Sunmountain's Log

[sunmountain]

The labs are taking longer than usual this time.

While things have been VERY up and down lately (really good days and really tired days), and it's early to tell, but I think the magnesium is kicking butt. I'm taking a lot too: 2 capsules X 2 daily, each cap 200g. A couple of days ago I started taking about the same amount oyster powder with it too. Today I had especially good poops...aaaahhh!!!...sorry TMI!! With good evacuation, I feel more energetic too.

I've also reduced thyroid, which has brought heartbeat to more normal, but the challenge now is to find the right dosage.

I do hope the high magnesium will not cause other problems.

Haidut suggested checking ceruloplasmin for hypermetabolism. I'll request that of doc in a few days.

 

[Blossom]

Haidut suggested checking ceruloplasmin for hypermetabolism. I'll request that of doc in a few days.

Interesting. I'm curious to learn more about what this test could mean for you and excited for your thyroid test results too!

 

[sunmountain]

Total T3: 1.11 (0.8-2.00); April 2015 1.44
Free T4: 0.8 (0.8-1.8); April 2015 0.8
TSh: <0.02; October 2015 2.01

Phosphorus: 4.0 (2.7-4.5)
Potassium 4.8 (3.5-5.1)

Urea Nitrogen 18 (7-22); Oct 2015: 11
Creatinine 0.5; Oct 2015: 0.6

Glucose 120; Oct 2015: 104

ALP 140 (30-120); Oct 2015: 139
ALT 26 (0-31); Oct 2015: 36
AST: 19 (0-31): Oct 2015: 30

BUN/Creatinine: 36; Oct 2015: 18

- My TSH has never been below 2. This is amazing!
- Phosphorus seems high, but I eat meat rarely?
- Urea Nitrogen has increased a lot -- due to edema?
- Glucose is off the charts??!!! Refeeding? Temporary?
- ALT and AST are down a lot: Yay for Livercare formula!
- Why is ALP still high?

 

[sunmountain]

I'll be adding aspirin and Niacinamide when I take Preg -- this combination should help glucose metabolism, per Haidut.

Also switching to Mg Glycinate from aspartate.

Will continue Ayurvedic formulas.

Will reduce protein from farmer cheese and high-protein Greek yogurt since urea nitrogen is high. Will replace with more potatoes and lower-protein Greek yogurt, and much less farmer cheese if at all. Will also start back potato broth.

 

[sunmountain]

Wait!! The blood glucose reading in the metabolic panel above is NOT FASTING!! Phew!! It was taken at 5:15pm. I had asked the doc if I needed to fast before the labs, and she had said no. So I was surprised to see this high number because lately I have not experienced the usual sugar symptoms.

I couldn't find information whether the previous reading was fasting or not.

I will check fasting sugar and request ceruloplasmin.

 

[Blossom]

Wait!! The blood glucose reading in the metabolic panel above is NOT FASTING!! Phew!! It was taken at 5:15pm. I had asked the doc if I needed to fast before the labs, and she had said no. So I was surprised to see this high number because lately I have not experienced the usual sugar symptoms.

I couldn't find information whether the previous reading was fasting or not.

I will check fasting sugar and request ceruloplasmin.

Oh that's great news!!!!

 

[sunmountain]

I did a stupid thing last night at dinner. I had some VERY concentrated potato broth that I had made a couple days earlier. I mixed it with the water for boiling rice. Then last night I couldn't sleep at all. I was wired. And I started to pee and get thirsty. This went on all night. It continued in the morning and afternoon today, too. Now the frequent peeing has stopped, thirst is more normal, but low back is hurting a lot, and am feeling very tired.

I had called the doc-on-call in the morning, and he said he would call in labs tomorrow morning. I wonder if I peed out all my potassium and god knows what else.

Also about two weeks ago, I had maybe 4 oz of this concentrated potato broth with a sugary/starchy breakfast, and mid-morning, my blood sugar crashed. It has not crashed since a long time.

SO...

How does too much protein (potato broth) translate into diuresis? I guess the body is trying to get rid of toxic waste?

Anyway, if anyone has any idea how to alleviate the low back pain, please weigh in. Usually I take my Ayurvedic formula which keeps it more or less in check, but I am skipping it today and possibly tomorrow.

Did fasting sugar labs last week. Waiting results (with bated breath)...

 

[Blossom]

I mixed it with the water for boiling rice

I would be most suspicious of the water for boiling rice possibly being an issue.

Cooking to lower arsenic levels
You may be able to cut your exposure to inorganic arsenic in any type of rice by rinsing raw rice thoroughly before cooking, using a ratio of 6 cups water to 1 cup rice, and draining the excess water afterward. That is a traditional method of cooking rice in Asia. The modern technique of cooking rice in water that is entirely absorbed by the grains has been promoted because it allows rice to retain more of its vitamins and other nutrients. But even though you may sacrifice some of rice's nutritional value, research has shown that rinsing and using more water removes about 30 percent of the rice's inorganic arsenic content.

Which Rice Has the Least Arsenic? - Consumer Reports

I'm not implying you were poisoned or anything but it could possibly be enough arsenic to effect you if you are already struggling.

 

[sunmountain]

Thanks, Blossom. I had not known about arsenic in rice. The rice I eat is organic basmati from Trader Joe's sourced from India. According to your link, it and California rice has half or less the arsenic than other rice. I do admit I cook with water absorbing, so that is a change easily made.

I don't know if it's the arsenic this time, though, as the water in rice was quite little compared to the potato broth, which was super concentrated. I had boiled several large potatoes (sliced thin) down to very little water.

Further, I have reduced protein quite a lot and am not eating farmer cheese at dinner anymore (rarely). I've also given up Nancy's honey Greek yogurt with 23g protein and switched to regular Greek yogurt with much less. My labs from last week are in, and BUN is down several points, and my low back pain less. Although I've begun experimenting with betaine HCL again at dinner, and this time it seems to be ok considering the large amount I'm eating, so I may try reintroducing farmer cheese down the line.

Sadly my fasting sugar is still compromised at 103. Sigh.

And my ALP is one point higher at 141. Crazy. If it's a clogged bile duct, how does one unclog it?? Or what test does one do to figure out what is causing this elevation?

My AST and ALT went down even more in just two weeks since the last labs to exactly half of what they were in October when they went past the upper range. I'm continuing to take the LiverCare, so probably they will drop to zero at some point in the near future. I'm not sure what it MEANS to de-fat my liver in terms of what I can eat, if a bile duct is clogged.

Constipation is still the elephant in the room. I'm not touching stimulants anymore. It's just down to one tablet Triphala and 800mg Mg Gly divided daily. Sometimes this cuts it, and sometimes not, and then life is very uncomfortable. BTW, I noticed that gutsense.org's constipation relief formula contains Mg and Vit C, mainly. Triphala contains Vit C in its tropical fruit, and I'm supplementing Mg.

I've ordered some high quality Shilajit to try. It has many benefits. Gbolduev was also going on about it.

Today I wished these problems would just go away, my fasting sugar would get fixed, and I could eat lots of protein without back pain or a peeing/thirst storm.

 

[tara]

800mg Mg Gly divided daily

Is that 800mg of Mg from Mg glycinate, or 800mg Mg glycinate? If it's the latter, you could consider trying a bit more?

If it's a clogged bile duct, how does one unclog it??

Not had any experience with this, but aside from the full on liver flush methods, I think just drinking apple juice is one way people say can help soften stones? Not sure if there's scientific or other good evidence for that.

 

[Blossom]

I'm sorry if my post about the rice water seemed alarmist. It's good you are using a rice that isn't high in arsenic and everything is fine on that front. That was probably the last thing you needed to read when feeling ill.

If it makes you feel any better I had similar fasting blood sugar readings at one point and it did gradually normalize with time. It sounds like you are staying on top of things.

 

[Giraffe]

Constipation is still the elephant in the room.

I think that niacinamide speeds things up for me.

 

[sunmountain]

Hi Tara, that's a brilliant suggestion. I just looked up the Mg bottle...it's Pure Encapsulations per Dan's website, and it says 120mg Mg (as Mg Gly) per capsule. So it would seem I'm not actually getting all that much with 4 capsules, so I can definitely increase and see what happens.

The Betaine HCL experiment also seems to be going fine so far, with no stomach issues. I may have to try an increased dosage. I'm wondering how do I know what is happening to the protein after it has been broken down by HCL and passed into the SI. How do I know it's being further worked on there? How do I know if the amino acids product is going into the blood, and from there getting used up in the appropriate way?

I guess if the protein digestion is not happening beyond the stomach, then there would be toxic waste that I would feel? Like ammonia etc.? I'm waking up a bit tired in the morning and wondering if this is the toxic waste from previous night protein in spite of HCL.

About the bile duct, in Dec 2013, I had a CT scan:
In the left lobe of the liver, segment 2, there is a hypodense lesion 1.1 x 1.5 cm, slice 16. 4 mm hypodense lesion is seen in segment 4A on slice 17. Focal fatty infiltration along the falciform ligament noted. No other hepatic lesions. Gallbladder is unremarkable. There is no biliary ductal dilatation. Common bile duct measures 4 mm. Portal vein and hepatic veins are patent. Pancreas and spleen are unremarkable. Adrenal glands and kidneys are normal. Stomach, small bowel and mesentery are unremarkable. Normal appendix, cecum, transverse colon, descending colon. Small diverticula in the sigmoid colon which is redundant. There is no fluid collection or mesenteric fat inflammation in the left lower quadrant to suggest diverticulitis.

Of course, things could have changed since then. It's also interesting to note that there was diverticula back then. I don't know if this has gotten worse and is creating the constipation now. I did ask the GI nurse for a colonscopy recently but they want me to do smartpill which I haven't yet.

Blossom, thanks for the arsenic tip. I'm glad I know. It's no biggie to flush rice water after cooking.

Giraffe, I tried Niacinamide and aspirin recently but bloated up like crazy, so stopped. I might try it again in a while. Thanks for the suggestion.

I'm also wondering if low ALT and AST actually MEAN a non-fatty liver. What does it actually mean to lower these enzymes?

 

[sunmountain]

The excessive thirst and urination again started last night and ongoing. I ate out with friends last night and had a chicken breast and forgot to take HCL with me. But I have been waking up 2 or 3am for a while now and unable to go back to sleep, which makes it hard to get to work next morning. With the thirst and peeing comes anxiety.

I don't know if it's a coincidence or not that it happened both times after protein dinners. It sounds more like a sugar issue. Last night I drank water instead of apple juice as I felt maybe the apple juice was exacerbating the cycle, but water did not stop the cycle.

I wish I knew what to do. Should I cut back on sugar for the time being, on apple juice? Should I try Himalaya's GlucoCare, which both supports pancreas beta cell regeneration but also has a herb that temporarily blocks sugar absorption in the intestines (not good in the long term).

Haidut had said I'm in a cycle of cortisol and high blood sugar and suggested Niacinamide and aspirin in addition to the Preg which I'm already taking. But the first two made me bloat up like crazy. I will try just Niacinamide after breakfast today. I don't want to try aspirin again just yet while I'm experimenting with HCL.

The urinalysis labs from 2-3 days ago came out normal. I wish I didn't feel so panicky.

Adding: Also got a large acne on body yesterday. Most unusual. Maybe sugar issue?

 

[Giraffe]

Do you know if coconut oil has effect on you? Just eat a teaspoon of it when you have symptoms and check if it helps?

 

[Blossom]

don't know if it's a coincidence or not that it happened both times after protein dinners

Are these muscle meat protein meals when this happens? If so balancing the protein with gelatin can help. If you don't tolerate gelatin Mittir has mentioned calcium with muscle meats to balance the phosphorus. Of course adequate carbs too.

 

[sunmountain]

Giraffe, I will certainly try CO next time.

Blossom, this time it was chicken breast but last time it was the super concentrated potato broth. Carbs alongside are there as starch. I'll be getting glycine tomorrow which I plan to take at bedtime -- Haidut suggested to lower cortisol. I can remember to add calcium with chicken, which would be a bit AFTER the meal because I rarely eat meat now, and then outside at a restaurant or someone's house.

Today I ate a burrito at lunch with 2 HCL's. There was no stomach discomfort; in fact the dosage could have been more, but there were isolated twinges of something like pain in various part of the body. I wonder if HCL releases endotoxemia. Or was it something to do with protein digestion, or lack of it. I wonder if I should add protein enzymes along with HCL to help complete digestion. Maybe it was ammonia or other toxin due to incomplete digestion. Also I did not feel hungry for dinner for the first time.

I'll continue to experiment with HCL another day or two and see. I do hope I can sleep through tonight without peeing.

 

[Blossom]

I hope the glycine helps and you are able to start getting some better sleep.

 

[sunmountain]

Slept through. One waking for peeing, went back to sleep. Maybe just catching up previous nights.

Surfed and found out that other users of HCL also report muscle twitches due to magnesium loss. That is incredible because I am supplementing so much Mg, but perhaps not all of it is being utilized. Just from taking HCL a few days, I can feel increased acid before breakfast.

But I think I will lay off the HCL (too demanding of minerals) and switch to another Ayurvedic formula (Trikatu) for increasing stomach acid and aiding digestion, which will be complementary with LiverCare and the formula for back pain. A little fresh ginger in lemon juice and salt before meals will also help, or perhaps ginger tea which is delicious.

Increasing acid could be very important for me to reduce SIBO and stomach bloat. I've posted about that last Fall after Haidut alerted me to it. If I'm still bloated after these changes a couple months from now, then adding back one capsule HCL with meals might be ok.

The other thing is for me to accept that I cannot eat much casein at this time and maybe not for a long time. Small amounts of paneer once or twice a week as I can handle, and I thank God I can at least eat that and can put cream or milk in coffee without problems. I will continue to get protein from lentils and occasional beans, and I know I can handle these fine. I do soak them 24-48 hours before preparation.

The increased Mg along with same dose Triphala is helping constipation. A glass of warm water first thing in morning also helps.

 

[sunmountain]

So my doc thinks my thyroid is suppressed because TSH is <0.02. She wants to do a thyroid ultrasound to check for thyroiditis because I told her I'm basically not taking any thyroid these days because dropping down to 1/8 cynoplus/day is very little. She said unless I am getting thyroid from one of my other supplements, she wants to scan.

I'm wondering what to tell her. I don't think I'm getting thyroid per se from my other supps, but overall my metabolism is better. Though TBH, my waking pulse is around 80 while my temp has stayed the same at 97.2, so technically it's about the same.