Hi Penny.
Just a couple notes and BTW, you're welcome.
1. Gluten effects may linger around after going gluten-free for up to a few months, even if some improvement may be felt from the beginning.
2. Doctors may not be open to these concepts are some of them may not be considered "established" by conventional medicine, which is likely the reason you are here today.
If you have a very open minded doctor, this would be a great asset for you in your quest for better health.
You may also want to look into the possibility to seek out a natural health practitioner.
Love & Light
Niko
Wow thank you so much for your comment, I would have never thought of most of those things as a possibility. I really want to try going gluten and dairy free for a couple of weeks to see if that helps, its always worth a try. Ive been to 3 different gps because two of them decided to just blow off my symptoms as anxiety and suggested I see a councilor. Which I admit I have bad anxiety at the moment but I never had any anxiety before I fell ill, and have always been a carefree person. And I also asked one of those gps if it could be something that im eating making me ill and he said no that I would have eaten most things by now and I would have had symptoms along time ago. Which I know you can develop alergies in adulthood. When I was a child we had cats up until I was 12 and I never had a problem, now when im in the same room that a cat has been in recently I start sneezing and rubbing my eyes. I will definitely keep searching for answers and your list has given me some good insight into what I should be asking my doctor for. So thank you very much, I really appreciate it
HI Penny.
My reply is from another reply (copied and pasted) in another forum,
which is also applicable to you, since your cases our very similar.
It is a long response, so perhaps you may want to save it or print it and use as a reference, if you find it useful.
-- Problems with Vitamin D absorption, assimilation & resistance to vit D:
*General Inflammation and G/I inflammation(Very common with low thyroid sufferers) or Leaky Gut Syndrome.
* Low fat diet or issues with fat digestion also relating to not enough cholesterol for hormonal AND vitamin D synthesis ( vit D is fat soluble)
* Obesity
* certain drugs
* high cortisol
* Vitamin D Receptor (VDR) gene mutation ( genetic /autoimmune) or decreased VDR expression, common with hypothyroid & Hashimoto's sufferers also.
In this case need increased levels of D, above and beyond normal serum levels, for optimum function.
Also did you know that deficiency in vitamin D leads to vitamin B12 and B-complex deficiency as low vitamin D can affect the G/I system and its ability to absorb and assimilate certain nutrients and vitamins?
Also your D3 levels (vitamin D 25OH test) should be about 50- 60ng/ml
Memory and other neurological issues, are indirectly associated with low vitamin D, which by the way affects over 3000 genes!
---Vitamin B12
Inorganic mercury may cause a B12 deficiency in the nervous system
as it accumulates in the Blood-Brain-Barrier and restricts Methylocobalamin (the only form of B12, used in the nervous system) flow through the BBB.
It is possible to have normal B12 levels through an MMA test, yet have a B12 nervous system deficiency, so a test for homocysteine levels in the CSF is needed.
B12 levels should be 500pg/ml minimum to avoid neurological issues.
500pg/ml is the minimum low range in EU much higher than the N.American min. low range.
---Adrenal deficiency (hypo-adrenalism or adrenal fatigue syndrome)
This is another condition which should be ruled out, specially in cases where
internal and /or chronic stress is present, as it places a huge demand on the adrenals, something unsustainable over extended time.
Adrenal deficiencies are not recognized by conventional endocrinology unless it is Addison's or total adrenal failure.
One particular test, which I suggest you look into if you find this resonates with you, only as a reference, is the Functional Adrenal Stress Profile, a salivary test which measures the bioactive levels of hormones (cortisol x 4 and DHEA-averaged) by BioHealth Labs.
Cortisol regulates the immune cells in our gut so when cortisol is depleted those cells become dysregulated, making us more susceptible to pathogens like bacteria, yeast, and parasites.
Hypochloria, hypothyroid (secondary), weak digestive factors, abnormal serum cholesterol, lowered immune function are some of the many presentations of adrenal fatigue syndrome.
There's an adrenal assessment (screening) questionnaire, I can send you, if you wish, but it's best to do this after you have done Dr. Barnes Basal temperature test.
--Gluten sensitivity . Look into Cyrex Labs for details in Gliadin testing.
They test 12 forms-not just the alpha ordered by most doctors- of gliadins regarding gluten intolerance (not necessarily digestive).
Now they can also test which part of the body is affected !
Also from Cyrex Labs, Cyrex Labs,Cyrex Array 3, tests for Wheat/Gluten Proteome Reactivity & Autoimmunity.
Cyrex Array 4, tests for Gluten-Associated Cross-Reactive Foods and Foods Sensitivity.
---Thyroid testing
Thyroid Serum testing is flawed, as it is not indicative of cellular thyroid function !
Most conventional doctors order TSH,T3 and T4 at best.
You need Free T3, FreeT4 and Reverse T3 to determine accurately your thyroid function.
You can do on your own Dr. Barnes Basal Temperature test for thyroid function, just follow the online instructions precisely.
---Infectious conditions:
Lymes, Mycoplasma, Babesia, Bartonella, Ehrilchia and other co-infections are notoriously difficult to diagnose.
You need probably an LLMD (Lyme Literate Medical Doctor)
and the best Lab to deal with is IGeneX Labs in Palo Alto, CA.
You may also want to check out Dr. Garth Nicolson, the top expert in
these types of Pathogenic Infectious diseases, who is also a part time
contributor in MedHelp.
Pathogenic Mycoplasma evades detection from all standard blood tests, as it hides within the tissues and enveloped in actual cell membrane where even the immune system cannot recognize it,
Antibiotics are not effective as they are at best slightly bacteriostatic against pathogenic mycoplasmas and other co-infections, unless the exact one is used - I think treatment with doxycycline may have better bacteriostatic action , not bactericidal , and if a strong immune system is given ample time, it may be able to detect the mycoplasma, tag it and destroy it, only under close to ideal conditions!!
Unfortunately most infectious disease specialists are not necessarily your best choice. I can offer you the reasons, but it is a huge controversial subject which I'm not going to get into at present.
---Leaky gut syndrome.
Any foods that go undiagested past the stomach ( due to low gastric acid) or when someone suffers from leaky gut , substances from ingested foods and liquids leak out from the intestinal wall (intestinal permeability)and end up in the tissues or the blood stream, causing havok.
Inflammation, toxicity, lowered immunity are some of the results and unfortunately the medical community does not address this well at all!
I do not think this even taught in medical schools, so in the absence of an
established medical diagnosis for leaky gut syndrome, there would be no proper treatment, other than symptom management.
The test to ask for this is a simple urine called PEG.
It is very important to rule this out, specially if you have/had candida.
For an easy self-screening test, do a search for saliva test for candida.
--- Magnesium deficiency
Look into hair analysis for minerals as certain mineral levels-magnesium in particular- should not be determined by serum testing as there's a protective mechanism which keeps the magnesium serum levels at 1%-1.5%
--- Heavy Metals & Minerals testing (hair/tissue analysis for initial testing)
* Aluminum can be a factor in Alzheimer’s disease.
* Cobalt deficiency can be responsible for bad circulation, migraines, and
spasms.
* Copper deficiency can cause elevated cholesterol levels, anemia and
chronic infections, etc
* Lead can cause depression, nausea, fatigue, communication and
concentration problems, developmental problems, neurological and
movement disorders, and more.
* Mercury can cause depression, fatigue, developmental disorders,
neurological and movement disorders, and more.
* Magnesium deficiency can cause anxiety, depression, spasms,
movement disorders, etc.
* Zinc deficiency can be responsible for allergies, developmental
problems, hair loss, acne, weight problems, and more.
Please note that my comments and suggestions are not intended as a substitute to medical advice, however, I hope they help shed some light!
Let me know if you need any further information and details.
Best wishes.
Niko