Feel free to discuss any topic of general interest, so long as nothing you post here is likely to be interpreted as insulting, and/or inflammatory, nor clearly designed to provoke any individual or group. Please be considerate of others feelings, and they will be considerate of yours.
Got my recent test results back!! I THINK I HAVE FINALLY CONFIRMED MY SMOKING GUN!!!!!!!!! My thyroid tested in the ideal range, except reverse T3 was at the bottom of the normal range. Iodine was low, which may explain my low temperature. Lyme was negative, BUT..... My Epstein Barr Virus titers were through the roof!!! You all know I've had this theory since Day 1 - that mono at age 12 altered my immune system. I even found evidence that EBV is found in biopsies of diseased colonic tissue in Inflammatory Bowel Diseases.
I haven't talked to my doctor yet, but she said if EBV was high, she'd put me on regular and natural antivirals (monolaurin, etc.) YAY!! A Plan!!
Interpretation of the significant EBV test:
The presence of antibody to the early antigen (EA) of Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) indicates that EBV is actively replicating.
Generally, this antibody can only be detected during active EBV infection, such as in patients with infectious mononucleosis. Clinical studies have indicated that patients who have chronic active or reactivated EBV infection commonly have elevated levels of IgG-class antibodies to the EA of EBV.
IgG antibody specific for the diffuse early antigen of EBV is often found in patients with nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC). Of patients with type 2 or 3 NPC (World Health Organization classification), 94% and 83% respectively, have positive-antibody responses to EA. Only 35% of patients with type 1 NPC have a positive response. The specificity of the test is such that 82% to 91% of healthy blood donor controls and patients who do not have NPC have negative responses (9%-18% false-positives). Although this level of specificity is useful for diagnostic purposes, the false-positive rate indicates that the test is not useful for NPC screening.
Doesn't this imply that you (or rather your doctors) need to rule out an NPC, or am I misreading your quote?
Tex
It is suspected that some of the hardest material known to science can be found in the skulls of GI specialists who insist that diet has nothing to do with the treatment of microscopic colitis.
NPC is primarily found in Chinese/Asian people as a result of EBV, but I suppose I share some distant ancestry with them through my Latin American mother, so I should be vigilant (and since DM is associated with occult cancers). I think they include that in the test language bc this test is often used to screen for NPC.
If you carefully read the article (actually, you only have to read the abstract) that you referenced with a link in your last post, you will see that basically what the article says is that vitamin D deficiency sets up the cascade of events that results in autoimmune disease. EB virus activation is just one of the many consequences of that cascade of events.
Maybe someone should write a book on Vitamin D and Autoimmune Disease. Oh wait — someone already has.
Tex
It is suspected that some of the hardest material known to science can be found in the skulls of GI specialists who insist that diet has nothing to do with the treatment of microscopic colitis.
Hot of the presses... like I've always suspected. 95% of the world population tests positive for past EBV, but only those who had mono, the obvious kind like I had, get the immune scarring.
Zizzle wrote:BTW, my thyroid looks pretty good, right?
Those numbers look OK to me.
Tex
It is suspected that some of the hardest material known to science can be found in the skulls of GI specialists who insist that diet has nothing to do with the treatment of microscopic colitis.
Wow! I don't know much about EBV, although my teenage grandson has flares of it. But I do know that I had mono in kindergarten and was out of school for 2 months. Perhaps I've been so "used to" living with EBV from a young age that the symptoms don't stand out for me that much. I do have plenty of auto-immune problems, though...
Zizzle-I too tested positive for the EPV and had mono, although this was after I had been diagnosed with LC. My white blood cell counts were all over the place and my PCP kept digging and finally figured it out. I think in my case, a bout with shingles triggered my LC and my body fought it for so long and got so weakened that I contracted the mono. I don't ever recall having mono when I was younger but my PCP feels that I must have had it at some point and it was laying dormant.
If you carefully read the article (actually, you only have to read the abstract) that you referenced with a link in your last post, you will see that basically what the article says is that vitamin D deficiency sets up the cascade of events that results in autoimmune disease. EB virus activation is just one of the many consequences of that cascade of events.
Maybe someone should write a book on Vitamin D and Autoimmune Disease. Oh wait — someone already has.
Tex
Hi Tex,
Can you please give me a link as to where I can buy your book on Vitamin D and Autoimmune Disease?
Lilia
Collagenous Colitis diagnosis in 2010
Psoriasis in 1973, symptom free in 2014
GF, CF and SF free since April, 2013
Here's a link to an Amazon listing for either printed or digital copies. It's also available in digital form (only) from Barnes&Noble, Apple, and a few others.
But I would be happy to send you a free copy if your country's import laws will allow it. Or I can attach a digital copy to an email, and send it without having to go through Customs. I can send a PDF version that you can read on your computer or most mobile digital devices, using Adobe Reader (or any other PDF reader), or I can send a copy formatted specifically for any particular digital reader. I would just need to know what type of digital reader you have, so that I can send the correct version.
Tex
It is suspected that some of the hardest material known to science can be found in the skulls of GI specialists who insist that diet has nothing to do with the treatment of microscopic colitis.
Here's a link to an Amazon listing for either printed or digital copies. It's also available in digital form (only) from Barnes&Noble, Apple, and a few others.
But I would be happy to send you a free copy if your country's import laws will allow it. Or I can attach a digital copy to an email, and send it without having to go through Customs. I can send a PDF version that you can read on your computer or most mobile digital devices, using Adobe Reader (or any other PDF reader), or I can send a copy formatted specifically for any particular digital reader. I would just need to know what type of digital reader you have, so that I can send the correct version.
Tex
Oh, that is so kind of you, Tex, but I love to be able to get back to the literature, and with our personal computers, you never know. I lost all my pictures, Word-documents, Excel spread sheets, links and bookmarks in 2013, due to a computer crash, so I would love to buy a copy that can "live" in my book shelf, together with my other books.
But, thank you for offering me a digital sample
Lilia
Collagenous Colitis diagnosis in 2010
Psoriasis in 1973, symptom free in 2014
GF, CF and SF free since April, 2013
I also offered to send you a printed copy, provided that Norway's import laws don't prohibit me from sending you a book. Will they allow you to receive a "health" book?
Tex
It is suspected that some of the hardest material known to science can be found in the skulls of GI specialists who insist that diet has nothing to do with the treatment of microscopic colitis.
I also offered to send you a printed copy, provided that Norway's import laws don't prohibit me from sending you a book. Will they allow you to receive a "health" book?
Tex
Honestly, I don't know. They put customs charge and VAT on every item we import privately, but when it comes to documents I think it is regarded as ordinary "mail", and excempt from customs charge.
Hey, why don't we try it, as an example? I'm very grateful for your offer!
Either way, it is the recipient who has to cover the charges
Lilia
PS: Since the letter J and the letter I is pronounced exactly the same way in my country, and quite different in the U.S., I have changed my signature.
Collagenous Colitis diagnosis in 2010
Psoriasis in 1973, symptom free in 2014
GF, CF and SF free since April, 2013
