My functional med doc appointment-

[carolm]

Hi All,
A couple of people had asked me to share my results so here they are:

I had a follow-up appt with my functional med doc. It was an hour long appt with so much information. I’m just going to give you the highlights.

Here was one surprise: C Reactive Protein score should be less than 1.0. Mine is 3.5.

Vit D low @43. He wants it 70-80. Adding an extra 5000mg twice a week.

B12 low at 269. He’d like to see it at 1000. Will supplement w/ Methyl B12.

CoQ10- level is 1.26. He’d like to see it at 2.00. Will supplement.

MTHFR mutation A1298c is likely-
I’m not converting folate to a usable form. Will supplement with B Complex Plus w/ 5 MTHF folate form.

Kidney function low. This has been a trend of mine for the past several years. Will be monitored.

Thyroid levels - free T3 low, reverse T3 high-ish. The pattern indicates I am not converting T4 to T3, and it goes to reverse T3.

Omega 3s. Very low, level at 3.0. Optimal is 8.0. Will supplement.

Testosterone low. A level of 12 is the lowest level. Mine was less than 12. Supplement with DHEA. (With the caveat that if I develop acne, grow a beard and become super-irritable I need to back off. If I grow a beard.... I will be irritable!).

Magnesium level good at 65. Continue supplementation.

And I’m to make sure I’m getting Zinc and Selenium in my diet.

Cholesterol is high and although not a primary concern, I’m to start psyllium husk to decrease absorption of cholesterol. Also having a cardiac calcium test to be sure no heart disease has started.

Tests for Candida Albicans were not elevated (so nothing was picked up, but doesn’t mean it’s not there).

Also because I have chronic sinusitis I was tested for 14 serotypes of streptococcus pnuemoniae IGG AB. I only had titers for 3 of them. Here’s where it gets interesting. They are seeing a trend of people having fewer sinus infections and less sinusitis after they receive the PnuemoVax 23 vaccine. My functional med doc admits to being anti-vaccine but even he said he’s seen patients improve. He said with my profile I’m a candidate for this. I’m going to research it first. No reason to jump into that fire yet.

So, I’ll start supplementation over the weekend. My plan is to start with B 12 and the folate and if those go well, add CoQ10 and go a few days, then DHEA, and finally the Omega3s.

This was a bit overwhelming but I’m glad I did it. Knowledge is power and I intend to take full advantage of it.

Thanks all-
Carol

[carolm]

Hi Again!
I want to add that at the end of my appointment I commented that it was a lot of information and he said to me ‘you’ve already done the hard work” meaning ditching the gluten, soy and dairy. So to all of you out there making the tough but necessary diet changes, pat yourselves on the back. There are professionals out there that recognize you are doing the hard work.

Carol

[Marcia K]

Thanks for sharing, Carol. I'm trying to find a functional med doc, too. Here's to hoping that you don't sprout a beard!

[carolm]

Thanks Marcia- I can pull off a fashion trend or two, but a beard is probably not one of them.

I started the B12 sublingual yesterday and had significant nausea during the night. I’ve reading up on isomalt as a possible irritant.
C.

[Erica P-G]

Great update Carol

My thoughts on cholesterol would be to check out Diatomaceous earth or Cholestyramine real sugar type both have the natural power to remove cholesterol (if you truly need some removed) without the harsh fiber rub of psyllium husk on your continuously healing intestines....

Next thought is all those serotypes....go ahead with the vaccine if you find it comfortable to do ....but I'd try the Nano silver approach that I've been on for over 2 months now to see if you can remove those bad bacteria slowly, rhythmically, and without setting off your immune system to respond to a vaccine. I am not having the sinus infections like I used to, nor am I getting any sinus responses this Spring to all the normal smoke, pollen, pesticides, dust, grasses etc....that I seem to have gotten every time at this time of the year. I've even put myself in situations that I really should have had a sneeze fit but I didn't

Just throwing these ideas out there, only you know how you want to approach your healing process

So glad you have more information to help aid in your process!

[tex]

Hi Carol,

Just boosting your vitamin D level may lower your cholesterol. Recent research in Finland shows that the subjects of a study (primary school children) showed lower cholesterol levels after boosting their vitamin D levels from an average of 50nmol/l (20 ng/ml) to an average of 80 nmol/l (32ng/ml). Here's a link to a Science Daily article:

High vitamin D levels linked to lower cholesterol in children

And here's a link to an abstract of the original research article:

Serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D, Plasma Lipids, and Associated Gene Variants in Prepubertal Children

Tex

[carolm]

Hi Erica and Tex,
Yes I am not in a hurry to try the psyllium husk and we agreed that getting these other levels up might have a positive impact on my cholesterol too. Erica- I’m considering trying the silver biotics but want to get my low vitamin and hormone levels boosted too. I’m a little more cautious re: DE.

Tex- thank you for the research articles. You know I love to read research and the data on Vit D is impressive. I look forward to reading these.

Thanks, Carol

[TaiaK]

Carol-

Interesting post. I just found a Functional Practitioner in my area. I am so excited to see the information you received from the testing. Looks like I can’t get in for an appointment until mid September. It’s expensive

On the cholesterol front....my regular family Dr is concerned with my LDL at 140 (HDL is 85 and trigs 100). I think she is over-reacting but I’m playing the game so I can get my thyroid meds. I’ve been doing psyllium husk for over a year and it hasn’t done anything with my cholesterol, doesn’t bother my LC. My Vit D is 79 so my cholesterol has a mind of its own it seems. I’m going in for a retest next week. I’ve lost 12 lbs (on purpose) so we will see. Interestingly, she suggested Welchol and not a statin. Welchol is pricey so maybe cholestryamine but interesting she went that direction.

Hoping the functional guy may have some insight on it all. Keep posting on your progress. I, too, hope you remain beardless!

Have a good weekend all!

Taia

[carolm]

Hi Taia,
Beard-free so far. I’m glad to hear psyllium husk did not bother your LC but it’s disappointing it had no effect on your cholesterol. So far all I’ve done is increase my vitamin D, but it’s time to add another supplement. As things progress I’ll be sure to update my status here and I hope you do the same.

Thanks
Carol

[brandy]

Hi Carol,

I found drinking a lot of water improved my kidney function. I started a thread on kidney function that you might find interesting.

[carolm]

Thanks Brandy. I’ll take a look at it. I see a nutritionist tomorrow and improving kidney function may be part of the discussion.

C.