My year long quest to get back to my normal good health has paid off. Because I had met the insurance deductible way back in February, I sought for further answers with tests and xrays.
On October 13 I had a barium xray. I drank the bottle of barium (fasting since midnight) and the technician took a picture of my stomach and small intestines. "Ohh, my gosh", she said as she looked at the first picture after twenty minutes. "Your body processes things through quite fast!" Twenty minutes for my body, when most people need 45-60 minutes through the stomach. So, the reason why I am so slim is because I have a very rapid metabolism. My stomach was in good shape.
On October 23 I had an endoscopy which showed that everything was healthy in my small intestine and that I need to continue to avoid all gluten products. That's wheat, barley, rye, most pastas, breads, etc. Try eating at a restaurant without getting any gluten!
On November 21 I went to an endocrinologist, who had three vials of blood sent to the lab to check TSH, T3, T4, parathyroid, Vitamin D and calcium levels. I was most grateful for these results. Doctors have told me for years that I am not getting enough calcium if I take less than 1500 mg. per day. My blood calcium level was 10.0 (range 8.5-10.5). Perfect - with one calcium/magnesium capsule at lunch, and one calcium lactate with supper. My vitamin D was 41 (range 20-100). The parathyroid was 42.7 (range 15-65), and according to the doctor, totally normal.
In September at my annual ob/gyn blood test, my TSH thyroid level was a low 7.68. After taking a homeopathic tincture for one month, the retest TSH was 4.46. The most recent TSH was 4.1 (range 0.30-4.50). The T3 was 31.4 (25-35) and the T4 was 7.7 (range 4.5-12.5). My thyroid is normal and functioning well with the tincture.
On November 25th I gave blood for the LEAP test, which tests sensitivities to 150 foods. Those results show that I have developed sensitivities to the foods that I have been eating on a regular basis: almonds (almond butter - so good, much better than peanut butter), avocado (healthy oils and fats), oats (my breakfast food, baking ingredient, etc. - this upset me more than I can say). But the registered dietitian assured me that we can reintroduce the foods after a period of avoidance and I will be able to eat them again. These "avoidance" foods don't upset my stomach, but give me allergy symptoms (running nose, sneezing, itchy, red eyes, mucus in the nose and throat, etc.) Already, in less than three days of stopping the oats, avocado, almonds, my symptoms are gone.
So, this was more information than you wanted to know, right? But, this blog is for a history, as well as keeping my children in the know. I am getting better. If my health was 100% before I got sick December 10, 2007, right now it is about 95% back to normal. Now, if I could just sleep all through the night!
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
2 comments:
Glad to hear that you're doing so much better and that all the test results are normal. What a sigh of relief. But what do you eat? No oats or wheat! That must require such planning and thought! Hopefully you'll be able to reintroduce the foods before long and tolerate them much better.
Thanks for sharing the funny story about the senior in the library. I say funny, but how sad! I'm with you, How did he graduate?
I'm also glad to hear that you are doing better. This was a rough year for a lot of peolpe. I hope and pray that 2009 will be better. Thanks for keeping in touch with me.
Post a Comment