Question About Blood Work

[Mirry]

Good morning everyone

I am going to have a full blood panel run to see where the various levels are in my body.

Is there a better time to have bloods run ie: morning or afternoon? Will my blood levels show different results in the morning as opposed to the afternoon?

On a whole different subject, we just got great news this morning. After my husbands year long deployment is over for which I am sad he will be away from me so long, but proud of him for his sacrifice and dedication to his country, we are leaving this hell hole called Las Vegas and will be on our way to Sth Carolina where it rains, I can finally sea the ocean again and people are so much friendlier than here .... I cant wait and I already want to start packing.

I told my kids this morning, Ty 4 1/2, Summer 4 1/2 and Lola 6. I can tell they are excited too, just by the wagging of their tails. I am so thankful to have my three labradors to keep their mama entertained whilst their dad will be away. I am blessed to have them as they are my therapists when I get sad, my friends when I get lonely and the keepers of my heartfelt innermost thoughts.

Have a great day everyone

[jimmylegs]

hi mirry, glad to hear your good news!

as for bloodwork, i think a washout period lasting for a week, during which time you take no supplements, is the main thing.

it would probably be even better if you did a fast for a number of hours before your test. that said i'm thinking get up in the morning and go for your blood work first thing, and then head home for breakfast. i know in particular that coffee can mess with your uric acid results, pushing them higher than they should be.

what's the list of tests you're going to have run, if i may ask?

jimmy

[Mirry]

Good morning JL

Well, I have left a message for my CPT to call me this morning, he is my Dr at the base hospital. I was going to ask him arrange to run, every single thing he can. Vitamins, Minerals, hormone levels, thyroid levels and anything else that I havn't thought of.

Did I miss anything?

I am so excited about the news, there always seems to be something positive to look forward after bad news, thank heavens

How are you feeling today?

Mirry

[jimmylegs]

hi mirry, we'll see if your doc has any questions because you've cast a pretty wide net. i'll pull a bit of info together and if you need to you can forward to the doc.

there are a few key things specific to ms cases that would allow the doc to focus a bit. i can't advise on ideal hormone levels etc, i just know that nutrient levels can affect hormone levels.

when it comes to vitamins minerals and ms, i'd say this:

out of the b-complex, your b12 level is most important. you shouldn't have to provide any backup info to justify this test.
get the rest of the b-complex done if you can: b1, b2, b3, b5, b6, b9.

vitamin d3. the exact test to ask for is 25(OH)D3.
this is pretty mainstream these days; you should not need to justify this request

start of march 2013 update:

zinc

Zinc and copper in multiple sclerosis
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1083158/
The serum concentrations of zinc and copper were measured in 50 patients with multiple sclerosis. Lower serum zinc levels were found compared to age- and sex-matched controls. In younger patients low serum copper concentrations were noted.

sweet spot is around 18.2 - 18.4 μmol/l. i have TONS of replication for this number but here's one study for a little backup info:

Serum vitamin A and zinc levels of healthy people in northeast Thailand
The average serum zinc level of the population (n=1113)* was 18.20 μmol/l (95% CI= 18.05-18.36). There was no significant difference in the zinc levels between males and females, i.e. 18.20 μmol/l (95% CI=17.90-18.36) vs. 18.36 μmol/l (95% CI= 18.05-18.66). The zinc level tended to decrease significantly as age increased, particularly in the male population (p<0.05)**.

*that is one great 'n'!! **things that make ya go hmmm

uric acid
backup info:

Serum uric acid levels in multiple sclerosis patients correlate with activity of disease and blood–brain barrier dysfunction
Several findings suggest lower levels of serum uric acid in multiple sclerosis (MS) patients. ... Sixty-three definite RRMS patients and 40 controls ... MS patients were found to have significantly lower serum uric acid levels (193.89 ± 49.05 μmol/l; mean value ±SD) in comparison with healthy donors (292.7 ± 58.65 μmol/l; P=0.000) ... MS patients with relapse had significantly lower serum uric acid levels (161.49 ± 23.61 μmol/l) than MS patients with remission (234.39 ± 41.96 μmol/l; P=0.000) ...

magnesium
backup info:

The multifaceted and widespread pathology of magnesium deficiency
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/ar ... 7700911332
The range of pathologies associated with Mg deficiency is staggering: hypertension (cardiovascular disease, kidney and liver damage, etc.), peroxynitrite damage (migraine, multiple sclerosis, glaucoma, Alzheimers disease, etc.)...

end of march 2013 update

About the Misdiagnosis of Magnesium Deficiency
http://www.jacn.org/cgi/content/full/23/6/730S
...In patients with Mg serum values lower than 0.9 mmol/l Mg, magnesium supplementation is recommended; for patients with values lower than 0.8 mmol/l, starting Mg supplementation is necessary. We recommend that a Mg serum value of 0.9 mmol/l Mg be considered as the lower reference limit, in evaluating symptoms or diseases suspected as being associated with Mg deficiency. In this case, Mg has to be used as a first choice therapy. When symptoms of the MDS are found, patients with serum values of less than 0.8 mmol/l Mg, or better 0.9 mmol/l Mg, ... [not automatically] normomagnesemic.

selenium
backup info:

SELENIUM, VITAMIN E AND COPPER IN MULTIPLE SCLEROSIS
...The Se content of whole blood was low (52.8 ± 11.3 ng/ml) in MS patients from this high-risk area compared to the controls (68.8 ± 11.0). ...

serum ferritin
always good to know, along with RBC folate. you should not have to provide backup info for those requests.
many here at TIMS would recommend more iron tests such as TIBC, serum transferrin etc. i suggest that ferritin and folate are ok to start and if you need to dig deeper then it would be time to look at the rest of the iron panel. your choice.

vitamin E (you would probably only be able to get an alpha-tocopherol test but that's okay)
backup info (this kind of study cracks me up):

Alpha-tocopherol and NADPH in the erythrocytes and plasma of multiple sclerosis patients. Effect of interferon-beta-1b treatment.
OBJECTIVES: To investigate the influence of interferon-beta-1b (INF-beta-1b) therapy on blood antioxidants (alpha-tocopherol and NADPH) in multiple sclerosis (MS).
METHODS: Patients with relapsing-remitting MS (n = 14) have been studied during 6 months of INF-beta-1b therapy. alpha-Tocopherol was determined by HPLC and UV or electrochemical detection; NADPH was quantified spectrophotometrically. RESULTS: The erythrocyte alpha-tocopherol level was reduced (p < 0.001) before treatment, but had regained the control level by 6 months of therapy.

thank goodness we have interferon to correct our low vit e levels

JULY 2011 ADD-IN:
Red blood cell fatty acids in multiple sclerosis
http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1 ... x/abstract
"The alterations reported in plasma and RBC in the MS patients are consistent with a relative deficiency of essential FA"

Red blood cell and adipose tissue fatty acids in mild inactive multiple sclerosis
http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1 ... x/abstract
"docosahexaenoic acid was not detectable in any MS patient, 40% of the controls had measurable levels varying from to 0.1 to 0.3% of total estimated fatty acid (p = 0.0003)."

Sialic acid and fatty acid concentrations in lymphocytes, red blood cells and plasma from patients with multiple sclerosis
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/ar ... 0X84901047
"The fatty acid composition of the plasma neutral lipids plus free fatty acids showed a very significant decrease (P < 0.001) in the relative percentage of linoleic acid, a small decrease (P < 0.05) in arachidonic acid and significant increases in palmitic (P < 0.001) and oleic acids (P < 0.001) in MS, compared to controls"

END OF JULY 2011 EDIT

anyway all in all that would be a good start.

and i'm very well, thank you for asking i'm uber stressed about work lately but at least i have some support during lean times and i got a fabulous performance eval at work so that's nice as long as it turns into $$ and security ha!

good luck with everything

[maynaka]

Mirry,

Please thank you husband for his service to our country.

Karen

[Mirry]

Karen - thank you I will

Mirry

[Mirry]

Thanks JL

I will print all of this off and take it with me. My Dr is great he is so very thorough, it makes a nice change, so I am sure he will run every test imaginable. If he hadn't been so thorough with my migraines I wouldnt be here on this site.

I read some of your other posts as you always have so much info to share and I saw about the work situ. Things are very dire here, but keep positive. I believe things always happen for a reason, even though we're not sure what those reasons are at the time. It just means, your next journey is just around the corner and will be better than you expected.

Keep positive and keep smiling

Mirry

[jimmylegs]

glad you have such a great doc mirry makes for a nice change.

thx re the work thing. i did get a tiny morsel of passable news today so it's not all bad

[Mirry]

Whatever it is I am keeping everything crossed for you JL.

Mirry

[jimmylegs]

thx

[Mirry]

Hi everyone

I got a call from my Dr today, he doesn't want me to wait until the 20th for my blood tests, he wants me to starve myself after 9pm tonight and have it done in the morning.

I am so thankful for such a great Dr. He asked me what bloods I wanted to run, so I gave him the list and e-mailed him the info from Jimmylegs. He is going to check with the on base neurologist today to make sure we have not missed anything from the list.

I also asked him what he thought about my decision to hold off on the meds for the time being, against the neurologists advice, until we had all the tests done and the results back. He thinks that's a good idea and then he wants me to go see him to discuss in depth our next plan of action. Thank heavens for CPT Scott, oh did I mention he is cute too .


Roll on tomorrow, another ball rolling.

Mirry

[jimmylegs]

wow you have an amazing doc mirry!
if your neuro would like more literature on ms and nutrition i will be more than happy to forward abstracts.
in my experience my dx neuro was quite dismissive of nutritional therapy. i hope your neuro is as awesome as your doc!!!!

[Mirry]

Had bloods done today ........ 6 rather large vials

Thought I was going to pass out, came over all woosy like...

Roll on results, cant wait to see what they show

Mirry

[jimmylegs]

good for you mirry, hope the answers have some visible action items so that you have some concrete steps to take