Do I need to follow up and with what kind of dr?

[wlouf]

I am a 55 year old female..
We had a fasting blood screen profile offered at work so I had mine tested.  I have a borderline 30 high CO2 level but have been having other weird symptoms.  Could these be related?  Depression, anxiety, bad foot cramps, pain like symptoms on top of foot (burning feeling), dry skin and hair and have problems sleeping(I have had all these symptoms for over a year.  I am now having quite a few headaches and some weight gain and forgetfulness and fatigue..I do exercise and am a healthy body weight so why the higher CO2 level?  The other blood metabolic and lipid profiles are good.  Could I have some sort of adrenal or thyroid imbalance going on?  Do I need to see a physician for this? My GP didn't seem too concerned about my symptoms other than the anxiety and depression and I am being treated for depression.
I have had  off the top major life stresses- end of 30yr marriage, mother's death, extremely ill child, new job, had to sell home and move, care for elderly parent, financial struggles and no family support (one right on top of the other) for the last 4 years so it is hard to sort out what is stress and what is physical. wen

Also posted this on Thyroid Forum - not sure where to go with this..........

[Sally123123]

Alot of the symptoms sound like Hypothyriodism but that doesnt mean thats what is going on. I would get that tested first.

[dkknight593]

The CO2 test is part of the electrolyte panel.  The test is called the bicarbonate test.  90% of carbon dioxide in blood is stored as bicarbonate.  The bicarbonate is one of the chemicals that keeps you blood from becoming to acidic.  The kidneys will retain bicarbonate when needed and excrete it when not.  It can also be used as an indicator for some lung or kidney diseases.

The reference range is from 20-29.  So a value of 30 by itself would not be sufficient cause for alarm.  I have IBS and have a value of 31.  When I showed  it to my doc she just dismissed it.

Depression can cause many such symptoms all by itself.  Why are you having trouble sleeping? The body doesn't do such a good job regenerating without restful sleep.  Without adequate sleep you'll be grouchy irritable and not be mentally sharp.

I have really dry skin and I can't even use lotion.  In my case it is due to gut flora imbalance due to IBS.  But also it was due to hard water and filmy alkaline soaps.  I installed a shower water filter and use mild liquid soaps - even dove is too harsh for me.

You can also try supplements such as Ginkgo and Evening Primrose oil.  You can also add more dark green leafy veggies to your diet.

Here's a reference for more info:
http://www.webmd.com/a-to-z-guides/bicarbonate

[Dr. Kokil Mathur]

Hi
Thanks for the post! I am so sorry to hear about things going wrong at your end.
The marginally high CO2 in the blood is not a cause of concern. However fatigue, highly stressed life as in your case, over exertion can all cause acidosis and a mild CO2 increase. There is no harm in getting your thyroid tested as thyroid problems too could cause similar problems. Foot cramps can be due to low salt in the body. Keeping yourself well hydrated with fluids that have both salt and sugar like lemonade etc. will solve this problem and reduce dryness too. Try deep breathing exercises for a few minutes daily to increase the oxygen in the lung.

It is difficult to comment beyond this at this stage. Please let me know if there is any thing else and do keep me posted. Take care!

[Dr_Foot]

Hello,
Higher then normal CO2 can be related to your dry skin/hair, headaches, fatigue and possiblely the associated foot pain. In terms of thyroid imbalance alot of the symptoms cross over with those of more common conditions such as cardio-vascular problems and diabetes. If these symptoms are impacting on your quality of life I would suggest you bring these concerns up with your GP, if no answers are found then maybe test for thyroid imbalance.

Regards

Dr Foot