There was a post recently on Reddit’s r/transplant subreddit about high alkaline phosphatase (ALP), and what it means for the transplant.
I have wondered about this test as well. My numbers were low post-transplant, but have been above the high limit since mid-February. However, at all my clinic appointments with UCLA, none of the doctors has ever mentioned my ALP results. After a few months, I also just ignored this result in a sea of numbers.
Here are my results. Since the high at the end of February, ALP levels have been steadily decreasing. The OP in the reddit post said his number was around 300; that is much higher than my result results.
I had no ideal what ALP was, other than it was an enzyme from the “ase” ending. MedlinePlus (.gov) had this description:
ALP is an enzyme found throughout the body, but it is mostly found in the liver, bones, kidneys, and digestive system. When the liver is damaged, ALP may leak into the bloodstream. High levels of ALP can indicate liver disease or bone disorders.
https://medlineplus.gov/lab-tests/alkaline-phosphatase/
If you search for ALP and post-kidney transplant, most of the results are from academic papers, which are usually more narrowly focused on something specific and much harder to read/understand. I did find one webpage on NKF, but it mainly focused on bone disease.
There are several comments on the Reddit thread, but I find the level of intelligence on Reddit is generally pretty low. Hopefully, people that comment on medical questions have either medical training or personal experience, but neither has access to the OP’s medical records. I think there is a lot of fear and uncertainty around medical issues, but I would not trust some random comment on an Internet forum. Maybe this is a more worrisome trend of people not trusting their own doctors? Or maybe they want validation on a life choice (illegal drugs, smoking, alcohol use) not recommended by their transplant doctors?
Back to my results, the UCLA doctors were pretty thorough when reviewing my test results each week, so maybe being a bit high on ALP levels is no big deal for now.
Life with chronic diseases 