiotics and other treatments potassium I’v really hurts. 2 months after that I was really sick I turned yellow back in hospital diagnosed with autoimmune hepatitis triggered they think by antibiotics the first meds for the hepatitis were really hard on me now I’m just i apo-azzTHIOprine I handle nausea with pms Ondansetron I’m so depressed mainly about this chek2 gene. My beautiful family how do I yell them. I has been a hard 4 years it’s scary

Hi, my fiancée is a 25 year old who had a liver transplant just over a year ago, due to autoimmune hepatitis. She often has bad days, mostly due to the depression which can come as a side effect, and wonders if she could ever have a long and normal life. Now, while it might be far from normal, will this likely cut her life short?

I started on prednisone and that other pill to suppress the prednisone yesterday and my family and friends are worried of the long-term effects of prednisone, anyone had issues with it or anything?

Also just looking for support :/

Supposedly “rare”, I’m hoping that’s not true. I’m hoping someone has something, anything, to tell me about this.