ObesityHelp

 I'm so glad those levels are coming down. I hope you can get your docs on board, you've got to be able to watch all the levels of things you're supplementing.

--g

did they recheck your A?  I doubt that your A would go down that fast especially to affect your liver function tests such a difference.  Something doesn't seem right - to go down from 224 to 99 in 2 weeks seems odd.

In April of 2010 my A was low because I had been off of it after being in the hospital for the few months in the winter. So, I went back on my normal dose of 50,000 units per day - I should have gone back on it slowly at 25,000 units but I didn't and my level skyrocketed - I went from 38 to 119 in 2 months.  So, I cut back to 3 days per week since I was affraid to stop it after what after what happened last time I stopped it, so with taking it 3 days per week nothing changed - I think it was 110.  So, I stopped it and I have been off of it since June - which has been 9 months and my level is still 110-120, for some reason my level will not go down and my liver function tests vary - one time they will be normal and the next time they will be elevated but only at around 60 - nothing like the levels you had.  Which is why I am question if a high vitamin A and especially for only a short period of time like yours can shoot up a liver function test like that and then drop it back down in 2 weeks.

You really need to get your vitamin A retested to know if it is back to normal or not.  You can't just assume it is back to normal that is what got you into trouble in the first place.  I know your GP doesn't like to do testing - I think there is a website where you can get order your own labs but I think you have to pay out of pocket - post and ask - there is someone one here that wrote about it  that does it.

I was thinking it might be the new formula of BioTech's vit A not the A level itself. They've been using a different formula since 2010 or so and I know of at least one person who had serious liver and kidney reactions to it. Once he was off BioTech's A, his AST and ALT and kidney function returned to normal. He uses A acetate now to supplement his vit A.

I'm very glad to hear that your labs are moving in the right direction. Liver problems are nothing to ignore.

Now, I'm going to go out on a limb here and say something that probably will not be very popular. Lab ranges are just that- ranges. Trying to be at the tippy top is NOT always a good thing. And just because a lab is low-normal, that is NOT automatically a bad thing. It is important to follow trends, but most times a trend is more than one test. In the absence of other things that make up a big picture, lab change is often just followed and rechecked. There is a reason for this! Too much of a good thing, like Vitamin A, can turn into a bad thing. Granted, doctors are not gods, and many of them have crappy bedside manner, but they DID spend an unholy number of years learning about this stuff.

I have been very impressed by the knowledge in our community, and the people here are great resources and advocates, but PLEASE be careful with supplements. Extra Vitamin A, or potassium for another example, can be dangerous.

doctors and surgeons have very little training in nutrition and supplements.  They probably took one class in medical school and for many of them that could be 10 or 20 years ago.  Also what they learned is for people with normal digestion not someone with malabsorbtion like we have.  Most of us here on these boards no a hell of alot more than most of the surgeons and doctors out there, even most of the NUTS.

yes, too much vitamin A is a bad thing but too little is just as bad - you can loose your sight.  I was at the very low end of the range and my NUT put me on high dose vitamin A supplementation which was needed and my sight got much better, especially at night

yes, potassium is a very serious thing and needs to be checked frequently - unfortunately many surgeons feel we only need labs every 6months and some only feel we need them yearly which is absolutely absurb -you know much can change in a year?  I get mine done every 3 months and sometimes more frequently than that to recheck things that were adjusted and many times we find that isn't often enough because we find many things that are off and need adjusting.  IF we waited 6 months or  a year, I can't imagine how much worse off I would be - it would be a disaster.

they also don't check enough stuff and tell patients things are normal when in fact things are not.  things like vitamin D and B12 need to be at optimal levels not just in the normal range.  If someone has a B12 level of 300-400 which is technically in the normal range, they are at risk for nerve damage and many surgeons will tell them all is fine.  My surgeon told me at 400 that I was dangerously low and I need to do daily injections for a week and then continue 3 times per week after that to keep my levels up.