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arg! frustrating. i still don't have my numbers back either :S too busy to pick them up even though they've been at the doc's office for ages now :S might just wait for my appointment but.. aug 26! i should probably take action sooner. let's compare notes next week

I got mine back...gotta find my papers. Tired and stiff n achey. Humid here in the great lake state. Will post tomorrow Jimmy.

sounds good!

feeling any better today?

Yep...I sure am thanks! I found my papers...all my levels good...I didn't do a wash like you suggest just the minimum vitamins I take. Results as follows:
Calcium 5.3 mg dl norm 4.8 to 5.6
Mg 2.2mg dl. Norm 1.5 2.5
Uric acid 3.3 norm 2.5 to 7.0
Ferritin 62 norm 10 to 232
Alpha tocopherol 13.8 norm 5.7 to 19.9
Thyroid s messed up....go to endocrinologist this week
Tsp .28l .40 to 4.5 is norm...how do you fix that?
T4 free is 1.2 ng dl norm is .08 to 1.8

What do you think? What may I need more of? Thanks JL. I appreciate your time and knowledge.

ok here's what wiki has to say about calcium: "The serum level of calcium is closely regulated with a normal total calcium of 2.2-2.6 mmol/L (9-10.5 mg/dL) and a normal ionized calcium of 1.1-1.4 mmol/L (4.5-5.6 mg/dL). The amount of total calcium varies with the level of serum albumin, a protein to which calcium is bound."

magnesium is definitely looking far from optimal, esp given no washout so you have an artificially high result. established reference range is 1.7 - 2.7 so looks like your lab is using local patient values only, to generate that 1.5-2.5 range.

so 2.2 is right in the middle. research has demonstrated that deficiency occurs inside the mainstream normal range for magnesium. studies demonstrate that 2.2 can be considered either borderline or outright deficient. I have seen 4.0 proposed as an upper limit in research. certainly would do you no harm to aim for a serum mag level of 2.7

the lab appears to have a similarly bad range for ua, although it does match reference ranges more closely. the range is low either way. the reference range, similar to magnesium, also contains levels that are associated with illness.

"In human blood plasma, the reference range of uric acid is typically 3.4-7.2 mg/dL (200-430 µmol/L) for men, and 2.4-6.1 mg/dL for women (140-360 µmol/L)."
either way, the ms average level for UA is 3.3, so you're bang on the mark for an ms patient. healthy controls have ua levels between 4.9 and 5.
to improve your uric acid status will likely require more zinc. are you sure there's not a serum zinc level missing from that batch of results you have posted?

low zinc would tie in with the thyroid issues as well:
Zinc supplementation alters thyroid hormone metabolism in disabled patients with zinc deficiency.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/8157857

try to make sure you are getting at least a few hundred mgs of magnesium each day from food, and about 15-20mg of zinc from food. then top up with supplements. and measure again in a few months to reassess.

healthy mag foods by mgs per serving:
http://www.whfoods.com/genpage.php?tnam ... #foodchart

healthy zinc foods by mgs per serving:
http://www.whfoods.com/genpage.php?tnam ... #foodchart (this list is missing info on calf's liver and oysters which are particularly rich dietary sources)

fyi you can help to improve absorption of zinc from food by being careful with gluten, phytates, dairy, and sugar.

ferritin looks pretty good so does vit e.

I hope you have a zinc level somewhere! you can tell it's down b/c of the low uric acid but it would be particularly good to have confirmation.

Thanks JL! I am going to go over again so I can get it all correct. I found a zinc from 5/30 which was 985 pg/ml where normal is 200-1100....when I go back in a month I can ask for one.
I appreciate your kindness as to share your knowledge. Tkx!

no problem that 200-1100 normal range for zinc looks out to lunch as well! the WHO reference range is more like 750 - 1200.

either way, to match healthy controls, aim for a zinc level of 1200 pg/ml .. the lab may flag that level as 'high' because it is outside their range. but it's inside the WHO range.

just make sure you are getting most of your zinc intake from food and if you use a supplement, ensure that it is a balanced one containing a little copper.

mpalla hi I don't know if you saw that last post above

I am a holistically oreinted medical doctor and have successfully helped many MS patients. When it comes to supplements my approach is very individualized depending on what the patient's tests show that they are deficient in. The other important consideration is determining what environmental factors are contributing to your immune system problem in the first place. I would like to help you.
Dr Rothman