Sunmountain's Log

[sunmountain]

Hi Tara,

Yes, please let me know your knee strengthening exercise. I will try it.

I am really curious as to what might be possible causes of it. It seems like it was related to my IBS-like symptoms of diarrhea/constipation/poor transit because it is much better since all of that resolved. But what is the connection there?

There is still slight knee pain, which may be related to the fact that my stomach is still swelled up. I came back from Mexico with a much flatter stomach, but within a couple days here it went back to the original sticking out. I'm trying to figure out what might be causing the swelling, without much success.

thanks

 

[sunmountain]

I'm also continuing to feel fatigue since Mexico, especially in the mornings, but during the day as well. I've increased thyroid, which is helping some.

I don't really understand the reasons for the fatigue. I've been wondering lately if my cortisol might be too low as I've been on preg for a long time now.

I'm a bit anxious about the fatigue because there is the possibility of advancement at work and full time work sometime in June, and I have no idea how I'm going to manage that. I work part time right now and am immensely grateful that I can. How am I going to work full time plus half hour commute each way just a couple of months from now if I have to push myself to get going in the mornings.

On the plus side, I'm back to drinking a bit of goat milk with coffee in it, and it doesn't seem to make the stomach worse than it is. I do love the taste of milk; it is the ultimate comfort food.

I'm eating a lot these days, pretty much all day. I can tell even without crono that I'm eating much more than ever before. I feel good after eating a lot, even though my stomach expands. I can feel the muscles going up the stairs. So that is all to the good.

I'm eating fresh fruit (cantaloupe, watermelon, mango, etc.), greek yogurt (with a T each sugar and fructose), a bit of milk (cafe au lait with a T each sugar and fructose and glycine), coke, AJ, and foods like homemade chicken soup, crustless cheesecake (made with cottage cheese), crustless quiche, chipotle, occasional pizza, white fish or shrimp once a week, etc.

But I'm also struggling with insomnia again, which puzzles me because I'm eating a lot more.

Sometimes lower back pain when stomach is swelled up.

 

[sunmountain]

Or is it possible the fatigue is related to insulin resistance getting worse...there's another new acne on my back. I suppose I should get a blood glucose monitor.

 

[sunmountain]

The fatigue is still around, as well as the ear congestion. I might have an infection going on. Will contact doc for labs asap.

My daughter sprained her ankle last night and it has swelled up. It hurts her to walk, so she is in bed and missed going to work today. I called the pediatrician and they said to take her to urgent care and get x-rays done. I've read enough about x-rays in here, so wanted to check see if anyone has ideas how to go about it without x-rays.

Thanks

 

[Blossom]

I think they have to recommend an x-ray to cover themselves just in case something is broken. When I was a kid the doc would recommend ice, elevation and rest as a first line approach before jumping immediately into getting an X-Ray unless a break was highly suspected. Today many people are lawsuit happy and the response has been to apply aggressive diagnostics and treatments for fear of litigation. Sorry to ramble on...
If you think it is likely broke you may have to get it done or see if other imaging studies not using radiation would work like ultra sound or MRI. If you go with an alternative imaging study it probably won't be covered by insurance. Messtafarian posted about an affordable stand alone imagining center she went to in the U.S. I think they are popping up everywhere with the fall out from healthcare reform.
Haidut has posted about some protective measures one can do in the event of unavoidable X-Ray exposure. I would search his posts if you need to have her go through with the X-Ray.

 

[Blossom]

Oh, I love your avatar!

 

[sunmountain]

Thanks, Blossom! My daughter stayed in bed all day and rubbed Arnica on it. She says she is feeling better tonight. I got her a bandage and splint, which is also helping.

It would SEEM she doesn't have a fracture -- if it's getting better.

I am advising her not to walk much the next few days even at school.

Thanks for the information about the standalone imaging -- I will find out if there is one in the area, should I ever need it. And I will educate myself about x-ray exposure via a search on Haidut's posts.

 

[tara]

Yes, please let me know your knee strengthening exercise. I will try it.

I am really curious as to what might be possible causes of it. It seems like it was related to my IBS-like symptoms of diarrhea/constipation/poor transit because it is much better since all of that resolved. But what is the connection there?

There is still slight knee pain, which may be related to the fact that my stomach is still swelled up. I came back from Mexico with a much flatter stomach, but within a couple days here it went back to the original sticking out. I'm trying to figure out what might be causing the swelling, without much success.

My dr said it is common for wome to get weak in teh muscles supporting the knee, and for the kneecap to be loose enough to knock around in teh joint and gradually damage it. The exercise he suggested was to sit on a straight chair, back straight and supported, with another chair in front at hte same level to rest your heeel on. then lift our leg straight up just a couple of inches and hold it there. He recommended a minute at a time, but I couldn't hold that long when I first tried, so i just did what i could for few times in a row once or twice a day for a few days, and it made a huge difference. I've just been doing it again recently when my knees got sore again, and seemed to help quickly this time too.
Of course, that might not be your issue, and it might not make any difference for you, but it's an easy thing to try, and if it helps it's worth it.

There might well be other metabolism/water control/arthritic related things going on with your knees too, and exercises alone are unlikely to help that.
I wonder wether eating more again could have put you back into that temporary achey swollen state Gwyneth talks about?

 

[tara]

Thanks, Blossom! My daughter stayed in bed all day and rubbed Arnica on it. She says she is feeling better tonight. I got her a bandage and splint, which is also helping.

It would SEEM she doesn't have a fracture -- if it's getting better.

I am advising her not to walk much the next few days even at school.

Thanks for the information about the standalone imaging -- I will find out if there is one in the area, should I ever need it. And I will educate myself about x-ray exposure via a search on Haidut's posts.

If this were me or my kids, I'd be getting the foot and ankle into a plastic bag full of CO2 for and hour or two or as long as I could organise to help bring healing resources (circulation and oxygen) to the scene of damage. Peat talks in the Buteyko interview about doing this with an injury of his. I've only tried it with very minor things so far, but I think it's been helpful. The logistics of getting a CO2 tank can take a bit of organising, though. Some people have mentioned the possibility of using the CO2 cannisters that are sold for paintball, with an associated valve or regulator to control the flow.

 

[sunmountain]

Thanks, Tara! Would the knee exercise work if I was sitting on the floor, back straight and supported agains the wall, say? The knee should not be bent when lifting it, right?

That's not too hard to do. I will start doing it.

I'm continuing to eat a lot now. After Mexico, I went back on 4mg cypro at bedtime (I had gone off it for a while). This time, it's making a big impact on hunger! I spent the entire weekend cooking and eating. I even made ceviche with shrimp a la Mexico...delish! (though I precooked the shrimp...)

I mostly eat non-starch for breakfast and lunch, and then eat some starch at dinner. It seems to be working for now, and I still eat plenty.

Today I got labwork done for a possible infection. Doc also ordered T3, T4, TSH, so we'll see. I'll know soon.

I hadn't thought of the temporary achy state with more eating. I'm thinking infection because (a) my ears are still congested, (b) my waking temp is about a degree higher than usual, and (c) my acupuncturist felt my wrist and saw my tongue and felt something was going on.

We could be wrong, and if so, it's back to the drawing board. Hmm. Temporary, achy, swollen state. I need to remember that.

I'd love to CO2, but don't know how to rig a canister. Though I could ask my daughter who is scientifically inclined. Would a sodastream canister work? I can look into paintball canister...maybe it's cheaper. Where and what kind of valve/regulator?

I'm sleeping through the nights again. The cypro is helping with that.

 

[sunmountain]

My daughter says her foot is fine now. I hope she'll stay off sports another day.

 

[Blossom]

My daughter says her foot is fine now. I hope she'll stay off sports another day.

Thanks for the update!

 

[sunmountain]

Just got my labs. Doesn't seem to be an infection, though I'm no expert and would wait doc's confirmation. Tara, you might be right, this may be related to refeeding. Acupuncture is helping a lot with the fatigue.

After not quite a year Peating, here are some labs. I'd be SOOO grateful for some feedback from you guys. Some things that stick out to me are:

TSH seems stuck in the 2 range. Last August, it was 2.17.
T4 is at the low end...is this good or bad?
Chloride and Creatinine are at the low end...what does this mean?
CO2 is at the high end!! Yaaay!
Glucose is over the fasting range, but I was not deliberately fasting at around 4pm when labs were taken. Nevertheless, I'm pretty sure my blood glucose will be high at any given time.
What is bilibrubin and why is it so low and what does that mean???
RBC count and hemoglobin on the low side...is this good or bad?
Eosinophils and lymphocytes low, and neutrophils high...what does this mean??

Anyone??

T3 (Triiodothyronine) 0.80-2.00 ng/mL 1.44
Free T4 (Thyroxine, Free) 0.8-1.8 ng/dL 0.8
Thyroid Stim. Hormone 0.50-4.50 u[IU]/mL 2.01

Comprehensive metabolic panel:
Sodium 135-148 meq/L 138
Potassium 3.5-5.1 meq/L 4.8
Chloride 96-109 meq/L 97
Carbon Dioxide 21-31 meq/L 31
Urea Nitrogen 7-22 mg/dL 19
Creatinine 0.5-1.2 mg/dL 0.6
Est GFR Afr American >60
Estimated GFR is calculated from serum creatinine using the
Modification of Diet in Renal Disease (MDRD) equation in
patients 18 years or older.
Reference Range: >60 mL/min/A,(A=1.73 sq m).
Est GFR Non-Afr Amer >60
Estimated GFR is calculated from serum creatinine using the
Modification of Diet in Renal Disease (MDRD) equation in
patients 18 years or older.
Reference Range: >60 mL/min/A,(A=1.73 sq m).
Glucose 60-99 mg/dL 102
Interpretation
Fasting glucose 100-125 mg/dL: Impaired
Fasting glucose>=126 mg/dL: Diagnostic for diabetes
Random glucose>=200 mg/dL: Diagnostic for diabetes when
symptomatic
Calcium 8.4-10.5 mg/dL 9.6
Total Protein 6.0-8.2 g/dL 6.9
Albumin 3.5-5.3 g/dL 4.1
Bilirubin,Total 0.0-1.2 mg/dL <0.2
Result Double Checked
Alkaline Phosphatase 30-120 U/L 119
Aspartate Amino Trans 0-31 U/L 19
Alanine Amino Trans 0-31 U/L 23
Anion Gap 7-16 meq/L 10
BUN / Creatinine Ratio 32
AST/ALT Ratio

CBC:
White Blood Cell Count 4.50-11.00 K/cu mm 7.93
Red Blood Cell Count 4.00-5.20 M/cu mm 4.31
Hemoglobin 12.0-15.0 g/dL 12.8
Hematocrit 36.0-46.0 % 39.5
Mean Corpuscular Volume 80.0-100.0 fL 91.6
Mean Corpus Hgb 26.0-34.0 pg 29.7
Mean Corpus Hgb Conc 31.0-37.0 g/dL 32.4
RBC Distribution Width 11.5-14.5 % 14.8
Platelet Count 150-350 K/cu mm 247
Mean Platelet Volume 9.2-12.7 fL 10.2
Neutrophil % 40.0-70.0 % 71.1
Lymphocytes % 24.0-44.0 % 23.6
Monocyte % 2.0-11.0 % 4.3
Eosinophil % 1.0-4.0 % 0.9
Basophil % 0.0-2.0 % 0.1
ANC-Neutrophil Absolute 1.50-7.80 K/cu mm 5.64
Lymphcytes Absolute 1.10-4.80 K/cu mm 1.87
Monocyte Absolute 0.10-1.20 K/cu mm 0.34
Eosinophil Absolute 0.12-0.30 K/cu mm

 

[tara]

Thanks, Tara! Would the knee exercise work if I was sitting on the floor, back straight and supported agains the wall, say? The knee should not be bent when lifting it, right?

That's not too hard to do. I will start doing it.

Don't see why it wouldn't be just as good, as long as you can support your back either from your own strength or with a wall. Yes, knee straight.

 

[Blossom]

Low creatinine can mean muscle loss, liver disease or not enough protein in the diet according to my lab report discussion. Mine was in the low normal range like yours when I had blood work last fall. I think your glucose is fine in light of the fact that you were not fasting.
Edit: just wanted to add I had low bilirubin too but I can't find any information on what low bilirubin means if anything. Maybe someone here will know!

 

[tara]

Glad your daughter is recovering so well.
I've never seen or used the paintball CO2 cannisters. I have a larger tank, and a hand-controlled valve and a hose that works OK for me. I just have to guard against ice burns or freezing my hand to the valve if I turn it on too fast - sudden pressure drop as gas escapes makes it very cold. I wrapped insulation around the metal at the top to prevent this.

 

[Blossom]

I agree with Tara about the arches and pains possibly being related to refeeding. I've definitely experienced that myself. :)

 

[tara]

I'm not good at reading labs, other than I know TSH2.17 is higher than Peat would expect to be compatible with full health (similar to mine at last reading). But for the sake of others how may be better at it, can you spell out how recently and how much you had been supplementing T3 and/or T4 before the tests?

 

[sunmountain]

I've needed to lower thyroid since about daylight savings time. I take a nibble of cynoplus at bedtime (down from nearly a quarter in the depths of winter), and a nibble of T3 at breakfast. That's about it. If I take more than the above cynoplus at bedtime, I stay awake with quickened heartbeat.

Since my free T4 (not sure what "free" means) is at the low end, I wonder if I should take more T4 as that can help in lowering TSH? For quite a while now, my TSH seems stuck in the 2 range.

Yea, Blossom, since infection is out (why is my waking temp elevated?), I'm coming around to that it's refeeding. Really, I'm pigging out these days and enjoying it! I know I'm eating a lot of protein, so that can't be the reason for low creatinine, but muscle loss and liver problems sound about right. Did those reverse for you as you recovered, Blossom?

 

[tara]

Waking temps can be elevated by stress hormones from a night of darkness and fasting. If they come down after breakfast, I think that confirms it.