Inconclusive autoimmune
Four weeks after the maiden appointment, I was back at SJMC for results of the previous diagnostic tests and another full-blood count ('FBC') test.
Results:
1. Vitamin B12 and serum folate were higher than the max number of the diagnostic range 😅 Should go down by now since I've stopped taking multivitamin.
2. Anti-nuclear Antibody titre value of 80, which was right at the border (desired value is less than 80). Comment in the pathology report: "Weak ANA of low titre is not usually associated with systemic automimmune disease. These titres may be found in approximately 5% of normal patoents and with increased frequency in ageing subjects."
3. WBC (white blood cell) count dropped, again, to 2.6. This worries me because there's a consistent pattern here: 3.3, 3.2, 3.2, 3.4, 2.8, 2.9, 2.6. Everything else was ok, thank goodness.
Course of action:
1. Monitor. Redo FBC 8 weeks later.
2. If WBC drops below 2, will check bone marrow. If bone marrow is normal, then it's autoimmune disorder.
3. Still stay away from multivitamin and vitamin C supplements (the ones I used to take regularly) unless ill.
According to Dr Teh, taking too much (vitamin) supplements can cause autoimmune disorder. I just quickly googled (hurrying because need to go lunch like 10 mins ago haha) and found one article where "low levels of vitamin D in patients with autoimmune disease may be a result rather than a cause of disease and that supplementing with vitamin D may actually exacerbate autoimmune disease."
😵
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