4 ms·

You don’t need to ask a GP for blood work, just order it online and go to the lab, then get your results via the lab’s portal (e.g. Quest). I’m not sure these

by aksss 6y ago

You don’t need to ask a GP for blood work, just order it online and go to the lab, then get your results via the lab’s portal (e.g. Quest). I’m not sure these tests are good for diagnosing triggers though, compared to quarterly or biannual management of a disease (to make sure you’re not headed off the rails). The range for CRP, for instance, is relatively broad. What’s serious is when you’re exceeding the reference high. In these cases (like maxed out SED rate) chronic inflammation is a thing and more than “feeling bad”. It does lasting damage so the quicker you can respond to it the better, and IME that kind of inflammation sneaks up on a person and often goes undiagnosed until other downstream problems start to present themselves. There’s a bit of fashion to talking about “cytokine storms” and inflammation that is partly healthy to be aware of (and interesting to the seriously curious) but also a lot of faddish health nuttery lately. Be careful of the snake oil salesmen out there, folks. Diets, supplements, exercise equipment, OTC meds, are as often nets to harvest disposable income more than they are serious approaches to managing disease. For people suffering autoimmune disorders, much can be done with simple balanced diets and regular low stress body weight exercising. The key is avoiding things like excessive drinking, high mental stress levels, sleep dep. All the good advice for Puritan living that really applies to all of us, just that they have far, far lower tolerances for deviation. Response to NSAIDs may indicate what you’re fighting but if you’re there you’ve already failed upstream from where you are now. Chronic NSAID use isn’t all that great either but is often an unavoidable supplement for those trying to hold a normal career these days. This kind of internal feedback loop is more cost effective and probably more accurate for behavior correction than looking at daily blood work.

dsizzle 6y ago
Do you think SED rate is better than CRP then? It doesn't seem like I've had that test either. I have hypothyroidism, which can be autoimmune related, but no doctor has ever suggested either test, nor mentioned inflammation. I get TSH tested every 6 months though, and sometimes have to adjust Synthroid. I've asked about the causes of these fluctuations and doctors basically just shrug. I have no theory for it either.
- treeman79 6y ago
  My sed is always good. Usually ANA, is first step. Time to see a rheumatologist
  - dsizzle 6y ago
    What's ANA?
    - pps 6y ago
      Anti-nuclear antibody
  - aksss 6y ago
    A high SED rate might accompany many conditions like Parkinsons, cancer, or autoimmune disorders - it's a broad quantifiable test of how severe your inflammation is regardless of cause. When it causes concern, it's typically off the charts. "Normal" SED rate is about 0-15, while an out of control systemic condition can drive it far north of double or triple the high reference point (not just slightly over). The SED rate doesn't identify its cause, so ANA and CRP can be ordered after a high SED rate (along with tests such as CBC, urinalysis, etc that would indicate other possible causes). CRP and ANA tests are pretty specific to autoimmune diseases. ANA is most often associated with SLE (lupus). Not all AI diseases have positive ANA screen, and even in SLE once it's in a managed state both SED and ANA titer would ideally be back within spec. I'd be curious (if you do regular blood work) do you have a SED rate within spec but an ANA titer out of spec? Or "just" a positive ANA screen test?
- aksss 6y ago
  I'm not sure if you mean better in terms of diagnosing triggers or generally to diagnose disease. Again, I don't think these blood tests are good for diagnosing short term triggers, but monitoring your TSH levels after some longer-term controlled lifestyle experiments can be very informative. As far as diagnosing disease, there are many blood tests broadly that one would/could run to aid in diagnosing autoimmune diseases, including ANA pattern and titer, DS Antibody, SCL-70 antibody, ANA screen (IFA), SM antibody, Sjogren's antibodies, ANCA screen, P & C ANCA titer, rheumatoid factor, CRP, compliment levels (e.g. C3, C4), SED rate, white blood cell counts (neutorphils, lyphocytes, eosinophils, basophils, monocytes). Tests for organ function can also be critical in evaluation. I don't know much about hypothyroidism, but my advice is to do a lot of self-education, reading as much literature as you can about it. Journal your behaviors, habits, stress levels, sleep, and food and identify patterns yourself. You can do this by eliminating certain environmental or dietary factors for four or six months, then do TSH tests again. You have to be careful of changing too many variables at once. I know it's a pain in the butt, but desperate times call for desperate measures. You want your disease to stay in a managed state and prevent any immune system issues from spidering into other disorders. If you have these potential warning signs of your immune system starting to crack, my advice is to do everything you can to protect it from reaching additional failure points.
jzer0cool 6y ago
What is NSAID? I recall some warning on Advil (or Tylenol)? Does this mean this is a typical of someone to be prescribed with autoimmune disorder? I was curious to know how one might discover on their own if they have it. As well as the effects of how someone feels (or changes) by taking NSAID ...
- dragonwriter 6y ago
  > What is NSAID? “non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug”, a class that includes many popular non-opioid painkillers including aspirin, advil (ibuprofren), and aleve (naproxen), but not tylenol (acetaminophen/paracetamol).
  - wolco5 6y ago
    Where does tylenol fit?
    - aksss 6y ago
      The mouth or the butt, it’s a pain reliever, not an anti-inflammatory.
- aksss 6y ago
  Ibuprofen is used to control inflammation. Often when a rheumatologist sees frequent use they can prescribe a sustained release NSAID that doesn't present as much risk to the stomach, etc., compared to frequent dosing of OTC pills. Since this medication is just attempting to control inflammation, it is taken in response to a mild or severe flare up to try and make the pain stop, but isn't always the most effective. The best solution for people in these cycles is to journal their behaviors, habits, sleep, food intake, and try to find patterns in what causes the flare-up and then avoid those in the future. Diagnosing an autoimmune disease on your own isn't advised, you should really see a specialist, not a GP. Specifically, get a referral to a rheumatologist. Blood work, sometimes xrays are required to properly diagnose. There are some 200+ known autoimmune disorders if I recall correctly, many people end up with a two-for-one deal. Sjögren's and Raynaud's seem to be not uncommon companions of other disorders, for instance.

by aksss 6y ago

dsizzle 6y ago

Do you think SED rate is better than CRP then? It doesn't seem like I've had that test either. I have hypothyroidism, which can be autoimmune related, but no doctor has ever suggested either test, nor mentioned inflammation. I get TSH tested every 6 months though, and sometimes have to adjust Synthroid. I've asked about the causes of these fluctuations and doctors basically just shrug. I have no theory for it either.

treeman79 6y ago
My sed is always good. Usually ANA, is first step. Time to see a rheumatologist
- dsizzle 6y ago
  What's ANA?
  - pps 6y ago
    Anti-nuclear antibody
- aksss 6y ago
  A high SED rate might accompany many conditions like Parkinsons, cancer, or autoimmune disorders - it's a broad quantifiable test of how severe your inflammation is regardless of cause. When it causes concern, it's typically off the charts. "Normal" SED rate is about 0-15, while an out of control systemic condition can drive it far north of double or triple the high reference point (not just slightly over). The SED rate doesn't identify its cause, so ANA and CRP can be ordered after a high SED rate (along with tests such as CBC, urinalysis, etc that would indicate other possible causes). CRP and ANA tests are pretty specific to autoimmune diseases. ANA is most often associated with SLE (lupus). Not all AI diseases have positive ANA screen, and even in SLE once it's in a managed state both SED and ANA titer would ideally be back within spec. I'd be curious (if you do regular blood work) do you have a SED rate within spec but an ANA titer out of spec? Or "just" a positive ANA screen test?
aksss 6y ago
I'm not sure if you mean better in terms of diagnosing triggers or generally to diagnose disease. Again, I don't think these blood tests are good for diagnosing short term triggers, but monitoring your TSH levels after some longer-term controlled lifestyle experiments can be very informative. As far as diagnosing disease, there are many blood tests broadly that one would/could run to aid in diagnosing autoimmune diseases, including ANA pattern and titer, DS Antibody, SCL-70 antibody, ANA screen (IFA), SM antibody, Sjogren's antibodies, ANCA screen, P & C ANCA titer, rheumatoid factor, CRP, compliment levels (e.g. C3, C4), SED rate, white blood cell counts (neutorphils, lyphocytes, eosinophils, basophils, monocytes). Tests for organ function can also be critical in evaluation. I don't know much about hypothyroidism, but my advice is to do a lot of self-education, reading as much literature as you can about it. Journal your behaviors, habits, stress levels, sleep, and food and identify patterns yourself. You can do this by eliminating certain environmental or dietary factors for four or six months, then do TSH tests again. You have to be careful of changing too many variables at once. I know it's a pain in the butt, but desperate times call for desperate measures. You want your disease to stay in a managed state and prevent any immune system issues from spidering into other disorders. If you have these potential warning signs of your immune system starting to crack, my advice is to do everything you can to protect it from reaching additional failure points.

jzer0cool 6y ago

What is NSAID? I recall some warning on Advil (or Tylenol)? Does this mean this is a typical of someone to be prescribed with autoimmune disorder? I was curious to know how one might discover on their own if they have it. As well as the effects of how someone feels (or changes) by taking NSAID ...

dragonwriter 6y ago
> What is NSAID? “non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug”, a class that includes many popular non-opioid painkillers including aspirin, advil (ibuprofren), and aleve (naproxen), but not tylenol (acetaminophen/paracetamol).
- wolco5 6y ago
  Where does tylenol fit?
  - aksss 6y ago
    The mouth or the butt, it’s a pain reliever, not an anti-inflammatory.
aksss 6y ago
Ibuprofen is used to control inflammation. Often when a rheumatologist sees frequent use they can prescribe a sustained release NSAID that doesn't present as much risk to the stomach, etc., compared to frequent dosing of OTC pills. Since this medication is just attempting to control inflammation, it is taken in response to a mild or severe flare up to try and make the pain stop, but isn't always the most effective. The best solution for people in these cycles is to journal their behaviors, habits, sleep, food intake, and try to find patterns in what causes the flare-up and then avoid those in the future. Diagnosing an autoimmune disease on your own isn't advised, you should really see a specialist, not a GP. Specifically, get a referral to a rheumatologist. Blood work, sometimes xrays are required to properly diagnose. There are some 200+ known autoimmune disorders if I recall correctly, many people end up with a two-for-one deal. Sjögren's and Raynaud's seem to be not uncommon companions of other disorders, for instance.