Lactate Dehydrogenase

(Kate) #1

Does anyone know anything about this enzyme or have you ever have high reading on your blood work and know what it is caused by?

I know it can be a marker for tissue damage and tumors etc. I am wondering whether it is maybe high in people on Keto and nothing to worry about rather than something more sinister.

Mine has been slowly rising over the last few years and it has gone over the high end of the test range a couple of times, once about the same time last year and again just recently. During me pregnancy last year it went into the other end too low (in between the last too high tests). My Dr is waiting and watching and my Endo who has been watching it for longer has decided to do another test but I won’t be able to do it for a while.

I have had a set of symptoms on and off over the last few years like dropping off to sleep in the morning and afternoon with not much warning and can be in the middle of doing something. For example the other day I was on a train about to catch another and was looking up which platform I had go to to switch trains once I got there. I was fully focused and felt myself going. I have sleep apnea but I no longer have many apneas according to my respiratory Dr though (0.1/hour as opposed to 144/hour in Feb 2016).

I have type 2 diabetes and 2 thyroid conditions including an autoimmune disease but all 3 are well under control thanks to Keto and were initially diagnosed because like now something didn’t feel right and I like to research and get to the bottom of things so I can fix them.

I have had fatigue, on and off insomnia basically tired all day and wired all night (previously had Cushing’s testing/cortisol and currently having some initial tests done again for these symptoms), muscle fatigue and a lack of stamina for basic things that I usually do. I also have a weird creapy feeling on my back that feels like something crawling under my skin under my ribs on the right side. Sometimes it feels like water or sweat is running down it but when you touch it, it isn’t wet.
Last year during these symptoms I and again recently I dropped a chunk of weight all over a short period of time when just before that I had been going up and down the same few kilos for quite a while. The symptoms correlated with high levels but could also just be coincidence.

It would be interesting to see if anyone else has high levels or has experienced similar symptoms. I think we still have a very far way to go in understanding the different way our bodies work when on Keto but with forums like these, people sharing the same lifestyle we may just solve a few of those unanswered questions that could lead to more research and better understanding of fat adaption and it’s unique parameters.

(Candy Lind) #2

One thing I would do is start keeping a detailed diary (time of day, energy level, self-exam/awareness) with all your food intake & activity/exertion along with any symptoms, to see if any correlations pop out at you. This is quite a complex puzzle and will require lots of study to solve!

I would say the “creepy” and “water” feelings are nerve/neurological and could be as simple as chemical/electrolyte imbalances. Keep a diary on one of the tracker apps, and you might be able to see something consistently lagging.

(Kate) #3

Thanks CandyLindTX. I do keep a symptom journal but have thought lately that I need to be a bit more detailed with it, you are right there with that. It is a great way to see patterns in symptoms. I used this technique to decipher that even though I was euthyroid in TSH etc that I had the autoimmune thyroid problem because I still had all the thyroid symptoms that I had when my thyroid was out of whack and gomy previous GP to test antibodies. The fact that I was having to research myself and ask him for specific tests was one of the reasons I kicked him to the curb.

My new GP is a low carb Dr. Like you he thought the creepy crawly might be electrolyte imbalance or nerve as well so he has suggested bumping up the magnesium and salt at the moment which I had recently started to do myself already. It is nice when you have the same ideas about what it could be.

I am hoping it is just a coincidence and that I just have some fluke thing happening because Keto is a bit higher in biomarkers than glucose metabolism. Last thing I need is another Autoimmune disease to deal with especially since Keto is keeping my thyroid one in check and these symptoms are happening dispite being Keto.
I truly thought it was possibly my insulin was super high again because my blood sugars were good and I was thinking it was too good to be true especially with the fatigue and dropping off again but that came back low and so did all the thyroid stuff. I had blamed the hyperinsulinemia and carbs previously for the zonk outs. Hence back to the drawing board and focusing on what the heck is causing a high lactate dehydrogenase level.