[Daniel]

Hey ,

First of all, I hope you’re in not too much pain! Is supraspinatus calcific tendinitis the diagnosis the doctor gave? If so, they have seen calcium deposits on the x-ray. Did your doctors also draw blood? Did they measure for example serum calcium? Vitamin D? And parathyroid hormone? If so, sharing labs will help us in providing you with more detailed advise!

When calcium deposites in soft tissue, finding out why your body is doing this is important. Here are some common root causes:
• Too much calcium in the diet. This might be hard from foods alone, but if you’re using supplements, you might want to check the ingredients list. 

Some supplements use calcium carbonate as a filler to give supplements the right shape. If you’re using supplements, check the ingredient list as well!
• Not enough vitamin K2. Vitamin K2 is needed to deposit calcium in bones. If you’re looking for a vitamin K2 supplement, look for vitamin K2 mk-4 or vitamin K2 mk-7 on the ingredient list. Which one is better is still being debated.

At the moment I would recommend mk-4. Here is a link to the discussion if you’re interested.
• An Overactive thyroid gland can influence calcium in the blood as well. The parathyroid gland (a gland located near the thyroid gland) is involved in serum calcium balance by secreting parathyroid hormone (PTH)

This is why you would like to know if your PTH levels are okay.
• Too much vitamin D. If you’re taking high dosages of vitamin D, you’re able to get in calcium more easily. Especially if the balance with vitamin K2 is gone, this can lead to elevated serum calcium levels
• Has your kidney function also been measured? Kidney problems can sometimes cause high calcium.
• Autoimmune disease can also cause elevations in serum calcium.
• Are you using other medications? Some medications can cause higher serum calcium levels as well. If you’re using antacids to reduce stomach acidity, these medications can cause elevations in serum calcium levels (here is the research). Lithium is another example of a medication that can raise serum calcium.
• Some infections can also cause elevated serum calcium levels. It’s good to have that ruled out by your doctor.
• If high levels of calcium run in the family, it’s more likely that there is a genetic component.

There are therapies that can help reduce pain with a frozen shoulder. The success of these therapies does depend on the root cause. But before I help you with that, I would like to know what the therapist did that caused the pain to jump from 30 to 100. Here are some questions to guide you:
• Did the pain jump from 30 to 100 in the therapy or after?
• What type of therapy was used? Dry needling? Massage therapy? Something else?
• If massage therapy (or some other manipulation of muscles) was used, did the pain jump immediately after a certain manipulation or did it gradually go up during the therapy?
• If you’re using the muscles, does the pain decrease?
• Is the pain worse when you’ve just woken up?

Let us know so when can help you!

[Daniel]

Hey ,

First of all, I can imagine you’re worried. As I mentioned, it’s hard to judge from a picture what your son might be having. And therefore we cannot diagnose on the forum. 

If you suspect it’s an allergic reaction and it started locally, it’s less likely that it is a food allergy. It might be something he is putting on his skin.

Although it looks like hives and he seems otherwise symptom-free, I wouldn’t rule out something viral as well. A herpes-related virus like chickenpox fits as well. Not every child gets physical complaints like fever with infections. Often such an infection will start on the body and spread to the face, but with some strains, the symptoms can start on the face and spread to the body. Antihistamine and cortisone might not be the right approach in this situation. In this case, it would be more typical to see vesicles on top of the rashes, but that is hard to judge on pictures.

I’m based in The Netherlands and our health care system works a little differently. Here a pharmacist can’t make a diagnosis. They can’t even prescribe cortisone without a prescription from a doctor. Maybe this works differently where you’re living. Here is what I would do:

If you feel concerned, I would contact a GP and let him/her assess what it is. A general practitioner has a broad orientation and will know how to select the right specialist if it would be something more specialistic. 

I hope this helps!

[Daniel]

Hey ,

Do you mean this type of therapy? It is an evidence-based integrative approach to helping cancer patients to have a better quality of life. I have no experience in how they approach their patients. They base their approach to therapy on topics that functional medicine would do as well.

I can imagine a lot of recommendations would be similar. I wouldn’t know if they would recommend similar labs or use a different methodology to base their recommendations on. I do suspect a lot of similarities.

When it comes to practitioners I would take a look at this site. Perhaps  knows someone in this field she has good experience with. Since I don’t know any metabolic terrain practitioners I can’t recommend you someone based on personal experience. There aren’t many certified practitioners in the UK, so there isn’t a lot of choice as well.

But from what I can read it’s definitely an avenue you could explore.

[Daniel]

Hey ,

You need a healthy stomach to produce intrinsic factor. I’m a little confused about the results you have shared though. Your antibodies seem to be within the healthy reference range indicating that everything looks fine. The reason to do this test is that there is evidence of some autoimmune activation in the gastric parietal cells. This fact on its own can be part of why the diagnosis of ‘pernicious anemia’ has been made.

The iron deficiency definitely has caused anemia. From what I remember your labs for folate have always been at the lower end of the reference range (beginning this year they were 7.64 ug/L – reference range 2-20 ug/L which was high compared to other labs you’ve shown earlier). Although the focus was mostly on iron, we advised in the past a B vitamin complex because folate can contribute to a different type of anemia which could also been at play in your case.

Your serum B12 hasn’t been indicating problems with intrinsic factor as far as I have seen on your past labs. Oral supplements often aren’t enough to raise serum B12 when intrinsic factor isn’t made in the stomach.

Based on what I have seen from what you have shared over time I would say that the anemia you have experienced was mostly centered around iron and folate (in terms of vitamins & minerals – but not in terms of root causes).

If folate values are still at the lower end of the reference range, I would recommend higher dosages of methyl folate. I have no experience with folinic acid, so I can’t recommend or advise against it. You can try for sure and see how you respond to it – or just try a higher dose of methyl folate. 

There is an upper tolerable limit (the maximum daily dose unlikely to cause adverse side effects in the general population) for folate of 1000 mcg per day. A lot of B complexes usually have values of folate around 400 mcg per day. If you’re still taking a B complex and your serum values are still on the lower end, you can always increase the folate dosage from the form you are currently using.

If you’re worried: I wouldn’t be worried about some ‘new’ diagnosis. These labs have brought nothing new to the table. They only ruled out problems with intrinsic factor production. It’s actually good news!

[Daniel]

Hey ,

Unfortunately making diagnosis on pictures only is really hard. Light can do a lot and it’s hard to see if the rashes are only on this side or on both sides of his face. On top of that, for a good diagnosis someone who sees the patient needs to evaluate how the rash has developed. Other symptoms that might present need to be considered as well. 

That’s why I would advise you to take him to a healthcare professional. If the rashes came kind of suddenly it could be an allergic reaction. It could be a viral infection or a bacterial infection in a beginning stage. Symptoms in this case usually develop a little bit slower.

Once you know what it is we can help you take further steps though!

[Daniel]

,

Make sure the filter is clean. Then you can wash the washing machine with vinegar as well!

[Daniel]

Hey ,

To me the symptoms and goals would be leading! If his goal would be for example building muscle mass/preventing muscle loss I would like to have free testosterone as high as possible. If your able to share more of your husbands goals, I could perhaps give you more targeted advise!

Back to the measurements of your labs: Laboratories provide usually the units of the labs and the reference ranges. Depending on some factors, the reference ranges can differ a bit. It would be helpful to provide us the units and the reference ranges as well.

What lab markers do you have? Did you do a DUTCH test?

Free testosterone is usually a very small percentage of the total testosterone. It is the most potent testosterone and therefore leading.  In general, the higher the free testosterone in the reference range, the better it is for bone density and muscle mass.

Sometimes testosterone labs come with SHBG os Sex Hormone Binding Globulin. If this lab is available, it would be interesting to share with us as well. SHBG binds tightly to testosterone making it biological unavailable. 

SHBG, Testosterone and free testosterone are influenced by different lifestyle factors (Sleep, workouts, stress, liver and thyroid health and high fiber diets for example). How is body His build (is he lean? Is he overweight?) might influence the advises as well. 

For example: he might have perfect testosterone scores on paper, but still have symptoms related to testosterone imbalances. If he would be overweight, I would still advise him to loose weight since his numbers might not be optimal for him. People with more bodyfat tend to produce more SHBG and less free testosterone. But since the free testosterone is such a small portion of the total testosterone it might be that he still needs a bit higher levels of free T to feel better.

[Daniel]

Hey  ,

It sounds like you’re making the right choices. Removing fiberglass from clothes can be quite challenging though. It might take a couple of turns. It all depends on how much fiberglass was on your clothes in combination with the material your clothes are made from.

Working with vinegar is a good choice. But before you continue washing, make sure you consider other sources contaminating your clothes by asking yourself if there are other possible root causes:
• Are all big sources of fiberglass gone?
• Is the air free from fiberglass? If not, open the windows and air the space!
• If the air has been cleaned as well as possible, make sure you give the room a chance to let possible leftover fiberglass fall down. Don’t stir up dust by dry sweeping or other activities. 
• If the air is clean and fiberglass had to chance to fall out of the air: are the carpets/floor/walls/furniture etc clean? (You might need to repeat the cleaning of the room a few times as well)
• If you have filters (air filters, filters in dry/washing machines, etc), are these filters cleaned?
• Are clothes dried & stored in fiberglass free spaces?

If you feel you did all these things correctly, it might be that you still need to clean your clothes a few times. Again, the washing can depend on the amount of fiberglass your clothes were exposed to, the fabric of the clothes and the washing process itself.

I probably won’t need to tell you, but make sure you protect yourself against the fiberglass while cleaning. Use gloves if you’re washing your clothes by hands!

[Daniel]

,

I can’t tell you how the rest of the world uses this test, but I can tell you what the Dutch guidelines are. The free PSA is only additionally measured when the total PSA is in a certain range.

Next time we will help choose better fitting labs! Benefits of being a B Better member

[Daniel]

Hey ,

First of all, all tests need to be interpreted in light of symptoms. For example, if your husband is just screening and assessing his risk of prostate cancer and has no complaints, these values need to be interpreted differently than when complaints are there.

Perhaps you could help us help you by explaining why these tests were done in the first place. Were there any symptoms?

If this test was done to assess the risks of prostate issues:
When it comes to assessing prostate cancer and enlarged (non-cancerous) prostates, ratios are measured in free PSA and Total PSA. The ratio is used to assess risks. 

This means:
• A high PSA ratio doesn’t necessarily mean the presence of prostate cancer/enlarged prostate (I’m assuming it’s done for this reason)
• A low PSA/enlarged prostate ratio doesn’t necessarily mean the absence of prostate cancer.

The ratio can be used to see if additional exams need to be done.
The test shows the free PSA value (which is 0.7 ng/ml). The Total PSA is missing on the lab rapport though. To understand the risk, you will need to ask the lab to provide you with the Total PSA as well.

Ferritin
Elevations in ferritin can be caused by quite a few things. For example, with infections, the body tries to sequester serum iron away and stores it as ferritin (which is the body’s storage for iron). Ferritin can be elevated when there is too much iron in the diet. For example, supplements can contain iron. Iron cookware can also contribute to iron in the diet. Here are some other reasons why ferritin can be elevated:
• There can be genetic reasons why ferritin is elevated (a common reason for hemochromatosis).
• Liver problems can cause elevations in ferritin as well. 
• Drinking too much alcohol, 
• Rheumatoid arthritis or other chronic inflammatory disorders
• Hyperthyroidism (which can also cause elevations in SHBG as seen in the lab results).- 

Usually, ferritin is assessed with other iron markers like serum iron, Iron Saturation and Total Iron Binding Capacity (TIBC) for example. If you like to understand why ferritin is elevated, you will need to have additional lab values measured. 

Based on the list of possibilities of high ferritin, here are some recommendations you could discuss with your doctor:
• An iron panel (like I talked about above)
• A CBC (Complete Blood Count) including a WBC (White Blood Cell) differentiation.
• A Thyroid panel.
• Liver Function Tests.
• Rheumatoid factor and anti-CCP antibodies (to test for rheumatoid arthritis)
• (If PSA values turn out to be elevated: a simple urinary tract infection can elevate PSA values as well.  In this case, you might want to assess • kidney function as well and
• CRP – a marker of inflammation primarily made in the liver) 

I hope this answer helps you on your way!

[Daniel]

Hey ,

In addition to how you feel, you can also follow blood markers. It’s a nice exercise to do as well.  Vitamin B12, iron and protein digestion need good strong stomach acid. Changes in time in markers related to iron, B12 and protein digestion can help you assess your stomach acid.

For example, to assess iron uptake you can see how your serum iron, ferritin, hemoglobin and MCV are changing.
For vitamin B12 you can asses serum B12, MCV and red blood cell count/white blood cell count. The liver can store B12 for a few years. For that reason, in general, serum B12 might change a bit slower than the iron markers.
For protein breakdown, you can take a look at Total Protein and Globulin for example.

You can look at how these patterns change over time when you try a different dose of betaine HCl with pepsin. 

[Daniel]

Hey ,

When we are sick, a lot of our symptoms are caused by the immune system to help to get rid of foreign invaders. An increase in temperature for example will alter how enzymes work and is an attempt to reduce the reproduction speed of bacteria/viruses.

A reduction in appetite helps the liver to store iron from the blood in the liver. Iron is a mineral that bacteria and viruses both need to help them reproduce.

If foods are the only things available to you at the moment, your making a great choice with broths. Bone broths are great sources of cysteine. Cysteine is a precursor to NAC in the body and can help reduce the symptoms of the flu (if you like to dive into the research just click here).

Chicken soup can help reduce symptoms in the upper respiratory tract (just click here). I use chicken bone broth and simmer herbs and vegetables like garlic, onion, celery, parsley, laurel, potato and carrot for an hour for flavour and to help ease symptoms.

Tea with honey can help ease some symptoms as well. Breathe in the tea, that can help with a stuffy nose. The honey can help soothe a soar throat.

Bananas are usually easy on the stomach. They can be a go-to food if you’ve been hit with nausea/vomiting.

I have no personal experience with onions and potatoes in socks and it isn’t researched either, so I can’t advise you there. But that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t try!

I hope your daughter feels better soon! 

[Daniel]

Hey ,

Sure! You can find them in the library under recipes. Just select the Wellnes recipes!

You can find the DIY Match Mouthwash here and the DIY pH Balancing Mouthwash recipe is here.

Good luck with the recipes!

[Daniel]

Hey ,

A good approach for healing bones is to give the body all the nutrients it needs to build bones. Besides calcium, we need nutrients to bring in calcium (vitamin D) and make sure the calcium ends up in bones (vitamin K2). But bones aren’t only made of calcium. Bones are also rich in Magnesium.

Besides these nutrients, bones are rich in collagen as well. Vitamin C is necessary for the internal synthesis of collagen and for collagen production, a protein-rich diet is also important. Bone broths are especially great since they contain more of the amino acids important to collagen production. Collagen is especially rich in the amino acid glycine, which is one of the harder amino acids to get from meat since it’s more abundant in organ meat.

If you are looking for a protocol: there is one on the platform. You can find it here!

[Daniel]

More details are always better @nikolova !

Getting enough iron and protein can be a challenge on a plant-based or/and with certain other conditions like hypochlorhydria. It sounds like you’ve already explored several things! I hope you will feel better soon.

If you need any other help, let us know!