Pain In My Side From Calcium

[Amazoniac]

1. How do you know how much calcium is absorbed from natural oranges/juice. They only tested fortified OJ. What form do they add to OJ in counties that fortify?
2. I don't think their criteria are useful because the concept of servings are based on mostly stupid nutritional recommendations.
3. I highly doubt that you can accurately compare the amounts of absorbed calcium from all these foods. As they say, they just took the values from dozen of publications, and probably used different methods to measure absorbable Kalzium from animal and plant sources.

Concerning the servings. You get about 100mg of Ca from 237ml of milk (why is about 50mg higher for yoghurt?). The Ca value is about 50mg for a serving of turnip greens or brassica like broccoli. So, to get the 300mg of absorbed calcium you apparently need you would have to drink about 700ml of milk. You would have to eat about the same weight of greens or brassica. I doubt that any human being (maybe with the exception of Trabis) can eat that much highly-indigestible stuff without drastic discomfort and digestive issues. Lots of people would probably also struggle with the Milch, but I think there is a higher probability of adapting to drinking half a quart of goat's milk than it is to eat over half a kilogram of greens. Provided oranges really have 30mg of calcium, and you could absorb say 15mg of it, you would absorb your 300mg by drinking 2 quarts of it. That would be awesome.

The adsorption was a speculation based on what was mentioned before.

A standard orange according to the USDA weighs 140 g, 85 g being edible. Based on your publication, ~30 mg of Ki/100 g of this portion: about 25 mg of Ki per orange. If 5 oranges are eaten throughout the day with half being adsorbed (because it's efficient at low intakes), that would correspond to 20% of the daily uptake.

An argument to be made is: why would they fortify the juice if it provided a good amount? But as we discussed, part should remain with the pulp, something similar could occur if broccoli was juiced [], and when these are eaten, the chances of adsorption increase. The amount won't be high, but can be considerable at the end of the day.

 

[Ella]

but tend to the lower normal range of iron though not reaching anemia, AND with high ferritin showing I store iron! In htma, my hair iron is very high while my copper in the lowest of the normal range.

@Xisca Have you ruled out infection? My urinary pH was 5.5 when I had kidney and urinary tract infection. Taking antibiotics saw my pH jump to 6.8. How's about that.

High ferritin with low iron indicates an infectious process in place. I felt very fatigued and put down to part and parcel of menopause merry-go-round. I read so much on vaginal atrophy and attended many conferences on reconstruction of vaginas that I immediately thought, this is what happens when you are post-menopausal. Why was I not told? Very furious. Even more furious upon discovering antibiotics solved the problem.

It was not until I saw blood in the toilet bowl that it trigged that I may be suffering kidney/bladder infection. So stupid of me for waiting and suffering too long, trying to hack what the hell was wrong with me. Of course oxalates are going to cause pain and aggravate an already inflamed and injured kidney and urinary tract system. I can enjoy coffee again, drink tea like before and also drink OJ. Yay !! I could not even tolerate water.

Re HTMA. What was your zinc/copper ratio? This is a pretty good indicator of a infectious process. You should never trust iron result on HTMA as hair is not reliable for iron.

My zinc/copper was an early warning sign but I could not figure out where I might be fighting an infection. I just thought it must be due to inflammation from my thyroid or perhaps pancreas. I now understand that this indicator should never be underestimated even though you may be feeling perfectly fine. My ultrasound on thyroid showed no inflammation and no nodules. So I was grateful my dr agreed to do it, even though she argued that my thyroid hormones were fine regardless of TSH being crazy high.

 

[Ella]

My urine is constantly at 8 pH. Calcium carbonate doesn´t cause flank pain for me but tonsil stones among other things and so does dairy. Niacin draws them out. What´s that about? Another puzzle for you.

What is your thyroid like?

 

[Max23]

What is your thyroid like?

My TSH is 1,1-1,5 usually. Other thyroid blood results are within range. T3 supplement has some benefits, but causes eye pain. Thyroid on ultrasound had reduced echogenicity and an uneven structure though.

 

[Ella]

My TSH is 1,1-1,5 usually. Other thyroid blood results are within range. T3 supplement has some benefits, but causes eye pain. Thyroid on ultrasound had reduced echogenicity and an uneven structure though.

Reduced echogenicity is the same as “hypoechoic” which refers to the way a nodule looks on an ultrasound. Ultrasound machines produce sound waves that penetrate your body, bouncing off tissues, bones, muscles, and other substances.

The way that these sounds bounce back to form an image is known as echogenicity. Something with low echogenicity appears dark in the image and is called hypoechoic, while something with high echogenicity looks light and is called hyperechoic.

As your scan resulted in a reduced echogenicity, this means the scan produced a dark image.

A hypoechoic nodule, sometimes called a hypoechoic lesion, on the thyroid is a mass that appears darker on the ultrasound than the surrounding tissue. This often indicates that a nodule is full of solid, rather than liquid, components.

My scan showed heterogeneous echogenicity of the thyroid gland which is a non-specific finding and is associated with either Hashimoto's thyroiditis or Graves disease. I had both high TG & TPO antibodies. TG are now in the normal range but TPO still horribly high and TSH on the way down but nowhere close to your level. Must be the estrogen influence. I'll keep slathering progesterone on my thyroid and continue T4/T3 more aggressively.

Did you have antibodies tested? Did dr suggest fine needle aspiration?

Was the conclusion nodules or no nodules? What did dr explain?

Most likely cause is thyroiditis or Hashimoto so you want to rule these out. If those dark areas are nodules then mostly commonly these will be benign but you want dr to investigate further. Fine needle aspiration can confirm.
Best,

 

[Max23]

Reduced echogenicity is the same as “hypoechoic” which refers to the way a nodule looks on an ultrasound. Ultrasound machines produce sound waves that penetrate your body, bouncing off tissues, bones, muscles, and other substances.

The way that these sounds bounce back to form an image is known as echogenicity. Something with low echogenicity appears dark in the image and is called hypoechoic, while something with high echogenicity looks light and is called hyperechoic.

As your scan resulted in a reduced echogenicity, this means the scan produced a dark image.

A hypoechoic nodule, sometimes called a hypoechoic lesion, on the thyroid is a mass that appears darker on the ultrasound than the surrounding tissue. This often indicates that a nodule is full of solid, rather than liquid, components.

My scan showed heterogeneous echogenicity of the thyroid gland which is a non-specific finding and is associated with either Hashimoto's thyroiditis or Graves disease. I had both high TG & TPO antibodies. TG are now in the normal range but TPO still horribly high and TSH on the way down but nowhere close to your level. Must be the estrogen influence. I'll keep slathering progesterone on my thyroid and continue T4/T3 more aggressively.

Did you have antibodies tested? Did dr suggest fine needle aspiration?

Was the conclusion nodules or no nodules? What did dr explain?

Most likely cause is thyroiditis or Hashimoto so you want to rule these out. If those dark areas are nodules then mostly commonly these will be benign but you want dr to investigate further. Fine needle aspiration can confirm.
Best,

As I understood the echogenicity of the thyroid was reduced overall, the doctor didn´t see a nodule. The structure was uneven. I asked what does it mean? She said the thyroid is supposed to look smooth. I guess it was the opposite of smooth. Two endocrinologists did antibody tests which were low. I really don´t think they would have agreed to a biopsy. I also tried Tyronene. It didn´t have much of an effect, so my research into thyroid ended. I now think something else might affect the thyroid like heavy metals or celiac disease. Right now I started a gluten free diet. My muscle problems are really bad and thyroid problems don´t explain it any more.

 

[Ella]

structure was uneven. I asked what does it mean? She said the thyroid is supposed to look smooth.

Their terminology drives me nuts. I wish they would be more consistent and specific to avoid ambiguity. If structure is uneven and not smooth, then it is heterogeneous, meaning the structure is mixed or varied as opposed to homogenuous meaning the same. So OK, significance of an uneven structure and the factors involved - we don't know??? So we need to keep searching.

I now think something else might affect the thyroid like heavy metals or celiac disease. Right now I started a gluten free diet. My muscle problems are really bad and thyroid problems don´t explain it any more.

Heavy metals and many other factors, influence the health of the thyroid gland. Diet and stress being the main two big factors. When adrenaline is triggered; you experience a sugar drop, the body liquifiies glands like the thymus, thyroid and adrenal gland for cells to get the sugar they need. Muscles are liquified to get the sugar.

When diet and environment improves, the glands are rebuilt. My guess is because tissues are constantly broken down, repaired and rebuilt, if the appropriate nutrients are not furnished sufficiently; then glands and tissues will be rebuilt wonky.

This is why Peat reinforces sufficient calories and protein. What is sufficient depends on the individual circumstances. Have you checked out @Cirion posts. He is requiring a phenomenal amount of calories to support his metabolism. I think he is not supplementing thyroid hormones.

I use to wonder why I needed to eat so much food to feel well. When I skipped meals or tried to restrict, my energy and heath diminished.

So it was really my liver health which needed to improve. Living in a constant state of "flight-fight" rapidly depletes glycogen stores.

I think my thyroid is in worst shape than yours but I had no trouble building muscles as long as I was eating adequate protein (it did not matter whether it was heme or nonheme) and calories. What impacted greatly on my ability to build muscles and difficulty in maintaining them was infection.

I was extremely unwell and should have been in hospital. My body was experiencing extreme stress and I was not able to properly care for myself. My appetite diminished and too weak to be active. My body did not want the burden of having to digest food while it was trying to fight the infection. I should have been placed on IV.

After 2 courses of antibiotics, I am eating again, without any restrictions - not questioning which foods to eat. Yesterday I craved ham off the bone with pickled vegetable spread. There is a rule in my house that no processed meats are allowed. Well, I had to break that rule. I just wanted to experience the taste of some nice ham, had to be pickles, between slices of soft bread. I was not going to worry about the nitrates, nitrites and phosphate. I did include fetta cheese and fruit to counteract the phosphate.

I would not advise removing gluten if you are not celiac. I removed gluten from my diet since 2012 and only saw my TSH increase. I reintroduced bread, occasional pasta and porridge back into my diet and my last thyroid results showed TSH had come down and TG antibiodies normalise. So go figure.

In rebuilding tissue, ample T3 and sugar is important as instead of populating the tissue with stem cells, collagen is laid down, forming scar tissue, resulting in a dysfunctional tissue matrix.

Are you eating adequate calories? Adequate calories will also furnish adequate protein if eating real foods.

 

[Jennifer]

After 2 courses of antibiotics, I am eating again, without any restrictions - not questioning which foods to eat. Yesterday I craved ham off the bone with pickled vegetable spread. There is a rule in my house that no processed meats are allowed. Well, I had to break that rule. I just wanted to experience the taste of some nice ham, had to be pickles, between slices of soft bread. I was not going to worry about the nitrates, nitrites and phosphate. I did include fetta cheese and fruit to counteract the phosphate.

I'm glad you're feeling better, Ella. :) I hope you don't mind me butting in on your conversation but may I ask, were there any negative symptoms you felt while taking the antibiotic and how long before you started feeling better? I recently found out that the hydrogen breath test I took 6 or 7 years ago came back positive for SIBO, but at the time I was told I didn't have it so I'm getting retested this month and I'm a bit nervous about being put on an antibiotic and triggering the syncope and shortness of breath episodes I finally, for the most part, have under control.

 

[Max23]

I´m hoping to diagnose celiacs with a gluten free diet. Seems to be the quickest method. I practically don´t eat gluten anyway because it causes problems. Now I just have to watch really carefully for two or three weeks of what I eat. Last year I was on the Matt Stone diet, it was one of the most beneficial things I have tried for muscles. It didn´t cure the disease. So I went on a lectin avoidance diet. When I quit it, I developed spasmodic torticollis for almost a month. I realized it was because of a big pizza I ate. Since I haven´t eaten much gluten and I don´t know how to manage my dairy allergy any more. On the Matt Stone diet I got it under control with boosting my metabolism. Weird thing on the diet was that I lost my appetite a lot, as if my body couldn´t metabolise energy at a point or couldn´t absorb proper materials for it.

I still eat quite a lot, like 3000 kcal a day. I have problems with fat absorption, fat soluble vitamin supplements seem to be causing pale stool, have low iron and so on. Celiac disease is my last hope. There just are no professionals who could even diagnose this disease, let alone treat it. It is illegal to treat yourself and communication with the medical system is impossible.

I have occasionally read Cirion´s log, it´s a really nice log. I would improve my diet if I was healthier and wealthier. Now things have gone too bad. I had a septoplasty two months ago. I got some health benefits initially. After twelve days, the septum deviated again and now it just won´t heal. I can exercise very little, while the muscles keep weakening. Deviation causes problems on it´s own which keep worsening. I just wasn´t aware of that nor was the medical system. It was a stupid risk which shouldn´t have been taken with a mysterious muscle disease. The anesthisiologist said just before the surgery that we can´t do it, yet they did it anyway. Now it is not possible to explain to the doctors that a deviated septum can cause problems with nearby anatomical entities or that it has a functional role.

 

[Xisca]

@Xisca Have you ruled out infection? My urinary pH was 5.5 when I had kidney and urinary tract infection. Taking antibiotics saw my pH jump to 6.8. How's about that.

High ferritin with low iron indicates an infectious process in place. I felt very fatigued and put down to part and parcel of menopause merry-go-round.

Re HTMA. What was your zinc/copper ratio? This is a pretty good indicator of a infectious process. You should never trust iron result on HTMA as hair is not reliable for iron.

My zinc/copper was an early warning sign but I could not figure out where I might be fighting an infection.

Hi Ella and thanks for this answer!
My eosinophils are going up since the last time it was tested 3 years ago and was already high. I thought it was mold... Can they be still living in me? And producing oxalate...

I grew up in a moldy house and my father has also some signs: loosing mass muscles, urgency to go to the toilet. I attribute loosing muscles, and never putting on when younger, to sulfur defficiency, and I have noticed I want this flavor. I have also the tendency to not put on muscles well.

So, in my 20's I was having UTIs but no more was found than E. coli and was not given antibiotics, just urinary acidifiers, that worked great, so I used them very often. Then I found out about uva ursi tincture, and it worked the best! Now I think this was already an oxalate issue. It happens that my diet went up in oxalate a few years ago, from using buckwheat and quinoa a lot. Then I got the mold issue 3 years ago which started this fatigue. I was mostly better only with the carnivore diet, but of course because I dumped oxalate! Now I come out, thanks to using low-oxalate foods.

But still those eosinophils and I have no sign of infection!

Hair iron was high at the end of RP diet and went higher on carnivore. I did the blood test to see what was going on. Yes infection can store iron, but I don't know why! And can it be a mold infection? How can I test this?

Last, copper. I have on both test my copper at the minimum of the norm, and normal zinc, mid range. More than 2 years ago I had the blood test a few months before the 1st HTMA. Curiously it was about the reverse, like high copper and low zinc, though in the range.

How was your own ratio? Any idea about testing what, for checking molds?