Latest on the health front
OK, so it turns out that the fatty liver and the elevated alkaline phosphatase (ALP) are no big deal. The fat incursions are minor: the doctor said that if you pull 100 people off the street, as many as a third would have the same amount of fat as I have. The other stuff in that region-bile ducts, kidney, gall bladder-looked fine.
And the ALP comes from four sources in the body. Taken separately, none of the ALP levels were abnormal, it's just that a couple were high normal, so taken together they look high. And my last test showed a drop in the levels.
Next theory is bad B-12 absorption. He tested for that, and I am low normal. (The normal range is really broad.) Apparently, there's an autoimmune disorder that is often comorbid with Hashimoto's that messes with the cells in the small intestine that absorb B-12. I am currently taking over-the-counter sublingual tabs (2000 mcg) to see what happens with that, then if I'm no better, we'll go to B-12 shots.
In other news, the snow, which this year has been happily abundant, finally melted down enough that I could see miniature irises poking up next to the house as well as tulips, but the mini irises in the planter and the Blue Pearl crocuses are nowhere to be found. At this time last year, if I'm not mistaken, they were up, and the crocuses were starting to bloom.
I am frankly glad that the snow has been deep and constant this year, because freezing and thawing is bad karma for perennials. Plus we need the water. That is all.
And the ALP comes from four sources in the body. Taken separately, none of the ALP levels were abnormal, it's just that a couple were high normal, so taken together they look high. And my last test showed a drop in the levels.
Next theory is bad B-12 absorption. He tested for that, and I am low normal. (The normal range is really broad.) Apparently, there's an autoimmune disorder that is often comorbid with Hashimoto's that messes with the cells in the small intestine that absorb B-12. I am currently taking over-the-counter sublingual tabs (2000 mcg) to see what happens with that, then if I'm no better, we'll go to B-12 shots.
In other news, the snow, which this year has been happily abundant, finally melted down enough that I could see miniature irises poking up next to the house as well as tulips, but the mini irises in the planter and the Blue Pearl crocuses are nowhere to be found. At this time last year, if I'm not mistaken, they were up, and the crocuses were starting to bloom.
I am frankly glad that the snow has been deep and constant this year, because freezing and thawing is bad karma for perennials. Plus we need the water. That is all.