It looks like I'm still in range altho a little on the high side.

The AST (SGOT) is 37 in a range of 0-40
and the ALT (SGPT) is 30 in a range of 0-40

I expected high because of the Humira and methotrexate. I do know the doctor watches this number.

Billye

-as if you are at least somewhat anemic, especially with that red blood cell count. That alone may be a major contributing factor for fatigue. (I see you've been researching that in your other post.)

I also wonder how much this may have to do with drug effects and interaction.

Remember, too, that Sjogren's is still a vasculitic autoimmune disease, as well as one of the moisture/mucuous membranes, and you may be having effects in that realm. That could certainly account for the edema/swelling through vascular insufficiency. There are also associations with hypothyroidism and adrenal insufficiency--a whole other battery of tests to have.

I know you and Chemar have communicated, and that Mrs. D will likely respond here too--do you feel like listing more test results from your most recent batteries?

Somehow I lost the message I posted last night to answer Glenn. I will be having more bloodwork in about two weeks that can be compared to the bloodwork I just posted here. And I've got bloodwork that was done by the endocrinologist last week that still is to come in. I'll wait to post until then. I have been remiss in not using Liza Jane's charts. I'll start those and then post them and see if you and I can see a trend.

I've not changed any medication since I went to Mayo. They made a slight change in my Lyrica right after I got back and nothing has been changed since.

I'm slightly anemic I know as Glenn has noted. But the rheumatologist ran additional bloodwork to check on that and I don't have my copy yet. (I forgot that had been done.) His dippy nurse told me that it was just the anemia that goes along with chronic illness and he wasn't going to do anything about it yet.

I'll end this thread here for the time being with many thanks to all my good friends. And I'll refresh it when I have the new bloodwork.

Billye

HI Billye!
OMG you have been going through the mill! I'm SO sorry to hear you are having such problems.
It sure does sound like you are toxic or having some medication reaction. I hope they get it figured out soon! We all have such rotten issues to deal with!

Hi Billye,

I haven't posted in a couple of years and saw your post regarding low HGB. I do check this site from time to time though. My husband John is the one who ended up with PN from his treatment for Severe Aplastic Anemia. One of the side effects from having low red cells/hemaglobin is that your body likes to maintain a certain level of fluid volume in your circulatory system. So when you're down a couple of pints like you are, your body compensates by holding on to more fluids to fill the void. This can result in water retention throughout your system. John's HGB is at 10.9 also and he too is carrying extra fluid.

If you have your CBC records, look for where you're counts were when you did not present with the fatigue and fluid retention. This will give you an indication as to what level your body would like to be at. So if you normally had a HGB of 14, then dropping to 10.9, you will feel it even though the docs say it's mild anemia.

There are a couple of thing we keep an eye on. We focus on trends...looking at the CBC over time. The key components we track are White Blood count, Absolute Neutrophil count (also known as granulocytes), Hemaglobin, Hematocrit and platelets. You want to monitor all of these to see if other lines, that are still in a normal range, are trending down/up. When it comes to your red cell line, you should ask them what your Absolute Reticulocyte count is. This is the actual number of new red blood cell circulating in your blood. It's not unusual for the RWD to be high when you are anemic. Large red blood cells are usually a result of many new red blood cells being produced to make for the deficit.

There is a hormone, EPO, ((erythopoein (sp)) produced by the kidneys which stimulates the production of red cells. You may want to ask them to check your EPO levels at some time.

This about all that comes to mind right now. Hope it's helpful. I will look for a link that explains blood production and post it later. I think it will be helpful in understanding how blood is produced.

Wishing you the best,
Marlene

Here's link on blood. I hope you find it useful...Marlene

http://users.rcn.com/jkimball.ma.ult...s/B/Blood.html

Thanks Marlene. I'm working on getting this information together. I know I don't drink enough fluid. That is something I've worked on yesterday and today. But it's just so hard to drink enough when the water bottle is in the other end of the house. No excuse I know. I really should put me a glass or water bottle in both ends every morning.

off subject: I've got this little dog. She's afraid of buzzing insects (must have been bitten) and she's also afraid of thunderstorms. Yesterday a small buzzer got in the house when my husband took the trash out. I held her all day until we were able to kill the insect. She will not let you put her down. Claws at your leg and trys to get up. Today we are having a thunderstorm. Same thing. I've just now been able to put her down covered with a towel on the stool beside me. I've created a monster.

So I'm not making much headway getting these records researched and typed. I do appreciate all the inputs. They give me more ideas of what I can do to help myself and to also hopefully educate the doctor. I also appreciate all the PM's I've received.

Billye

Hi Billye,

I know Curious asked but I did not see it in your replies. What is your sodium level?

Also have you had your iron checked lately specifically your % saturation?

One thing to think about is also to have your ADH hormone checked as well as your Osmoloity. It controls fluid volume and balance I believe.