Need help with bloods

[SoBe]

Hi Ladies:

I recently joined and was pointed here by a friend as I was saying to her I was seeking feedback and all the old boards were quiet and I was looking for where you had all gone!

I'm a 12 year post-op DSer. I've had no major problems and have been getting on quite well. My labs have always jumped around a bit but I've always struggled with my blood counts being on the very border of low.

A few background facts. I had private follow-up care for years until I moved abroad a few years ago. I had a serious car accident and nearly died and long story short, after a long stint in the hospital, I developed PTSD and severe anxiety which played havoc with my health. I couldn't keep things down a lot of the time. As a result my health started to decline and I moved back to the UK for the support of my family and friends and I thought for the best private care again. However my healthcare company wouldn't cover anything to do with the DS and now I find myself at the mercy of the public healthcare system. They see me once a year and run bloods (very minimal) and they are meant to inform you or any problems. I was complacent and just assumed all was fine as they and my GP mentioned no problems. In August last year my hair started to fall out in clumps, by October it had all gone, eyebrows and lashes too and all bodyhair. At this point I thought something was really off and so I demanded a copy of my blood test. You will see from the attached that my zinc for grossly under the minimum and my calcium, PTH, D and other things were not right at all. I started supplementing when I got these results in October and had more tests last month of which the results are attached.

Few weird things. The D is due to my 50K IU a day and a holiday in Mexico so that's not a surprise but my zinc...can it truly have gone up that much? Something in me fears it needs re-testing....can it raise that many points in 6 months? Also my folate is high, any ideas? And as you can see, my blood levels have dropped even more, although my ferritin is high....

I get constant headaches and am exhausted a lot of the time and I thought it was connected to my DS but maybe not?

Any thoughts? I know I have to up the Calcium even more as 2.5g aren't doing it, also more D and more protein (never seem to get this up no matter how much I eat, average 150g a day). Should I cease all folic acid or just cut down?

I am currently following VitaLady's Schedule with equivalent UK vits.

Love to hear from you. See post below for images.

 

[Barb1]

I am sure you will gets lots of feedback but your files are not coming up so I can't see them. @southernlady can you help her?

 

[southernlady]

@SoBe
Your images are not showing up because they are on FaceBook. You need to upload them from your computer instead.

 

[SoBe]

Sorry guys I'm new to this....see below.

 

[southernlady]

SoBe, your rise in Zinc may be just because you started supplementing. I know I can get a quick rise in D the same way but it drops JUST as fast if I don't. IF it goes up again with your next set, then cut back a bit but since you want to be high normal, I wouldn't touch the amount YET.

Your protein is a bit on the low side but not too low...maybe add some more protein during the day. Your ferritin is fine but your hemoglobin is low. However, you have had a big drop in ferritin since your last labs so be careful and watch those.

Your calcium is very low normal and D is good...but your PTH is still a bit on the high side. I would add more calcium. And are you taking magnesium citrate? K2? Boron?

 

[SoBe]

Hi Southernlady:

Thanks for replying. That's my thinking on the zinc, looking back I've never been at the upper end so I will continue to supplement and see what's what at next labs (although we only get them every year so I may have to pay privately at six months).

My protein is a bit low because I've had a hard time this past year, I had a bad car accident and nearly died the year before and had severe PTSD and anxiety which left me struggling to eat anything and keep it down (anxiety makes me very sicky). I of course supplemented with protein shakes etc but it's been a struggle and I had to make vitamins my priority ahead of food. I've been seeing a counsellor and have had CBT so this is firmly in the past now and I have upped my protein to at least 150g a day. I still struggle with appetite due to all this but I've found a range of high protein foods with great protein/fat ratios and low to no carbs/sugars (pancakes, coffees etc) that save the day when my stomach doesn't want to digest stuff.

My ferritin has been bouncing a bit so I'm going to keep an eye on that. Is there a DS specific reason the Ferritin could rise and fall?

The D, I'm not sure if this is supplementation mostly or is hugely to do with a trip to Mexico because I tried to get sun in the very early morning and evening without sunblock. I'm therefore dubious as to how that's going to hold, but it's a good excuse for another trip to Mexico! PTH is still high but I'm working on that too, I guess if my D is good then it's down to the calcium right? I'm currently taking 2500mg of Citrate (effervescent) a day, how much Ca. can I take before it becomes a problem, if there is a limit?

I take the Vitalady Schedule to the letter, but with the following modifications. I only take 25K IU (was taking 50K) but I have a tendency to go way high on Vit A so keep it conservative. 200mg Zinc for the deficiency I had and 4mg copper to offset that. I take K2 rather than K1 (is this a prob?). I don't take B12 as I have shots every 8 weeks and I've cut the folic acid due to it being high. I don't take Boron. I'm wondering also whether I need to cease or 1/2 my B complex as I know FA is ok in high doses but B6 not so much (which they won't test me for!).

Thanks again!

 

[southernlady]

@SoBe If you need protein shakes, use them. I haven't had the issues you have had and I know I still struggle, which is why I keep protein shakes handy in case I have an off day which happens to most of us. I hope you are physically healed from your car accident...mental healing can take much longer.

You need K if your labs indicate it. I didn't see it listed.

K aka phytonadione (also known as K1) is the vitamin K that helps your blood clot.
Not to be confused with K2 (preferred type is MK-7) aka menaquinone-7 and helps your bones. There really isn't a lab test for K-2 but there is for K-1.

The reason for ferritin to rise and fall...depends on how much it bounces. Different labs can cause that issue. If you still have periods, etc. Mostly track trends...if it's trending down, then it can be that you are no longer absorbing oral iron. And it's not just DS but RNY as well (or medical conditions that create an absorption issue)