Labs and finally some answers!

Ok...so I heard back from my doc today and he spent a good 15 mins on the phone with me.  I had gone to him with possible thyroid issues, and also asked him to pull my "surgery labs" that would be do next month anyway (which he very readily agreed to and even fwd a copy to Pupkova for me.  I don't know if Barix takes my new insurance, so I at least wanted Pupkova to be aware that I WAS keeping up with getting levels checked)  

Good News  
CBC (hemoglobin, white blood cell count) etc is totally normal CMP (Sodium, Potassium, Calcium) etc looks great
Liver Function:  Totally normal Total Cholesterol:  158 which he said is great (anything below 200 is good) LDL:  "Bad Cholesterol" 92 (anything under 130 is good, and he says 92 is "phenomenal") HDL:  "Good Cholesterol" 56 (anything over 40 is good)
B12:  780
Folate:  Don't have it in front of me, but was within range

Bad News
  TSH 20.9 (supposed to be 0.35 - 4.0)  He thinks that I could probably start back on the dose of synthroid I used to be on (75mcg) daily and it should correct it.  I need to be retested in 6 weeks after start of synthroid, which will be Friday evening (I can't pick up the script till tomorrow at work, and then will be eating shortly there after and can't eat for at least an hour after taking it, so I'm gonna start it on Friday when I wake up)   

Vitamin D:  "Dangerously low" as per him.  Less than 4.0  (there's no "range" for it...you just need to be above 4.0) and the "25-Hydroxy D total is 16 (range 30-80)  Now...last year I had gotten the OK from Barix to cut back on my calcium supplements (which contained the vit D) because most of my food sources are dairy so I was meeting calcium goals without it.  He wants me to take a minimum of 800 iu of vit D a day.  If I go back to taking my "full dose" of calcium that pupkova had me on (1000mg) I will automatically get 1600 iu of Vit D.  I asked him if that would be to much Vit D or Calcium and he seems to think it will not cause any harm, so that is what I am starting with.
He is retesting my Vit D levels along with my TSH in 6 weeks.  

Possible problems - First off, Vit D is a fat soluble vitamin, which is one of the ones us bypass patients have trouble absorbing.  So even with the supplements, I might not get my levels up.   Secondly - Vit D is controlled by the parathyroid gland.  So....with the thyroid problem on top of the bypass, on top of NOT getting much sun exposure (hello night shift) I am basically not getting ANY vitamin D. 

Hopefully the synthroid will correct the thyroid which will help correct the vitamin D along with the Vit D supplements.    Oddly enough....some of the symptoms of Vit D deficiency are "muscle soreness and non restful sleep" which are two of the major "symptoms" I've been complaining about.  My legs ache after work and I was recently put on a sleep medication because I haven't been able to sleep well, and even when I do sleep, I don't feel rested.  I was chalking both of these up to the thyroid issue - but it could also be the vit D problem (and more than likely a wicked combination of them both)  

So....that's where I stand.  Making sure I take all my vitamins, starting the synthroid, and having a doctor who is willing to keep a VERY close eye on ALL of my labs for me, considering I haven't heard back if Barix accepts my new insurance.   I must say - I feel much better at least knowing some of the answers!  

Glad you got some answers and can now do something to get it under control.  Hopefully everything will work out by changing up the meds/vitamins.  Also glad you have a doc who is willing to keep up with everything.

SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO glad that you got your labs drawn! You will feel so much better when your levels regulate. I had some issues with my vitamin D too when they were finding out about my thyroid problems. HEre's to hoping that the Synthroid works it's magic and you are good to go in 6 weeks!

Also very happy to hear that your Dr is willing to work with you.

Liz

Glad to hear the labs are in......  It took me a while to get my synthroid levels adjusted... but you know to stick with the program and monitor the tests!


Happy Tuesday!

Pam,

It's so great that your doc is working with you so thoroughly and aggressively... AND that you're getting some concrete answers.  Knowing that something isn't right and not knowing WHAT is frustrating and frightening.  

As to Vit D, my PCP (with concurrence from Dr. P) has had me taking sublingual D, which I've found at Wegmans (Twinlabs).  It's D with K, both of which are hard to get from Momma Nature unless you're getting lots of sunlight... and being a vampire right now I know you're not getting sun.

Hope this helps!

Karen

Holy Schmoly, sublingual vit D?!    I honestly had absolutely NOOOOO idea that even existed.  I will be making a trip to my local wegmans tomorrow most likely to see if they have it, and if not, doing some research online to buy it.  I like the idea of sublinguals....at least that way I know I have the best chance of absorbing it and it's not just sliding through my short little intestines with the pill not dissolving completely!

Thanks Karen!

Pam

Yep - no problem.  At the Wegmans in warrington they're in the "organic" vitamin section, not the one at the pharmacy.  They're in a tiny little brown bottle wrapped in a white cardboard sleeve and are labeled D+K sublingual tabs (TwinLabs).

I also use their B-12 5000mcg sublinguals (they also have them in 500mcg version). 

If you have any trouble finding them, let me know and I can pick them up for you!

Karen

Hi Pam.  About a year ago my vitamin D levels were <4, around the same as you.  My PCP put me on 10,000 iu per day and my levels are now in the normal range.  There are quite a lot of  us Barix Babies who had low Vitamin D levels and everyone I spoke with was on 10,000 iu per day or more.  I would double check the 800 iu dosage.  I don't want to speak out of turn, but I want to make sure you are getting the correct amount.  You might want to call Dr. P and ask instead of taking the lower dose for the next 6 weeks, only to find that it is still too low.  Oh, and I take synthroid also.

Hope everything else is good.  I don't get online too much anymore...way too busy.  But I'm waiting for my salmon to marinate so thought I'd see what was going on.

Hope to see you at the next meeting.

You're never "speaking out of turn" and I appreciate the imput.  That's why I asked him if it would be alright if I took the 1600 iu of it.  I may get vit d alone (and thanks to the suggestion of the sublingual above, which I didn't even know EXISTED) and take extra of it.  I will put a call out next week to pupkova to see what she has to say about everything.

Thanks!

I forgot to mention that Cheryl Shulman told me it's important that we take "dry" vitamin D.  I buy it online through Vitalady.  But I would imagine the sublingual would work just as well, as long as you can get a strong enough dosage.