[bernadette]

 yes, these patterns are for an adult male. As I said, these are all possibilities, so leukocytic auto digestion may not apply to your son.

Checking your iron/ferritin, B vitamin levels, copper, and vitamin C status would help you know for sure what is at play in your case specifically.

[bernadette]

 without any prior history, background or symptoms to go with this set of labs, please keep in mind that the following explanations are simply assumptions based on what these patterns could mean from a functional lens for a male adult:

Suboptimal Low WBC:
Ideally, WBC should be between 5-7.5 so there is slight immune suppression. In my mind, I’m wondering what is taxing your immune system or causing a low production of white blood cells.

Pattern of Possible Anemia (macrocytic or microcytic):
Your red blood cells (RBC) for a man is also suboptimal low, along with lower hematocrit (HCT) and hemoglobin (HGB). This pattern could be caused by iron deficiency, B12/B9 deficiency, B6 deficiency, copper deficiency, and even a need for vitamin C. (FYI – I’ve been seeing a lot of low copper levels after the pandemic due to everyone mega dosing with zinc, and depleting their copper levels.)

Also, given that your MCV (mean corpuscular volume) is suboptimal high (>90), this means that the size of your red blood cells are compensating by increasing in size. This can lead to neuropathy and tingling in the extremities where the larger blood cells cannot reach.

A higher RDW (>13) can also point to some form of anemia. Additional testing would be warranted to determine what is at play.

Clinically Low Neutrophils (neutropenia):
Neutrophils are the white blood cells used by the body to combat bacterial infections and are usually first to the scene. They are supposed to be the most numerous and important white cell in the body’s reaction to inflammation.

If it’s clinically low, this could mean the body’s fighting a chronic viral infection. The typical pattern is a decreased WBC (<5.5) since the body is using up its WBCs, increased lymphocyte count (>44), decreased neutrophils (<40) and increased monocytes (>7) during the recovery phase.

Another possibility is pancreatic insufficiency. If the body doesn’t have enough pancreatic enzymes being produced, the body will use white cells to do the job of breaking down food and clearing food residue from the system. This is called leukocytic auto digestion and can cause a decreased white count (<5.5).

There are also many other possibilities like decreased production from the bone marrow, systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), and different types of anemia and nutrient deficiencies as described above. Chronic intestinal parasites, adrenal dysfunction, hepatitis, multiple food allergies, rheumatoid arthritis are other conditions associated with decreased WBC levels.

Please let me know if any of this resonates with any of your symptoms/health history, and if you have any additional questions.

[bernadette]

 you mentioned that this symptom began during the pandemic. Was it after a bout of illness? After a vaccine? Were you under an unusual amount of stress? 

I’m asking because so much of the post-covid syndrome has a tremendous amount to do with functional imbalances, and in particular oxidative stress and damage and mitochondrial dysfunction where ATP is not sufficient which leads to body wide fatigue, weakness, higher perception of pain, aches, and stiffness.

A hypo-adrenal state can lead to low cortisol and increased pain/stiffness. Are your symptoms worse in the morning? We need cortisol to be able to effectively contract muscles that line vessels that pump fluid against gravity to come back up to enhance recirculation, otherwise we can end up with numbness/pain in our extremities when exercising/moving especially.

Are you/were you supplementing with high dose vitamin D? High dose vitamin D can deplete magnesium, increasing a person’s need for magnesium, which can contribute to stiffness.

Do you know if blood sugar dysregulation or insulin resistance is at play or even high cortisol? This can also create a higher need for magnesium, and also damage the lining of blood vessels in nerves that can lead to neuropathy.

In terms of nerve pain, are you taking a B complex with pyridoxine in it by any chance? If a person cannot convert pyridoxine (B6) to P5P, high B6 can lead to neuropathy and nerve pain.

On the flip side, we also need sufficient levels of B6 for healthy nerve function. Have you ever tested this?

In fact, I would also check B12 status as insufficient levels can lead to inflammation of the nerves and compromise nerve function.

Have you ruled out heavy metal toxicity such as mercury? This is known to cause nerve damage.

These are just some initial thoughts of possible root causes other than structural reasons. Please let me know if any of this resonates with you and we can help you dig deeper and suggest some additional tests.

[bernadette]

Hi  – yes great start if there are no underlying symptoms/issues. In addition to your list, I would also add the following:

-vitamin A  (critical for fetal development)
-zinc (protects sperm from oxidative damage and increases chances of conception and reduces risk of miscarriage. Also important for stomach acid production and all downstream consequences)
-copper (to see the ratio of zinc & copper)

If stress is a factor (mental/emotional, physical, physiological), I would also run a test to check adrenal function, as it will directly impact thyroid function. One of the most common causes of infertility and miscarriage is hypothyroidism/Hashimoto’s – and adrenal health goes hand-in-hand. You can watch this video here to better understand how cortisol impacts thyroid function.

I have added a few different testing options for adrenal function in the latest adrenal balance course, which you can watch:
->At-Home
->In Blood
->In saliva/urine (my favorite is the Dutch adrenal or Dutch plus test which checks all sex hormones)

And since fatty acids are critical for sex hormone production, ensuring enough healthy fats are in the diet is key. You can test your levels of fatty acids as well (but this is another functional test – here’s the video on testing fatty acid status).

[bernadette]

 apologies if I’m still misunderstanding your question. Can you  please clarify what natural remedies, medications, therapies, and/or compounds you’re referring to. In other words, what exactly are these patients being recommended to boost their immune system to fight cancer? I might be able to answer your question better if I know what you’re referring to. Are you referring to treatments like high dose vitamin C IV infusion, medicinal mushrooms, ozone therapy, etc? Or something else?

[bernadette]

Hi  – nothing to feel embarrassed about. There are many ways to get that info.

1. The easiest is to click on “Notifications” (left side panel from a computer or the bell icon on the bottom right of the app) to see your notifications and go to the message/reply.

2. To find your previous posts/comments, click on the bottom left corner (if you’re on desktop computer) on your profile picture, click on “View Profile”. From there, it will display your posts, comments and the different spaces you’ve joined here in the community.

From the app on your phone, your profile picture will be located at the top right of the screen. Click it and you’ll see Posts, Comments, Spaces as well.

3. You can also use the search bar (top left on the computer or bottom left icon on the app) to search for your name and look for your posts.

Hope these help you find what you’re looking for! And for any technical support, you can always email support@bernadetteabraham.com for help.

[bernadette]

 cooked liver is the most bio-available form of iron if you like the taste and feel you can digest it. Otherwise, my clients go for tiny pieces of raw/frozen liver pieces as described above.

[bernadette]

 correct – I typically encourage my clients to wait until after they’ve addressed gut infections to supplement with iron, since we want to prevent feeding the infection and causing the body to sequester iron instead. In the meantime, I usually encourage them to incorporate liver fractions (small diced raw liver pieces that are frozen and swallowed like supplements with their meals). I have them prepare 2-6 oz of frozen liver fractions and encourage them to finish the pieces by the end of the week.

[bernadette]

Hi – ok, so I’m not sure who is advising you to do so because prebiotics are soluble and insoluble fibers that specifically aid with microbial colonization, and which can be fermented by commensal gut microbes in the lower digestive tract. Prebiotics are basically food for our gut bugs, and while it can help improve microbiome health for a well-balanced microbiome, it can actually cause a person to feel worse if there are microbial overgrowths like SIBO, SIFO, etc. Here’s a handout that explains the difference between fiber, prebiotics and resistant starch, and a food list at the end with examples of each.

To assist with protein digestion however, either a digestive enzyme containing pepsin or digestive bitters would be better suited to help with that.

But again, while these digestive aids are helpful in offering rapid relief, they won’t be addressing WHY you need help breaking down protein. Good strong stomach acid is needed for that, and so if you wish to get to the root cause of the possibility of low stomach acid, please watch this video here in the Gut Health Masterclass course which explains the different reasons for hypochlorhydria (i.e. low stomach acid).

Please let me know if you have any other questions.

[bernadette]

Hi  blackstrap molasses is somewhat sweet but it also has a bitter taste. And yes, it does contain nutrients like iron, potassium and calcium but to correct an iron deficiency, it’s usually not enough and the amounts really vary by product..

Here’s a video on the best ways (foods, supplements, pans) to correct an iron deficiency if that’s your aim.

[bernadette]

 haha – yup, sounds about right. It’s normal to feel very tired… the immune system is hard at work getting rid of unwanted guests. Happy it went well… 

If there were a lot of parasites (and if they were rather large), I usually recommend that my clients repeat 1-3 rounds of parasite cleansing during the monthly full moon week. So 3 days before the full moon and 3 days after the full moon. The parasites should reduce in number/size each month. If they don’t, then the root cause has not yet been found/addressed. FYI

[bernadette]

 congratulations on eliminating those suckers from your body!! Parasites can really wreak havoc on our gut and also emotional state. Did you experience any emotional relief/release after passing parasites? I’ve had clients feel extremely irritated and emotional the days leading up to them passing parasites, and then a sense of relief/release – emotionally afterwards. I’d love to hear if you’ve had any emotional shifts as well.

[bernadette]

 have you ever measured your CRP level or other inflammatory markers to know if there is general systemic inflammation? Do you have any other symptoms aside from blepharitis? Have you ever tested your omega-3 fatty acid status? Do you consume enough healthy omega-3 fatty acids?

One symptom rarely appears alone, so if you can provide additional information, we may be able to help you get to the root cause of this chronic issue.

[bernadette]

 so I think you’re confusing the term “boosting” with supporting a dysregulated immune system.

Think of the immune system along a gradient line. In the middle is a healthy and tolerant immune system. It’s healthy and responsive when it needs to be responsive.

However, the immune system can become dysregulated for various reasons, and shift towards either extreme; it can become weakened and under-reactive, or it can become overwrought/hypervigilant and over-reactive.

If it’s underactive, this will cause opportunistic species to overtake leading to dysbiosis and overgrowths, and infections that can become chronic and severe (i.e. IBS, candida, always getting sick, etc)

If it’s over-reactive, this can lead to symptoms like allergies, autoimmune diseases and cancer.

So the goal isn’t to necessarily “boost” the immune system (although boosting immune nutrients vitamins A, D, and zinc are often necessary) when it’s hypervigilant, but instead to support the dysregulation by removing what is causing it to over-react. And yes, you are correct – this is where immunosuppression can be a life saver in times where the immune system is really attacking self. These medications allow rapid relief and give the person the time they need to address the root cause of that hypervigilance.

But both extremes require modulation of the gut microbiome to strengthen the immune system. Hope that makes sense?

I encourage you to watch this video in the Gut Health Masterclass about the role of the gut microbiome and immune health.

[bernadette]

Hi – so I have asked Dr. Roze this question before because I had my wisdom teeth pulled out as a teen and they later unknowingly became infected. So I’ll share my experience…

Thanks to my preventative approach to health I found out about 2 years ago that 3 out of the 4 extracted sites had developed cavitations. You can learn more about cavitations here and see how studies have shown how wisdom teeth extraction sites found cavitations in 88% of cases. So the chances of jawbone infection are very high!

So I asked him if it was wrong to have had my wisdom teeth removed as a teen, and his answer was “no, not necessarily”. My understanding is that it really depends on the individual circumstance but what is important is the method of the extraction/procedure. And that’s where biological dentistry has an advantage.

He ended up cleaning my 3 cavitations using a biological approach (opened up the site, cleaned out the infection, sent it for testing, did PRF (plasma rich fibrin) to help the healing process, closed it up and and did ozone).

I asked him what are the chances of these sites getting re-infected since he had to open up the sites again, and he said there is always a chance, but it’s very minimal since he uses a biological approach to prevent infections from happening in the area. He also recommended that I get a 3D cone beam scan a few years later to  ensure there’s no re-infection (the 3D cone beam scan is how I found out they were infected in the first place). (thanks for reminding me… I should pay him a visit soon for that scan! )

So, my suggestion is that it’s probably best to get a virtual consultation with Dr. Roze as the next step, and get his professional opinion about it for your son’s case. Let him know you’re a B Better member – he’ll take care of you.

Wish I could offer better advice, but all I can offer is my personal experience and refer you to the expert.