Another Round of Testing. Cytokines?

One piece of good news.  There is movement on the adrenal gap.  It took a little longer than expected but I am getting there.  Without those pills: 2:55 (8:45 pace)  With: 2:25 (7:15 pace).  Compared to last time, the ceiling rose by 33 while the floor leaped by 96.  Thus, the gap diminished from 2:33 to 1:30.  That's more like it.  I predict that by the end of the weekend, the gap will be less than 60.  Soon, it will be like most of my other pills.  I won't be able to quit taking it, but if I miss a couple doses here and there, I won't notice.  If only ALL of my pills were like that.  NOPE.  There is always one that I cannot get along without.  

I got a call from the doctor's office shortly after I published my last post.  Despite the elevated lab value suggestive of AIHA and symptoms that make sense with that diagnosis, my doctor does NOT believe that I suffer from this condition.  The reason is that there is another key lab value that I did not look into that was well within the normal range.  After some additional reflection, I don't think I would be satisfied with that diagnosis either. 

 I have to go back to the lab on Monday morning for more testing.  There has got to be something that is WAY OFF!  One of the natural practitioners that I spoke to many times told me that in 20 years of practice, he has NEVER seen anyone as sensitive as I am to supplements.  IIRC in this lab, the upper limit of normal was 35 and my result was a 37.x.  I'm sure that my doctor has seen a lot worse than my numbers.  Yes, I have had lab values flagged as abnormal before but the treatment did not address the one problem that I hoped to solve.

Now let's suppose that there is a lab test in which it is best to be nearly undetectable but you are still considered normal if your number is below 10.  I would hope that my lab value is over 100.  Yes, you read that right.  I HOPE to see a lab value OVER ONE HUNDRED when 10 is the upper limit of normal!  Sure, it means that I have a very serious imbalance and probably a long road to recovery but AT LEAST I KNOW WHAT IS WRONG!  Even if my prognosis is poor or uncertain, I would still prefer that to my current situation.  

Cytokine panel is a test like that.  I've done some research and though I don't fit all of the symptoms, yes it is an autoimmune problem that CAN cause sensitivity as well as fatigue, depression and muscle pain.  What does lead me to believe that this may be THE problem is my reaction to a supplement called Cytokine Suppress.  I purchased a bottle in case of a COVID infection because I read that cytokine storms can flare up with COVID, which can be dangerous.  I did have some sort of respiratory infection over New Years and I'll never know for sure if it was COVID.  At any rate, I took a couple of those pills and though I did not get very sick from the virus, I did not notice any benefit from the supplement.  Fortunately, I kept it in my cabinet.  

In light of the news of autoimmune issues, I tried it again today after the adrenal gap intervals.  As I posted before, Taurine is not tolerated unless I take Probiotics.  I took some Taurine without Probiotics shortly after I arrived at work.  As expected, I had an immediate negative response.  Then, about 30 minutes later, I took a Cytokine Suppress pill.  It wasn't quite an instant reaction but within minutes, I was NOTICEABLY BETTER.  Unfortunately, the good feeling didn't last long.  Come lunch time, I was feeling pretty rotten again.  I did rebound a bit by late afternoon but still struggled badly in my workout.  I went to the toilet a couple of times and felt noticeably better afterwards.  This all happened without the Probiotics or Lactoferrin.  I took that stuff when I got home and found that it had no real effect.  That's good news.  Perhaps I simply need to adjust to the Cytokine Suppress pill.

Goals:

In order to truly assess my reaction to the Cytokine pill, I must wait a few hours before I run.  I may do quite well shortly after taking it but collapse within a couple hours.  Of course, the goal is a decent workout in the afternoon after having taken a pill in the morning.  

An even better indicator is to take a forbidden combo such as Taurine with no Probiotics and NOT have a bad reaction.  This must be done BEFORE taking the Cytokine pill.  That would mean that I have enough reserve in my system and the sensitivity is GONE!  Once again, I'm fine with having to take this pill but an occasional missed dose should not hurt me.  So far, I'm not getting an insatiable need for it as I've had with other pills.  That's good news.

I had to ASK the doctor for this test.  The receptionist says that she will ask the doctor but expects him to approve the test.  The doctor did refuse to test my Aldosterone and had the receptionist call to tell me.  I'm not terribly upset because adrenal blood tests are not reliable and my interval times are clearly headed in the right direction.  I received no such call about the Cytokine.  If this test is refused, I will pay out of pocket for it and if it's flagged, my doctor will be fired.