Started by Sam Hall15 · · 👁 27 views · 1.8K replies
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Kimberly Edwards2 said:I’m definitely going to seek out another opinion. Even though I saw a specialist internist—and they say he’s top-tier—there’s always that nagging possibility of a mistake or a missed conclusion. Why wouldn't I ask someone else?
Alex Price51 said:Maybe someone knows what these results mean:
Erythrocyte sedimentation rate - 1h value 31 Ref interval 4-24
Otherwise, the blood work is great; everything is within normal limits except
Cholesterol 5.4 Ref value 0-5
LDL cholesterol 3.4 Ref value up to 3
so it's not that bad.
Urinalysis
leukocyte high ref interval 0-2
Squamous epithelial cells Some
Bacteria Some
This is for a 36-year-old woman!
I've never had an elevated erythrocyte sedimentation rate before, so I'm getting a little anxious because the internet says just about anything regarding various diseases!?
Has anyone dealt with something similar??🤷
vividsailor7 said:I guess you guys didn't read the first post. I don't know why.
No, cholesterol is slightly elevated. Everything else looks normal, I guess, if you haven't read my first post yet.
Alex Price51 said:Everything else on the blood work looks fine; basically, everything is within the normal range.
The whole reason I went in for blood work was because I’ve been feeling nauseous and just generally miserable for quite some time now. This nausea? It lasts all damn day!
I dealt with a bladder infection caused by E. coli recently, but I don't have any issues with that right now. Back when I actually had the bladder and vaginal inflammation, my erythrocyte sedimentation rate wasn't even elevated.
melloworca6 said:I have a question for all the doctors on here, but please don't kill me for not typing out my entire lab report—it’s just way too long since I had a full immunological workup done.
I just dug through my latest immunology results and noticed there’s a specific note and a "DZ 97" comment on this one, even though none of my previous lab reports ever had anything like that. I know it's some kind of internal code, but does anyone actually know what DZ 97 stands for? What is it referring to?
So, just to give you some context on my situation: I’m dealing with hypothyroidism, Raynald syndrome, and an undefined collagen disease that they suspect might actually be Sjogren.
Edit: Actually, I’ll just go ahead and transcribe the results since I have them right here in front of me. The reference ranges are in parentheses.
Immunoglobulin G - 25.40 (7.0-16.0)
Immunoglobulin A is sitting at 5.71 (normal range is 0.7 - 4.0).
Immunoglobulin M - 2.56 (0.4-2.3)
C3 - 0.98 (0.9-1.8)
C4 - 0.06 (0.1-0.4)
Circulating immune complexes - 76 ( Serum protein immunofixation electrophoresis results: No monoclonal proteins detected.
Cryoglobulins—not present.
Autoimmune disease serology:
Anti-dsDNA - 23 (negative if under 100)
ENA screen - POSITIVE
Anti-SS-A/Ro testing came back at 859—which is obviously positive since anything over 120 is considered a hit.
Anti-SS-B/La - 314 (positive, anything over 120 is a hit)
Anti-Sm - 156 (positive, anything over 120 is considered high)
Anti-Sm/RNP - 407 (positive, anything above 120 is considered positive)
Anti-Jo-1 - 33 (negative, anything under 100 is negative)
Anti-Scl-70 is sitting at 118—right on the edge of that 100 to 120 threshold. Just hovering there.
Anti-histone antibodies—129 (positive, anything over 120 counts).
Centromere antibodies - 93 (negative if below 100).
Cardiolipin antibody screen - NEGATIVE
Anti-MPO antibodies (pANCA) came back at 81—which is technically negative since anything under 100 is considered normal.
Antibodies for PR-3 - 12 (negative, anything under 100 is fine)
ANF - POSITIVE
ANF titer - 1:10,000 (that is a massively positive titer, anything over 1:3,200 is huge).
ANF fluorescence tip: CYTOPLASMIC AND PUNCTATE
Notes and comments - DZ 97
frozenhawk0 says:
Thyroid labs:
FT4 12.9 (10-25)
FT3 4.6 (3.6-7.8)
TSH 1.39 (0.4-4.2)
hTgAt 40 TPO-At 225 b>
frozenhawk0 says:
I would be so incredibly grateful if someone could please find the patience and willingness to look over my lab results and help me make sense of them!
I had blood work done because I lost about 50% of my hair in just one month (it’s falling out everywhere—diffuse thinning, during washing, and in clumps), and I’m also breaking out in these rash-like spots all over my body (on my chest and arms). I saw a dermatologist who sent me for blood work and told me to get screened for thyroid issues and H. pylori.
By the way, I have PCOS and have been on Diane for three years. Before I started taking those, I had my thyroid checked and my TSH was 7. Nobody really reacted to it at the time; my endocrinologist just sent me back to retest two months later when the TSH had dropped to 2.5—I've never taken anything for my thyroid.
I don't know if this matters, but I lost 15 lbs about three months ago.
As for the "standard" hematology stuff, everything looks fine except for my erythrocytes, which are 3.73 (ref range 3.86-5.08).
I'll type out the full biochemistry panel here:
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]
Gamma-glutamyl transferase 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)
Proteins 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, it just says that... and they didn't test for IgM)
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.
frozenhawk0 said:Thanks for the quick replies. 🙂
Like I mentioned—I’ve dropped 15kg and I’m eating as clean as possible. As far as iron goes, I don't think it's a diet issue. I've had blood work done over the last few years back home and my iron levels have never been anywhere near low. I actually just had blood drawn after my diet two months ago and everything looked fine. That's why I'm confused..
Oh, and you guys mentioned—can this cause hair loss?
Not to exaggerate, but I feel like I've lost at least 50% of my hair. 🙂
frozenhawk0 said:Thanks for the quick replies, everyone! 🙂
Like I mentioned earlier—I’ve dropped 15kg and I'm doing my absolute best to eat right. As far as iron goes, I really don't think it's a diet issue. I've had blood work done over the last few years here at home, and my iron levels have never been anywhere near low. I even had my blood drawn after the diet two months ago, and everything looked fine... so that's what's throwing me off.
Oh, and you guys asked—can this cause hair loss?
Without being dramatic, I feel like I've lost at least 50% of my hair.🙂
melloworca6 said:So, could it actually be lupus?
Regarding those symptoms from my undefined collagen disease, I’ve got swollen joints (especially the small ones in my fingers), dry eyes—basically zero tears, which led to a diagnosis of keratoconjunctivitis sicca—and a dry mouth, meaning no saliva...
Honestly, I don't think Sjogren is even on the table for me right now. My main concern is whether it could be lupus, because both Sjogren and Raynald, along with thyroid issues (they haven't confirmed Hashimoto yet, but there's suspicion since my anti-Tg is borderline), can all be linked back to lupus.
melloworca6 said:So, you think it could actually be Lupus?
Regarding those symptoms from my undefined collagen disorder—I've got swelling in my joints (especially the small ones in my fingers), dry eyes, or rather a total lack of tears (I actually got diagnosed with keratoconjunctivitis sicca), and dry mouth due to a lack of saliva...
Honestly, I don't even think Sjogren is the main issue here. What's eating at me is whether this could actually be Lupus. Both Sjogren and Raynald, along with my thyroid issues (Hashimoto isn't confirmed yet, but there's suspicion because my anti-Tg is right on the borderline), can all be side effects of Lupus.
vividsailor7 said:For Lupus, you look at these markers: Anti-Sm, Anti-Sm/RNP, and Anti-histone. Those are also used for Sy. For Sjogren: Anti-SS-A/Ro and Anti-SS-B/La.
So, it could be Sy.Sjogren or SLE.
Some of the results are borderline high.
The immunologist gets the final say.
If anything else isn't clear, just ask.
melloworca6 said:Comment: hypergammaglobulinemia
So, could you explain what this actually means? It’s really the only thing in my results that I don't understand or why they even tested for it.
