Hey Maff, and any others that may be interested.

I've recently got some functional lab results back, and it makes for interesting reading. Interesting that it claims I'm healthier than I feel!

First up is the adrenal stress index....

freepdfhosting.com/08edb106ca.pdf

Bet you haven't seen a more perfect curve than that! So apprently my adrenals are fine, despite hypoglycemia, insomnia, averaging 4/5 hours a night for 3 years, shakiness, irritability, fatigue, salt and sugar cravings, palpitations and so on.

Next up is the full thyroid screen

freepdfhosting.com/aabf13ee57.pdf

Again not much to report with that. There was mention from the chap who ordered the test whether a potential reverse T3 issue might be the cause of excess adrenaline but that might be clutching at straws.

Then I did some slightly expanded functional blood work.

freepdfhosting.com/bbc48bb8b4.pdf

This does show some things that are off, notably the ALT and white blood cell count. I guess this would point some form of viral or bacterial infection or inflammation in the body. Not too sure of the relavence of the other abnormalities that are out of functional ranges but within orthodox ranges.

And finally is the GI stool effects from Metametrix

freepdfhosting.com/53b56d0399.pdf

Again this doesn't look horrendous. No yeast/fungi, no opportunistic bacteria, the ranges for the other stuff look to be pretty good, except for n-butyrate, H.Pylori, and some potentially mysterious parasite. That's such a tease! 'You may have something but we can't identify it'.

So take your best shot. Is there ANYTHING conclusive to go by?

Many thanks,

Matt

Hi Matt,

Some interesting results you've got there. I see you had the testing done through Marek Doyle. I've corresponded with him via email and he has contributed articles to EiR. Seems to know his stuff.

On the face of it, like you say, your ASI result makes you look like the picture of health. Not to suggest you're not very ill but I think if you had wildly abnormal ASI results such as very low morning cortisol you simply wouldn't be able to get to work in the mornings. Do you find it a massive struggle to wake up and get going in the morning? This is a key feature of adrenal fatigue/low morning cortisol but I don't think you mention it.

I know hypoglycaemia is a big problem for you and there are many other causes for this other than adrenal fatigue. For example, I had some tests done through Acumen and they found BPA attached to genes that control gluconeogenesis (new glucose synthesis) - so when my blood glucose gets too low this is one reason I would struggle to get it back up again - and obviously nothing to do with the adrenals.

In your case I think the clues are in your functional blood profile - specifically your liver function. Has your GP seen those results for AST and ALT? If not they really need to see them as soon as is practically possible! Something definitely going on there that needs to be checked out. Obviously the liver is involved in blood glucose regulation in a big way, notably glycogen storage, so this could contribute to hypoglycaemia for sure. Also you have abnormal albumin/globulin ratio. I have had this consistently and been told it could signal an overburdened liver. Again something to show your GP.

Your WBC count would be considered perfectly normal by the majority of measures and experts. Mine has not been above 4.0x10*9/L in a decade and is frequently as low as 3.0 and the NHS still dismisses it as insignificant.

Shame you didn't get the reverse T3 test done with the thyroid panel as the rest doesn't really say much. I guess the T3 is a little on the low side so there could be a minor conversion issue so if it were me I might make sure I was getting plenty of selenium in my diet.

With your GI Effects Profile I would again show it to your GP asap since it flagged up high H.pylori. If you have H.pylori infection that could be the cause of your GI upset and obviously needs to be treated. I suspect your GP would order a hydrogen breath test after seeing that result to confirm a diagnosis. Not a lot else too unusual except low SCFAs and Lactobacilli and E.coli so I think in your situation I would take Mutaflor and prebiotics to encourage bacterial fermentation and SCFA production.

If it was a serious parasite it would show up in your WBC count I would imagine. Basophils and eosinophils attack parasites so I imagine they would be elevated in this case - don't quote me on that - or any of this for that matter. I'm not a professional remember

Hope this gives you a little insight though. What has Marek said about all this?

Almost forgot - Another member, TheStache, has been enquiring about the cost of the GI Effects Profile from Metametrix. Would you mind posting a reply and filling us in on this thread - www.ei-resource.org/forum/candida-gut-dy...i-strains--mutaflor/

Many thanks!

Hey fella,

Cheers for that.

I know you also have some fun with the liver To your knowledge do you know what further diagnostics can be done when enzymes show as raised? I assume there is this general group of people that fall into the bracket of having a poor diet or drinking too much or will be obese after which the doctor will just say cut back on that stuff and we will retest again. Obviously people like you and me don't fall into that camp, and knowing how shit my doctor is, I might need to lead the way a little bit in terms of getting further diagnostics.

Last time my enzymes showed as raised - July last year - I went to a gastro and had an endoscopy and liver ultrasound, both coming out clear. I then retested (wasn't feeling any better) in September my ALT was around 50. This was enough for the gastro to not look any further, assuming things were starting to correct themselves.

Naturally I would be scared of a liver biopsy but if needs must. Also you'll know how rubbish doctors are at thinking outside the box, so wonder where this might be linked to other parts of the body, if I were to think about consultations elsewhere.

The H Pylori test seems like a sensible check. Do you know if GP's can order this directly?

I do think Marek is a decent guy. His opinion, which very much matches what is inferred from the tests is a chronic infection of some sort - based on inflammation in the liver, H Pylori infection in the stomach, Bacteroides/parasite infection in intestines, low lactobacillus count in intestines, inflammation and bleeding in intestines and low sIgA.

I found with him the test costs were very reasonable. I think he pretty much charged the rock bottom wholesale price without any markup. I'll mention it in that thread.

Onwards and upwards!

Hey,

Yeah my liver gives me a lot of symptoms and enzymes have been up and down a fair bit but never nearly as high as yours. It sounds like you've been through all the standard testing with the endoscopy and ultrasound. The only other thing I can think of would be gallbladder disease but I would assume the sonographer would have checked for the during the ultrasound. If it's any consolation I aso had an ultrasound when my ALT was raised last autumn and was told everything was perfectly fine also!

Perhaps now your enzymes have shot back up again your gastroenterologist would be more inclined to look into this more closely. With those kinds of values I would have though they weould investigate it seriously as a matter of routine, particularly as you don't drink, aren't obese etc! Have you been tested for all types of hepatitis?

Beyond that you could go down the functional route. I can't remember what tests you've had done in the past. Did you have the detoxification profile from Genova? That can be very helpful in determining if there is a block in an important detox pathway that might be backing things up.

Yes, your GP can order a H.pylori test easily, it's routine. I had it done myself when I complained of upper abdominal pain years ago (the result of toxic bile being dumped into my duodenum I now suspect). The H.pylori test was a simple breathe test and was done as an out patient at my community hospital. They may even do it in doctors' surgeries now.

Glad to hear Marek didn't mark up the test prices. I was shocked during my degree studies to find that many labs (mentioning no names) have a wholesale price and then the practitioner can charge the client/patient any price they want. Sneaky way of earning extra cash out of people who often are too ill to work!

Good luck mate and let me know how you get on with your GP and any suggestions from Marek.