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Unexpected test results... I would be grateful for some guidance

Bluebell

Senior Member
Messages
392
Well I'd say you've got some real problems with a full ACAT and full BHMTs! That is a big deal.

Greenshots, I am so glad to read this, because it makes me feel better about feeling poorly. (Kind of like when I was awake all night out of excitement and relief after I found out I was compound heterozygous for MTHFR!)

People (not even family) don't understand why my body acts like it does, and why I have no energy. It's not something I am choosing, but they can't allow for anything beyond what their own experience is with their own bodies, and what they see externally of others.

and will really be based on how well you get thru detox.... I had so many metals pouring out with just methylation stuff that I stopped testing. .

I've basically spent more than I can afford already on the tests that I've had -- I might stretch to the cortisol saliva test or the ACTH blood test, because one of the two might give me some important info about my adrenal situation -- so, for now at least, I won't be doing any toxin testing or the other really interesting-sounding tests that are out there (like neurotransmitters, ION, Nutreval, etc.)

I have to admit that I am unprepared for what detoxing might entail - I will need to start with low doses, and continue reading up on everyone's experiences with methylation.

If you have a BHMT 8 and you start working on this you're likely to get adrenalin surges.

Experiencing a surge of anything would be a novelty for my tortoise-like constitution. :D Seriously, though, I know it's a big deal.

I bought some SAM-e last year but was afraid to use it (because of various warnings), so it's still unopened. I think I read last week that for one of my mutations that SAM-e was not a good idea. It's hard to balance all these things out when not working with a medical practitioner who has loads of knowlege and experience about how all the overclocking and underclocking of the patient's unique chemistry will work in concert with the supplements.

I was disappointed to find that the heartfixer site says it does not know much about ACAT and can't recommend what to do about it.

This (genetic and methylation stuff) is like a parallel world I've fallen into (without having anyone in my day-to-day life I can talk about it with) over the last few months, and it's nice to find some company here with people like yourself who know all the terminology and the reality of these complex and invisible physical processes that have so much impact on one's life. :)
 

caledonia

Senior Member
Caledonia, thank you for describing what ideas you are following.
...I thought I recognized a little Lynch influence in your electrolyte replenishment beverage! :)

Actually that was something I arrived at to support my horrible adrenals when I couldn't tolerate anything else - I discovered Ben Lynch's info after the fact. But it's nice to know that Ben agrees with me :)


I have sensitive teeth...I have to be careful with sublingual tablets

I'm doing ok with liquid B12 sublingual drops. They're definitely effective, and you only have to hold them for 30 seconds.


...for my supplements, for many years I have kept a pretty detailed Excel sheet of everything (brand, price paid, cost per day/week/month/year, expiration date, doses, time of day to take, days off a week, days off a month, what not to take with what, reactions, separate sheets with experts' recommendations on what to take each day, etc.) and I'll need to scrap my old file and make a new one. But I have made a nice cup of Earl Grey and am going to start that in a few minutes. :sleep:


I have something similar, except for I hate Excel, so it's all in Word. I have it split into three documents instead of one -

1) a list of what meds/supplements to take at breakfast, lunch, supper, and bedtime and the amounts. This one is handy to give to doctors when they want to know what you're taking. I also use this to fill out my weekly pill container.

2) Pill Inventory - a list of all the meds/supps I take, where to order, how many bottles will last for a month, cost, etc. When I need to reorder, I print this out and take inventory of what's on hand. Then I know what I'm out of and needs to be reordered, and what can wait for next time.

3) Medical Journal - I use the Word calendar template for this, and just make notes on the relevant day - what supplement or med was started, any reactions good or bad, when doctor's appointments were and notes from the appointment, etc.
 

caledonia

Senior Member
caledonia,

I am procrastinating about working on my new supplements Excel sheet I was reading through Ben Lynch's site this evening and I came across this short discussion thread, which features contributions by a Caledonia (whom I assume is you), and I found it quite helpful in detailing in a brief way how a couple of the main methylation protocols start out, and explaining the reasons for what you decided on doing:
http://mthfr.net/forums/topic/methylation-pathways-vs-genomic-testing/

(If you do not wish for me to link to your comments on a different site, let me know and I'll delete this!)

Yes, that's me.
 

Bluebell

Senior Member
Messages
392
Sian's comment

Thank you for your comment! It's great to hear that you have had success with Rich's approach.

I think that some years ago I came across Donna Eden's book in a bookstore - it is thorough, full of illustrations, and I recall that it felt really heavy, even though just a paperback? Maybe that says something about its deep vibration...
or about mine (=in need of lightening up)! :)

I'll check out the sites you recommend.
 

sianrecovery

Senior Member
Messages
828
Location
Manchester UK
I know what you mean, newer edition is smaller and lighter. A lot of the stuff is online. Some libraries carry it too.

eyes - got told yesterday I had the macular degeneration in my mine of a woman in her sixties or seventies - I'm 48. Thanks for the stuff you posted, very helpful. My grandmother had glaucoma, so I understand the implications. Think you are doing an amazing job of staying proactive in a tough situation.
 

Bluebell

Senior Member
Messages
392
Dear All,

I have a question about one aspect of my recent test results:

My CBC with Differential test results all were in the lab's normal range, so I didn't look too closely at them because I had some unexpectedly-high or -low other tests that caught my attention.

However, I've now read in several sources that one or two of my CBC results may be "high-normal", and this might indicate a problem, when combined with some of my other test results and symptoms.

The top two are the ones I mean. I put the bottom two in because one source they should have a certain ratio with each other:
MCV: 96 fL (reference range 79-97)
MCH: 32 pg (reference range 26.6-33)
MCHC: 33.4 g/dL (reference range 31.5-35.7)
RDW: 13.1 % (reference range 12.3-15.4)

The sources include:

A. Medscape http://emedicine.medscape.com/article/198475-workup#showall
"Table 2. Macrocytic Anemia (MCV >95)
Megaloblastic bone marrow
Deficiency of vitamin B-12
Deficiency of folic acid
Drugs affecting deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) synthesis
Inherited disorders of DNA synthesis
Nonmegaloblastic bone marrow
Liver disease
Hypothyroidism and hypopituitarism
Accelerated erythropoiesis (reticulocytes)
Hypoplastic and aplastic anemia
Infiltrated bone marrow"

B. American Family Physician journal: http://www.aafp.org/afp/2009/0201/p203.html
"Macrocytosis, defined as a mean corpuscular volume greater than 100 fL, occurs in approximately 3 percent of the general population.1 Debate persists about the upper limit of normal values of mean corpuscular volume. In a recent study, 7 percent of patients had a mean corpuscular volume greater than 96 fL...."
[I don't know if they are saying it should be lowered to 96, or not.]

C. Chris Kresser: http://chriskresser.com/rhr-testing-for-sibo-graves-disease-and-all-about-anemia
"...look at MCV, mean corpuscular volume, and then MCH and MCHC, and if MCV is low, below the lab range, and hemoglobin and red blood cells are low, that’s usually indicative of iron deficiency anemia. If MCV is high or high normal, then that’s a macrocytic anemia, and that’s indicative of B12, folate, or B6 deficiency."

D. Iron Disorders http://www.irondisorders.org/Websites/idi/files/Content/854256/FActsAnemia.pdf
I can't copy the chart here, but if you look at the chart in the link, and follow along the bottommost row from left to right, it might match my various results:
Serum Iron: Mine was High at 159 (reference range 35-155) [should I be concerned that it's High?]
Serum Ferritin: Mine was normal at 53 (reference range 15-150)
Iron Saturation: Mine was high-normal at 50% (reference range 15-55)
TIBC: Mine was normal at 315 (reference range 250-450)
Don't have a couple of the next ones
Hemoglobin: Mine was normal at 13.3 (reference range 11.1-15.9)
Red Blood Cell Size: I don't know if this is the same thing as MCV, although the sources above seem to indicate that it is -- my MCV was high-normal at 96 fL (reference range 79-97) -- so would my red blood cells be considered to be at the edge of being "macrocytic"?
This bottom row indicates "Vitamin B12 Deficiency - Pernicious Anemia".

Does it look to you as if I might have, or almost have, large red blood cells/macrocytic anemia, given my high-normal MCV -- and that this might indicate a B12, folate, or B6 deficiency?

Why would Medscape say in their chart above that macrocytic anemia is above 95, but my lab says it's 97 and over? Is this a case where I need to rely mainly on my specific lab's reference range to interpret my results, rather than look at an average score that is quoted in a publication?

In my blood tests, I tried to test for folate and B12 (several ways, including methylmalonic acid and homocysteine) and the results appeared normal. Could I still somehow have pernicious anemia?

I did not test for B6 - should I do that?

Earlier this year, I had a feeling that somehow B12 and folate were linked to my sudden, recent vision problems with my optic nerves' showing an unusual (according to the eye doctor) pattern of damage, and then I found out that I am compound heterozygous for MTHFR and have a couple of other methylation mutations, so that can also impact how the body uses these vitamins.

I must say that I think stopping all supplements and foods that have artificial folic acid in them seems to have helped me in subtle ways over the last few weeks -- my lip cheilitis is about 25% better and the newest 1/4th inch of growth of my thumbnails is still deranged but it looks less horrible than the growth of the previous few months does.

Is the high-normal MCV something I should look into/be concerned about? Thank you :)
 

greenshots

Senior Member
Messages
399
Location
California
I don't know about all the blood count levels in depth but we pretty much ignore the levels about size and shape like MCHC, RDW, and MCH in the ICU unless they are super low or high since others are more of a problem. The MCV is about b 12 absorption and closer to 100 is macrocytic or bigger cells then the levels below 80. I'm pretty sure Rich commented on this before about it following with functional B12 imbalances and folate trapping but thats what stands out to me the most. One thing I've learned to do over the last few years is to avoid getting tripped up over every abnormal that my kids or I had and focus on the big picture results like methylation amd major electrolytes or blood tests. As an ICU nurse, I tend to be super anal but I've been reminded to look at the bigger picture instead of the little pieces, at least until things were at a good baseline. It was hard to do and frankly still is but it has helped me to stay on the main road. Thats not to say you should ignore a bunch of abnormals either.
 

Bluebell

Senior Member
Messages
392
Thank you, Greenshots -- I will do a search to see what Rich van K had to say about this. I had not thought to do that.

Although I am thorough, like to take a little bit of time to get the 'big picture' of a situation, and can be quite-a-bit-but-not-totally-overboard perfectionistic (which has mainly been used successfully in my life), I don't think I'm being "anal" and looking at unimportant, small abnormalities when wondering about my high-normal MCV result and how it might relate to pernicious/megaloblastic anemia, when several reasonable-sounding references have indicated that my MCV result might be considered to point towards having it. I will try to explain why--

For me, the idea of possibly having pernicious/megaloblastic anemia/B12/folate deficiency is *central* to my health concerns, and it has been ever since I lost part of my vision without warning about half a year ago, because I found out afterwards when I was searching for possible reasons for the vision loss that I have dozens of symptoms of B12 deficiency (from Freddd's big list of symptoms), and some of those symptoms I've had for a long time. They could be symptoms of something different, of course.

My reasoning for checking out B12/folate/B6 pernicious/megaloblastic anemia at the present time goes like this:

1a. If such a vitamin deficiency caused the damage in my optic nerves, then there is the possibility of gaining some of the vision back with proper supplementation of the correct versions and amounts of the vitamins (there have been cases reported of people getting back their vision in this way).
1b. If I understand which vitamins to supply myself with, there is every potential to stop this vision loss from progressing in the future.

2a. If the vision loss was caused by normal tension glaucoma, there is no possibility to gain any of it back.
2b. In that case, even with the sub-optimal treatment they have come up with for glaucoma (which does not work very well in normal tension glaucoma, is expensive, and has a lot of side effects), it is likely I will continue to have declining vision from now on, possibly even going blind by my 60s.

3a. If it was caused by optic neuritis, normally most people who have optic neuritis do regain their vision (at least after their first episode of optic neuritis) -- but that normally happens to them within 3 months, whereas my vision loss has not been restored, so I would be in the 10% who do not get the lost vision back relatively soon, if ever.
3b. As for the future, if I do have/did have optic neuritis, I could possibly have more episodes of it later, but the good news is that it usually doesn't cause a huge amount of vision damage, even over several episodes.
3c. However, the bad news is that, if I do/did have optic neuritis, with my background and age, I have a 75% chance in the next few years of being diagnosed with multiple sclerosis - yikes.

4. There are a handful of other things that might be causing the vision loss, which I've looked into a little (and some of the blood tests I did recently were to rule some of those things out), but those are the big 3 possibilities for me.

Therefore, I feel that it's a reasonable concern for me to investigate now what caused/is causing my vision loss.

The other health problems that I definitely have and that I might have (as indicated by the handful of surprising test results I got recently) are important too -- a couple of them are factors in multiple sclerosis and cancer.

Of course, it would be much smarter to do this initial research with the help of medical professionals! The first opthamologist I saw about this was expensive and not very helpful (and he refused to believe that vitamins could have anything to do with my situation, even though he said that my eyes looked like those of people who have toxic neuropathy due to their substance abuse's causing them to have vitamin deficiencies which cause damage to their optic nerves and other precious tissue), and I could be doing this now with a second-opinion opthalmologist, a neurologist, and hospital scans, but I really can't afford that -- and I do not feel comfortable seeking complete charity for medical treatment (which would probably not be possible anyway - for me, for my region, for my personal circumstances which include a cosigner on a student loan who I can't throw under the bus) unless it's a really serious health condition and can't wait.

I was hoping to get by until next March when I might have health insurance through the new US scheme, but my state refuses to cover low-income people in that scheme, so either the government will step in at the last minute to cover those millions of people (I read in a reputable newspaper a few days ago that the affected people will number 15 million across those states which are refusing to cover low-income people in the new program, even though the federal government would pay the entire cost of that coverage), or I might need to move to another state, which would not be easy or affordable.

So I'm trying to learn what I can on my own about my main health issues, before going to a generalist sort of mainstream doctor (a GP or maybe a gynecologist who operates as a GP) to address the bigger health concerns for which there is clear-cut evidence right now. I will have to prioritize what I ask her/him to help me with, what tests to get, and what treatment/medications I can pay for.

I would rather not have a head MRI just yet, because I worry that there are plaques present, and I have read several reports that doing methylation and various things like improving vitamin D deficiency and so on, have actually reduced the plaques/bits of unwanted matter in people's brains, and I'd rather not get a notation of pre-MS plaques on my records (especially if the federal healthcare program is repealed, or fails, and all this becomes a big dossier of pre-existing conditions for me). On the other hand, if I have a tumour or compression in my brain that has impinged on my optic nerves, that would be a good thing to get a scan for now.

...avoid getting tripped up over every abnormal... and focus on the big picture results like methylation... or blood tests.....
Although I may not be taking a conventional route of consulting doctors right away, I think this is just what I am doing -- focusing on the _big picture_ when it comes to what may have caused my unexplained optic nerve damage and how this might develop in the future; then looking closely at the topic of _methylation_, which clearly relates to the topic of pernicious/megaloblastic anemia: folate since I am compound heterozygote MTHFR, B12 via some of my other mutations possibly, and perhaps even B6 somehow (if Chris Kresser can be believed); then looking at _blood tests_.

Hmm... even Wikipedia (which I had not looked at for this topic earlier) says that the MCV level to look for in megaloblastic anemia is greater than 95: "Increased mean corpuscular volume (MCV, >95 fl)". http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Megaloblastic_anemia

Since my optic nerve damage is a type of neuropathy, this is one of the guides I followed to figure out what blood tests to get:
"B12 may be ordered with folate, by itself, or with other screening laboratory tests (antinuclear antibody, CRP, rheumatoid factor, CBC and chemistry blood tests) to help establish reasons why a person shows symptoms of neuropathy.
...Other laboratory tests that make be useful are homocysteine and methymelonic acid (MMA). Homocysteine and MMA are elevated in B12 deficiency while only homocysteine is elevated in folate deficiency. This distinction is important because treating a B12-deficient patient with folate can correct the anemia but does not stop irreversible neurologic damage."
http://labtestsonline.org/understanding/analytes/vitamin-b12/tab/test

However, a study showed that 1.6% who are deficient in B12 do not show elevated methylmalonic acid and 4.1% do not show elevated homocysteine (while only 1 in 400 had normal levels of both, even though he was deficient in B12), and 9% of people who are deficient in folate do not show elevated homocysteine. http://www.amjmed.com/article/0002-9343(94)90149-X/abstract. Chances may be small, but if there is any kind of little minority that isn't seen on the radar for something, as like as not, I'm going to be in it. :)

Well, I don't know why my corpulent corpuscles are portly indeed, but they may be a piece of the overall puzzle. I don't think any potential puzzle piece is unworthy of consideration, since my health situation is not cut-and-dried these days, and so many of us are told that our test results are not quite beyond an artificial cut-off line for this or that (TSH etc.) even though the physical repercussions of the abnormality are real. When I get to ask a doctor about how and if my MCV fits in with everything else, I'll report here what she/he said. :nerd:
 

greenshots

Senior Member
Messages
399
Location
California
Actually, I agree about the MCV, was just trying to let ya know that sometimes looking at MCH, RDW, and others might not help as much. Having said that, I used to do the same and investigate every parameter and have learned which ones seem to matter more than others as I've gone along.
 

Crux

Senior Member
Messages
1,441
Location
USA
Hi Bluebell;
I agree that you're on the right track suspecting that many of your symptoms are B12 deficiency related.
It's confusing because there seems to be no one definitive test that works for all. Some unfortunate people will have no abnormal results, but many symptoms.

In your case, though, the high MCV may be an indicator of B12 def. ( Labs that I've seen vary between ~ >97- >100 as elevated. I'm glad that wikipedia includes >95 as abnormal.) I think Freddd wrote that >94 is a cause for suspected deficiency.

Anyway, optic neuritis/ neuropathy is included in B12 deficiency symptoms, and it was one of mine. I also had double and blurry vision at one very bad time.

The eyes can take a long time to improve, and some damage may be permanent, but, mine have improved greatly, so there's much hope for yours too.
 

Bluebell

Senior Member
Messages
392
In your case, though, the high MCV may be an indicator of B12 def....
Anyway, optic neuritis/ neuropathy is included in B12 deficiency symptoms, and it was one of mine. I also had double and blurry vision at one very bad time. The eyes can take a long time to improve, and some damage may be permanent, but, mine have improved greatly, so there's much hope for yours too.

Crux, that is so encouraging to hear! (So I had to underline, bold, *and* color it, ha!)

What do you think led to the (partial) repair of your vision damage? Has a particular set of supplements been the key for you?

If you had a doctor examine your eyes when your symptoms began or became too worrying to ignore, did she/he recognize the problem to be optic neuritis immediately, or was there any confusion about whether it was normal-tension glaucoma vs. optic neuritis (as the opthalmologist I consulted had)?

Did a doctor help you to know that it was a Vit B12 issue, or did you have to figure that out yourself?

----
Of course, I could have glaucoma, even if I do have a B12 (or B12+Folate) problem additionally. Or the optic nerve damage might be from another cause, like a tumor or MS. I won't assume that I have a good understanding of it until I get an MRI and see a neurologist (which the opthalmologist I saw for this recommended that I do), which I will try to arrange in the medium-term future (maybe 10 months from now, due to cost issues) -- unless my vision deteriorated between now and then, and if that happened, I'd get myself to an eye doctor more quickly, of course.

But the main thing is that I think it's worth trying a nutritional approach, and it's great to learn that someone else has had good results for her/his vision loss by doing so.
 

Bluebell

Senior Member
Messages
392
Labs that I've seen vary between ~ >97- >100 as elevated. I'm glad that wikipedia includes >95 as abnormal. I think Freddd wrote that >94 is a cause for suspected deficiency.

I am still reading through every thread where Rich mentioned anemia (pernicious/megaloblastic) - he mentioned it in a lot of threads! - and only a few minutes before I read your post here, I saw the following comment from Freddd in one of those threads. It might be the passage you remembered reading:

"I would give one small hint, look at the blood tests keeping in sight which ranges have changed since 1960 as some of them have been affected by the chronic b12 and folate deficiencies and who knows what else plaguing the USA population and the abnormal has become average. ...[For MCV] the lab alert level had been changed from >96 to >100 (up from >93 not many years before) and this year its creeping up to >101 at some labs at least."

and Freddd also said there:
"I had multiple docs (like a dozen over 15 years) ask me about alcoholism.... [but] I didn't drink...
Not one, ever, homed in on b12 and/or folate deficiencies, as I was taking cyanocbl and folic acid daily.
There are a lot more tipoffs than Hcy, MMA and serum cobalamin."

The opthalmologist asked me about addiction/drugs/alcohol because he said that was the only thing in his clinical experience that would cause the exam results that he saw with me. (He is about 55 years old, so he's practiced for a while.)
(I can't understand why he wouldn't know or care that nutritional problems can do the same thing to the eyes that toxins can.)
 

Crux

Senior Member
Messages
1,441
Location
USA
Crux, that is so encouraging to hear! (So I had to underline, bold, *and* color it, ha!)

What do you think led to the (partial) repair of your vision damage? Has a particular set of supplements been the key for you?

If you had a doctor examine your eyes when your symptoms began or became too worrying to ignore, did she/he recognize the problem to be optic neuritis immediately, or was there any confusion about whether it was normal-tension glaucoma vs. optic neuritis (as the opthalmologist I consulted had)?

Did a doctor help you to know that it was a Vit B12 issue, or did you have to figure that out yourself?

----
Of course, I could have glaucoma, even if I do have a B12 (or B12+Folate) problem additionally. Or the optic nerve damage might be from another cause, like a tumor or MS. I won't assume that I have a good understanding of it until I get an MRI and see a neurologist (which the opthalmologist I saw for this recommended that I do), which I will try to arrange in the medium-term future (maybe 10 months from now, due to cost issues) -- unless my vision deteriorated between now and then, and if that happened, I'd get myself to an eye doctor more quickly, of course.

But the main thing is that I think it's worth trying a nutritional approach, and it's great to learn that someone else has had good results for her/his vision loss by doing so.

Hi Bluebell;
I'm glad to be able to bring good news!
I credit B12 the most for the resolution of my optic neuropathy. It only returns if I don't take enough daily. My vision still gets blurry sometimes, but the double vision is gone. Nearsightedness has worsened....need new eyeglasses, but that's probably typical as I'm aging. (56 yo).

The eyes are a most demanding organ, and they need alot of nutrients; including the B vitamins, antioxidants, good fats, omega 3's, and minerals, such as potassium, magnesium, zinc, etc. I'm trying to balance these, but it's difficult to get the dosages right.

The worst vision disturbances occurred at the same time as many other B12 deficiency symptoms, ( 2007), paresthesias....cognitive dysfunction...so many. I figured this out when I researched, and began to take high dose sublinguals. ( I didn't go to an ophthalmologist...should have.)

In 1999, a doc noticed that my MCV was elevated, and recommended some testing, but I didn't follow up, though somehow, (don't remember), I read that it could be from insufficient B12, and began to take a sublingual on occaison. ( not at all enough)

Most of the medical literature about vitamin deficiencies stress alcoholism as one of the main causes, and I understand, but, we know it's not the only cause, nor is vegetarianism, etc. It's true for me that genetics has been a large part of the cause of these conditions.

Here's a link to an article that lists supplements for the treatment of glaucoma. B12 is included. The list is long, so some may or may not be necessary.

http://www.thorne.com/altmedrev/.fulltext/6/2/141.pdf
 

Bluebell

Senior Member
Messages
392
I credit B12 the most for the resolution of my optic neuropathy. It only returns if I don't take enough daily.
That's great. :balloons:

Here's a link to an article that lists supplements for the treatment of glaucoma. B12 is included. http://www.thorne.com/altmedrev/.fulltext/6/2/141.pdf

Thank you!

I had already found that document (when I was first trying to figure out why the opthalmologist would not be able to tell whether it was glaucoma or optic neuritis), and the following quotation from that document was one of the pieces of information that helped me to realize why:

"While a deficiency of vitamin B12 has not been implicated in glaucoma, such a deficiency may cause optic atrophy and visual field defects which mimic glaucoma."

----
Also, the following quote from that document had echoed something that was worrying me --

For about 6 weeks prior to when I noticed my vision damage, I had taken a low dose (1/3rd of the suggested daily dose) of glucosamine daily because I was trying to help my plantar fasciitis and tennis elbow.

That was the only time I'd ever tried glucosamine.

When I noticed the vision damage, I stopped taking every supplement, because I wasn't sure what was going on.

I never resumed taking the glucosamine because it had only been an experiment to see if it would help my tendons, and my vision was of a greater priority than my painful heel!

I do wonder if the glucosamine sulfate screwed up my trabecular meshwork. I'll never take it again.


"Because glucosamine sulfate is also a substrate for chondroitin sulfate, which has been found to be elevated above normal in the trabecular meshwork in glaucoma patients, it would seem to have the possible potential of further aggravation of the condition. While this author has not heard reports of exacerbation with glucosamine sulfate, close monitoring of IOP in patients with glaucoma supplemented with GS seems warranted, not only to prevent potential harm but to monitor potential benefits of this supplement. Double-blind studies to confirm the potential benefit of GS in glaucoma are needed."


By the way, I did ask the opthalmologist if the glucosamine could have anything to do with my sudden optic nerve damage (the timings of taking the supplement and experiencing the nerve damage were pretty suspicious!) and he said that there was no possible way that glucosamine could have any effect on my vision, and that it was entirely safe as a supplement for everybody, because he himself takes it daily for his knees, and it never has harmed his vision. (I thought silently, "Wow, scientific thinking at its finest"!)
 

Bluebell

Senior Member
Messages
392
About the topic of high-normal MCV results, this was posted by Rich:

"My observation from the test data I have received from various people is that some who test positive for a partial methylation cycle block do have large red blood cells (perhaps still within the reference range for CMV) and others do not. My guess is that those who don't have large red blood cells must have more folate in their bone marrow cells than those who don't."
 

Crux

Senior Member
Messages
1,441
Location
USA
Hi Bluebell;
If only I could be so thorough as you...maybe... I appreciate your m.o. I look forward to your posts. It's true that some supplements help some and hinder others. It puts me to the floor when I read so extensively about deficiencies, then test, then try, then worsen.
Thanks!
 

Bluebell

Senior Member
Messages
392
I appreciate your m.o.

Awww, how kind. :hug: I appreciate your appreciation!

I've never thought of myself as having an m.o., like a character in a novel, but now I'm gonna think to myself, when I am criticized by folks with short attention spans for getting too detailed, "Well, this is just my m.o., and it's appreciated in some refined circles, so you can take it or leave it, Buster!" :p
 

Crux

Senior Member
Messages
1,441
Location
USA
Hi again, Bluebell;
Just thought I'd swing by again to write that adding potassium supplementation really helped my chronic constipation. I buy bulk powder potassium gluconate either from iherb or swanson's. It's more affordable that way. I did have to increase the potassium when I increased B12 and folate.

I just read over some of your symptoms, and the jaundiced, gaunt person with falling hair is one familiar to me in years past. It's going to get better!

btw, I agree that the serum B12 is the least telling of deficiency unless it is very low.
 

Bluebell

Senior Member
Messages
392
...adding potassium supplementation really helped my chronic constipation....I buy bulk powder potassium gluconate either from iherb or swanson's.

Hmm, I didn't know that potassium could help with constipation! Good to know.

I have on hand a few bottles of potassium gluconate in 99mg pill form. I'll check out the details of the Swanson powder form.

I just placed a small order with Swanson yesterday, and also purchased the Perque B-guard from Amazon.

[By the way, for anyone who orders from Swanson, on retailmenot.com there is a coupon code that provides free shipping, a savings of $5, on a $25 order until the end of the month, which is a good coupon - often their coupons don't kick in until the $50 expenditure level.]

...the jaundiced, gaunt person with falling hair is one familiar to me in years past. .
I sound like an oil painting! :alien: ha ha.

Once I heard a quote that was attributed to Al Gore, but I think it was also attributed to other people, that "Air travel is nature's way of making you look like your passport photo." Typically an unwanted transformation... but in my circumstances, maybe methylation will be nature's way of helping me to look like my passport photo once again!
 

Bluebell

Senior Member
Messages
392
A quick update -

Last week I looked into ordering a 4-sample saliva cortisol and dhea-s test, which I went into detail about in the following thread: http://forums.phoenixrising.me/inde...sts-ordered-directly-by-the-individual.24120/. The amazing Ema was again a star in offering me advice!

I'll post the cortisol results in this thread when they come back.

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I've been researching into the CA-125 test that threw up such a high result for me (314.9, when the reference range's upper number is 34) -- looking at reported result ranges including the levels that various non-cancerous but potentially-problematic health conditions tend to have, the typical diagnosis and treatment pathways, the research studies on it, what some gynecological oncologists say about it, what some women who scored high on the test ended up going through when their result came back, so on and so forth. In the next couple of days, I might post some very brief notes here of what I've found out. I will also come to a decision about what my next step will be in terms of this issue.

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As to other health issues that folks have kindly advised me on in this thread, I will address those too. I plan to keep the thread updated as I go. :)