Posts by wiredcanyon2

mistymaker8 said:Oh, you guys actually made me laugh there. I don't have 26 extra pounds—unfortunately, it’s more than that. And I’m 26 years old. Personally, I blame my genes and PCOS for the weight. I saw a specialist hematologist about five months ago, and they suggested a hemocult test (which I'm planning to do soon), checking my thyroid—which I did, and it's fine, a gynecological exam where they confirmed the PCOS, and a gastroscopy—well, I'm still working up the nerve for 🙂, ferritin—which is high, and Vitamin B12 and folic acid, which are normal. So, the hematologist gave me nothing, and the nephrologist didn't find anything either, just told me to monitor my proteinuria every six months, lose some weight, and cut out meat and salt. That’s basically it.

Hahaha😁 I guess I missed that part about the 26lbs. Anyway, from what I know—and from looking into how extra weight affects things—carrying extra pounds can absolutely cause proteinuria. Usually, that clears up once you drop some weight. Some people deal with proteinuria without having any actual kidney pathology, either. It would be a smart move to get a urinalysis (microscopic exam) done. Have you had that yet? Honestly, I think your nephrologist gave you solid advice. Just try following it; if you don't, you'll never know. That fatty liver is almost certainly due to the weight, and those lesions can clear up over time. Doing the hemocult is a great call, too—definitely do that so you can rule out any GI bleeding.

mistymaker8 said:Look, I’m just listing what came back abnormal in my results. Everything else—GGT, AST, ALT, TIBC, UIBC... all within normal range. (Reticulocytes?)
I don't smoke, I don't touch alcohol at all. If I have hematuria, would that show up in a 24-hour urine test?? My blood pressure peaked at 130/80, I'm 26kg overweight, and as far as I know, I haven't had any medical issues before, but I don't exactly have anyone to ask.
I know taking iron won't fix everything, and I wouldn't have even brought up the ferritin if I hadn't mentioned it to her.
All in all, my doctor is terrible (sorry to say this, but you can see for yourselves)
I saw a nephrologist about proteinuria, and she basically brushed me off, saying it's just because of my BMI and that I need to go on a diet.
Then I saw a hematologist who concluded it's not actually anemia, but microcytosis and hypochromia, which could be caused by latent iron deficiency.
After all these tests, I still have zero clue where I stand or what my diagnosis is, so I'm asking you guys for advice on what else I should do or what tests I should run. Unfortunately, I can't afford private specialists since, being a foreign national here, I have to pay for my own health insurance plus supplemental coverage.
Basically, my doctor's main priority is just getting me pregnant, clearly even if it costs me my life.
Thanks a lot.

If you're carrying 26 kilograms of extra weight, that liver lesion is most likely hepatic steatosis—basically fatty liver. There is NO medication for fatty liver other than dieting, physical activity, and essentially changing your entire lifestyle. It might sound cliché, but that's what the literature says. Your liver enzymes seem steady, which is a good sign. When you saw those two specialists, they had to put some kind of diagnosis on your chart based on the labs, right? What did they actually write down? And did the hematologist recommend any specific follow-up tests?

melloworca6 said:I don't know about anything else, but honestly? Maybe it’s just your stomach acting up. 🤷

Pain can definitely be tied to diffuse liver lesions—like if you're dealing with fatty liver disease. Though, honestly, "fatty liver" itself doesn't usually hurt; most of the time, it’s totally asymptomatic and won't give you any warning signs at all. So yeah, those pains could absolutely be coming from changes happening in the liver.

"Diffuse liver lesion" is such a massive, vague umbrella term. It basically just means your liver looks different on an ultrasound, but the scan itself isn't going to tell you *why* things look funky. It’s just pointing at a problem without giving you the answer key. The causes? Honestly, they're all over the map. Most of the time, you're looking at fatty liver. Then there's viral hepatitis—though we can rule out A, B, and C here—or other types like alcohol-related issues, drug-induced damage, or even other viruses like CMV or EBV. You also have to consider metabolic stuff like Wilson's disease or hemochromatosis, autoimmune liver diseases like autoimmune hepatitis, or even inflammatory bowel diseases like ulcerative colitis or Crohn's. It's a wide net.

So, you've got elevated Ferritin? Honestly, we’re probably not looking at iron deficiency anemia here. It feels more like you're dealing with some other underlying issue—what doctors usually call "anemia of chronic disease." That said, it could totally be a mix of both, especially since women are way more prone to iron deficiency because of their cycles. You didn't mention what your TIBC, UIBC, or reticulocytes look like. Also, I'd need to see your AST, ALT, and GGT levels to get the full picture.

Bubreg: You’ve got protein in your urine. Could be some kind of glomerular issue, like a form of glomerulonephritis. Honestly, those things can be triggered by basically anything—we're talking a hundred different causes ranging from infectious stuff to autoimmune damage.

HbA1c is basically glycated hemoglobin. It lets you eyeball the average glucose concentration over the last 8 weeks. Seems totally fine to me, as far as I can tell.

Serum looks lipemic: basically because my fat levels are through the roof.
Lipids: they can end up spiked if you're dealing with some kind of diffuse liver lesion. Just something to keep on the radar.

Did an actual internal medicine specialist even look at you and order these tests, or is this just your primary doctor handing stuff out while you two wing it together? Honestly, it looks to me like you need a real, high-quality evaluation—someone who’s actually going to take all these scattered results, pile them up, examine you properly, and get a full history. Do you have hematuria—meaning, is there blood in your urine? What about your blood pressure? Your age? Weight? Any medical history? Everything matters here. Just dropping random test results on a forum bit by bit isn't going to get you anywhere. Look, that iron they gave you isn't going to do squat. Your Ferritin is too high. That basically means your body actually has plenty of iron stores, but for some reason, they're "trapped" or locked away where they can't be used. You aren't dealing with iron-deficiency anemia here; you've got anemia caused by something else entirely.
Look, obviously nothing is ever 100% certain. I’m just throwing out my best guess based on the lab results you laid out.

Susan Morales66 said:Hey there,

My husband is 37. He’s into sports, doesn't drink, doesn't smoke—just lives under massive stress. I finally pushed him to get a full physical two years ago, and his bloodwork showed slightly elevated ALT, AST, and GGT.
After that, he cut out Coca-Cola (which he blamed for everything) and Red Bull.
He started eating better and redid the tests about a month later. They were looking a little better.

On April 29th (two years later), he went back for another checkup, and the bloodwork looks identical. His ALT is at 138, and his AST and GGT are still up.
He had an ultrasound done, and they’re saying his liver is swollen and shows diffuse lesions, though nothing specifically localized or focal was spotted. The doctor recommended testing for hepatitis markers and seeing a gastroenterologist.

I’m asking for some insight based on experience—how serious is this? Are we totally overreacting here, or should we be panicking?
Can my husband keep playing sports and eating normally, or does he need to go on a strict diet now? We won't have the test results back for two weeks. Until then, and until the appointment with the specialist, we’re basically losing our minds with worry.

Thanks!

1. Basically, "diffuse lesions" means most of the liver surface is affected. There are plenty of things that cause diffuse liver damage—think alcoholic hepatitis, steatosis hepatis (fatty liver), viral hepatitis (like chronic active cases), drug-induced damage, autoimmune hepatitis, or even toxic exposure. It's smart that you're starting with the hepatitis markers because you absolutely have to rule those out first before moving on to other stuff. For instance, someone could have picked up viral hepatitis 10 years ago without ever feeling a thing, just a super mild acute phase. Then, for some people, it turns into a chronic version (B or C) that only gets caught much later.
2. How serious this actually is depends entirely on what’s hiding behind those "diffuse lesions."

Sophia Garcia41 said:RBC 4.94 (3.80-5.30)
HGB 135 (120-180)

Look, your lab results are totally fine. You might expect a bit of anemia given the bleeding history you mentioned, but from what I can see here, everything looks solid. Those tiny deviations? Honestly, they’re negligible.

btw, those slightly elevated platelets (PLT) are likely just reactive. It could easily be tied to the bleeding you've been dealing with lately.

Sophia Garcia41 said:Has anyone ever dealt with rectal bleeding after using the bathroom? At first, it was just a tiny bit on the paper after dealing with some hard stools. But last week, it got way more intense—it was actually on the stool itself, plus I had diarrhea, and one time there were even a few drops before I even went. After I Googled what all the possibilities were, I basically sprinted to my doctor the next day. Honestly, I'm terrified of cancer. I’m only 21, but I know those diseases don't care how old you are; they strike whenever they feel like it. Anyway, after a digital rectal exam from my GP and some dietary advice, the bleeding stopped. To be fair, for the last fifteen days or so (not counting the last three since I switched to flakes, crunchy stuff, and fruit), I went absolutely overboard on junk food—chocolate, peanuts, chips, soda... basically just a massive amount of unhealthy crap. I finally got my blood and urine results back today (which I don't really understand), and some numbers look a little off, so I wanted to ask the forum if any kind soul could explain them to me. I can't wait until tomorrow when I see the surgeon, who will probably just send me for a colonoscopy anyway (but whatever).
Sedimentation: 8
Iron: 23.4
WBC 8.2 (4.0-9.0)
HCT 0.379 (0.400-0.5040)
MCV 77 (80-100)
MCH 27.3 (27-23)
MCHC 356 (320-260)
RDW 14.8 (11.5. - 14.5)
PLT 445 (120-380)
PDW 14.8 (10.0-15.0)

Urine: normal

I'm praying it's just hemorrhoids tomorrow!

Sorry if this is a bit gross!

You didn't list everything! What's your Erythrocyte count and your Hemoglobin level? You need to have those!
You've got a better chance of winning the Powerball than having colon cancer at your age. It's likely hemorrhoids, maybe some vascular anomaly causing the bleeding... or something else entirely...

Samuel James7 said:Anyone know if Person A can basically act like a walking trigger for Person B? Like, if Person A never fully cleared some viral thing because their immune system is absolute garbage, can they just constantly spark a reaction in Person B, even if Person B actually beat the illness? Just wondering if that kind of lingering stuff is even a thing.
It’s pretty specific. Every time I actually sit down and talk to this person, everything's fine for a week or two—no coughing, I wake up feeling solid, totally fine. Then, the second we hang out in close proximity, the cough hits and my nose starts running like crazy. It’s obvious. My physical state is basically tied directly to whether or not I'm in contact with them.
Look, it’s pretty much a given at this point. As soon as I hit a certain age, my contact sensitivity just goes through the roof. There’s no getting around it. No matter what I do to try and fix it, the irritation just keeps coming right back. It's like my eyes have decided they're done with the whole thing. Just a cycle of dealing with it over and over again.
So, a few hours have passed since that whole conversation went down, and my cough has finally chilled out.
Maybe we're looking at a case of swine flu here. Just a thought. 😁

Look, there’s no such thing as a permanent state of being contagious with the flu. If someone actually has the flu, they’re infectious for the first few days of the illness, and once they’ve recovered, that’s it—they aren't spreading it anymore. From what I can gather here, you’re claiming you hang out with someone and then immediately start coughing—what are we talking, a few minutes or hours later?—and then the cough just settles down after a few hours? That doesn't add up. You have to understand that illnesses caused by viruses or bacteria have an incubation period. There is a specific window of time between the moment you're exposed to a pathogen and when those symptoms actually show up. It is physically impossible for you to start coughing just minutes or a couple of hours after contact and then have it vanish a few hours later. If you really are coughing like that, I’d seriously re-evaluate what's actually going on. If I were in your shoes, I’d be looking at allergies, especially if the sneezing and coughing are hitting you all at once. Allergic rhinosinusitis, for example, kicks in almost instantly after you hit an allergen—we're talking seconds or minutes. Infectious bugs are much slower than that. They take their time. Peace.

mistymaker8 said:Heart?? What, is there something wrong with him????
Honestly, I don't even know how long I've been dealing with this anemia or when this fever started. To be real, I can't even feel the temperature most of the time, but then I go to measure it and—boom—no fever. So, it’s not happening every single day. I almost never go to see doctors, and that blood work? That was actually the first time in my entire life I ever had my blood drawn. It’s a whole long story involving a trip to the Emergency Room. As far as family history goes—not that I know much since I lost touch with basically everyone during the war, except for my grandma on my dad's side who has diabetes—nobody else seems to have any of these issues.
Joints aren't hurting, muscles feel fine, nothing there. It's just my back that's absolutely killing me. Skin looks okay, lymph nodes aren't swollen or anything. Throat is still constantly red, too. Wakes up stinging every single morning, but I’m assuming that’s just from all the snoring. 🙄

Look, I'm not saying nothing's wrong here. It's just that there's no way for me to know that through some online forum, no matter how much I might want to. 🙂So, regarding your blood pressure—you mentioned being a few pounds overweight, and honestly, looking at that lipemic serum, your cholesterol is probably elevated too. That combo isn't exactly a love letter to your heart as you get older, but hey, at least your BP is sitting at a normal level for now. So, fine. As for the labs, sedimentation levels tend to lag behind; they drop much slower once inflammation starts settling down. CRP is a way more reliable indicator if you want the real story. You should probably just run the tests again in a week or two. If the leukocytes, CRP, and sedimentation are all trending down, then you know things are actually calming down. Go see your doctor. If they think you need antibiotics but Silapen is messing with your system, tell them to switch it up and prescribe something else. Honestly, unless you’re dealing with a massive fever or feeling absolutely miserable, that throat issue will likely clear itself up, and your next round of labs might actually look normal. 🙂Look, regarding your liver situation—honestly, I think you’re dealing with a fatty liver. You really need to get a handle on that through your diet and hitting the gym more consistently. If you start feeling any pain around your kidney area, though, don't just ignore it. It would be a smart move to go get checked out. If your doctor suggests it, getting a kidney ultrasound and running another urine test wouldn't be a bad idea either.

Sarah Wells23 said:What these blood results suggest:
Erythrocyte Sedimentation Rate: 27 (4-24)
Leukocytes 11.7 (3.4-9.7)
Neutrophil Granulocytes 7.50 (2.06-6.49)
Eosinophil Granulocytes 0.50 (0-0.43)
Immunoglobulin E 156.3 ( Everything else looks fine. I have no clue what these granulocytes even are or what they do. I'm getting bloodwork done because of some allergy and a skin rash, but in the meantime, I've also come down with a fever and a runny nose.
Question: Are these leukocyte levels considered extremely high? And if not, what actually qualifies as "extremely high," so I don't have to bother asking on the forum every single time I get my labs back? 🙂

Look, you can't just look at the leukocyte count in a vacuum; you have to weigh it against the rest of your lab work and how you actually feel. An extreme value would be something like 100x10^9/L seen in chronic leukemia, but even something like 20x10^9/L is pretty high and definitely concerning if you’re dealing with pneumonia. Then again, someone could have a perfectly normal leukocyte count and still have acute leukemia, so...
Anyway, your leukocytes are slightly elevated, probably due to that inflammation you mentioned. Granulocytes are just a subtype of leukocytes, and your numbers are only negligibly higher than the reference range—which makes sense given the inflammation, since granulocytes usually spike during an infection, driving up the total leukocyte count.
Your IgE is up, likely because of the allergy you mentioned, and eosinophils tend to climb during allergic reactions too.
Bottom line: I wouldn't sweat it. Most likely, that inflammation is just running its course and your numbers will start heading back to normal soon.

mistymaker8 said:Hemoglobin was within the normal range and stayed there—lowest point was 125. Iron came back at 6.2 L, TIBC was 57.8, UIBC was 51.6, and FE was 163.5 H. Basically, everything looks fine except for those specific numbers I mentioned.
It’s not anemia from my period since they aren't heavy, and sometimes I miss my cycle for months anyway because of PCOS.
Blood pressure hits 130/80 occasionally (why are you asking about BP?)
GGT is sitting at 22 now.
Had my OBGYN exam and everything checked out fine, aside from some Candida which I dealt with. I didn't get any swabs done, so I don't know if anything else is hiding there.
Thanks so much for the effort and all the answers.
Oh, and I often get low-grade fevers in the afternoons and evenings.
37-37.2-37.4

I'm asking about blood pressure just for heart health reasons. Pressure is fine. Those low-grade fevers can be a sign of something underlying, or sometimes people live with them for years without knowing why and stay perfectly healthy. When did these low-grade temps start? Was it before the anemia? Does it happen every day? Anyone in your family dealing with stuff like rheumatoid arthritis, lupus, or thyroid issues? Anything else you've noticed—maybe joint or muscle pain, a skin rash, or swollen lymph nodes? 🙂

mistymaker8 said:First off, thanks for getting back to me.
I’m monitoring my blood work because of anemia, though they still haven't figured out the cause—no official diagnosis yet. The symptoms that actually sent me looking for answers were these sharp pains in my left chest after eating. It went on for days, but I just brushed it off thinking it would pass. Eventually, I ended up in the ER where they scanned my heart and lungs, and this was the report: On the examined imaging of the thoracic organs, there is appropriate translucency of the lung parenchyma, with no signs of inflammatory consolidation or congestion.
The domes are sharply outlined and neatly reduced; the posterior sinuses are clear.
The hila are somewhat more prominent and vascular.
The cardiovascular shadow shows a hypertonic configuration with a normal transverse diameter.
They didn't really explain any of this to me; they just said everything looks fine??
My blood work showed elevated Leukocytes at 16.2 H, Erythrocytes at 5.11 H, MCV 78.5 L, MCH 25.4 L, GGT 39 H, glucose 7 H, and CRP 22.7 H; everything else was normal.
They told me I have some kind of infection and to follow up with my doctor. My doctor concluded it was strep throat since my throat looked red. I was prescribed Amoxicillin, which didn't help the redness, so then I got Silapen, which started causing pain in my liver and kidney area, along with some gynecological issues.
I honestly don't know if all of this is a side effect of the Silapen or if I've just been dealing with all these issues without knowing it. I still don't have a real diagnosis.
I'm 26 and carrying some extra weight.
My DKS is fine.
Liver tests look okay except for the Alkaline phosphatase, which is low at 46 L.
Total Bilirubin is fine at 6.5.

Your hemoglobin is probably low too, given the anemia—you didn't mention it. For women, anemia is most commonly iron deficiency (often due to menstrual cycles), but you didn't list your Iron, UIBC, TIBC, or Ferritin levels. Your chest X-ray is within normal limits. What about your blood pressure?? Is it high?
Silapen can (just like a lot of other meds) cause liver issues like hepatitis or cholestasis, but even then, it isn't super common for Silapen. Allergic reactions happen way more often. If your AST, ALT, Bilirubin, and Alkaline are fine—and looking at your GGT, which is almost normal—then the liver probably isn't the main issue. It could be fatty liver (diffuse lesion), which happens a lot with people who are slightly overweight and maybe have a less-than-ideal diet, especially if cholesterol, LDL, or Triglyceride 2.7 levels are up. That pain could also be stomach-related, especially if it hits right after you eat. If it's bothering you, go see a gastroenterologist; you might have gastritis or a hernia. Everything else points toward an infection, and now we just need to find where it is... Have you seen a gynecologist? They can sometimes catch those "silent" infections that linger for a long time.

mistymaker8 said:I'd love your opinion on these results: my leukocytes have been high for months—16, 14, 12, 4, then 12.8
latest results:
CBC:
leukocytes 13.5 H
sedimentation 26 H (was 40)
MCV 80.7 L
MCH 27 L

BIOCHEMISTRY:
glucose 6.2 H (was 7)
Alkaline phosphatase 46 L
lipemic serum

24h URINE BIOCHEMICAL TESTS:
total protein (dU) 172 H
protein/creatinine 109 H

Ultrasound:
Liver shows diffuse hyperechogenicity and borderline dimensions—signs of diffuse lesions.
Everything else looks fine

Please tell me what this points to; I'm not pregnant. I have some pain in the area of my liver and right kidney, and it all started while taking a second dose of the antibiotic Silapen 1500 3x1
Thanks

Hmm, it’s tough to say anything definitive just based on a CBC. It's incredibly non-specific. For instance, someone could have leukemia and still show a perfectly normal leukocyte count. A blood panel like this, without any extra context, could point to a thousand different things. To actually comment on this, you need to explain why you've even been monitoring your blood work for months. Do you have a diagnosis? What kind of symptoms are we talking about? And when were you on Silapen, and for what reason? Usually, elevated leukocytes suggest a bacterial infection, but there are plenty of other possibilities. What does your metabolic panel look like??

Liver: Diffuse hyperechogenicity basically means there's a diffuse lesion in the liver—most likely fatty changes, but it could also be some kind of hepatitis. How much do you weigh and how old are you??
Lipemic serum: this means you probably have high lipid levels. Elevated sedimentation: sedimentation is a non-specific inflammatory marker indicating some sort of inflammatory process, though most of the time, the speed of sedimentation depends on other factors too, so it isn't the best indicator. What's your CRP?
Alkaline phosphatase: often elevated in cases of intrahepatic bile stasis (which can happen with hepatitis or other liver issues). What are your AST, ALT, and GGT levels? Conjugated Bilirubin?

Look, you’ve gotta take this stuff with a massive grain of salt. If someone wants to claim something actually causes or contributes to cancer, they need to PROVE it. Period. Just because a lightbulb emits phenol isn't some kind of smoking gun. Proving causation is heavy lifting—we're talking massive sample sizes, control groups, airtight methodology, and peer-reviewability. That kind of rigor exists, and it's standard for a reason. The real issue here is the actual source material. This piece in The New York Times feels more like a journalist's loose interpretation than an actual scientific paper. Seriously, steer clear of the sensationalism.

Lisa Brooks44 said:I have a quick question about some blood work results. My daughter (2.5 years old) has a few little lumps on the right side of her neck. Her blood work shows: segmented granulocytes 0.238 (0.340-0.720); lymphocytes 0.648 (0.190-0.520); leukocytes 5.9 (6.0-16.0); everything else looks normal (LDH 219 (150-360).
What does this point toward? Thanks

Most likely just a virus. The blood work is only slightly off, and those "lumps" are probably just reactive lymph nodes left over from some kind of infection—likely viral.

Brenda Lewis43 said:Hey

Does a glucose level of 8 mean diabetes?
Could this just be a temporary thing passing through?

Who are we talking about here? A 3-year-old kid or an 86-year-old grandma? Does the person actually have symptoms (like hitting the bathroom constantly or being thirsty??), and are they overweight? There’s way too much context needed; you can't just look at one lab result and call it. There are different types of diabetes depending on age, too. They really need to run some functional tests, like an OGTT... A glucose reading of 8 on its own doesn't tell you anything! peace

Sandra Brooks91 said:Thanks for getting back to me. My Leukocytes are at 7 (normal range 3.4-9.7), AST is 17 (8-30), ALT is 10 (10-36), and GGT is 14 (9-35)... so basically everything is within the normal limits, even if that ALT is hovering near the edge. I had these tests done because my menstrual cycle has been acting up and for routine LDL monitoring, which I haven't managed to calculate yet.🙂

Your LDL cholesterol is: 7.18
Formula: LDL = Total cholesterol - HDL - (Triglycerides x .20)
or LDL = cholesterol - (HDL + triglycerides/5)

Look, your ALT is perfectly fine, not "on the edge." If we were actually talking about a borderline case, we'd say it's when it hits the upper limit—that's the only time it actually matters. Generally speaking, women have slightly lower iron levels due to their cycles, so their reserves aren't quite what men's are. Having slightly elevated iron on its own doesn't tell us anything significant. Especially since your liver enzymes look solid. If your liver enzymes were through the roof, we might have some things to consider, but this isolated thing? Don't sweat it.🙂

crimsonstag11 said:Thanks for the quick reply 🙂

Since this is my first checkup, what’s the deal? Are they gonna jump straight to an ultrasound or what?

Here’s how it goes down: The doctor is gonna start with your history—basically grilling you on when things started, any past health issues, specific symptoms, meds you're on, etc. They need the full picture. After that, it's a physical exam. They'll feel for nodes, not just in your neck but under your arms and in your groin too, poke at your stomach, listen to your heart and lungs... I doubt they'll order an ultrasound right off the bat. If they think it's necessary, they'll prescribe more tests after the initial exam.

Sandra Brooks91 said:So, you want to figure out your LDL? Not exactly the most fun math problem to tackle while staring at a lab report, but here we go. Basically, if you aren't looking at a direct measurement—which some labs do, but not all—you’re stuck using what doctors call the Friedewald formula. It’s the standard way they crunch the numbers in the States. Here is the breakdown: **LDL = Total Cholesterol – HDL – (Triglycerides / 5)** That's it. That's the whole "secret" formula. To make it work, you just need three specific pieces of data from your blood work: 1. Your **Total Cholesterol** number. 2. Your **HDL** (the "good" stuff). 3. Your **Triglycerides**. Just plug them in, and boom—there's your LDL. One quick heads-up, though: this formula isn't perfect. If your Triglycerides are sky-high (like, over 400 mg/dL), the math starts getting wonky and unreliable. In those cases, the calculation can give you a weirdly low number that doesn't actually reflect reality. If that happens, your doctor will likely order a "Direct LDL" test instead, which bypasses the math entirely and just measures the particles directly. But for most people staring at a standard panel, the formula above is how the sausage gets made. Usually, there’s a bunch of extra info on the lab results, but right now all I’ve got are these values:
HDL 2.82. Low. Real low. Just sitting there looking at the numbers like they’re supposed to mean something more than just a bad sign. Honestly, seeing an HDL that low is basically a red flag from your own body. It’s not exactly a gold star on your medical report. I’ve seen some weird stuff, but this is definitely heading in the wrong direction. Needs work. Lots of it.
Cholesterol at 10.3. Yeah. Just saying.
Triglyceride 1.48. Pretty much textbook.

I asked about that down below, but then I see this thread exists too;
So, my Iron levels are through the roof.
Iron 35.1 (8-30). Just a quick heads-up on my latest labs—looks like my Iron is sitting at 35.1, which is slightly north of that standard 8 to 30 range. Not exactly a crisis, but definitely worth keeping an eye on.
TIBC 78.4 (49-75)
TIBC is looking fine at 43.3 (range is 26-59). No issues there.

On top of everything else, my Segmental [DKS?] is sitting at 41.9, while the normal range is supposed to be between 44 and 72. Just great.

Anyone have any clue why my bile levels spiked?
I was dead certain I was just dealing with anemia...

I don't eat meat, I don't smoke, and I don't drink. Just for context: 30 grams. Female, 58 kg, 168 cm.
Thanks!

Why did you even bother searching for all that? Look, your Iron is slightly elevated, but you have to realize that variations happen—both between different people and between different labs. Reference ranges aren't some universal law; they change from one lab to the next. Just because you’re a tiny bit over what a lab calls the "normal limit" doesn't mean you actually have a clinical issue. It’s not that deep. As for the DKS, it’s probably totally fine regardless of that slight dip in unsegmented neutrophils (you didn't list the other cell counts, so I’m assuming everything else is within range). Honestly, DKS on its own doesn't mean a damn thing! You have to look at the absolute leukocyte count to make any sense of it. For example, someone could have an absolute leukocyte count 20 times higher than normal—which points toward leukemia—while their DKS looks perfectly normal. If you aren't feeling like garbage, your results are likely fine. What about your liver enzymes? How are your AST, ALT, and GGT looking? Also, can you repost those results for which week they were taken? 🙂 Hey there.

crimsonstag11 said:Hey everyone,

I've got an appointment scheduled with Dr. Radman at Mount Sinai because I'm dealing with some swollen lymph nodes in my neck. Has anyone here actually seen him before? What's his deal as a doctor?

Thanks

hey, Dr. Radman is a solid doctor, just like the rest of the hematology crew over at Mount Sinai. You're in good hands 🙂

Maria Perez46 said:I'm not originally from New York City, but I live here now. Yeah, that's exactly what I thought once my GP handed me the referral.

The only thing I've heard is that waiting for an appointment with an immunologist can take months. Does anyone actually know if that's true?

Hmm, honestly, I have no clue. It’s totally possible, though. There are way too many patients and not enough doctors because the government is always pinching pennies on healthcare :/ so yeah, could easily be. If you want, I can shoot you a DM with a recommendation for someone, then you can figure things out with your own doctor from there.