Getting some Labs Done

Well today I went in to get some labs done before we make the journey to see the doctor. We travel 6 hours to see a doctor that knows what he is talking about and in the very least listens to my concerns. Does he have the answers to everything? Absolutely not. He won't even touch the POTS issue, but at least I have him there for hydrocortisone, florinef and really anything else hormone related.

This time I asked him to test some basic things and a few not so basic things that I am interested in. I told him not to even bother with my thyroid because I have NO intentions of taking thyroid meds regardless of my results.

I got the following tested:

Fasting insulin
CMP (this is for electrolytes, glucose etc)
CBC with diff.
Ferritin
Vitamin D
Total Testosterone
Free Testosterone
Antiparietal cells antibodies test
Intrinsic Factor Blocking Antibody, Serum
Urine Methylmalonic Acid

I wanted to check my fasting insulin again because the doctor in Michigan checked it and it was kind of high. CMP is good to check my electrolytes and other random things. I haven't had a CBC checked for at least a year, so this is long overdue. I don't expect to see anything out of the ordinary but it is important to spot check.

Ferritin and Vitamin D are both going to be awful. The doctor threw those ones in on his own. I expect my ferritin to be around 20 and my vitamin D to be about the same. Not good, but I hate taking those as it makes me feel toxic.

Total Testosterone and Free Testosterone was something that I added in. Since I'm taking DHEA, I wanted to make sure it's not too much. I don't think it is but I think it is important to verify this with labs to be safe.

The last 3 tests are all for B12 deficiency and pernicious anemia. I wanted to finally put this PA idea to rest. Most who have PA will have either one of those antibodies, so we will see. I also got the urine MMA checked to see if this correlates with the MMA test that Genova Diagnostics did in the NutrEval test.

I don't know if I'll get the results to these before we see him, but I might email the office manager and ask her to send them so I can look them over before we come in. This way I can have any questions ready. :)

Just a Reminder

I just wanted to remind people that the information on my blog are the personal experiences I've had dealing with my health issues. I also discuss things I've done to try to overcome them. This is not meant to be medical advice. Even if we have similar symptoms, you need to discuss everything with a doctor. Adrenal insufficiency is a serious condition that needs to be followed by a professional. I'm just some geeky blog writer that likes to complain A LOT.

Any information you gather from this blog should be taken to your doctors to discuss. I have a doctor that I work with and so should you!


-Birdlady

I'm still here

Just wanted to check in and say that I'm doing well. The weather has cooled down so I'm just enjoying life at the moment. I've been working a lot, like 16 hours day for my husband and his business. Things are good though! Sure I feel my heart rates are up, but with it being cooler I'm like 75% better. I don't have the shortness of breath or the "I feel like I'm dying" feeling.

I always forget that fall/winter I am actually somewhat normal feeling. :)

Here's a quick update on what I've been doing though. I started following the McComb's Diet plan about 3-4 weeks ago which is supposed to be for candida. You are probably think...OMG has Birdlady lost her mind!? Yes I am doing a candida diet even though I've made fun of them before haha. You can read about the diet at the doctor's own website, which is much different than most "candida" diets. I realize that I was mostly following the plan any way but had to cut out a few more things (all sugar, all dairy, all nuts).

At first, I really didn't want to do it because I knew I'd have to be on my feet more to cook every meal. You also have to get rid of butter which I've never done before. It's really hard to eat some foods without butter like squash, potatoes, rice etc. In addition to this diet, I've also stopped supping with salt. I lost 4 pounds in a week. I'm so sick of POTS patients being told to use salt like it's even doing a damn thing for us? DUMB!

In addition to the diet, I am also taking THorne Research Formula SF722 which is 10-Undecenoic Acid. I take 5 Gelcaps 3 times a day away from food. I have no idea if it's doing anything, but I'm just going to stick with it.

Overall I've lost 7 pounds now. I am absolutely LOVING it! I am finally back in the 120's which I haven't seen for a long time now. Now if I could get my heart to chill out when I try to do leg exercises, I'd be soo happy.../sigh I still cannot exercise and I have to keep myself cool at all times. If I am going out to a store, I wear tank tops underneath my coat so I can cool down fast if I start to overheat. So far this has been working really well. Some days I just wear shorts around the house to stay as cold as possible.

This post is all over the place, but I just wanted to let everyone know I'm doing well!