Posts by wiredcanyon2

mistymaker8 said:Hey there.
I just got my bloodwork back for Borrelia burgdorferi, and here’s what I’m looking at:
Borrelia burgdorferi IgG antibodies: POSITIVE
Borrelia burgdorferi IgM antibodies: NEGATIVE

My doctor is out on vacation, so I was hoping someone could tell me if I actually have Borrelia or if I just had it in the past.
Thanks!

It's totally possible you were exposed. Those specific IgG antibodies for B. burgdorferi show up gradually, usually after the IgM levels start to dip. Plus, IgG can stay high for a long time even after you've cleared the infection. When it comes to a Lyme diagnosis, the lab work isn't everything—you really have to look at the actual symptoms and rule out other stuff. Serology alone can be pretty hit or miss; you get those "cross-reactivity" issues where the test flags Borrelia just because you've dealt with something like EBV or CMV instead. Bottom line: you need to weigh these results against how you're actually feeling and whether you've been around ticks lately. Cheers.

So, has the hair loss always been a thing for you, or did this just hit out of nowhere? When did the thinning actually start? And how old are we talking? Also, does anyone in your family deal with thyroid issues, diabetes, or any other kind of autoimmune stuff? That’s usually a huge clue.
The thyroid definitely plays games with your hair. Since your TPO-Ab levels are slightly elevated—which is pretty common with Hashimoto, by the way—your hormones could be swinging low, high, or just acting weird depending on the phase you're in. Honestly, it might be worth getting your thyroid levels and antibodies checked again. Two years is a lifetime in medical terms; these things shift constantly. As for the extra hair growth, that might just be your baseline. It doesn't necessarily mean you're sick, and it might have nothing to do with the thinning or the thyroid. We're all built differently. 🙂

Jessica Rivera said:Hey there!
Does anyone know why my Leukocytes might be slightly elevated (11, when the normal range goes up to 9.7) on my blood work? Everything else in the CBC looks totally fine, and honestly, I feel perfectly healthy—haven't even had a sniffle lately.

And how do I get them back down?

It’s kind of a big deal because the job I’m applying for requires me to be in perfect health, and my doctor is making a huge production out of this tiny jump, sending me back for more blood tests.

Look, there are a million reasons why Leukocytes go up—we're talking hundreds of possibilities, from inflammation and tumors to meds, trauma, pregnancy, acute stress, or just "for no reason at all." Having an 11 when the limit is 9.7 doesn't automatically mean you're sick, especially if everything else in your labs and physical exam looks solid. There's actually a decent chunk of people who sit just outside those reference ranges but it's basically their personal normal. Those "standard" ranges are really just arbitrary numbers agreed upon to cover the widest majority of people. They change from country to country and even from one lab to another...
You can't just "lower" your white cell count through sheer willpower. The only way to drop them is to treat whatever is causing the spike (like taking antibiotics if you had pneumonia, for example). If you feel fine and everything else is normal, there’s nothing to "fix"—you just wait a bit and retest. Lab machines aren't perfect either, and your deviation is honestly tiny. In my opinion, these numbers shouldn't have anything to do with your employment status. Cheers.

Look, mistakes happen. It’s a thing in every profession. You can't expect someone to work without tripping up once in a while 😁 But I'm definitely not buying this idea
"In modern healthcare, doctors spend less and less time with patients because they're just chasing the almighty dollar—every patient visit is basically a payday for them" That's just wrong. The real issue here in America is that we have too few doctors for way too many people. Clinics are absolutely slammed, and it's physically and mentally impossible to give everyone quality care. Take a primary care doctor, for example—some days they’re seeing 70 patients. It’s hard enough to even say "hello" to everyone, let alone actually listen to their problems and figure out what's wrong. Also, the claim that doctors here in the US rush through visits just to make more money makes zero sense. An internist gets paid the same whether they see 50 people or 20 in a day. Period. Hospital doctors (and I'm not talking about private practice here) spend little time with patients because the government is cheap. Our clinics sit empty in the afternoons with all this expensive equipment just collecting dust because the Administration won't pay doctors to work second shifts. If they did, we could slash waiting lists and actually give patients the time they deserve. We need to distribute specialties better, hire more doctors, run clinics in two shifts, and actually use the resources we already have.
You have to get one thing straight: both doctors and patients are essentially costs to a social state like ours. Every test a doctor orders and every procedure performed is insanely expensive, and it all gets billed to Medicare (the government). The state pushes doctors to the limit at the expense of the patients, which is why I blame the Administration most. It's not like our doctors are "stupid" and people over in Denmark were somehow born "smarter"!
If you ask me, the most critical link in the chain is primary care. Once we hire more family practitioners and cap the number of patients per doctor at a reasonable level, then—and only then—will everyone get actual attention. As long as primary care docs are stuck managing 2,200 patients, nothing changes. We need more specialists, two-shift coverage, and fair pay for doctors, but hey, all that costs money, and this corrupt government isn't exactly handing it out. The future looks like a shift toward private insurance companies and private clinics where doctors are better paid and incentivized. People with money will just head there to get better care and skip the lines.

Look, there are plenty of medical issues or disorders that can crank up male hormone levels without it having anything to do with the ovaries. Like, the adrenal glands can pump out androgens too—maybe because of an enzyme deficiency during steroid metabolism, or even certain ovarian tumors could be the culprit. I'm sure there's more to the story, too. Best of luck🙂

Dealing with a stuffed-up nose all the time? Look, stuffy noses and sinus issues like rhinitis or rhinosinusitis usually kick off as simple viral infections that just happen to get hijacked by bacteria. It’s a classic move. You might have dealt with an acute bout of rhinosinusitis that you never actually cleared out completely, or you could be staring down chronic rhinosinusitis right now. Constant headaches and that nagging low-grade fever? Yeah, those are textbook symptoms of the chronic version. Honestly, you really need to get a sinus X-ray done to see what's actually going on in there.

Look, let’s get one thing straight: EBV and CMV aren't what cause sinus inflammation. Period. They cause infectious mononucleosis syndrome and a handful of other clinical pictures, but that's it. You can catch an EBV infection and honestly never even realize it happened—you could have cruised through it during childhood as a subclinical case without a single symptom to show for it. The older you are when it hits—I'm talking adolescence—the harder the EBV infection hits. That's when you start seeing the full-blown, classic symptoms of infectious mononucleosis. And just a heads-up: antibiotics won't do squat for it. So, if you're looking at EBV or CMV as the culprit for sinus issues, just forget about it. It's not happening.

Look, here’s the deal with blood work: Generally speaking, viral infections bump up the lymphocyte count in your white blood cells while dropping the neutrophil percentage—but that’s not a universal rule, and it doesn't happen every single time. You can't just look at one snapshot and call it a day. Blood counts have their own rhythm during an illness and throughout treatment. You really need to compare the results from before you started antibiotics against the results after the infection has actually settled down. Also, don't forget that chronic inflammation can sometimes mimic a "viral" pattern on a blood test, even when it isn't. It’s all about the trend, not just one number.

Urine: I mean, having like two extra Erythrocytes isn't exactly worth losing sleep over. You definitely don't have pyelonephritis.🙄Leukocytes? Yeah, they can show up in your urine if you're dealing with cystitis. Honestly, maybe go ahead and get a urine culture done if your doctor thinks it's necessary, but if you aren't actually feeling any symptoms of a bladder infection, I don't think it's really worth the hassle.

Bilirubin? Honestly, who knows. Might be the meds, might be something else entirely. There are a million different reasons why that number jumps around, so there’s really no point in making any big claims based on just that one piece of info. Too many variables.
CRP looks fine. It basically just says the acute inflammation has settled down, but don't go thinking that means you're in the clear regarding chronic or subacute sinus inflammation. That’s still something you need to rule out. If your doctor thinks it's worth looking into, they can send you over to an ENT for some follow-up testing.

Honestly, this person needs to apologize for all that absolute nonsense they’re spewing. Seriously, give me a break.

Joshua Ortiz10 said:I mostly eat fruit, veggies, meat, eggs, and oatmeal. I eat pasta in moderation. I try to avoid bread and dairy (cheese in moderation) because they just don't sit right with me.
Why does everything go black when I stand up from sitting? (Doesn't happen while working out, though). Also, I spend about 2 hours per workout session—is that too much?
🙂

If you're seeing stars whenever you stand up, it’s just your blood pressure dropping. It happens to everyone, but your system is just being a bit slow to compensate and fix it. Try drinking more water throughout the day and stop jumping up so fast, especially if you're coming up from lying down.

Look, if what you’re saying is true, then there’s zero room for games here. For anyone dealing with chronic issues, your primary care physician is basically everything. If the rapport isn't there and the cooperation is non-existent, you honestly just need to find a new doctor. Or, I guess, you could try having one last serious sit-down with her to see if anything can be salvaged...🙂

Joshua Ortiz10 said:Hey there! My iron levels are at 5.5 and my hemoglobin is 133 (which is basically fine, right?).
The doctor told me I don't have anemia since my hemoglobin looks okay. My diet is mostly just fruit, veggies, and meat.
But I keep getting those black spots in front of my eyes quite often. The question is, should I start taking a supplement or just let my body figure itself out?
Thanks, 🙂

I don't think you need to. Though, if you really want to check for anemia, they usually look at TIBC and transferrin too. Fruit does have iron, but it’s often in forms that are a pain for your body to actually absorb. Meat is definitely better for your diet, and eggs are good too.
It's also totally possible that the vision stuff is just happening because of low blood pressure.

silvernomad22 said:Hey everyone, I was hoping someone could take a look at my lab results. I'm a 23-year-old woman, and since I have no clue what actually matters here, I'll just type everything out:

(K) Erythrocyte (Erc) 4.83
(K) Hemoglobin (HG) 141
(K) Hematocrit (Hct) 0.429
(K) MCV 88.8
(K) MCH 29.2
(K) MCHC 329
(K) RDW-CV 13.6
(K) Leukocytes 5.9
-----------------------------
Neutrophils 31.8
Lymphocytes 45.0
Monocytes 10.0
Eosinophils 12.7
Basophils 0.5
(K) Platelets 147
(K) PDW 14.5
(K) MTV 11.4
------------------------------
(S) Glucose 4.9
------------------------------
(S) Iron 6.4
(S) UIBC 42.5

Most of this is within the normal range, just some minor deviations. Why did you get blood work done in the first place? That context matters for a proper reading.

Short and sweet—hell no.

Chloe King26 said:Ah, my bad... I’ll just dump everything here since I have no clue what actually matters.🙂

Medical Report
Hb 92
Hct 0.280
MCV 92.6
MCH 30.6
MCHC 330
RDW-CV 15.1
Leukocytes 4.3
Neutrophils 55.10
Lymphocytes 39.70
MID 5.20
Platelets 190
MPV 8.6

Glucose 4.4
Urea 6.5
Creatinine 76

AST 13
ALT 15
GGT 14

Iron 11.1
TIBC 40.8
UIBC 29.7

Cholesterol 4.7
Triglyceride 1.9

This isn't for me—it's for someone around 50, dealing with weakness and all that.

Thanks.🙂

You're missing the most critical number, which is Ferritin, and we don't even know if this person is male or female. Roughly speaking? It looks like some kind of mild chronic blood loss—maybe something in the GI tract—or if it's a woman, there could be a gynecological issue involved. Could also be some chronic illness. Obviously, nothing is certain without a full exam.🙂

Chloe King26 said:Can someone please explain what this means?🤷

I'm totally lost here. I honestly thought it was just about the iron levels😕....

Anyway, if anyone actually knows, please, please, please....
thanks 🙂

It could mean anything from low erythrocyte production or rapid breakdown, to issues with hemoglobin structure, weird cell shapes, or absolutely nothing at all... look, if you're gonna ask a question, actually list the numbers and tell us why you even bothered getting tests done in the first place. Just posting this way isn't going to get you much info. There's a massive difference between having a hemoglobin of 60g/L versus 119g/L, or erythrocytes at 1.2x10... When you're trying to figure out anemia, you need the full picture—stuff like TIBC, UIBC, Ferritin, MCV, reticulocytes, Bilirubin, and so on.🙂

I don't know much about your diet or whatever else is going on, and you probably already know this, but if you're smoking, you really ought to quit. Also, I'm pretty sure you shouldn't be on oral contraceptives either. Best of luck.

Look, you can head over to Johns Hopkins Hospital for maxillofacial surgery. They specialize in head and neck tumors and they actually know what they're doing there. Honestly, age doesn't even matter in this case; there aren't any contraindications that would stop them from removing a facial tumor under local anesthesia. Just saying.

crimsondrifter15 said:The doctor basically told me she won't even admit me to the hospital since I don't have any "known" infectious diseases. Look, on one hand, I'm relieved my results came back negative—especially since they tested for some pretty nasty stuff—but on the other, it’s kind of a letdown because they still haven't pinned down what's actually going on with me.

I probably don't have Hemochromatosis, considering everyone in my family runs a bit anemic anyway. So, there's really only one test left that could give us a definitive answer: a biopsy? And I am 100% certain they aren't going to send me for that. Honestly, ever since I looked up how they actually do it, the whole idea sounds zero percent appealing. 😬

So, yeah, nothing else to do. I guess I'll just finish up this regimen of Silymarin + Peptoran and then go back for more bloodwork in a month.

One thing you need to realize here: you said your liver ultrasound looks good. If you had diffuse lesions or if your transaminases were sky-high or chronically elevated, then maybe a biopsy would be on the table. But right now? It’s totally unnecessary. Your doctors actually did a thorough job covering all the bases—they screened you for hepatitis causes, ran the ultrasound, and I'm assuming they hit all the other standard labs too. For now, you can breathe easy.

crimsondrifter15 said:Well, I’m diving into this PDF too. Man, I immediately run into posts with the exact same issues.

I recently ended up in the ER because of a fever, vomiting, and feeling totally wiped out. It wasn't life-threatening or anything, but I wanted to see a doctor and actually get a diagnosis.

The EKG at the ER was fine—heart rate was a little high, but I guess that’s expected when you’re feeling like crap, plus I’m a bit of a hypochondriac anyway.
The urine analysis was pretty much normal, except they found a few tiny erythrocytes (I think it was 3 on the first check, then 1 after 24 hours, and zero after a week).

Complete blood count: absolutely everything looks perfect until you hit the liver panels. Then—boom. Bilirubin is fine, GGT is fine, but ALT and AST are both nearly 10 times higher than they should be. The next day, things improved slightly, being "only" 5 times the limit.
Fast forward a week, and ALT and AST are still double the normal level, while everything else remains steady. That's where I'm at right now.

Also, by the time I got to the clinic, I was dehydrated as the Sahara. Spent a week on IV fluids just to feel human again. For the first two days, they could barely even get a line in because they couldn't find a good vein. I don't know how it happened, but one day I was perfectly fine, and then overnight, everything went south.

First, I had an abdominal ultrasound—nothing showed up. Everything looked completely normal (aside from my gallbladder, which I don't have 😁. Had it removed 2 years ago due to stones...). After that, they went full throttle with testing for viruses: HIV, hepatitis, EBV, CMV, and some bacteria whose names I don't know and honestly don't care to learn.
Long story short, all the infectious disease tests came back negative.

And that’s where the story ends with my doctor. Her "treatment"? Take > for a month, watch what you eat, and "it'll be fine."
Look, that’s not enough for me. I want to know exactly what happened and if I'm still sick. I need advice on who to talk to—what kind of specialist should I be looking for (a gastroenterologist?)?

I'm not buying those little doctor excuses like, "Well, you know, it was Easter, maybe you overindulged a bit..." That is straight-up not true. Those damn holidays were just regular days for me.
I'm 23, 6'1", and about 175-180 lbs. No high cholesterol, no blood sugar issues, I don't smoke, I don't drink heavily...

How are these three diseases diagnosed? And are we talking serious stuff here?

I'm trying to find a reason to force my doctor to send me to the hospital. I don't exactly enjoy lying in a hospital bed for even thirty minutes, but I've been anxious ever since they sent me to test for HIV. 🙏

Hey there. Fever, vomiting, and weakness usually point toward some kind of gastrointestinal infection, though it could be other things. Regarding the dehydration—that's nothing unusual; you were dehydrated because you were vomiting. As for the liver enzymes, the most common culprit for elevated levels is hepatic steatosis or fatty liver. Also, viral hepatitis can cause spikes, especially if they're 10X the normal limit. Don't sweat the HIV testing; once they run the panel, you'll know, and you can relax knowing it's ruled out. You said the "viruses" were negative.
Autoimmune hepatitis isn't that common—it's actually quite rare, affecting maybe 2 in 100,000 people. It's more frequent in women and is diagnosed through immunological tests and a liver biopsy. Forget about it!
Wilson disease: You diagnose this by checking serum copper levels, ceruloplasmin, and doing a 24-hour urine copper test; sometimes they’ll even go for a liver biopsy. Hemochromatosis: For hemochromatosis, you're looking at elevated blood iron and high transferrin saturation (Fe/TIBC), plus high ferritin, and potentially a liver biopsy. It’s a genetic thing, so usually, someone else in the family has it too.
Then there’s this thing called NASH—non-alcoholic steatohepatitis. An AST/ALT ratio of less than 1 might point toward NASH. Diagnosis is confirmed via biopsy.

Ultrasound: If they aren't seeing any diffuse liver lesions, I’d say you can breathe easy regarding your liver and those specific conditions.
The real question now is whether your liver is actually linked to that bout of vomiting and fever, or if it was just a random finding. The liver is a sensitive organ; it reacts to pretty much everything happening in the body. For instance, during any other infection—like pneumonia or some nasty GI bug—your transaminases can spike. Yours dropped back down quickly, which to me looks like a non-specific reaction. Honestly, I think you just had some kind of gastrointestinal infection, probably viral or maybe some food poisoning. I think your doctor gave you solid advice: watch what you eat for a bit and then redo the labs in, say, a month to see how things are trending. Will you know with 100% certainty exactly what happened? Probably not!
Your doctor isn't going to admit you to the hospital over this, especially since you're feeling fine now. They might send you out for outpatient testing if they feel it's necessary. Anyway, if you have more questions, fire away. Cheers.

Just a quick heads-up regarding non-venomous snakes. If you get bit by one of those, you really need to flush the wound thoroughly with water. Slathering on some antibiotic ointment helps too—keeps the infection risk down since, let's face it, snakes have bacteria in their mouths just like any other living thing. Wrap it up with a bandage. And yeah, definitely hit up a doctor to see if you need a tetanus shot.
Now, if we’re talking venomous snakes, official guidelines say don't go trying to suck out the venom or slice the wound open. You want to immobilize the limb to slow down the spread. A pressure bandage about 5 to 10 inches above the bite can help slow the venous and lymphatic drainage, but don't go overboard—you don't want to cut off arterial circulation entirely. That said, some people don't actually know how much pressure is too much and could end up causing serious damage to the limb, so some manuals advise against it altogether. As for antivenom, that’s strictly hospital territory. It’s administered based on a doctor's call because there's a legitimate risk of severe allergic reactions, including anaphylactic shock, which is basically a death sentence if you aren't treated for it immediately. That's why keeping antivenom administration in a controlled medical setting is non-negotiable.

mistymarlin7 said:Hey everyone, hope you're all doing good. 👋
I need some help here.
Ended up in the emergency room at the Mayo Clinic last night. I totally collapsed, and my labs are looking pretty rough. 😢
CRP is super low—doctor said she’s never seen it that low before, like 1.01...
My CK (creatine kinase) is 516 (normal max is 135)
Calcium is low too,
and my lymphocytes and erythrocytes are basically non-existent.
Since I was diagnosed with adnexitis involving a 4.8 x 3.9 growth and they put me on antibiotics, shouldn't my CRP have been elevated?
I'm also being treated at a cancer institute (fibroadenomas, mom had breast cancer)
I actually passed out during a neurology exam, but the CT scan didn't show any ischemic changes.
My lymph nodes are swollen, and honestly, I don't even know where to start figuring this out.
😢

Thanks in advance for any insight.

Look, if you've been on antibiotics for a while to deal with those ovarian issues, your CRP could have dropped. CRP reacts to treatment pretty fast. Sed rate is much slower. Having a low CRP doesn't necessarily mean anything specific; it might just be your baseline. Sometimes CRP doesn't track inflammation perfectly, though that usually happens with certain chronic autoimmune diseases or liver failure. Creatine Kinase can spike due to muscle disease, but it also goes up from overexertion or muscle inflammation after physical activity. It can also rise during a myocardial infarction, but that's not the best indicator (doctors look at other enzymes for heart stuff), and it can happen with cerebral ischemia (but since they did a CT, that's probably not the issue).
As for the rest, I don't know what to tell you. There's just not enough info to go on.