Can Anyone Help Me Understand My Bloodwork?

[mslee]

I posted this info on the MRI thread on related disorders because some of my symptoms are neuro.

Posting here in case anyone else has any input.

Thanks!!!!

OK So I finally got my most recent Labs back, can anyone help me understand them?

....I listed everything I have...I know it's alot just curious if anything jumps out at anyone.

My GI is telling me this will all normalize on the Gluten Free diet, but since I have several autoimmune disorders I want to make sure he is not missing anything.

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In order of Most Recent to Oldest:

[Mtndog]

This site is GREAT for reading about your test results:

Open Original Shared Link

I go there often! Hope it helps!

[mslee]

hey thanks!

will check it out!

[ShayFL]

Ok I can help some. I studied thyroid.

Your T3 is in the toilet. No way around it. You are producing T4 but you are not converting it to T3 effectively. T3 is what "makes the engine go". T4 is inactive. Your TSH is on the high end of normal. The new TSH range is from .3 - 3. Google it. Most labs still use old ranges even though they were changed in the medical community years ago.

I was severely hypothyroid with a TSH of 2.8. I was still hypo at 2.4. My TSH is now suppressed because I use Armour and boy do I feel better!

You have antibodies attacking your thyroid. You have Hashimoto's disease. Your thyroid numbers can bounce all around with this disease. The effective treatment for it is thyroid hormone to TSH suppression.

If you are currently being treated for thyroid with those labs, you are undermedicated. You need some T3 either in the form of Armour or compounded T3 added to your T4 medication.

You also appear to be deficient in B12. Even though it is in range, it is low. Many dont have relief from symptoms until they are around 800. If you take a mutlivitamin with B12 it can falsely elevate your labs and you can be even more deficient than it shows. You MMA/Homo shows the deficiency. And your folate is fine.

You should ask for injections of B12.

Your ferritin is great!!! I'm jealous.

Untreated/unhealed Celiac can make the liver enzymes elevated. Mine came down with the diet.

Optimal Vitamin D is 40. You are close. Maybe take a little extra each day especially during the Winter months.

Should have proper Lyme testing done.

Open Original Shared Link

That is what I can offer. I hope it helps.

[Mtndog]

Shay- WOW! I am impressed. Can I throw some of my numbers at you? I'll do it through PM so MSlee doesn't get overtaken!

[ShayFL]

Even better start your own thread. I know a lot about a little and a little about a lot. There are others here like this. So if you make it public, you can pool from the vast knowledge of everyone on the board.

[Jestgar]

I agree with hypothyroid and low vit D. Dunno about the B12, but I take boatloads for other reasons and have no 'hyper' effects. More wouldn't hurt you.

Keep in mind that the reference ranges are for a population; you are an individual. Falling inside the normal range suggests that your values are normal, but doesn't guarantee it. Same with falling on the edges of normal.

ANA titers can be occasionally high, but are more concerning if they are consistently high.

[mslee]

Than You so much!

Shay you recommended most of those tests in another thread, so I made a list and had them run & now have another little piece to the puzzle! I have never been treated for anything thyroid, had been told a couple times it was a little off but it was left at that. Not considered a cause of any of my symptoms. Only since going gluten-free have I had the energy or ability to learn more about all this. And I realize now I'm going to have t o stay on top of all this because the Drs aren't always going to. So thank you for your help I really appreciate it!

I have Nature Made B Complex had held off until testing & Drs ok'ed it, but will request B12 injections, I have a friend who said they really helped her too.

My GI said that my antibodies are very high and they are making everything go haywire right now, how does one get antibodies out of their system??? Stop eating wheat??? I hope.

Since none of other Dr's have looked into thyroid (or adrenal for that matter) I should probably try to see an Endocrinologist if I want to get to the bottom of this.

Mtndog I don't mind if you post here on this thread

Jestgar I know about the averages I'm slowly learning all this guess it's best to look at all test as a whole and how they relate to each other and me. The ANA's are always High they diagnosed me with SLE Lupus a few years back. Now with so much that has been over looked I'm starting to wonder if I should look into other causes of high ANA.

Very determined to get to the bottom of all this! I went without medical treatment for years so now is catch up time. But the Celiac dx was huge! Could be the root of everything.

[ShayFL]

Hopefully no one will throw tomatoes at me...but I found both Endocrinologists in Tampa to be completely USELESS and many others have had similar experiences with them.

For your thyroid see if you can find a Holistic M.D. or an D.O. Osteopath, they will do a much better job. Here in Tampa we have one of the best Holistic M.D.s in the country. I go to her when I need to. She is really willing to work with me, respect me, listen to me and work out a plan together. This is what you want.

The only way to get rid of those thyroid antibodies is to take enough thyroid hormone to fully suppress your thyroid. Once your thyroid becomes inactive, then the attack stops. My Mom didnt get treated in time for her Hashi's and not only was most of her thyroid eaten away, it lead to cancer.

So dont ignore it any longer. Find a good thyroid literate doctor and save the co-pay IMO and not waste on an Endo. Hey everyone, that is must my opinion on Endos.

[Rachel--24]

My suggestion would be to get retested for Lyme......this time use IgeneX and if you have a good LLMD in your area I would recommend making an appt. The LLMD can properly evaluate you for Lyme and can also order these tests for you.

Also with regards to the elevated methylmalonic acid.....this can be indicative of a functional B12 deficiency....meaning that there may be defective absorption and/or defective transport of B12.

I think urine tests are usually more accurate for this though.

Anyways, I thought I would mention that if you have a problem with B12 transport that is affecting your methylation cycle....it can impair detoxification significantly. I also had elevated methylmalonic show up in a urine test....and based on the results my doctor has ordered more testing to look specifically at my methylation cycle.

I was on M-B12 shots for a period of time last year and did not have noticeable improvement. However, some people experience amazing benefits from the shots.

One of my primary issues is chemical sensitivities.....and I know you are dealing with this as well.

The thyroid advice has been good. There definately seems to be a problem with conversion of T4 to T3....and definately some autoimmune issues going on. I also have thyroid disease...but Graves rather than Hashimoto's.

[ShayFL]

Make sure you check out:

www.stopthethyroidmadness.com

[mslee]

Hopefully no one will throw tomatoes at me...but I found both Endocrinologists in Tampa to be completely USELESS and many others have had similar experiences with them.

For your thyroid see if you can find a Holistic M.D. or an D.O. Osteopath, they will do a much better job. Here in Tampa we have one of the best Holistic M.D.s in the country. I go to her when I need to. She is really willing to work with me, respect me, listen to me and work out a plan together. This is what you want.

The only way to get rid of those thyroid antibodies is to take enough thyroid hormone to fully suppress your thyroid. Once your thyroid becomes inactive, then the attack stops. My Mom didnt get treated in time for her Hashi's and not only was most of her thyroid eaten away, it lead to cancer.

So dont ignore it any longer. Find a good thyroid literate doctor and save the co-pay IMO and not waste on an Endo. Hey everyone, that is must my opinion on Endos.

Get her she's one of them holistic types!

No I agree, I've always kinda known I was gonna be run in circles with traditional medicine. That so much of what I am dealing with can be treated best by a healthy lifestyle and environment. But as always $$$ is the issue. I think my new insurance has some alternative options so will look into that. If not I need to see an LLMD I know of one in my area that does holistic medicine as well... My husband has a DO Dr.will look into finding one for me.

Hope your Mom recovered well. My Mom had Breast Cancer at a young age she recovered after lots of treatment and surgeries. Saw the obgyn yesterday she gave me info for genetic cancer screening.

will be researching thyroid and the endocrine system...I have some info you posted in the MRI thread to follow up on as well.

thanks!

My suggestion would be to get retested for Lyme......this time use IgeneX and if you have a good LLMD in your area I would recommend making an appt. The LLMD can properly evaluate you for Lyme and can also order these tests for you.

Also with regards to the elevated methylmalonic acid.....this can be indicative of a functional B12 deficiency....meaning that there may be defective absorption and/or defective transport of B12.

I think urine tests are usually more accurate for this though.

Anyways, I thought I would mention that if you have a problem with B12 transport that is affecting your methylation cycle....it can impair detoxification significantly. I also had elevated methylmalonic show up in a urine test....and based on the results my doctor has ordered more testing to look specifically at my methylation cycle.

I was on M-B12 shots for a period of time last year and did not have noticeable improvement. However, some people experience amazing benefits from the shots.

One of my primary issues is chemical sensitivities.....and I know you are dealing with this as well.

The thyroid advice has been good. There definately seems to be a problem with conversion of T4 to T3....and definately some autoimmune issues going on. I also have thyroid disease...but Graves rather than Hashimoto's.

Hmm interesting!

Any idea what would impair B12 transport or absorption?

I found an LLMD in my area so thats on my to do list

thanks guys this gives me some direction!

Oh one more thing, Shay my GI did not specifically say thyroid antibodies, (at that time he had not looked over my thyroid labs.) he just said there are so many antibodies in my blood it's making my system go haywire.

Are Antibodies just formed in an overactive immune system in response to anything my body interprets as an attack?

Anything from thyroid, to gluten, to casein, to allergies to chemicals??

anyone know???

[ShayFL]

If you have gluten antibodies then a gluten-free diet will get rid of them. If you have Hashi's suppressing the thyroid with Armour or T3 will get rid of those. You want to get rid of as many as you can.

[mslee]

good plan, get those antibodies out of me!

[sick-of-being-sick]

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taken early sept 08

My liver biopsy came back:

minimal lobular inflammation but

Very Healthy, although the Dr.s were shocked by this because they said my blood showed autoimmune hepatitis.

Anyone know of any other reasons my blood work would show that?

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Hi....just a couple of comments/questions (from someone who has been battling autoimmune hep for at least 2 years now):

* When they did your liver biopsy, how many samples did they take? Hopefully at least 3 samples from different areas of the liver, otherwise they could have missed something.

* If you tested positive for the AIH antibodies, you should assume that even if you don't show any damage now, there is definitely POTENTIAL for damage to your liver as long as those antibodies are circulating in your bloodstream.

* Does your doctor think that the level of antibodies in your system warrants any sort of treatment?

* Maybe you're at an early stage of AIH? You do have some inflammation, right?

I can't think of any reason that your bloodwork would indicate autoimmune hepatitis unless you actually have AIH....of course, I wouldn't wish that on anyone, and I hope you DON'T have it! But please be very cautious and assume that you have it until you're absolutely positive that you don't. It's a very dangerous disease; if untreated, the mortality rate is 50% after 5 years and 90% after ten years.

Take care of yourself....

rissa

[mslee]

* When they did your liver biopsy, how many samples did they take? Hopefully at least 3 samples from different areas of the liver, otherwise they could have missed something.

Yes I wondered about that! they only took one sample & they made it sound like that was a pretty serious thing for my body to deal with.

* If you tested positive for the AIH antibodies, you should assume that even if you don't show any damage now, there is definitely POTENTIAL for damage to your liver as long as those antibodies are circulating in your bloodstream.

I really need to find that other set of labs, My GI did say that there is a potential to develop liver AIH

* Does your doctor think that the level of antibodies in your system warrants any sort of treatment?

He thinks that going on the gluten-free diet my liver will normalize. He also said that the Celiac caused my Lupus. I have been needing to talk to Rhumatologist about this but mine dropped me before the celiac DX and I have not been able to find another.

* Maybe you're at an early stage of AIH? You do have some inflammation, right?

My GI wants to see me again in about 3 weeks, I am guessing he will order new blood work at that time, I will go prepared to discuss this liver issue further and ask about the possibility of having damage in a location they did not biopsy.

We are all hoping that the Celiac was the root of my health problems, at this point it's kinda a waiting game to get used to the diet and run more labs...and see more Dr's ....I am so tired of seeing Drs ugh

Thank You for your input, it did sound scary & does happen to people with Lupus I will be cautious about this...keep up on follow up labs. Let's hope going Gluten Free can help us!

[nora-n]

Yes, your ft3 (tha active thyroid hormone, t4 is only a prohormone and it is low too) is dramatically low. With numbers like that I would be severely depressed. Have tried it.

Endocrinologists only look at TSH, and only a few will treat you with a TSH of 3 and above, the rest will wait til TSH has risen to 5,5 or so, and some wait till TSH goes above 10, and say all symptoms are psychosomatic.

Gluten trigger thyroid atnibodies, but it is not sure your thyroid will be fine after cutting out gluten. The reason is that the antibodies attack the thyroid gland and much has been destroyed by the time TSH is above 2.

There is a website about thyroid autoimmunity , www.ahsta.com (it is mostly about LDN, but much is about your problems. Elaine Moore who writes there is gluten-free too, has thyroid problems from gluten)

nora

[mslee]

Thanks Guys!

This gives me some good resources and leads to move forward with, I really appreciate it!

Nora, I have been severely depressed in the past...like rock bottom... both physically and mentally. And have struggled with depression since a young age. Even all these Drs after the exams make some point of bringing up how depressed I appeared. Or mention depression is probably the cause of all my physical problems. Or want to know why I haven't made any children or have a career yet...and then they want to know why I tear up.

However the past 4 years have been the happiest of my life.

At some point I just snapped out of it...there are far deeper troubles in this world than mine & I can only do my best to help where I can. I cannot fix all messes.

Also these past 4 years I have been madly in love and very happy . Still my body feels depressed...lack of energy, desire or ability to have fun, just drained feeling...but I guess I am getting some answers as to why I have felt this way.

And guess what it was not all in my head!!!

There are physical reasons people get so depressed if only Drs would look a little deeper into what is going on with them rather than handing them a pill that is supposed to make everything ok.

I will be seeing an LLMD holistic Dr here as soon as I am able.

Thanks for the info!!!

~ alee

[ShayFL]

So happy the pieces of the puzzle are coming together for you.

Owls are such cool creatures......