Interesting article about blood test - My MSAA Community
Interesting article about blood test
IFwczs
Honestly, I did not like the article.
Blood test results ARE important and we cannot easily take any mistakes in the results - be it positive or negative.
The results must be accurate.
There should be no room for error, at least, here.
I've found this site to be a really good one, with excellent explanations on tests, but you need to use your common sense to not start jumping to silly conclusions and self-diagnosing yourself with every disease under the sun. However, the same can be said for many websites - Dr Google tends to lead people up pathways of "disaster" when they are not discriminating enough about what they choose to believe when they find stuff online.
My former PCP had a cup last time I saw her (when she said steroid eye drops are topical, don't get into the blood and they give them to babies, and that every patient who gets older was going to be put on statins regardless of their cholesterol level) that says "Don't confuse my medical degree with your Google search"). II agree about the dangers of self-diagnosing, but I had diagnosed myself with MS years before any doctor did or I even knew what MS was using Google,
They can be topical and given to babies. The dose is tiny.
I'd be running a mile from that Doctor as well !!! Statins are NOT the supposedly harmless little pills that many people are led to believe - they increase risks of getting diabetes, can cause liver function and kidney problems, not to mention side effects such as muscle weakness/pain and joint pains etc. I struggle to understand why the boffins think it's a good idea to test them for use in MS because someone found a tiny reduction in brain atrophy in people with SPMS. Yes, I get that brain atrophy can be a significant issue with MS but for many people the side effects of statins are not a minor problem. Especially if you already have muscle problems you'd wonder why anybody would want to make them worse, and run the increased risk of falls and other injuries such as fractures etc from falling.
Statins are dangerous. My husband's cholesterol was so high, several doctors told him he was going to have a heart attack if he didn't get on a statin. Since then, we have seen a very disturbing documentary about what statins actually do. It is awful. My husband's PCP is an Integrative Medicine M.D. She reduced his dose from 10 to 5 mg and made it every other day. Statins actually cause strokes, heart attacks etc. To prescribe it to a patient with low cholesterol (such as I was) to, as my former PCP put it, "to catch up," is criminal. The British were trying to use statins for MS because they are so cheap, and they didn't approve Ocrevus at first because it was too expensive.
I had just under 2 months on statins - they were prescribed not because I had high cholesterol but because it was just over the supposed maximum the cardiologists want to see if you have any risk factors. Over the time I was on them I had a progressive loss of energy - it went down to the point where I could barely get through the day, and even a trip to the local shop to buy bread and milk was almost beyond me and some days was the ONLY thing I was able to do all day. I also had two falls while on them. It took about 3 months to regain most of the function I lost while on them but I didn't get back to where I was before starting them (and still haven't). The Cholesterol community posts on this website are worth reviewing if people have concerns about statins.
IFwcsz - if I can work out how to do it, I will upload the perfect "response" to your Doctor's "cup of advice"..........
UPDATE - I did work out how to post a photo - you can see it here healthunlocked.com/mymsaa/p...
Frances_B
, pretty believable what statins can do. I hope you recover quickly. I still haven't recovered from the steroid eye drops - and it's been 2 years.
Thank you for a good laugh about the response to that doctor! Too bad I will not see her again. Maybe I should make a cup with that response and send it to her...
Being from the U.K., it’s frustrating that everything comes down to money. Some doctors will not accept you into their practise if you are a high maintenance patient, as it affects their budget. As for statins, I wouldn’t touch them with a barge pole. My mum was put on them, she ended up being rushed to hospital with transient strokes, which were caused by the statins. It was my sister who realised what was going on. She was a doctor, and advised me to inform my mum to stop taking them, she did and it never happened again, and her energy improved and she was walking and driving again within a month of stopping them. My sister was not allowed to tell my mum direct because you are not allowed to treat your immediate family. Blessings Jimeka 🦋
Good article. Lab tests are useful but after many yrs as a health care provider here are 2 more things I would add to that list.
1. If you do tests, you will likely find something. That something may or may not be meaningful (but it will likely cause you and the patient anxiety).
2. Follows on 1. Treat the patient (person) not the numbers on the lab test. Too often clinicians rely on high tech diagnostic tests rather than their basic clinical skills of communication, listening, to the patient’s story and physical examination.
Ok, jumping off my soapbox for now 😊
erash, I've been meaning to ask you about your Mom. Any news?
Great points! I'd add that a test result, on very rare occasions, can be wrong. I nearly gave a patient medication to treat a dangerous condition, but the prescribing doctor had a second thought and asked the lab to run the test again. Turns out the test was done incorrectly. If numbers are off the chart, it's good to ask for a repeat.
Not to mention lab results that can be a Erroneous due to taking supplements like biotin or like lipoic acid
Excellent point! It's easy to forget to stop supplements before having lab tests. It's a good idea to ask your doctor about which supplements may affect lab tests.
That makes an assumption that they’d know 😜 many don’t
You're so right. I've had to look up those things, myself, and have found some interesting issues with certain supplements and lab tests. I guess we will always have to be our own advocates!
Even if we find a good doctor. I have lost count of the doctors I have had to fire. By the way, thanks for reaching out to the Administrator - they have fixed the glitch.
I'm so glad! They're great!
I found out the hard way this past year that chewing even sugarless gum before a fasting blood draw can skew the results. I chew gum to stay calm because I hate blood draws. When asked if I was fasting, I said yes except for a little piece of gum. The lab tech said it would affect the results and sent me home. I never heard of that and verified it with 2 different doctors. Made me wonder how many of my tests were off over the years because I chew gum a lot when I'm driving!
Wow! Do you know how it affects tests?
It depends on the tests I suppose. My PCP always orders a bunch at once. The lab guy said it causes an enzyme to be produced that can affect the tests. I don't remember the enzyme. A quick google search said that both regular and sugar free gum can speed up digestion and affect the test results that way.
I can't find much about specifics but can find a bunch of fasting lab test instructions that say don't chew gum during the fasting period. I'm going with the better safe than sorry approach. I've also been trying to drink more water during the fast to be better hydrated at the time of the draw. Its a little bit less painful.
Yes, more hydrated = easier venous access. Tiny, dehydrated veins are a difficult stick.
I think the general guidelines re. No gum are not about sugar free gum. But I don’t know anything about SF gum and labs. Then again, some say black coffee is ok (thank goodness) and others say no coffee 🤷🏻♀️🤷🏻♀️🤷🏻♀️
erash - have you got some links you could post for reliable info on possible impacts from lipoic acid on blood tests? I'm considering taking ALA instead of biotin as sometimes I have to have bloods done at very short notice and you need to be off biotin for several days before bloods are done. So, I've stopped taking biotin even tho my neuro would like me to keep on it, but he also recommends taking ALA. (I'm lucky 'cos my neuro isn't an old fuddy duddy and is actually an MS researcher as well as a practising neurologist).
Www.drugs.com is a reasonably credible source and lists info @ ALA. in contrast to biotin, which affects the lab tests but not necessarily the disease, ALA can affect the disease (DM, thyroid...)
I tried ALA and caused nausea even at 200mg 🙁
So, ALA and Biotin benefits are not interchangeable. You could stay with the biotin and if aberrant labs, just alert the doc u take biotin 🤷♀️
Interesting article: mind/body connection for people with MS
Has anyone else read this article about
Interesting idea
