December

I had my final appointment of the year with my Primary Care Physician (PCP) as a followup to the work with the naturopath and to talk about some concerns I've had from all the recent blood tests and other tests which left questions.

The end result of it was getting complete blood tests for two things and a blood test for a followup. The first was the complete tests for my thyroid gland. Some of the previous values showed some questions because I get periods where I'm cold (shivering) and my body can't seem to generate enough heat.

I noticed this a little last winter but it wasn't frequent or prolonged, but this winter it's frequent and sometimes prolonged. The problem is I don't have all the symptoms for thyroid problems, but enough to suggest something isn't right, at least enough to check it.

The second was a complete iron test. My iron levels are just above the halfway level of the normal range, but my ferritin levels are almost below normal, indicating something isn't working, so a more complete blood test is necessary.

In addition we added the hereditary hemochromatosis tests. My Dad had the disease, diagnosed almost too late to save his liver. The signs suggested he was an alcoholic but the tests revealed hemochromatosis, meaning I'm at least half susceptible for it.

The question is if I'm just a carrier or predisposed for the disease. This is key if I want to add an iron supplement to raise my ferritin level. I've always avoided iron supplements (alone or in anything) out of fear to trigger the disease if I'm prone to it.

This is key with these is that the thyroid and iron problems are indicative of anemia and fatigue which I've been feeling a lot of this winter, but it's been lost in bacteria problem and now resolved, it became obvious, especially adding the last blood test.

The last blood test was a followup of my previous hemoglobin test, which showed I'm pre-diabetic, meaning I'm above normal but not in the type 2 diabetes range. This is something my Dad also had, again diagnosed almost too late before it worsened in to type 1.

All of this leaves me knowing I have risk factors I have to watch the rest of my life. I'm over the bacteria problems, except if I have to take antibiotics again, but I know what to do then. I'm still sorting out the dynamic balance in my digestive system with supplements, probiotics and food.

But it's working reasonably as I can expect. The key is to keep walking, watch the diet, and take all my health supplements, half essential, and half choice. The plan is to walk about 20 days during the winter months, the cold help burn more calories (fat too) and see where I'm at by March.

Right now I'm down to 139 pound, plus or minus half a pound with about 3-4 pounds of obvious fat left to lose, but it's the fat my body is genetically predisposed to keep, so it's harder to lose and easier to regain if I don't walk, hence finding the balance for the number of walks per month.

That's it for the winter. I'll see what happens by March.