High Amylase and Lipase No Symptoms

[BW1234]

I'm a 24 y/o male. I went to the Dr. because of lower left abdominal pains. They took a blood test and found my amylase and lipase were high. One was around 2500 and one around 350. What would cause this? I have no other symptoms of pancreatitis and am able to eat just fine. However, they did find I am constipated pretty badly.

[cacocarrion]

Please explain about the "red herring"
Thanks!

[BarbaraLDantone]

I also need a herring explanation please. With Amylase and Lipase both over 5 times normal, gas, deep pain, fatigue and nausea I'm at square one in getting any answers. CT, Colonoscopy, Endoscopy, MRCP, Celiac blood test - all appear normal. When the Gastroenterologist gave me the fish theory it sounded like he thinks it's all a figment of my imagination. I don't smoke or drink and control diabetes with diet, exercise and minimum dose of Metformin ER. Fats are very problematic. I need some hope and direction! Any comments appreciated. It is good to hear I am not alone although I do not wish this on anyone.

[tanker123]

wow, I had the exact issue described above. I had severe lower left abdominal pain one morning and I went to the doc and they found that the lipase levels were very high (around 17000. Normal levels are between 90 and 170). It sounds crazy, but is true. The doc said he had never encountered a case like this in 20 years. I don't smoke or drink and am a vegetarian.  I had no nausea, no fever, basically no other symptoms. They referred me to a specialist and that guy did an abdominal CAT scan and found no kidney stones and found my liver and gallbladder to be functioning quite normally. After a lot of discussions, they determined that I had diverticulitis (he did mention something about sigmoid, but I don't remember now). I am actually glossing over quite a few details here -- they must've done at least 7 blood tests to verify that I had no other issues and that there was no error in those tests. The funny thing was that the lipase level dropped from 17000 to 9000 after a few days and went back to 19000 after some more days. 3 or 4 specialists determined that the high pancreatic lipase level was a red herring and my pain was due to diverticulitis. They said that I was one of those rare people born with a high pancreatic enzyme count and that they didn't know why. The high lipase level in the blood itself doesn't cause any harm, it is just usually a bio-marker for pancreatitis, but in my case, it wasn't. The only difference is that in my case, there is nothing wrong with the gall bladder as well and I had no previous surgeries.

[TNotes]

I know this thread is old...but there are new posts so I'd like to offer this bit of information:
I am 3 days post discharge from the hospital, my amylase was 4000 upon admission with a normal Lipase, I admitted due to the elevated amylase/lower left quadrant abdominal pain and severe nausea. My CT scan showed no pancreatitis. I too, do not drink, though I do have a mildly fatty liver from high triglycerides. My gallbladder has been removed for some years now.
It was determined that I had diverticulitis and a sigmoid stricture/twisting/kinking due to severe and extensive adhesions from a previous abdomino-pelvic surgery.
I noted the original poster said they were very constipated.......my GI doc told me that elevated amylase can be completely due to intestinal problems. (of course, it can be due to many other thing too) Perhaps the issue is not the liver/gallbladder/pancreas complex..but rather, due to an intestinal problem.

[LoriM65]

I am wondering if you have found anything out.. I am in the hospital right now with my 16 year old.. The only symptoms he had were his spine hurt and after eating he would get sick but not throw up... His levels were 7500, now are down to 3000 after 3 days of IV... No other symptoms... no other anything.... He has had a ultra sound, MRI and lots of blood work... Everything is normal but his lipase (sp?) levels... He is not in pain really at all...In 2 weeks we will have a CT scan, if that comes up normal then we will have another test, some kind of scoping...

[patient915]

Please post your question as its own post because this one is so old.

[ouryard21st]

I am going through kinda the same thing my Amylase levels on the first test was 3045 the second test made to rule out lab error just came back 3385. Yet my Lipase levels are normal. Ultra sound didn't find anything either. I don't drink, I have always eaten healthy low fat foods, my weight is good, my blood pressure is healthy everything is fine.


still no idea what is wrong.

[ouryard21st]

I am going through  kinda the same thing  my Amylase levels  on the first test  was 3045 the second test made to rule out  lab error just came back 3385. Yet my Lipase levels are normal.  Ultra sound didn't find anything either.

I don't  drink, I have always eaten healthy low fat foods, my  weight is good, my blood pressure  is  healthy everything is fine  but teh bubbling feeling  on teh left side under my lower ribs.


Still no idea what  it is.

[BL12345]

My 17 yr old son is going through something similar to you.  What have the medical determined with you?  He had flu-like symptoms and I took him for tests.

BL

[BW1234]

I dont think it's diabetes. I have no history of that anywhere in my family. And all my blood sugars are normal.

It could be the single polyp on my gullbladder, although unlikely. I'm not really sure where I go from here but when I talk to my doctor I'll let you know what he thinks. It's just so weird they're not finding ANYTHING.

[crambone]

hows it going?
what did ya find out?
you mention your cholestoral was i little high,,,sometimes pre diabetes can increase your cholesterol,and blood sugars...and people in pre diabetes can have elevated enzyme levels if the pancreatitis symptoms are from diabetes...im just throwing out some thoughts,and your doc,,well,hes the cod,,,but i think things will work out for you,,,believe me you would know if it was chronic,,,my bud was in the hospital and not even morphine would curve the extreme pain of chronic pancreatitis,,,,many times people get one accute case,and it NEVER effects them again....ever.

[BW1234]

They still haven't found anything. The Dr said it could have something to do with my cholesterol cuz it is a bit high. But they can't find anything wrong with me on the MRI, CT Scan, or Ultrasound. And the Dr said that's really weird because I'm pretty skinny and they can see everything clearly, but my bloodwork is showing something wrong.

Anyways, they're going to take a look at me from the inside tomorrow with a camera. Hopefully I'll know SOMETHING more then I do now.

[BW1234]

Apparently from what I understand so far, the gallbladder can cause acute pancreatitis. But that raises the question, why do I only have minimal pain on my right side as well? I get my MRI results and meet with a specialist tomorrow, so hopefully I'll know what's going on by then and I'll let you know.

[crambone]

does gallbladder problems manefest as high amalays/liypas levels thoug?,,,in my readings,and from what my friend went through,,,it could have only come from the pancreas.
sounds acute though,but its possible the gallbladder was the culprit,as they are all connected.
let me know what they find,id realy like to know,,,i have similar pains sometimes,,and thats why im so interested,i worry,,but i think mine is GERD related.

[BW1234]

I think its acute. They did an ultrasound of my gallbladder and found small polyps on it. They've done other tests as well and can't find anything wrong with anything but my gallbladder. Nobody in my family has ever had pancreas problems either. I'm going to see a specialist tomorrow, that will hopefully get everything straightened out for me and tell me a little more information. I've talked to a lot of people about it and they all seem to think its my gallbladder.

[crambone]

pancreas problems can get so severe that there is no pain as it progresses.
that high of levels,you defenently have pancreatitis!!!
i have a buddy that has it,and he would tell you the same thing.
everyone is effected in different ways.
keep in mind gallbladder,liver,and pancreas are all connected,problems with one can easly lead to problems with another.
might be acute pancreatitis,and that can mend on its own,,,just hope its not chronic,that kills.

[BW1234]

My CT scan results came back fine. I had another blood test and my lipase and amylase numbers are actually higher despite a greatly reduced diet. One is around 3500 (Lipase, I think) and the other around 450. I still have minimal pain, if any. I had an ultrasound of everything this morning and will hopefully get the results back soon. They also tested something for my liver in the blood test, but I'm guessing that came back fine since they didn't say anything.

They seem to think it's my gullbladder. But I have very minimal pain. What else could they be looking for or what else could it be?

[BW1234]

I had another blood test and my lipase numbers are still a little high. I had a CT scan friday and hopefully get the results by Monday they said. I still have no pain at all even though my numbers are still high.

As for drinking? No, I'm not a drinker at all. Once, MAYBE twice a year will I drink.

[CalGal]

In addition to the other poster's question, you may need to find out if what you're experiencing an autoimmune form of pancreatitis. It does happen although many docs don't seem to test for it. Make sure yours does.

Also have your gallbladder checked. In some cases problems with the gallbladder can result in pancreatic problems.

[korincob]

I used to work in a medical lab, and a high amylase and lipase usually suggest problems with your liver. Are you a drinker?