High alt result

[Activewolf]

Hi, I am emigrating to NZ on a long term business visa with my family, we have already purchased a business over in Christchurch so need to get visa's asap but my medical has been referred to the Assessor because my ALT reading was 75.
The panel doctor here in the UK did not seem to think it was an issue, neither does my own GP as all my other results were fine. I am a bit overweight at the moment (not above NZ requiremnts though) so I have been dieting and exercising and have already lost over a stone but wondered if anyone else has had the same problem and if so, what was the outcome/what did you do to get your results down to NZ acceptable parameters?
I've read that vit C, vit E and milk thistle can help - anyone tried it?

Thanks

Dale

[JandM]

Hello and welcome.

[buckwheat]

Hi Dale,
Sorry to hear of your results - You can use the milk thistle, it will help the liver to cleanse and also think of adding some Lecithin into your diet, you can get it from any health food shop - its a fat emulisifier, helps the liver break down fats in food, lots of water - reduce your dairy and red meat intake. Also add raw vegetable juices, green are better, 1 a day - this should help.

I'm new to the forum, but am interested in your story.... you see, we are looking at emigrating by getting a business visa - but have been told not to buy the business before getting the visa!?! So am interested in any info that you can offer on which way is best! as i always thought it was a bit risky getting the business first.....

Hope all goes well for you,
Best wishes
Becca

[eassae]

I had a similar problem. My ALT was slightly high but everything else was normal. I ended up having to get two ultrasounds and a ct scan as well as a lot of blood work before they said I was OK. The biggest issue was that they required me to do the ultrasounds 6 months apart, which was stressful as my wife had a job that she was to start immediately. We came over without visas, but we were able to get a one year work visa for my wife in one day. I don't know what the specifics for your visa will be.

I don't know about the things you listed to lower ALT's, but don't exercise within 24 hours prior to getting your blood work as it will raise your ALT levels.

[Activewolf]

Hi Buckwheat, thanks for the info on milk thistle etc. I'll certainly give it all a go....
Regarding the business visa, we had to complete on the purchase by a certain date or lose the sale so we didn't have much choice. Our immigration consultant in NZ said the visa shouldn't be a problem so we went ahead and bought the business. Yes, I guess its risky but we were confident that there wasn't going to be any problems!! It is just a bit frustrating at the moment....the medicals for my wife and children have been passed so there is a chance that they may have to go on ahead and I'll follow on later....we're just hoping that there won't be too much of a delay in getting the required results. I would get some professional advice as to your situation, they can then assess if you are likely to get the visa and take it from there....in an ideal world we would have preferred to delay buying the business until the visas were in place but it just didn't work out like that for us. Luckily for us the current staff are Ok running it for us until we can get over there.

Hi Eassae
do you mind me asking what your ALT result was? Also did they say why you had to get 2 ultrasounds done? You say you managed to come over without visas - does that mean you had the extra tests done in NZ? I've heard that strenuous exercise prior to the test is not good, its a shame that the visa is so dependant on something that appears to be affected by lots of things, whether you exercise, if you have a cold etc. It seems a bit like pot luck to time the test for when the levels are likely to be at their lowest.

[buckwheat]

Hi Activewolf..
Interesting! - Can i ask what business you have bought and where it is?? We have only spoken to one independant immigration company so far, so its good to hear from others on what there route is. Are you doing to application directly with NZ immigration or are you using a company? I am unsure at the moment if its worth using a company, as it just seems like another added cost - so any if you have any contacts that would be great.
I hope you don't have to jump through too many different hoops to get there with ALT levels. Diet changes won't make an instant change, but if it takes a few months for them to make any decision or for you to have re tests, any changes you make now would help..... Try and think that food needs to be natural, anything processed or refined puts the body under stress as it has more work to do to break it down, but at the same time don't go cutting out all fat from the diet as the body still needs some to function - just the good stuff!! Fish oil or flax if your veggie!
Good luck!

[JandM]

Hello and welcome, Buckwheat.

You can find many old threads discussing the question of whether or not to use an immigration advisor. Most people feel that it is possible to cope with the formalities yourself, and there are many people here who've gone through the process whose brains you can pick if any of the NZIS terms aren't immediately clear - if you can manage on your own, you will save the substantial fee. No immigration company has any clout with NZIS, so using one is not putting you ahead of the game in any way. The company fills in the same forms that can be accessed via the NZIS website http://www.immigration.govt.nz/migrant/stream/work/ (or the 'invest' tab), with information that you have to provide for them, and sends in proof (e.g. of qualifications and experience) that you have to look out for them - it doesn't actually save you any work.

[eassae]

Hi Eassae
do you mind me asking what your ALT result was? Also did they say why you had to get 2 ultrasounds done? You say you managed to come over without visas - does that mean you had the extra tests done in NZ? I've heard that strenuous exercise prior to the test is not good, its a shame that the visa is so dependant on something that appears to be affected by lots of things, whether you exercise, if you have a cold etc. It seems a bit like pot luck to time the test for when the levels are likely to be at their lowest.

My ALT was 68 the first test I took then I took two other tests in the US before coming over without a visa the second was in the high 40's and the third was 62. High in the USA was listed as 60 here in NZ it is 40 if I remember correctly. They did ultrasounds to see if there were signs of cirrhosis. I did have two small benign haemangioma's show up in the ultrasound, which is why I did a CT scan, to confirm they were benign, but immigration still wanted another ultrasound in six months.

From my research high ALT levels can be symptoms of many things. I did have my extra tests done in NZ. I found an immigration doctor here that recommended that I see a gastroenterologist, the gastroenterologist recommended I get extensive blood work along with my second ultrasound in order to further demonstrate there was nothing wrong with me—or find out what the problem was. All my test results came back normal and my ALT's were down in the 40's (still slightly high for NZ), but that was enough to appease immigration.

It does seem to be one of those numbers that can fluctuate very easily. I was in an accident shortly before taking my tests and was prescribed a three week series of antibiotics which was most likely why my ALT's were high—or I just have high ALT's. I have had high cholesterol my whole life even though my body fat percentage is is fairly low. When I did my tests for immigration I thought my cholesterol would be much lower because my diet is much much better than when I was younger, but It was almost exactly the same.