romani, I wonder if they can even track all the conflicts between those medications. There are so many, how do they even keep track of all possible conflicts? I mean, probably no big deal with the vitamin supplements, but the rest of it…yikes! I see how they can say that one medication can conflict with another, but if it’s in combination with 7 or 8 others, I don’t know how they figure that out. It’s too complicated!
A pharmacist can weigh in here but I’m pretty sure the CVS script system (where I get my scripts) automatically cross checks them all. I can do it myself on the CVS website but I’m not sure if it only flags serious interactions.
I have to pick up a script on Monday. I will go over all the meds with a pharmacist when I go get it. Every time I get a new script, I do ask if it’ll interfere with my other meds but again, they may only be looking at serious interactions.
It just makes me wonder, though, if they crosscheck one medication with all the rest in combination, each time one is added. I can see how they can individually check one medication against every other one separately, but how do they really know the interactions from a combination of medications that is so complex? You could be one person in a billion who is actually taking all those different medications at one time. I don’t know how they can check for that.
I feel so bad for what you have been going through!
So follow-up. Cardiologist still sees nothing in all my test results. However, he did somehow determine that I was mildly anemic. (I’m not sure how since they didn’t test my iron levels.) I had anemia in my childhood but my iron levels have come back normal since my mid-late teens.
So they’re going to run some iron blood tests as well as the thyroid tests. I’m waiting for both orders to come in so I only have to get poked once.
My blood tests apparently make no sense. RBC is high, HCT is normal, MCV, MCH, and MCHC are all low.
Sigh.
I’m still going to talk to the Pharmacist next week.
{{{{{HUGS}}}}}
I hope you have some answers soon and feel better soon.
How frustrating. Hoping for more clarity after your next round of tests.
I have no medical advice, Romani, but just wanted to let you know how sorry I am that things are so complicated right now, and wish you the very best of luck. I hope your doctors figure it out soon, and that it’s simple problem to fix. I know how frustrating it can be to have complicated autoimmune issues that leave one’s doctors baffled, even though my issues are very different from yours.
The doctor very likely determined that you are anemic by measuring the hemoglobin and hematocrit, which are a normal part of the the routine complete blood count.
Normal range for hemoglobin = 13 - 15
Mildly anemic = 10 - 12
Severely anemic = below 10
Time for emergency transfusion = below 8
There are three main types of anemia:
- Iron deficiency anemia - usually due to blood loss. Common in women of child-bearing age
- Anemia of Inflammation - due to inflammatory diseases such as Crohn;'s or autoimmune diseases.
- Combination - having both 1 and 2 at the same time.
Given your medical history your anemia could be any of these three.
Thank you all for the well-wishes. I truly appreciate it. I just feel like my body is a giant game of whack-a-mole.
@scipio
HGB is 12.1
HCT normal (40.2%)
" My mom has Graves"
You NEED to get your thyroid levels looked into IMMEDIATELY.
By a top ENDOCRINOLOGIST. NOT by someone in the ER.
Graves is a genetic autoimmune disease and anyone who has ALREADY been diagnosed with one autoimmune disease is HIGHLY likely to develop another.
No TSH number yet?
I am not ready to give up on the potential POTS. POTS is from our autonomic system and at the Mayo they sent me to their neurology department not cardiology. (sometimes it messes with your body temp - some rise and some drop) This is an interesting link: https://patients.aan.com/resources/neurologynow/index.cfm?event=home.showArticle&id=ovid.com%3A%2Fbib%2Fovftdb%2F01222928-201511010-00020
I hope you can have a stress free weekend.
I am going to get the blood draw tomorrow and seeing my PCP next week. I will get a referral then.
Nope, going to get the blood drawn tomorrow. The ER never ordered it.
Re: POTS. I have a good friend with it. For her they did a table test. I am going to another cardiologist to get a second opinion and I’ll bring it up with her/him.
Are you on any PPI such as Nexium or Prilosec? I still think that is what caused my husbands lone afib. He had no risk factors whatsoever, and Nexium was the only drug he was taking for a long period of time. It screws with your magnesium levels and it interferes with some cardiac medications, so I think eventually studies may show that it can cause cardiac problems.
@choirsandstages I’ve been on Prilosec (omeprazole) on and off for many years. I have been on it consistently since December. I was just put on Zantac a few weeks ago (the heart stuff started several months ago). I’m not sure what a PPI is so I’m not sure if Zantac falls under that.
" I just feel like my body is a giant game of whack-a-mole."
Yes. That’s what it seems like. I know someone will eventually figure it out, because so much of this has to be connected, not just a bunch of random miserable things that just strangely popped up. Where is Dr. House when you need him?
I hope when they test your thyroid, that they give you all the tests. I know my PCP just gives me the generic TSH test, which is just an initial test of thyroid function, and it sounds like they should test everything for you…I think it’s TSH, T3, T4, and free T4. But I’m sure somebody here knows the specifics better than I. My longevity clinic says to get it all tested, because the TSH test might not be that helpful.
It sounds odd that they can say you’re anemic, when your RBC count is high. Seems like it would be low, if you’re anemic.
PPI - proton pump inhibitor. Drugs that work by this mechanism:
Omeprazole (Prilosec), also available over-the-counter (without a prescription)
Esomeprazole (Nexium)
Lansoprazole (Prevacid)
Rabeprazole (AcipHex)
Pantoprazole (Protonix)
Dexlansoprazole (Dexilant)
Zegerid (omeprazole with sodium bicarbonate)
Zantac works by a different mechanism. Are you taking BOTH of these drugs?
Sometimes, unfortunately, you don’t get answers and just treat the symptoms. I had some health issues 5 years ago. All kinds of tests run, first starting with “looking for horses” type tests and then moving on to “looking for zebras” type tests. A lot of poking and prodding, a lot of $. Never got an answer. The doctors were stumped and told me I was in the 15% of cases where they just don’t have answers. I think they were very frustrated and perplexed that there was physical evidence of the ailment right there on X-rays and CT scans. They treated the manifestations without knowing the cause. The one silver lining was learning what was good - heart health and a slew of other things as a result of normal tests. Just throwing that out there because it happens sometimes.
I’m fine with just treating the symptoms. The problem is that the symptoms aren’t responding to various different treatments 
Yes, I take ranitidine and omeprazole. I was prescribed the rantidine a few weeks ago by my GI when I was still getting bad heartburn while taking the rest of my meds.
be SURE your endocrinologist has a l,ist of ALL your meds.