• Lab Tests, Markers & Interpretations

  Question on Lab report

  Posted by unknown on March 13, 2023 at 3:46 pm

  Hello D and B,

  I have been suffering from a repetitive cough, i’m trying to find answers – just a background – i have Hashimotos (and other hormonal imbalances (perimenopause).

  Not sure how its connected – but i know hashimotos has a link to everything. Please if you’d be able to check the report and let me know your thoughts, would be great. Also if you think i need to dig deeper plz if you can suggest the direction?

  Thanks in advance.

  

   

  

   

  

   

  

   

  

   

  

   

  

   

  

   

  

   

  

   

  Daniel replied 1 year, 10 months ago 2 Members · 1 Reply
• 1 Reply

• 

  Daniel

  Member

  March 13, 2023 at 11:48 pm

  Hey ,

  There can be several reasons why you experience chronic coughing. The most common reasons are tobacco, postnasal drip, asthma and acid reflux. With a postnasal drip, you can feel a liquid running through the back of your throat. Food sensitivities could cause these, in particular dairy.

  If you also have a postnasal drip, I recommend seeing what happens when you eliminate dairy products for 4 weeks. A clear sign of food sensitivities causing your cough is when symptoms reduce after a few weeks. Another clear warning that food sensitivities cause these problems is when the symptoms come back when you reintroduce the foods you eliminated.

  Be aware that you need to eliminate these foods 100%.

  If you want to know the specific details on how to do an elimination diet and reintroduce foods, I recommend you read this handout. Since most of the time post nasal drip is caused by dairy products I would recommend you to look at this document where you can find hidden dairy products.

  Supporting the immune system is also important. Nutrients like vitamin D, zinc, vitamin A and folate are specifically important to the immune system. Make sure you have enough of them in the diet. Here is a handout in which you can find B’s immune-boosting protocol. It also has a homemade cough remedy you could try.

  Again, let us know if you experience other symptoms as well, like wheezing and shortness of breath, or heartburn because they need a different approach.

  Hashimoto’s
  If you like to go a step further, there is a connection between Hashimoto’s and food sensitivities.

  Hashimoto’s is an autoimmune disease. With an autoimmune disease, there is often a connection to gut health. The gut might have an increased enhanced gut permeability (often called ‘leaky gut’) causing undigested foods to enter the body. The immune system then, in time, starts to react more efficiently and aggressively to these undigested foods. In fact, this is exactly how food intolerances are created. But if these undigested foods might resemble tissues from the body (and with Hashimoto’s, this is of course the thyroid tissue), the immune system starts affecting these tissues. Things that cause a leaky gut are for example:
  • Stress
  • Medications like antibiotics, oral contraceptives and use of NSAIDs 
  • Gluten 
  • Gut diseases like Celiac disease and Irritated Bowel Syndrome (IBS)
  • Other sources of inflammation in the gut for example high histamine levels.

  It is therefore helpful for us to know if you also experience gut-related symptoms like: gas, bloating, diarrhoea, constipation, pain & cramps.

  What can you do?
  Supporting the gut can be done on various levels. I already mentioned vitamin D. Having optimal vitamin D levels will also help to close the doors (tight junctions) between the cells in the gut.

  With autoimmune diseases, I often recommend my clients to eliminate dairy and gluten. Preferably not only gluten, but all grains.

  Adding in nutrients and supplements that heal the gut might help as well. Things like zinc l-carnosine, aloe vera, miscellaneous herbs, bone broth, L- glutamine, and cabbage juice are all options. There are also really great supplements on the market that are blends of these ingredients, for example:
  • DGL PLus from Pure Encapsulations (doesn’t contain glutamine)
  • GI Revive from Designs for Health (which does contain glutamine)

  Labs
  Thank you for posting your labs! I assume you are using thyroid medication. Did you recently change the dosage of your medication? And are you currently experiencing any thyroid-related symptoms?

  There are some elevations in bilirubin. This can be caused by biliary congestion for example or an increased breakdown of red blood cells since bilirubin is a breakdown product of red blood cells.

  Did your doctor choose to explore why your bilirubin is elevated? Tests that usually are done are 
  • Liver function tests. Blood tests measure certain enzymes or proteins in your blood. Besides ALT (which was measured in your labs) there are other liver function tests, like AST and Alkaline Phosphatase
  • Albumin and total protein. Levels of albumin — a protein made by the liver — and total protein show how well your liver is making certain proteins. These proteins are necessary for your body to fight infections and perform other functions.
  • Complete blood count. This test measures several components and features of your blood.

  If biliary congestion is at play I often recommend the use of D-limonene, D-limonene is a supplement that is often used to help bile flow. I usually recommend my clients around 1000 mg/day for 2 months.

  Having an optimal bile flow is important for gut health as well since bile helps to grow the beneficial bacteria in your gut and keep the opportunistic bacteria away.

  I know I spend a lot of time diving into gut health. It often is important when the auto-immune disease is at play.

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