they split the test into two for me, meaning i'll have to go back next week to finish it. i was just apprehensive about seven vials, and i think that was a decent choice in the end.
and, i got four out of seven major grocery runs done - leaving one run to the metro, one run to the shopper's and one run to the bulk barn with food basics backups left. that was two runs to the freshco, one to the superstore and one to the food basics. and, these were good runs - combined with last month, i'm now stocked up on almost everything i'd put in the cupboard for weeks or even months, meaning these grocery runs over the summer should be lesser.
i'm not wearing a mask, and nobody seems to care much anymore. that's progress, but it's still necessary to be subversive about it.
so, after run number four, i decide to stay in and get some things done inside, with the intent to plan to get out in the morning. specifically, i wanted to shop around for the best fan price and make sure i can find the other items i'm looking for, too. so, i sit down for a minute to check my ferritin and....
9.
what?
9.
it was 12 before. so, it went down? what?
i spent all week gorging myself, trying to ensure i was testing at my highest level, and hoping it came in at 30 or something. instead, i get a fucking 9. dammit...
so, what does this mean?
i think that the shit log has ruled out serious bleeding, although the most recent shit recordings (yet to be posted) open up a question of parasites, as there's some weird white shit floating in them. when i eat eggs, the shit is brown; when i eat paprika or beets, it comes out red. i've built a correlation, and it seems to be holding.
so, if i'm not bleeding, and the parasite suggestion remains obscure (although i'll need to ask), it means i'm having difficulty with absorption, almost certainly.
and, i need to test, now, whether it's because i can't absorb it or because i'm blocking absorption - via calcium or phytates or lead.
how are my other metrics?
my kidneys, heart & liver function and other mineral levels are great. my vitamin d is fine. my b12 is a bit better, actually - which makes sense given i'd eaten more recently. they tested antibodies and rheumatoids due to concerns about an autoimmune disorder, but it seems fine. and my estradiol is a little low but about the same.
to be sure about the liver, this is from last time:
so, i don't have anything else that's deficient and the three relevant organs seem to be not just fine but in truth exceedingly healthy.
my blood itself, though, again, seems odd:
on the last test - when i was fasting - everything was a tad low. this time, the hemoglobin and hematocrit came up into normal ranges, but i'm still having a low level of unusually large red blood cells - and that makes sense, together. essentially, i have bigger red blood cells that take up more space, so my total rbc count is lower. this should be concerning, in conjunction with the strangely low iron. and, my eosinophils and lymphocytes have both gone up - as my neutrophils have gone down. together, that suggests i'm fighting something, like a parasite or a cancer, off.
so, these are the steps i need to check for
- can they run checks for cancer or parasites?
- can they run checks for blocking agents like lead?
before you tell me to eat a burger, you have to understand that i've never eaten red meat regularly like that. my dad had heart issues, so we mostly ate chicken at home, when we had meat. but, we only really ate meat in the form of barbeques, as well. the truth is that i spent most of my childhood foraging through cupboards and freezers because my parents would tend to eat in restaurants on the way home from work; they would often bring me back leftovers, but they usually weren't red meat, either. there were usually things like burritos or soup around, but they weren't usually high in red meat, either. so, i had the occasional burger in mid-summer and that was really all the red meat i ever had.
the meat i've usually eaten has been lunch meat or poultry, which is actually not that good for iron.
the point i'm making is that i didn't really make this conscious choice to shift from being an omnivore to being octo-lavo; i was always sort of ovo-lacto, and, if anything, eat more animal products now than i did as a child. if i'm heme-deficient now, i always was, too.
listen - if it comes down to it, i'll do it. but, i'm avoiding it because i think it's wrong...