Results of VA blood work: Quite good but several questions

#1

OK, got all of my blood work back from the VA Clinic and it looks good but some of it is a tad concerning. Have been on low-carb/keto since April and have lost 53 pounds (255 to 202). I asked the VA doctor to take a comprehensive blood screening and they drew 13 vials of blood. Pretty comprehensive indeed.

I went into the test with a BP of 109/69, and a home-tested FBG of 84. The timing of my fast and tests were off and I was at 18 hours when they drew blood – 6 hours longer than recommended. So that might have skewed some results. Did it? Check out the key results: (the normal ranges are in parentheses.)

(There are a lot more results but do not want to bore you – such as I do not have HIV or Hep C and am not on amphetamines, cocaine, cannabis, opioids or benzos. If you need more info to answer my questions, just ask for the results.)

The Good Results

HA1c – 5.1 (4.2-5.8) down from 5.4 last year.
Cholesterol, total – 126 (<200) down from 136
LDL, calculated – 69.0 down from 74.2
LDL, direct – 67.9 down from 71.9
HDL – 42.4 (>40) down from 44.6
Triglycerides – 73 (0-200) down from 86
eGFR – 74.3 (>60) up from 66.8
ESR Westergren – 7 (0-15)
Folate – 13.39 (>5.9) up from 6.28
C-Reactive Protein – 0.12 (0-0.6)
Insulin – 11.9 (2.6-24.9)

Questionable Results

Thyroid TSH – 1.76 (0.34-5.60)
Thyroid Free T-4 – 1.06 (0.58-1.64)
Ferritin – 183.1 (24-336)
Reverse T-3 (high) – 27.1 (9.2-24.1) hmm, I fast a lot, both intermittent and extended and have lost a lot of weight in eight months time. Have read a good bit about high rT3 but its confusing. Any help? Is keto skewing this number? I heard it can. I also take a beta blocker and anti-arrhythmia med that slow me down. This is the first time my rT3 has been tested and that might be my norm.

Also questionable

WBC, white blood count (low) – 4.4 (4.8-10.8) some labs show this in the normal range. last year 7.4
RBC – 4.86 (4.5-6.1) last year 5.08
*RDW-CV (high) – 15.1 (11.8-14.9) some labs show this in the normal range. comment from lab: unable to count, interference, platelet clumping – last year 13.6
*Platelete count – ??? (140-420) comment from lab: unable to count, interference, platelet clumping – last year 146
*MPV – ??? (7.4-10.4) comment from lab: unable to count, interference, platelet clumping – last year 9.6 – what could be going on here? My son-in-law is a nurse anesthetist and suggested the lab just screwed up the test some how; tons of reasons for platelet clumping.

AND, my blood glucose was 106!!! What the fck? My insulin was fine (11.2) and my continuing home testing has been 66 to 86 consistently on three different meters. My BG last year when I weighed 255 pounds was 104! Nervousness about the testing? I didn’t sleep well for two or three days before the test. This was discouraging, I most assuredly I’d at least be in the low 90s. Sheesh!

If you understand some of this stuff, then you’re much more informed than me. All I know is that I didn’t get a panicked phone call from my VA doc. So that’s something.

Oh, yeah, almost forgot. I take a Nerve Support Formula which is a high dose, fat soluble B-Complex. My B-1 and B-12 blood levels were through the roof as suspected. I take those to try to reverse my mild peripheral neuropathy in my feet.

#2

I can only really comment on this one. I’ve known people have luck taking R Alpha-lipoic Acid for neuropathy so if you’re looking to drop the B Vitamins it might be worth looking into.

#3

I also take R-ALA daily and a shit-load of other supplements targeting neuropathy. I have given myself 6 months on these rather pricey B-vitamins and am at 3 months now. If they don’t do much for me, then I’ll go back to water soluble Bs. At least neuropathy hasn’t gotten worse and it is not painful or uncomfortable. I even latched onto keto because it has anecdotally shown to help with neuropathy. I am not diabetic and my neurpoathy has been diagnosed as “idiopathic” meaning I’m either getting old or the docs have no clue.

#4

Fair enough - that’s all I had for you I’m sorry. I’m sure others will weigh in.

(Murphy Kismet) #5

I’m thinking stress is involved. When T4 changes to RT3 instead of T3 it’s usually due to chronic stress. Also, the fact that your white blood cells are low means your immune system is taking a beating, a strong symptom of chronic stress.
Thyroid issues are a multi-faceted clusterfvck. Sometimes thyroid symptoms are really secondary symptoms of another issue, such as stress, or gut dysbiosis, or depression, etc.

I would ask about your sleep: tired in the morning? trouble falling asleep? That’s cortisol flipped, also due to chronic stress.

The B’s you’re taking is a good idea, as long as your body can absorb them. Many times chronic stress leads to leaky gut, and there’s your double-edged sword: right when you need those nutrients the most is when you get them the least. There are supplements that have been shown to help with leaky gut. L-glutamine taken at 20mg 2x day for several months has been shown to heal it, as long as the damaging foods have been removed of course.

That your blood is clumping is worrisome. Not sure what means, but if it’s coagulation, your doc will want you on blood thinners. However, vitamin K2 can help with that through it’s removal of excess calcium from the blood and moving it to the bones and teeth. Calcium has a part in thromboses (blood clots), so removing that excess can be a good thing.

I’m thinking the reason our BG was high was, again, stress, but this time acute stress. You didn’t sleep well for two nights before. Your body was pumping out glucose to fuel your muscles in case you needed to bug out.

I’m not a doctor, not even close. I just read a lot about health.