I’ve written before about the toxic-mold house I was living in for nine months (I finally moved out a month ago.) Among other things, I’d lost ten pounds for no good reason and was having constant headaches.
Right before moving out, my blood tests showed sky-high MMP-9 and TGFb1 (both inflammation biomarkers.) My a-MSH and VEGF were also abnormally low, a bad sign.
After spending a month in the new mold-free apartment, my MMP-9 and TGFb1 plummeted, which was good news, but my a-MSH and VEGF only fell even further, which was bad news.
Homocysteine, tryptase, creatine kinase, etc. have always been normal throughout.
I’ve been trying to get doctor consultations but their availability is almost nil, typically requiring months in advance. I’ve been sticking to an anti-inflammatory diet for months.
Any medical Dopers here who know why some blood biomarkers could improve while others simultaneously worsen at the same time?
Basically what’s always recommended: heavy focus on vegetables and fruits, especially the antioxidant plants, and avoiding red meat, refined flour/carbs and sugar.
I’m curious where you are that you can get these kinds of blood tests without a doctor’s order? And don’t they have doc-in-a-box clinics where you are (I ask, not knowing where you are)?
I used Ulta Labs. I did ask around some MinuteClinics but the nurses/doctors would only give very vague and general info. I tried to get appointments with immunologists/allergists but they also only gave very vague responses to all questions as well. I’m in Texas.
That’s a very generic answer to a specific question. Practically speaking, your diet will affect your adrenocorticotropic hormones including α-MSH, and what “antioxidant plants” you are ingesting and in what quantities are salient to addressing your question. Vascular endothelial growth factors (VEGF) can be affected by a lot of different influences including stress, allergens, diabetic and rheumatoid arthritis conditions, et cetera. Realistically, a blood panel only provides inputs into a comprehensive health assessment and focusing only on a few parameters can be misleading at best, and there is no way to answer your question without more information.
Honestly, I’ve never ordered or interpreted any of those tests in my entire 40 year career. My go-to internet source (UpToDate) for accepted modern medicine practices (based on evidence-based studies) doesn’t even list MMP-9, nor TGFb-1 nor a-MSH. VEGF inhibitors are mostly used clinically for certain types of cancer, and as a very active research area.
Inflammation biomarkers tend to be incredibly non-specific as to regards what’s going on in an individual’s health. They tend to be helpful (sometimes) in folks who are already diagnosed with an inflammatory disorder, and said tests may then reflect their underlying disease activity (or not).
Diagnosis based on lab testing alone is a slippery thing to do. A wise clinician orders a lab test when they think they already know what the result will be based on patient history/physical exam and clinical presentation. ‘Shotgun’ lab testing tends to turn up far, far more false or unhelpful positive or negative results than it turns up confirmatory information.
A real doctor. There is a guy with a “doctor’s office” around here adjacent to a vitamin place where you can buy ear candles. He’s a naturopath. Calls himself a doctor of naturopathy. I’m sure he would run inflammation tests on you.