This year's annual labs

[unavidanueva]

First, a confession - I forgot to stop taking my vitamins yesterday. I didn't take them this morning, but my results might be higher than the "true" values.

This may be a really dumb question, but ... we're supposed to stop taking our vitamins prior to having labs drawn? For how many days prior? I've never heard this before, but then, I'm still pre-op, have only had one set of full labs done with my PCP because I wanted to know baseline vitamin levels, and I will be his first DS patient.

 

[DianaCox]

PDU = Primal Defense Ultra

The general wisdom is to stop the vitamins for a full day before doing labs - that way, what you just took doesn't affect your baseline levels. So don't take your Wednesday supplements if you are having the blood draw on Thursday AM (and of course don't take your Thursday AM supplements either).

 

[DSRIGGS]

There are a few for which you should do a 12 hour fast/stop of vites. I started doing it 3 or 4 months ago after the lab tech told me should have fasted and stopped a couple vitamins the night before. I did it the next month (I get monthly draws due to my absorption issues that caused malnutrition and horrible anemia) and it made absolutely no difference in lab values.

I know some feel otherwise but I don't necessarily buy into vitamins the morning of labs affecting the values... But I do it anyway.

 

[Happy DSr]

How much copper should one start out with? Should it be taken away from certain things, like zinc (which would be annoying, because I take zinc with both of my doses of supplements each day)?

I was told the same receptors are used for the zinc, copper and iron (the minerals) and so should be taken apart from each other to improve their effectiveness. Iron infusions make this a little easier.

I have seen some folks taking zinc and copper on alternate days, to help spread them.
I took my 5 mg copper (Biotech/Tender) in the morning, then zinc with my evening batch. (I take 8ish batches a day, as I pop a lot of calcium throughout the day)

My copper actually became too high, so I have stopped taking it. My blood serum copper was low, but the copper levels were increasing in my liver causing my liver enzymes (AST/ALT) to increase. So caution on the copper supplementation. You can get 2 mg capsules, as well as the 5 mg. Start low and retest. You can also get a copper 24 hour urine test for more info on how you are absorbing.

Low copper levels can also contribute to anemia, but your CBC reads good

 

[aaa]

I don't know what that means - that you're always "dry." Meaning dehydrated?
How much copper should one start out with? Should it be taken away from certain things, like zinc (which would be annoying, because I take zinc with both of my doses of supplements each day)?

Unfortunately, "dry" always means I don't drink enough so my BUN is never where I want it.

You always must separate the zinc & copper for the most effectiveness. I wait a minimum of an hour. I see you take 100 mg. of zinc. As I'm on the iPad now I don't have my pill list (from when I took 100 mg. of zinc) here. When I get back on my computer I'll take a look at an older list and let you know how much copper I took when I took 100 mg. of zinc.

Happy's idea re: alternate days of zinc and copper is also OK if you wish. You can try it and see if it gives you the results you're looking for.

 

[aaa]

Ok, I've got my pill lists from 2007. Unfortuantely, I didn't take any copper when I was taking 100 mg. of zinc/day. So I'd suggest 2 mgs. of copper per day to start.

 

[DianaCox]

Well, I guess this shouldn't be a surprise:

Copper, Serum 70 - 175 ug/dL (Normal range)

7/22/04 6/30/09 7/6/10 7/19/11 7/6/12 7/16/13 7/18/14 7/9/15
1599 101 111 82 112 105 87 61 L

(I have NO idea why my copper was so high 11 years ago - I've never taken any supplemental copper before.)

So both ceruloplasmin and copper are low. I guess I need to take some copper.

Other new results today are boring:

Zinc 60 - 130 ug/dL 111

Vitamin B6 2.1 - 21.7 ng/mL 15.4

 

[newanatomy]

Dang, I got mine back and I have some stuff out of range. I thought I was the perfect little DS'r. I have followed the vitalady advice from day one! I will start a new thread later for some guidance.

 

[DianaCox]

The rest of my labs are dribbling in:

SELENIUM, SERUM OR PLASMA 63 - 160 ug/L 126

 

[DianaCox]

Vitamin A: still OK, but trend is not good - I don't take ANY vitamin A:

Vitamin A (Retinol)
38 - 98 ug/dL
Name
Standard Range
7/9/08 6/30/09 10/9/09 12/17/09 7/6/10 7/19/11 7/6/12 7/16/13 7/18/14 7/9/15
54 55 40 73 67 63 78 48 49 44

 

[southernlady]

Vitamin A: still OK, but trend is not good - I don't take ANY vitamin A:

Maybe time to add a couple every week?

 

[DianaCox]

Maybe time to add a couple every week?

I'm thinking the same thing ...

Next set of results:

Vitamin B1 (Thiamine) 78 - 185 nmol/L 135

Vitamin K1: 80 - 1160 pg/mL
12/19/06 6/30/09 12/17/09 7/6/10 3/28/11 7/19/11 7/6/12 7/18/14 9/10/14 7/9/15 119 82 154 <72 L 1449 H 93 245 <72 L 177 140

I think the vitamin K1 test is just screwily inconsistent - I don't really believe any of the numbers.

 

[DianaCox]

OK, I don't understand this - do I need more niacin/nicotinamide?


Niacin < 20
Note
Due to the large variability in the metabolism of nicotinic
acid, the dosing preparation used (immediate-release vs. extended
release), and the mg doses used, the serum concentrations may
range from less than 20 ng/mL to about 30,000 ng/mL. After oral
administration of an immediate-release tablet, peak plasma
concentrations occur in 4 to 5 hours. The plasma half-life of
nicotinic acid is about one hour. In one study, fasting plasma
concentrations were reported to be less than 20 ng/mL. In another
study, it was reported that the administration of a single 1000
mg extended-release tablet resulted in mean nicotinic acid
concentrations of less than 50 ng/mL.
Nicotinamide 20
Note
Nicotinamide is a metabolite of nicotinic acid. Due to the large
variability in the metabolism of nicotinic acid, plasma
concentrations of this metabolite are variable. In one study,
fasting plasma concentrations were reported to be approximately
40 ng/mL. In another study it was reported that the
administration of a single 1000 mg of extended-release tablet of
nicotinic acid resulted in a mean peak nicotinamide concentration
of 400 ng/mL between 5 and 10 hours post dose, decreasing to
about 100 ng/mL by 16 hours post dose.

I'm headed to pic up a prescription at Walgreens - I'm going to look for copper and niacin, I guess - but I don't want the niacin flush. I found some OLD OLD OLD vitamin A from Vitalady I bought in preparation for and after plastic surgery in 2009 - it says it expired in 2011, but I've got three bottles so I'm going to start with that.

 

[southernlady]

I found some OLD OLD OLD vitamin A from Vitalady I bought in preparation for and after plastic surgery in 2009 - it says it expired in 2011, but I've got three bottles so I'm going to start with that.

LOL, dh would have tossed those AGES ago! But I'm with you. it's not milk...or meat. Yes, they put an expiration date on them but it's more a CYA than actual expiration.

 

[Munchkin]

I would take them too!