Letter to My Doctor

Here's what I wrote to my doctor, after receiving her request for more blood tests (WBC differential), just before our scheduled appointment to discuss my previous blood tests. I do not want to pay for another appointment to discuss the new test, because I understand exactly what caused the abnormal results on the previous tests. So I explained to her what happened which influenced those abnormal results in the following email:

Today I received your Lab Order Request for WBC differential and will have that done at my local Group Health Clinic tomorrow. I'll ask GHC when you (and I) should receive those results. Then I'll reschedule our appointment to discuss those results as well as my other January test results. However, I may need new prescriptions for both the T3 and T4 before our next appointment. I'll run out of the T4 in 4 days. I'll run out of the T3 in 10 days.

I received the results of all my recent blood tests over a week ago. I was disappointed to see that my white blood cell count remained low after taking LDN for over 6 weeks. The other abnormal test results (low T4, increased TSH, high Vitamin D and possibly low MCHC) reflect what I did during the past 2 months (1) to avoid the side effects of LDN. which interacted with my thyroid hormones to cause hyperthyroid symptoms, and (2) to fight chronic cold symptoms (with vitamin D).

As I previously mentioned, I experienced hyperthyroid symptoms (overheating and palpitations which prevented and/or disrupted sleep) soon after beginning the LDN. So I initially reduced my thyroid supplements so I could continue the prescribed dose of LDN without hyper symptoms. Then I got severe constipation, an impacted stool and bleeding hemorrhoids, all hypothyroid symptoms. So I increased the T3, which had previously improved regularity, and abstained from T4, which did nothing for regularity, while I decreased the LDN dose to 1.5-2.0 mg. However, even the lower doses of LDN continued to disrupt my sleep.

I took the arabinogalactin and 6000IU of Vitamin D daily for 2 months, because I experienced cold symptoms (sinus pain, sore throats, runny nose) between arabinogalactin doses (4-6 hours after taking IAG). I usually get colds when I don't get enough sleep. So I suspect insufficient sleep caused by the LDN negatively affected my immunity. Although I had normal regularity while I took just T3 supplements, I again developed increasingly severe constipation (about a month after the impacted stool incident) before I saw the high vitamin D results and decreased my vitamin D supplments. I'm now slowly returning to normal regularity, but still have bleeding hemorrhoids.

Despite continuing to eat high iron content foods, my MCHC decreased. I wonder whether daily bleeding hemorrhoids could have affected that number.

I hope the WBC differential tests will give you more information my low leukocyte results. I think the LDN caused more problems than it resolved. I believe abstaining from the LDN and getting a few weeks of solid sleep while taking my thyroid hormones and arabinogalactin could improve my imunity.