Posts by frozenhawk0

melloworca6 said:I can weigh in on this.

Your thyroid hormones look fine (ft3, ft4, tsh), but those anti-TPO antibodies are elevated. Usually, that points to an autoimmune issue like Hashimoto's causing hypothyroidism or Graves' causing hyperthyroidism. Since your hormone levels are still normal, it's probably just the early stages.

The hair loss could definitely be from that. A lot of people start feeling symptoms before the lab work actually shows anything's wrong.

vividsailor7 said:Iron deficiency anemia.
High UK and bad cholesterol.
Elevated thyroid antibodies, though hormones are steady for now.
Bottom line: You should probably take an iron supplement. Definitely fix up the diet (for the anemia and the lipids). Get a thyroid ultrasound.
This is how you write a decent, well-structured inquiry.

Thanks for the quick replies. 🙂
Like I mentioned—I dropped 15kg and I'm trying to eat as clean as possible. Regarding the iron, I don't think it's a diet thing. I've had blood work done over the last few years back home and my iron has never been even close to low. I last had labs done after dieting two months ago and it was fine too... so that's what's confusing me.

Oh, you guys mentioned—could this be why my hair is falling out?
Not to exaggerate, but I feel like I've lost at least 50% of my hair.🙂

If anyone has the patience and wants to take a look at my labs and try to make sense of them, I’d be super grateful!

I got bloodwork done because I lost about 50% of my hair in just one month (diffuse thinning, mostly when washing or in clumps), and I'm getting these rashes/lesions popping up on my body—mostly my chest and arms. I saw a dermatologist who sent me for blood tests to check my thyroid and for H. pylori.
I have PCOS and have been on Diane for three years. Before I started those, I had my thyroid checked and my TSH was 7. No one really reacted to it back then; my endocrinologist just had me retest two months later when the TSH dropped to 2.5. I've never taken anything for my thyroid.
Not sure if this matters, but I lost 15 lbs three months ago.

As for the standard CBC stuff, everything looks okay except my erythrocyte count is 3.73 (ref 3.86-5.08).
Here’s the full biochemistry breakdown:

Glucose 5.4 (4.4-6.4)
Bilirubin-total 6 (3-20)
Urea 3.2 (2.8-8.3)
Creatinine 73 (63-107)
Urate 189 (134-337)
Alkaline phosphatase 49 Aspartate aminotransferase 16 (8-30)
Alanine aminotransferase 9 (10-36)[\B]
GGT 9 (9-35)
Creatine kinase 36 (0-153)
Lactate dehydrogenase 117 Alpha amylase 87 (23-91)
Cholesterol 6.7 Triglycerides 1.52 HDL 1.94 >1.2
LDL 4.10 Potassium 4.7 (3.9-5.1)
Sodium 136 (137-146)
Total calcium 2.42 (2.14-2.53)
Chloride 104 (97-108)
Iron 9 (8-30)
UIBC 72 (26-59)
TIBC 81 (48-79)
Protein 69 (66-81)
Ferritin 5.87 (15-150)

They also ran some markers:
CA 125 33.27 CA 15-3 12.22
Thyroid results:
FT4 12.9 (10-25)
FT3 4.6 (3.6-7.8)
TSH 1.39 (0.4-4.2)
hTgAb 40 TPO-Ab 225 b>

Helicobacter pylori (ELISA)
IgG negative
IgA borderline (they didn't give numbers, just wrote that... and they didn't test for IgM)

Either you pass out or the other guy backs out too.

Regarding this article

Speaking from experience, some of this isn't even true. It says you wait 3 months for an MRI... but when I went to schedule a lumbar MRI back in month 12, the nurse told me there wasn't an opening for at least another 6 months...
Anyway... on that note—huge shoutout and thanks to that nurse. For no particular reason, she was suuuuper nice to me. Basically, when I showed her my EMNG results, she looked horrified and asked how old I was. Once I told her, she decided I was way too young for this and managed to squeeze me in for an MRI in just 3 weeks..

Also, yeah, if there's a doctor here willing to spare 5 minutes to explain an MRI result to me (I have zero clue what I'm looking at, and I've got a 2-month wait to see my orthopedic surgeon).. if such a person exists, please DM me.. Thanks a lot!!!

coppernomad7 said:Uh... how long were you guys actually under anesthesia? Mine should be short, maybe around 15 minutes, but now I'm starting to worry. Given what I'm going in for, I really can't have anything messing with my cycle.😢
I guess my OB-GYN would probably flag any potential issues if there actually were any...

I was there for a few hours. My labs were all fine—the only real issue is that my blood pressure runs a bit low, but that’s just how I’ve always been. Honestly, the anesthesia absolutely wrecked me. It was brutal. I could barely keep my eyes open, and even though it was June and pretty warm out, I couldn't stop shivering. Then I spent two straight days puking my guts out day and night. I didn't manage to eat anything until the third day. Those first two days felt pretty damn awful.
Don't mean to freak anyone out—everyone reacts differently, I guess.
When I walked into the OR, the anesthesiologist tried to push a spinal on me—you know, just numbing the nerves—but I dug my heels in and insisted on going under completely. Even though she wasn't exactly thrilled about my attitude, she kept circling back to the general anesthesia option. I guess she really wanted to go that route.

Angela Martinez said:Can general anesthesia cause a delayed period?

I guess I can't give you a straight answer on that, but I can tell you that general anesthesia mixed with those hospital pain meds—not pills, but the stuff they pump directly into your veins—totally messed up my cycle. Then again, maybe it's just because my body reacts pretty badly to general anesthesia. Meanwhile, the girl next to me in the hospital got her period the very next day. The nurse told her the IV fluids actually triggered it...

Anyone know a solid orthodontist in Chicago who takes insurance? I guess I need someone decent. My bottom teeth are all crowded, but the real nightmare is my crossbite—you can actually see how messed up my jawline looks because of it.
Also, any idea what the damage would be? I have supplemental coverage, but since I'm an adult, I assume I'm paying most of it myself...

Got a bit of a situation... :/
I take birth control pills—mostly for health reasons—but I’ve run out, and I managed to lose my prescription... though I do have the medical report where my doctor officially prescribed them.
Do you think it makes any sense to hit up a pharmacy and try to talk them into giving me the pills without a script, just by showing them that paperwork?
Thanks for any help.