jetsamflotsam wrote: »

He.. has tried to help me with my PCOS by prescribing metformin.

Should the need ever arise...

I'm in Month 2 of using Bristol-Myers Squibb brand-name Glucophage XR instead of generic metformin. As predicted by Dr. Bernstein, it's not only easier on my digestion, but I seem to be able to get by with less of it!

@jetsamflotsam Something I found out lately about iron (my was lower than yours!) is that if you have low stomach acid, you won't absorb the iron from your foods well at all, something like 10-15%. If you won't absorb it from your foods, you won't absorb it from supplements.

My numbers were different than yours but still in the same portion, on the Ferritin 35 ng/mL (range is 8-388 ng/mL). So you were in the bottom 8% and I was in the bottom 9%, so we're very close on that. HA! Actually, looking at my whole panel, my total iron is 67 UG/DL, range was 50-170 on my test (different labs set different standards), so that was low, too. Iron saturation was 15%, and my binding capacity was at max. 449 UG/dl (range is 250-450)... I am assuming all that relates to low iron, but no one told me to take a supplement, since I already have bowel issues. Those tests are a year old, too. I wonder how they'd look now with me treating the low stomach acid.

FYI, the range given for TSH is not a good one, it's the lowest for all ages, highest for all ages crap that isn't a true representation. I was told that as an almost 40 year old female, my TSH should not be above 2 uIU/ML, and should in fact be lower than that. 9 months ago it was almost a 4, but still "in range" by the lab ranges. (I guess as you age, your TSH should be lower...) So I don't buy into labs telling me things are "in range" without checking independent sources. Also, with sodium and potassium, the test only measures what is in your blood, and your body fights to keep that balance, so your body may be leeching the nutrients out of your bones to maintain your blood electrolyte levels.

My cholesterol went up at first, then came back down, but mine uses an entirely different scale MG/DL, and I'm not feeling the google for how to translate them. Your HDL and Triglycerides are the most important. I don't see the trigs on your report...unless it's a me-translating error.

The ratio of the HDL and trigs is most important. There is a ratio between them. With American numbers, the preferred ratio is 0-2. 4 is risky, and 6 is consider super bad! (Mine is right at that 2 range, so even though my LDL and total numbers are higher, this puts me in a lower risk category.)

That TSH seems WAY HIGH to me... My endocrinologist basically told me it shouldn't be over 50% of the range at age 40. By the seeming ratio for you, you're at 91%. My endo said that if your TSH is that high, you are definitely NOT in range and healthy. The TSH being that high might be okay for like a teenager, but not for 40 year old woman (I'll be in less than a month). Just a perspective to share so if you want to, you can take charge of your health and stop accepting ranges that don't fit EVERYONE... It's so frustrating to me, all the misinformation and settling we're expected to do!! Thank goodness for internet groups like this, medical crowdsourcing and info-sharing, not to mention the wonderful tool that is google!