Blood tests while on Alternatives

[denden]

 Hey I been doing alternatives for some time now and finally I went in got blood work done...
 
 here they are what do you guys thing?       
       
                         (RESULT)                 (LIMITS)
  Glucose,Serum          88 mg/dl                       65-99
  Bum                         11 mg/dl                       5-26
  Creatinine,Serum        1.2mg/dl                      0.5-1.5
  Bum/Creatinine ratio    9                                8-27
  sodium,serum            139 mmol/l                   135-148
  Potassium, serum        4.3 mmol/l                   3.5-5.5
  Chloride,serum           102 mmol/l                   96-109
  Carbon Dioxide,total     26 mmol/l                    20-32
  Calcium,serum             9.2 mg/dl                     8.5-10.6
  Protein,total,serun       6.2 g/dl                       6.0-8.5
  Albumin,serum             4.4 g/dl                       3.5-5.5
  Globulin,total               2.4 g/dl                        1.5-4.5
  A/G Ratio                    1.8                              1.1-2.5
  Bilirubin,total                0.4 mg/dl                    0.1-1.2
  Alkaline Phosphatase,S   91 iu/l                        25-150
  AST                            31 iu/l                        0-40
  ALT                            22 iu/l                         0-55
 
 

[Helen]

Hi Denden, 
 
 Everythings looking pretty good to me. Guess your doing something right.

[Betty W.]

I have read that Iron is bad for the liver........and I have gone back and read ALL the previious posts. When I went to my GI in early Sept.07 she put me on Ferrous Sulfate 325 mg three times a day and Vit.C 500 mg my hemaglobin was at 7. When I had my biopsy my hemo. was 13. and just had bld. work again and my doctor still wants me to continue. Does anyone know why? I will see him (IM) for yrly phys. in March and will ask him......I eat veggies lots, drink 1oz of Pomgranate juice and chicken and sweet potatoes. peanut butter. and a few nuts, peppers ,soy milk on cheerioes.graham crackers(low fat) decaf coffee, and green tea....lots of water most vegies and fruits are organic.......My GI did not want me to try Milk Thistle......The only thing elevated was ASt ant that has been very little. All kidney levels are good and VL was down last time. Why am I on Iron. that concerns me. OH, I forgot to add that I have a fatty liver. and Diabetic. and 65..I feel pretty goodjust dont sleep. and have had the virus for 30 years. from a bld transf. Any suggestions.....all my drs. want me tio tx, but, I am not ready now....Holding out as long as I can.....suggestions welcome..........Thanks Betty

[Ella]

Hi Betty,

7 hemaglobin is pretty low and the doc has probably put you on ferrous sulphate because of that.  Vitamin C facilitates the absorption of iron - coffee and tea (green or black) inhibit the absorption of iron, so if you are low, try not to drink these with a meal.

I would hope that the doctor has given you a full iron profile, as it is possible to be apparently anemic but still have dangerously high levels of ferritin in the liver.  If this is the case, there are iron chelators that can be prescribed that won't affect your hemoglobin level.  Ask the doc for a copy of your iron profile, which should include ferritin, transferrin saturation, serum iron and iron binding capacity.  Having said that though, they should have checked the iron content of your liver when they did the biopsy. 

What were the results of the biopsy apart from fatty liver?  Did the doc give you any explanation as to why you've suddenly got low hemoglobin?  The only way you can find out these things is to ask more questions when you see the GI, and keep copies of all your tests.  Sometimes you have to ask them to do a full iron profile - I don't know why.

Let us know how you go.

[Betty W.]

Ella, thanks for answering........I am so new at this....My GI sends ALL my bld work to my daughter( IM in Phoenix )she has 2 heps in her office and they "LOOK" at my results and she calls me, even she says I need the iron, NO reason....My biopsy showed very tiny bit of scarring and very little inflammation. She wants me to tx.too, I am not ready and if enzymes get high maybe then..I dont know..The last report my GI did was iron and total iron binding capacity total 35 L % SATURATION8 8 L   Does this make any sense? That is right before my biopsy after which she called and put me on Iron and Vit C.    my daughter tells me that it is not that much.......Oh, I am in NC, fairly small town......I may haverattled on too much and you prob. cant make heads or tails of this............anyway thanks.............Betty

[Ella]

Betty - I'm in Australia, and the normal range values here are:

iron:  11-29
Transferrin: 2.00 - 3.80
Iron Binding Capacity: 45-75
Transferrin Saturation: 25-55
Ferritin: 18-200 for a female, and up to 300 for a male. (But better to be on the low side of normal)

I'm not sure what you've actually put there - is "total 35 L Saturation 88L" - could be transferrin saturation is 35 (which is fine), but what is 88L?  If you can get your daughter to fax the result, you might get a better idea.  What was the ferritin? 

It's great that you have very little inflammation - which may mean that your ferritin isn't too high, but best to know.  I'd also really be wanting to know about the drop in hemoglobin - maybe you need another test to just check it.  It's strange that it was fine before/when you had the biopsy. How long ago was that? My sister recently had a blood test with very low hemoglobin and on re-testing one week later it was normal.

It's all pretty confusing isn't it - but basically, you sound in pretty good shape. 

[19Dragon52]

(((Betty)))

I am so glad that Ella is able to help through understanding some of your levels and which ones you need to know about.  I am basic when it comes to reading and understanding different levels for different purposes.  I also must have misunderstood.  I thought your Hemoglobin had gone up from 7 - 13...I was assuming the biopsy was taken after the GI appointment.  Duh!

Lots of Love.....

**********

(((Hi Ellen!)))

Glad you could give Betty some good input!    Missing you around these here parts...still glad you pop in when you can be of help.  How is life treating you?  Hey!  Would you be up for emailing to stay in touch.  I don't know what's going on at your piece of the world so maybe you could let me know if communication is a possibility, eh?

Warm Hugs.....

[Betty W.]

Joyce, the Hemaglobin was 13 after the biopsy. I asked the nurse that stayed with me during the biopsy which I might add was a breeze, I admit though I was scared too death. Thanks Ella I will definately find out more and keep results in a file..........Betty

[jody13]

I have had blood test and the viral load is the most expensive. All my liver test come back normal . I did take the shots for3 Hep B but It seems I already had Hep A some time in the past and am now imune to it. The biopy didn't amount to much. The herbs thgat I take have been many, The ones I think that helped the most were Milktlhisle, Mushrooms combo. Nac, Liver cell, and SST. I started a new one he other day, It has  lot of listed things for you liver  it is the toXgaurd Liver PF. Thinking back a

[jody13]

Willy and others, I have tried several herbs and it seems all help some. The ones I think that helped the most are SST , milkthistle, nac,Mushrooms and one called Livercel.  I have a new one with a lot of the stuff mentioned here on this list . It is called Liver PF Put out by Jarrow formulas TOXGuard. I haven't used it long and I'm still taking A lot of the others. Herbs cut my viral load in half at the last test. I had all the biopsi test and they were not bad at all, and they didn't find to much of any thing.. So I'm still tracking straight and get along  OK as far as 'I'm concerned.  The main thing I found out is that even a glass of wine , which I loved is out. I never had any drugs , not even the "Weed", You know I never missed it. , not even the wine now. My wive and I went to the Eagles club tonight and had Ribs for supper, walked right by the Bar and never even slowed down. I have had my share of booze, never bad  but still enough to get my wife teed off,  just a little. We went to a Xmas party for a news paper I do writng for and won three bottle of high price wine, I gave it to a friend, made him happy. Another friend makes wine and he brought me a gallon of Grape wine., I gave it away too. That hurt a little but It had to be. , You work your butt off trying to whip this thing so why blow it over a glass of wine or drink of any kind.  Jody 13 

[countrygirl]

Well, guys....

It's that time again...a check up and bloodwork next Wednesday. I'm a bit more tentative this time around and for all the reading and researching I've done these past four years since DX, I'm finding myself with more questions than ever. My quandry is ....what do these LFTs REALLY say about ones liver?? True, a high reading would send up red flags, but when they are consistently normal to mildly elevated, do they really give a concise picture of liver health? I have my doubts. My thoughts are that I now need to bite the bullet and find the funds for a liver bx. A Fibrosure I had run two years ago was mid range which really didn't tell me alot except that I had damage though not cirrhotic which my Triphasic CT also backed up. But I am of the undestanding that CT's and MRI's do not detect fibrosis. So.......

What tests do other non-treaters run routinely, either per your Dr. or for your own information? Since I'm a cash pay patient, my Dr. has been very good at not ordering tons of tests, mostly sticking to the liver panels, checking my iron levels, cbc's and all. What other tests might be beneficial to run in your opinion so I can discuss it with my Dr. next week. How often have you run a PCR since your DX?

I'd appreciate any and all input..............Pam