After my last post, it took me a while to try and get back on track. After a while, I determined that at the least I needed a new PCP since my current one didn’t seem to care, among other things. I got a recommendation for a new PCP from some friends and scheduled an appointment. It took a while due to Covid and being a new patient for the new date to come up.
The first appointment with a new doctor, I always go in open-minded but cautious. I watch how they operate, manage the appointment, reactions to my answers that might indicate bias, anything and everything that could give me a clue as to if this office/doctor is right for me. Normally, I have leaned towards offices that are all digital. Putting everything directly into a computer or tablet. I’ve come across a few offices that wrote things on scrap paper, post-it notes, etc that I did not trust to make it into my medical file to be properly documented. I’m of two minds on how much they take note of, or if they have the practice of only listening and never writing down anything, on which is better.
The Medical Assistant came in, took basic info like medications (currently none) and other lifestyle habits like exercise, diet, etc. The doctor came in and spent 75% of the time asking specific direct questions about my fatigue, what I’ve tried, what tests have been run, etc. all the while taking notes as a hard copy. By the time we were done, the paper was filled with notes. She decided the first steps were to run a ton of blood tests, including vitamin levels, routine CBC, Lyme disease, everything. I was really pleased because no other doctor had taken these simple steps to help me find an answer. At least rule out the simple answers, before going into the complex and expensive ideas. She did leave the door open that if the tests showed nothing, MRI would be the next logical step.
I waited a bit patiently but I was anxious about my results and finally, they came in. Turns out, I’m deficient in a lot of vitamins. Vitamins such as Folic acid, Vitamin B, D (and maybe others), and Iron and are the only ones I could jot down quick enough. They instructed me to take OTC Folic Acid 1000 mg, Multivitamin that included Vitamin B, D, and C, and Iron 25 mg 3 times per day. They instructed me to try it for a while and follow up in 4-6 weeks for repeat blood work. Everything else they ran (Lyme disease and such) all came back negative. I’ve included my specific numbers for those of you that may be curious and the levels of where they are supposed to be. I’ve done some follow up blood work since and still waiting on the call from my doctor to see if any adjustments need to be made.
I was so happy, finally, something I could try and do that might actually help! And specific direction on where to point my diet instead of “eat healthier”. I still have to research what foods and vitamins are best, but I know that spinach, carrots, and broccoli have all of the vitamins I have been missing. Thankfully I had most of the vitamins on hand because I’ve tried it before, but I was hoping with the right combo it might make a difference. If I find any articles supporting my search, I will be sure to share! Or if I find some recipes that help us junk-food eaters make the switch.
I’m starting simple by changing out lettuce with spinach, eating less frozen pizza, and selecting the best veggies with nutritional value. Most of the veggies I had been eating have been lettuce, tomato, cucumbers, etc. which (as I have now found out) have almost no nutritional value. I’ve also been trying to eat more of a variety of fruits instead of chips and other bad-habit foods. My doctor advised that taking my iron with a glass of OJ would help the iron absorb into my system, but my stomach isn’t a fan of acidity. One glass of OJ would have me doubled over in pain, so I am exploring other Vitamin C options.
| Test | Normal Ranges | Nov 2020 | Jan 2021 |
| Lyme | Negative | ||
| TSH | 0.35 – 5.0 | 2.213 | |
| Iron | 50 – 170 | 31 | 54 |
| Iron Binding | 250 – 450 | 459 | 325 |
| % Iron Saturation | 15 – 45 | 7 | 17 |
| Vitamin D | 30.0 – 100 | 12.1 | 24.2 |
| Vitamin B12 | 211 – 911 | 256 | 504 |
| Folate/Folic Acid | >5.4 | 4.1 | 13.5 |
| Ferritin | 8 – 252 | 4 | 18 |
| BUN | 6 – 20 | 9 | 10 |
| Anion Gap | 10 – 20 | 9 | 9 |
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