Lab results - looking for opinions [PLEASE READ 1ST POST]

So, is Gilbert syndrome actually treated like a disease—as in, do you actually medicate for it, or do you just sort of live your life and deal with it?

EDIT: And what specific test should I be looking for to know for sure if that's actually what we're dealing with?

George Doyle9 said:Can someone please give me some advice? Should I be looking into more tests because my prolactin is elevated (704.4 mU/L, while the normal range is 72-511) and my free testosterone is at 0.0227 nmol/L (normal range 0.004-0.039)? This is actually my third time checking hormones, and it’s the first time I’ve had my free testosterone checked. In all my previous tests, my prolactin has always been high, but my doctor just brushed it off as stress. Everything else seems fine.
I'm 28, and I've been dealing with excessive hair on my stomach, chest, face, and back since puberty. But lately, the hair is getting longer (like 5mm) and darker. From a gynecological standpoint, everything is supposedly "fine," which is why my primary care physician hasn't referred me anywhere. There isn't a single person in my family with this kind of hair growth issue, but it's driving me absolutely crazy. For years, I was plucking the hair around my nipples with tweezers, and now I've been using depilatory creams on my stomach based on a dermatologist's suggestion—but they just give me breakouts, and I feel like I have to redo it every other day because it grows back so fast. I honestly feel like I'm making things worse. Am I just going to keep getting hairier? Is there any way to actually fix this permanently?

It wouldn't be a bad idea to check in with a gynecologist about whether you need hormone therapy.

I'm 12 weeks pregnant and taking low molecular weight heparin because of the Factor V Leiden mutation and MTFHR.

I just had my first blood work done to see how I'm responding, and the initial results have me a little worried.

PV 1.32 (>0.7)
PV INR 0.9 (2.0-3.5). It says "L" (low) next to it, and the reference range mentions anticoagulant therapy recommendations.

I'm currently on 0.4ml of Fraxiparine, which I get through Petrov Hospital. Right now, I weigh 74kg and am 165cm tall.

Is this INR level something that requires an emergency call, or can it wait until Tuesday when I get the rest of my results and check in with my doctor?

Thanks for any help you can give.

Please help!!!
First time on this forum. I’ve scrolled through the first page, but I’m honestly not sure if I’m even asking this in the right spot...
I had blood work done yesterday. Over the last week, I’ve been running a fever, though I handle it pretty well—anything between 99.5 and 100.4 doesn't really rattle me. But here's the thing: since February, my back has been killing me. I got an MRI which showed two herniated discs—not massive, but they're in a narrow spinal canal. I’ve spent months bouncing between specialists who think those are the culprit, but nobody is offering a real solution. Anyway, at a colleague's suggestion, I went in for blood work yesterday. They called me back in the afternoon saying they "thought" something was off with the sample. So, I went back today to a private clinic to redo it, and they called me back just a few hours later. When I arrived, the internist started reading me the results. I didn't grab a printout because he actually told me not to go looking for "Google diagnoses." He mentioned my white blood cell count is 29,000, and he said something about lymphocytes and T-cells... I can't remember the exact numbers. Half of it is a blur. On top of that, I’ve lost 26 pounds in the last six months (which I originally blamed on my back) and I've lost my appetite. He told me they’re sending the sample to a lab in Washington, D.C. to run a peripheral blood smear or something similar. He wants me to come back Monday for some imaging and said the results from D.C. should be in by then. Does anyone have any idea what might be going on? I can't wait until Monday. A year ago, this same doctor told me I was the picture of perfect health and how lucky everyone was that people were like me. Today, he looked genuinely worried. I know I don't have the full report and I only caught fragments of what he said, but can anyone make sense of this? I can't wait until Mon...

Just did my routine blood work—bam. ALT is at 40, AST is 37. I’m not taking any meds, no alcohol, no birth control, no bile supplements, or anything else that could mess things up. I don't deal with drugs or promiscuity either 🤣. But honestly, I'm spiraling because having these elevated is definitely not ideal. My OB-GYN (who sent me for the tests) wants me to check hepatitis markers—even though I'm not in a high-risk group—while my primary care doctor says there's absolutely nothing to worry about. What else could this be? Is it possible that cycling is throwing the numbers off? I used to ride all the time and everything was fine. Now, I'm hitting the road 16 miles every single day, or whenever I can find a spare moment—usually twice a day for up to 31 miles. I am losing my mind worrying about this.

casualmaker17 said:Please help me!!!
It’s my first time on the forum, I just finished reading through the first page, and honestly, I have no clue if I’m even asking this in the right place...
I had blood work done yesterday, and over the last week, I’ve been running a fever. Usually, I handle things pretty well, so a temperature between 99.5 and 100.4 isn't really a huge deal for me... But... since February, my back has been killing me. I got an MRI and found two herniated discs—nothing massive, but they're in a narrow spinal canal. I’ve been bouncing between specialists for months, and while some think that's the culprit, nobody is actually giving me any real answers... Anyway, on a coworker's suggestion, I went for blood tests yesterday. They called me back in the afternoon saying they "thought" something was off with the sample. So, I went back today to a private clinic to redo everything, and they called me back just a few hours later. When I arrived, the internist started reading me my results, and from what I could catch (he jokingly told me not to go looking for diagnoses on Google), he said my white blood cell count is at 29,000. He mentioned something about lymphocytes, but I can't remember the number, and something about T-cells too... I forgot half of it. All I know is that I’ve lost 12 pounds in the last six months (which I just blamed on my back issues) and I've felt totally wiped out. He told me they’re sending the sample to Washington, D.C. because they need to run a peripheral blood smear or something similar. He wants me to come in Monday for some imaging and said they should have the results back from D.C. by then. Does anyone have any idea what might be going on? I don't think I can wait until Monday! Just a year ago, this same doctor told me I was the picture of perfect health and how lucky everyone was that people were like me, but today, he looked genuinely worried. I know I don't have the full report and I only caught a few details, but can anyone make sense of this? I can't wait till Mon...

You definitely have a good friend in that coworker.
You didn't mention if any other markers are up, like your CRP?
If that fever keeps hanging around, it would be smart to head straight to the ER or an urgent care center (like a local hospital emergency room or an HHS facility...)

I haven't received my lab results yet, so I'm not sure if my CRP is elevated. To be honest, I don't recall it being mentioned, but there's a chance I just missed it. My doctor told me nothing is going to change before Monday. velvetmoose9, you seem more clued in on this stuff than I am, so if you could, let me know what this looks like to you? Thanks in advance!

casualmaker17 said:I haven't gotten my lab results back yet, so I'm honestly not sure if my CRP is elevated. To be truthful, I don't recall the doctor mentioning anything about it, but it's totally possible I just missed it. He told me nothing is going to change until Monday anyway. velvetmoose9, you seem way more clued in on all this stuff than I am, so if you could, please let me know what you think this might be pointing toward? Thanks a bunch!

Well, look, since I don't have the full clinical picture and I haven't seen any of those baseline labs, it wouldn't really be fair of me to start throwing diagnoses around here.
Given everything you've mentioned—the fever and the fact that you're feeling progressively worse—I'd still suggest heading over to the ER as soon as you can.
Keep us posted on how things go when you get a chance, alright? 😉

briskstag13 said:I just went in for some routine blood work, and bam—there it is. ALT 40, AST 37. I’m not taking any meds, I don't touch alcohol, I'm not on birth control, and I stay far away from anything else that could mess with my system. I'm definitely not dealing with drugs or promiscuity either🤣. But honestly, this is eating me alive because those numbers shouldn't be up. My OB-GYN (who actually sent me for the tests) wants me to check hepatitis markers, even though I'm not exactly in a high-risk group, while my primary care doctor is basically telling me there's nothing to worry about. What else could this be? Is it possible that cycling is throwing things off? I used to ride all the time and everything was fine. Now, I barely manage to get out for 16 miles once in a while, maybe twice if I find the time, usually for about 31 miles/day. I am absolutely losing my mind with worry here.

The results are practically normal, but we could probably refine them a bit more.

I just did my usual annual physical—you know, the standard stuff we all do every year (I teach English at a local school here in the States). Everything’s been fine up until now. But this time, my report says: Dx. Z22. Repeat nasal swab with AB and follow therapy based on findings.
Obviously, I'll head in tomorrow or the day after to get that swab done, but I was hoping someone could tell me what this actually means. Is it dangerous? Because it says I'm temporarily unfit for work.
I was born in 1985.

Jesse Foster54 said:I just had my usual annual checkup (I teach English at a school). Everything’s been fine up until now, but this time my report says: Dx. Z22 Repeat nasal swab with antibiogram and follow therapy based on findings.
Obviously, I'll head in tomorrow or the day after to get that swab done, but I was wondering if anyone could tell me what this might actually mean. Is it anything dangerous? It mentions being temporarily unfit for work.
I was born in 1985.

Now, look, I'm just taking a wild guess here—kind of like how VidovitiMilan acts when he's staring at a smoky crystal ball... I don't have the full clinical picture or your actual lab results in front of me.
It looks like they isolated a bacterium from your nose, and again, just guessing here—maybe Staph or Streptococcus. Given that you're working in a school, you might be a potential carrier (if I remember correctly, Z22 refers to being a carrier), which makes you a possible source of infection for all those kids you're surrounded by.
That’s probably why they want you to redo the nasal swab plus the antibiogram; they’ll likely put you on a targeted antibiotic, and then about a week or two after your last dose, you'll need another swab. Based on those results, they'll decide how to move forward.

The big question is: Are YOU actually feeling anything? Any issues with your nose or throat? Do you deal with inflammation in those areas often?

By the way, I have my own take on all this, but since it doesn't exactly align with current medical trends, I think I'll keep it to myself for now. 😬

velvetmoose9 said:Look, I'm just guessing here—kind of like how VidovitiMilan acts when he’s totally lost... I don't see your clinical picture or any lab results.
They isolated a bacterium from your nose, but again, this is just me guessing—could be Staph, or maybe strep. Since you work in a school, you might be a carrier (if I remember correctly, Z22 means carrier status), which makes you a potential source of infection for all those kids around you.
That's why they want a repeat nasal swab plus an antibiogram. You'll probably get a targeted antibiotic, then about a week or two after your last dose, you'll do another swab to decide what happens next.

The big question: Are YOU actually feeling anything in your nose or throat? Do you deal with inflammation in those areas often?

Btw, I have my own take on this, but since it doesn't exactly line up with current medical trends, I'm not gonna say it here. 😬

No issues with my nose or throat, but I had a nasty ear infection last year if that even matters.

Jesse Foster54 said:I don't really have any issues with my nose or throat right now, but I did deal with a nasty ear infection last year, if that's even relevant.

Honestly, it probably just has more to do with being around way too many people all day; it’s almost inevitable that someone is going to pass some random bacteria your way.

Feel free to ask your primary care doctor if they plan on swabbing and putting everyone—all your students and colleagues you're constantly rubbing elbows with—on antibiotics based on an antibiogram, too. ☕
Go ahead and ask how long it’ll be before you pick up another bug from those same "sources" right after finishing a targeted course of antibiotics. ☕

I’m mostly worried that this is just how the whole medical system is set up, rather than it being anything the individual doctor chooses to do while they're busy following the official "guidelines and protocols." 🙄

velvetmoose9 said:It's probably just because you're hanging out with way too many people. It’s inevitable, really—someone's bound to pass some random bacteria your way.

Maybe just go ahead and ask your attending physician if they plan on swabbing every single one of your students and colleagues you run into, too. I guess they'll just start handing out antibiotics to everyone based on an antibiogram, right? ☕
Also, ask how long it’ll actually take before you end up catching some other bacterium from those same "sources" after finishing targeted antibiotic therapy. ☕

I'm honestly scared. It’s more about how the whole medical establishment is structured than just some individual doctor who's stuck following "protocols and guidelines"... 🙄

Thanks a ton for the answers. So, if I'm following you correctly, I shouldn't really be sweating this too much.

Jesse Foster54 said:Thanks a ton for laying all this out. So, if I'm reading you right, I shouldn't really be sweating this too much, right?.

Based on everything you've shared up to this point—absolutely NOT.
Really appreciate you keeping us in the loop on how the whole situation plays out 😉
.

velvetmoose9 said:Based on what you've told us so far... probably not.
Thanks for keeping us posted on how this whole thing plays out. 😉

Yeah, I'll let you know.

I just went in for my routine annual blood and urine work because of my diagnosis of right renal hypoplasia. Everything looks fine, except for one thing: my red blood cell sediment rate came back at 1 (where the normal range is 2-12), and my total protein in a 24-hour urine test was 0.45 (normal is up to 0.15). Is there any reason for me to be worried about this?

Female, 39, diagnosed with Hashimoto thyroiditis. I've been euthyroid for years without medication—as long as things stay stable, I just follow my doctor's orders
which means checking thyroid hormones once a year and getting an ultrasound

Last year:
TSH 2.17 (0.27-4.2)
T3 1.5 (1.3-3.1)
T4 65 (66-181)
Ultrasound was fine

Now:
TSH 2.38 (0.35-4.94)—same lab, they just updated their reference ranges
T3 1.8 (0.89-2.44)
T4 58 (63-150.84)
FT4 11.4 (9.0-19.05)
Waiting on the ultrasound

Does this T4 level even matter? Is it smarter to just focus on the FT4 and ignore the T4 entirely?

Hey there! I have a quick question about getting some blood work done. My OBGYN sent me for a panel because of my birth control—basically looking at my CBC, liver enzymes, transaminases, urea, creatinine, glucose, a small coagulation profile, and a urine test. Since I’ve been dealing with this weird lower abdominal pain for a few days now (though my doctor already ruled out any gynecological issues), I was wondering if I need to be fasting for these specific tests? Or can I just swing by sometime during the day? Also, if I do need to fast, how long should I go without eating or drinking before heading in? Thanks! 🙂

Jesse Foster54 said:I just went in for my usual annual checkup—you know, the routine physical we all do every year. I teach English at a local school, so I try to stay on top of my health to keep up with the schedule. Everything has always been fine in previous years, but this time, the report came back with a curveball. It says: "Diagnosis Z22. Repeat nasal swab with AB and proceed with therapy based on the findings."
Look, I’m definitely heading in tomorrow or the day after to get that swab done, but in the meantime, I really need some insight here. Can someone please tell me what we might be looking at? Is this actually dangerous? Because seeing "temporarily unfit for work" written there has me seriously on edge.
I was born in 1985.

If your inflammatory markers are normal—I'm talking CRP, CBC, the whole nine yards—and you aren't actually feeling any symptoms, then there is absolutely no point in throwing antibiotics at the problem. Unless, of course, you're actively looking to cause some damage.

Scott Long4 said:I just went in for my routine annual checkup—blood work and urine tests—because of my diagnosis of right renal hypoplasia. Most of the results came back looking fine, but there are two things that caught my eye: my red blood cell sediment rate was 1 (where the normal range is 2-12), and my total protein in my 24-hour urine collection hit 0.45 (with the normal limit being up to 0.15). Does anyone see any reason to actually worry about this?

It would be a huge help if you could provide some more specifics—like age, any complicating lab results, the actual diagnosis, blood pressure, and so on.

Kate Patel59 said:Female, 39 years old. Diagnosed with Hashimoto's thyroiditis. I’ve actually been euthyroid for years now without any medication, and as long as my levels stay steady like this, I just follow my doctor's instructions for monitoring.
Once a year, I get my thyroid hormones checked and have an ultrasound done on my thyroid.

Last year:
TSH is sitting at 2.17 (normal range: 0.27–4.2). Looks like we're right in the sweet spot.
T3 at 1.5 (range 1.3–3.1).
T4 at 65. Let's get into it. (66-181)
HHS is looking okay.

I don't know what to tell you. It’s just depressing.
TSH is 2.38 (range 0.35-4.94). It's the same lab—they just updated their reference values.
T3 at 1.8 (range: 0.89–2.44).
T4 at 58? Seriously? That’s incredibly low. I am honestly stunned. If you aren't already feeling like a total zombie, you should be. This isn't just a minor fluctuation; this is a massive red flag that needs immediate attention. You cannot just sit around and wait for this to fix itself—it won't. Get to your doctor immediately and get this sorted out before things go from bad to worse. (63-150,84)
FT4 is at 11.4, with the standard range listed as 9.0 to 19.05.
I'm just sitting here waiting on the HHS results.

Does this T4 value even matter at all? Is it more sensible to just focus on the FT4 levels and completely ignore the total T4?

Clean up these results.

I don't even know where to begin with this one. It’s just... unbelievable. Truly. kaže:
I'm not even sure where I should be posting this question, so I guess I'll just drop it here...

An ultrasound of my abdomen just turned up a hypoechoic, focal lesion in the head of the pancreas—about 23x12mm—and the etiology is still wide open. My doctor is suspicious of an insulinoma. I’m heading into the hospital in a couple of days to get everything checked out: an MRI, specific markers, endoscopic ultrasound, and endocrine testing specifically for insulinoma. Basically, we're going through the whole gauntlet to finally get some real answers.
I’m looking for a second opinion from a gastroenterologist here. I know an ultrasound isn't exactly the gold standard for checking the stomach because of where it sits in the abdomen. My results seem pretty straightforward, but what else could be going on besides the tumor mentioned in the report? Obviously, an MRI will give us the full picture... but could this be anything else?
Please, I’d really appreciate some insight.

It could be anything, really. It depends on what symptoms you're dealing with, what your fasting glucose looks like, and whether you've had any other diagnostic work done.
And honestly, an MRI might not even be the move here—you probably need an EUS, plus insulin, C-peptide, and CGA levels.

Sandra Rivera59 said:Hi there. I have a quick question about blood work. My gynecologist sent me for some tests due to my birth control (CBC, liver panel, transaminases, urea, creatinine, glucose, a mini coagulogram, and urine). Since I've been having some weird lower abdominal pain for a few days now (though we've ruled out any gyno issues), I was wondering if I need to be fasting for these specific tests? Or can I just get them done during the day? Also, how long should I hold off on eating or using the bathroom? Thanks! 🙂

Yes, you definitely need to be fasting.
Just grab your first morning urine sample in a cup, then go ahead and use the restroom whenever you need to. Once the blood draw is finished, you can eat whatever you want.