Vitamin and Micronutrient Testing

[Willy50]

I'm placing this in a post TX forum, but it also occurs to me that it may be useful for those who are considering treatment.  
(it may be off topic in this forum or thread, but it behooves people to make sure they are not vitamin deficient before treating- there are studies which show vitamin A or D can improve viral response)

Anyway...... people who are suffering post treatment issues might well look into doing some testing so that they are putting their best foot forward

Take one possible post TX issue....... neuropathy
http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/peripheral-neuropathy/DS00131/DSECTION=causes
"Vitamin deficiencies. B vitamins, including B-1, B-6 and B-12, are particularly important to nerve health. Vitamin E and niacin also are crucial to nerve health. Not having enough of these vitamins in your system may cause  neuropathy."


http://www.news-medical.net/health/What-Causes-Peripheral-Neuropathy.aspx
"Vitamin deficiency states: Vitamin B12 (Cyanocobalamin), Vitamin A, Vitamin E, Vitamin B1 (Thiamin) "

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I'm just using these as examples, but I wonder if it makes sense while one has a specific issue, to see if you can get many of the recommended levels where they need to be via diet or supplementation.

I am going to start looking into these types of tests..... my sense is that they may be covered by insurance and that many doctors do not really start by looking for these micronutrient issues.  

I work in building trades..... and what carpenters, masons or other builders do is "work to your knowns".
.... you know..... you can't start building until a floor is flat and level.

My feeling is that if we take care of some of our deficiencies we may have a better shot at recovery.

It may also be that is we have certain areas of deficiency, that it may shed other light on other physical ailments we may have, or the effects of other certain drugs we are taking, or whether our digestive track is working.
Sometimes if we are not digesting well... (such as TX or antibiotics has changed our gut flora), we may not digest well.... which means we are not getting all the benefit of what we eat.

Anyway.... this is not intended to be an all inclusive article, but I thought I would put the idea out there..... a little food for thought...... and provide a few links so you can see what you think, if you have something to add.

I also...... well..... just as the front part of this almost suggests that you have to treat deficiencies...... there is the opposite situation; what if you are taking too much of a vitamin/microtutrient? They can also have bad effects, so that supplements such as Vitamin E, K, zinc selenium....... you know..... it is possible to have too much of a good thing.

Take selenium for instance;
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Selenium (yeah, I know wiki is not the end all source of info......but just consider~W)
"Symptoms of selenosis include a garlic odor on the breath, gastrointestinal disorders, hair loss, sloughing of nails, fatigue, irritability, and neurological damage. Extreme cases of selenosis can result in cirrhosis of the liver, pulmonary edema, and death."
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Anyway....... many of us have those issues anyway, which means that some of these tell tale symptoms be be masked by symptoms of other treatments/drugs/ailments.

You get the idea.......

Oh yeah...... here is just one example, but you can do your own search.  It could be that the prices of these may be higher or lower, or some tests more comprehensive, or certain test provides more reputable.
(speaking of reputable.....and the topic of a different thread, do we think all vitamin mineral providers are of equal quality?)

http://www.early-retirement.org/forums/f38/spectracell-micronutrients-testing-66664.html

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vQhfbO6HO_s

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=28HQ7T6oEU8

understand... I am not recommending this test, but there is ready information which conveys what I am trying to bring up as a potential issue.

Hahhahahaahahah....

one more thing....  : )

I had some issues before TX ......I had heart arrhythmia.
The reason I had heart arrhythmia.....possibly, in part was because I was drinking tonic water with my water... the tonic water contained quinine..... which in older people may cause the heart arrhythmia..
The reason I drank the tonic water was to cure my occasional nocturnal leg cramps......
guess what may have helped?
Magnesium
...... hey.... just maybe......

Once again....apologies for wiki.....
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magnesium_deficiency_%28medicine%29

Signs and symptoms

Symptoms of magnesium deficiency include: hyperexcitability, dizziness, muscle cramps, muscle weakness and fatigue.[1] Severe magnesium deficiency can cause hypocalcemia, low serum potassium levels (hypokalemia), retention of sodium, low circulating levels of parathyroid hormone (PTH), neurological and muscular symptoms (tremor, fasciculations, muscle spasms, tetany), loss of appetite, nausea, vomiting, personality changes [2] and death from heart failure.[3] Magnesium plays an important role in carbohydrate metabolism and its deficiency may worsen insulin resistance, a condition that often precedes diabetes, or may be a consequence of insulin resistance.[4] Deficiency can cause irregular heart beat.

Anyway..... here is one more link on magnesium deficiency.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3wtUn1gWgaw

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Well.....it's kind of interesting once you start looking into this,
and I think it is an area that many people really do not look. (doctors included perhaps)

willy

[Willy50]

I placed this thread in the post treatment forum.

Somehow...... inexplicably, it is now in the social forum.(unless I am delusional)

I placed it in the post TX forum since many people post TX have issues which could have been exacerbated by the form of chemotherapy we go through. If we are to repair ourselves, we may need to treat all deficiencies.
These are not theoretical; they have been established by science. This thread is about getting tested to get ourselves back to recommended guidelines.

As I mentioned...... since these same issues can also affect our chances of success with TX I also believe that some of us face deficiencies due to the type of "modern" processed foods we eat, or fighting a chronic infection.
There have been studies which show that some vitamin deficiencies may also negatively affect out chances with TX,  I have seen studies which show adding vitamin a A, B, and D may also improve viral response.

So.... I can understand this thread might also be of some use to people preparing to treat.  I can understand that it may be of use in the post TX forum.  If you want..... I'll write a separate thread for EACH forum. : )

What I don't understand is why (it seems) to have been moved out of the originating forum where it was placed, and I rather doubt that it was done without prompting.  What is the issue if any?  And why was it moved to the "social" forum?

Or an I just dreaming?  That's a possibility after all.  I *thought* I put it in the Post TX forum and my originating sentence even says so.  

Maybe instead of being delusional, I'm clairvoyant.  : )

IF I'm in error could this please be moved to the post TX forum.
In many forums when threads are moved they have a note attached as to where they were moved from and why.

It would be nice if there was some guidance on this issue since I believe it has happened with other threads.

willy

[Dee1956]

I agree, this is really important for people to try to find out what could be happening after they finish treating
I am trying to think outside the box.  


Much like Pooh found out that she had problems and needed to plaquenil.  It is helping her very much.

[rivll]

It was interesting to me the line of thought that cancer treatments can lower b-12 levels which might cause depression and so an anti-depressant might be prescribed which lowers folic acid which like B-12 deficiencies can cause depression. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------

This is important information. This forum is turning out to be real gold.
Thanks much

[Dee1956]

Really good information.

When I had neuropathy I found similar information and started with B12 injections.  After 8 months or so I started with the sublingual. I read the same thing you did about not being able to absorb the B12 so either injections or sublingual were best

I have been trying to get my Dad to take the B12 for about 4 years now, I think it would help with his dementia and leg pain.

Thank you again for posting this.  I am sharing this information with my Aunt, she is suffering with an inner ear problem after taking clindamycin.
Dee

[Willy50]

Thank you Riv, I also had a high interest for a few reasons.....
1)  for years I have read that alcoholics have a similar deficiency
2) I have read that it may pertain to neuropathy (and I have a mild case of it)
3) I have a HCV+ friend who has acid reflux; terrible and one of those addressed that issue.

I even missed the point about pernicious anemia at the 2:40 mark in the Vitamin B-12 Deficiency Utube,
So when I googled B-12 deficiency, and saw this link, at that time I saw the reference to pernicious anemia......

That resonated with me a little...... because when I mentioned to my sister I was anemic during TX.... she said you know your grandmothers mother died of that, (pernicious anemia) so I may have a higher anemia risk.  This could have played a part in my neuropathy; why it may have been an issue for me, and few others.

Speculation of course, and it could just be one of many factors..
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It was interesting to me the line of thought that cancer treatments can lower b-12 levels which might cause depression and so an anti-depressant might be prescribed which lowers folic acid which like B-12 deficiencies can cause depression.  It seemed very much like alcoholics who drink to relieve depression, which lowers the B-12, which causes depression, and so they may continue to self medicate.

It is equally chilling to me since I told an old HCV+ friend I was starting into a trial, I remember when they went on TX and started the AD's..... and 10 years later, they are still on them.  I liked the idea of treating the cause, instead of the symptom.
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I like the idea of just knowing whether certain micro-nutrient levels are being met via a relatively cheap test.

If the levels are fine, I can forget about them.  If they are low, it means more research, but perhaps an easy direct solution via medical care, diet or the addition of supplements.  
I am thinking that I want one of these tests.......

Here is a wiki page, which I also found interesting.  If we are low, it may also be due to our inability to absorb, so a shot at the doctors might also be worth considering, but there are also sublingual forms.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vitamin_B12_deficiency

~willy

[rivll]

Thanks Willy, very interesting.