Could This Be The Reason? Bloodwork Please Help

[thms]

Hello all

My bloodwork came back today and I wanted to ask your opinions because doctor says its all okay...

Glucose 3,9 mmol/l
Tsh 1,5 mu/l
Testosteron 12,8 nmol/l (= 350 ng/dl)

Testosteron seems low to me? Coule this be due to high sugar intake or high coristol ? (600mgs cafeïne a day sometimes)

See full panel here

For your information my sympthoms are lethargic low body temperature low motivation

 

[whodathunkit]

The main purpose of this board is for people to exchange information so that they can make good decisions for themselves, based on their own personal situations. Basically, you have to learn things and then make decisions for yourself about how to proceed with your own health.

We're not doctors here. We can't advise on what you *should* do...you have to learn and research and figure out what's going on for yourself. I hope that makes sense.

Unless you're a doctor, giving medical advice is illegal. Nobody here does that.

That said, I would not be alarmed by the bloodwork you posted. AFAIK positive for CMV just means you've been exposed to it sometime in your life and you have antibodies present. You could have been carrying it your whole life. Unless something goes seriously wrong with your immune system you probably will never have a problem with it.

Lethargic and low body temps are typically metabolic problems. You're young, and that's always a good thing when trying to resolve problems with the metabolism. However, you seem quite anxious to know everything NOW. That can work against you because if you get too worked up or try too many things at once, it can backfire. That's not a criticism...I've been that way my whole life, and have learned the hard way that it's usually better to slow down.

If I was you I would cut the caffeine down to no more than 200mg/day (about two cups of coffee). I might put 2-3 tablespoons of gelatin in each cup of coffee, along with sugar and milk. I would try eating Peaty to satiation, using fruit as my primary source of sugar. That is, I wouldn't use coke or candy or ice cream or sources of added refined sugar. I'd eat only whole foods. Safe starches like potatoes and white rice if I wanted. NO PUFA (grains, oils, chicken, etc.) I might also try some good vitamin E product like @haidut makes available.

I'd eat 4oz. of liver 1x/week.

I'd cut my 1.5 hour weight training sessions down to only 2x/week. If I felt like I needed more activity, I'd do something less strenuous like Pilates, yoga, or walking on other days.

I'd try this for at least a month and probably two months before I decided I needed to try other measures.

Maybe not what you want to hear, but based on what little I know about bloodwork and what you've told us so far, that's what I'd do if I was in your shoes.

However, what you actually decide to do will be based upon what you feel is right for you and what you learn going forward. It's all up to you.

Good luck! :)

 

[whodathunkit]

@Ella, just curious...how can you tell from the bloodwork above if he might be shedding the virus, or if there's anything going on beyond simply being positive for the antibodies? That is, if the infection is active or if he's merely been exposed?

 

[Ella]

That is, if the infection is active or if he's merely been exposed?

Good question. Lab test reports +ve result and no titres. Knowing titres would helpful but normally, IgM antibodies are the first antibodies to be produced in response to an infection. IgM antibodies when present in high numbers represent a new active infection or an existing infection that has become reactivated.

IgG antibodies are produced if the infection has been going on for a while and IgG abs may still be present once infection has resolved.

When IgG abs are present to an organism but IgM is -ve, it means that the individual was exposed to the organism at on point in time (in the past) and developed antibodies to the organism but does not have an active infection presently.

Thus:

IgM = current infection
IgG = can be a current infection or can be due to a past exposure or past infection to the organism.

IgM +ve indicates your immune system is in "first response" mode to the virus. Either you were infected recently or that the virus has been reactivated due to a compromised immune status. This can results from surgery, medications, corticosteriodal meds, malnutrition, inadequate protein, psychological/emotional stress - any stress that has been long standing such as over-exercising and undereating etc., etc.

Our genome is riddled with viral DNA. The fact that they are like no other organism on this planet; totally alien in structure and function, makes one wonder what their true role might be. I like to think of them as evolutionary change agents and recommend the following book to anyone fascinated in virology.

Viruses: Agents of Evolutionary Invention: Michael G. Cordingley: 9780674972087: Amazon.com: Books

 

[tara]

We're not doctors here. We can't advise on what you *should* do...you have to learn and research and figure out what's going on for yourself. I hope that makes sense.

Unless you're a doctor, giving medical advice is illegal. Nobody here does that.

Ditto.

And that said, here's what I'd be thinking if it were me ...
I don't know much about cytomegalovirus, so I don't know how big a deal it is or how best to address it, but I'd probably be interested in what Ella says.
I note that while your sodium (natrium) level looks fine (close to/just above mid-range) your potassium (kalium) is just above bottom of the range. For me, I would take that as an indicator to favour fruit, roots and vegetables that bring potassium with them over more refined sugars.
I'm not sure if I'm reading it right, but I think it is saying your blood glucose is low too? Which suggests eating more carbohydrates, probably more often.
I would limit caffeine unless or until you can reliably keep your blood glucose up.
I agree with the others about reducing exercise to something gentler to give your metabolism a chance to recover. And about regular liver, eggs, shellfish, and if it agrees with you, milk.

 

[thms]

Ditto.

And that said, here's what I'd be thinking if it were me ...
I don't know much about cytomegalovirus, so I don't know how big a deal it is or how best to address it, but I'd probably be interested in what Ella says.
I note that while your sodium (natrium) level looks fine (close to/just above mid-range) your potassium (kalium) is just above bottom of the range. For me, I would take that as an indicator to favour fruit, roots and vegetables that bring potassium with them over more refined sugars.
I'm not sure if I'm reading it right, but I think it is saying your blood glucose is low too? Which suggests eating more carbohydrates, probably more often.
I would limit caffeine unless or until you can reliably keep your blood glucose up.
I agree with the others about reducing exercise to something gentler to give your metabolism a chance to recover. And about regular liver, eggs, shellfish, and if it agrees with you, milk.

Thank you tara,

potassium is low i suppose, i try to get around 4-5000 a day

i eat around 5-600 grams of carbs a day, but you suggest that my blood glucose is still low?

i am going to stop cafeine all togheter see if that makes any diffrence

 

[whodathunkit]

@Ella, thanks for the excellent explanation! :)

i am going to stop cafeine all togheter see if that makes any diffrence

That's a good first step. Also please consider cutting back the strenuous weight training. Once I started paying attention I was truly surprised at how much weight training could drive up my cortisol, especially if I was already in a semi-exhausted state. A heavy session of weights early in the morning if I'm not well rested will impact my ability to sleep later that night. Pure stress response.

Good luck, let us know how you do!

 

[thms]

@Ella, thanks for the excellent explanation! :)


That's a good first step. Also please consider cutting back the strenuous weight training. Once I started paying attention I was truly surprised at how much weight training could drive up my cortisol, especially if I was already in a semi-exhausted state. A heavy session of weights early in the morning if I'm not well rested will impact my ability to sleep later that night. Pure stress response.

Good luck, let us know how you do!

ive cut back on weightraining a great deal (for me)

i was training almost everyday for 1,5 to 2 hours

ive cut back to every other day or 3 times a week for 1,5 hour full body training

 

[tara]

i eat around 5-600 grams of carbs a day, but you suggest that my blood glucose is still low?

I've got a language problem - you tell me - what does this mean?:
"glucose niet nuchter, veneus (l... 3,900 mmol/l 4.0 - 7.8"

Was it a fasting test? Does it mean your fasting glucose level was below the normal range? I wonder if that means you had not managed to store sufficient glycogen to sustain you through the fast, either because of not eating enough, or because the storage is not optimal?

i am going to stop cafeine all togheter see if that makes any diffrence

I think that's worth a try.

 

[whodathunkit]

i was training almost everyday for 1,5 to 2 hours

Oh, honey, that's way too much. That may be the entire root of your problem.

ive cut back to every other day or 3 times a week for 1,5 hour full body training

I know you don't want to hear this, but try: that is still TOO MUCH if you're exhausted. Weight training causes muscle gains because it causes damage to muscles which then heals, causing the growth of new muscle fibers and stronger existing one. But if you're not giving your body time to heal then you're cancelling half of what's good about the process.

Whole body three days per week is almost the same thing as training every day but split body. You have simply shifted the timeframe, not the whole body stress. It's not allowing the body time to heal.

1.5 hours per day three days per week is still a lot for anyone, even someone who is in optimal health. If you stress yourself out too much your body will begin to catabolize itself. You actually lose muscle. You know that, right?

Have you heard of training 1x/week to muscle failure, then giving your body a week to recover fully from the muscular damage weight training causes? Training to failure 1x/week has been shown to have even more strength gains than training more and not letting your body recover fully.

This study Comparison of once‐weekly and twice‐weekly strength training in older adults was done on older people but it has implications for everyone. Older people are much more sensitive to poor lifestyle choices than younger, so it can be argued that what's good for older is good for younger, too.

Sorry for being so bossy but I've had experience with over-exercising. It's not good and can help ruin your health. Better to under-train than over-train, anyway. Any experienced competition body builder will tell you that.

It sounds like you may have some anxiety around body image driving all this training. But please, try to set that aside. I've seen pictures of guys doing the 1x/week to failure technique and holy cow! Huge, and very, very strong. Like crazy high bench press and squat weight. Scary strong.

Just because you're training less than you were does not mean that it is a beneficial amount. Try to keep that in mind.

Anyway, again, good luck! Keep us posted. :)

 

[tara]

I know you don't want to hear this, but try: that is still TOO MUCH if you're exhausted.

+1

It may be that you could get away with 10 mins a week (not necessary insignificant wrt strenght: ), or half an hour a week, or it may be that you need to completely stop pushing any limits at least for a while till you get recovery well under way (in case some of this is relevant for you: Exercise II: Insidious Activity).

Consider joining a good yoga class once or twice a week to maintain good strength and flexibility, and going for a gentle half hour walk in the sun every day instead?

 

[whodathunkit]

It may be that you could get away with 10 mins a week (not necessary insignificant wrt strenght:

Tara, Body by Science EXACTLY what I was struggling to find but couldn't find my book or call the guy's name (Doug McGuff) to mind! Thank you!

Doug McGuff is the one who "pioneered" train to failure with adequate recovery.

Book is here on Amazon
Body by Science: A Research Based Program to Get the Results You Want in 12 Minutes a Week - Kindle edition by John R. Little, Doug McGuff. Professional & Technical Kindle eBooks @ Amazon.com.

Really interesting stuff! It's amazing to me what great muscles and great shape someone can be in just doing that. Here's McGuff following his own advice:



IMO McGuff has a really great physique...very strong and nice looking.

Mark Rippetoe (the bearded trainer)



is another one who espouses this kind of minimalist training with adequate recovery for gonzo strength, and he's a huge big guy. Very, very muscular and strong. He's aging and putting on some weight but I expect he was lean and ripped when younger. Also scary strong-looking. Extremely virile in any event. Also very attractive, even though different than McGuff. Each represents a different point on the "training spectrum" by which people who work out with weights frequently judge ourselves. That's not a criticism, just saying. Women do it same as men. What we like best is just personal preference.

His book is here

Amazon.com: Starting Strength eBook: Mark Rippetoe, Jason Kelly: Kindle Store

Only problem with Ripp is I think he likes low-carb but he also drinks like a gallon of milk per day so may be kind of a Peat hybrid. But the point is not to follow their diet advice, just their training advice.

The primary different between McGuff and Ripp is that Ripp espouses free weights and McGuff likes old-school Nautilus machines (not just Nautilus-like, but actual Nautilus because of some design specs), which may be hard to find. Ripp's workout uses all stuff that can be found in any gym. They both use the same principles: observing proper form at all times, training to failure, and adequate recovery.

Main point being that someone could use this type of workout for a while, during recovery from exhaustion and over-exercising, and then when recovered, use this for a foundational workout once per week, while doing "cutting and shaping" routines a couple other days per week.

McGuff definitely says that athletes and body builders can use this type of training as a foundation, and then do sport-specific training around it to reach performance goals. IIRC Ripp says the same thing. The primary caveat being to GET ENOUGH REST TO RECOVER PROPERLY.