Understanding Blood Work for Osteoarthritis, Lichen Sclerosis & Sleep Apnea
QuestionI am a 56 year old female. I am generally healhy with the exception of osteoarthritis (knees, degenerative disc disease)and lichen sclerosis which was dx 23 years aago. Since menopause lichen sclerosis has been more tricky to keep under control and now also have recurring yeast. I was dx with sleep apnea this summer (51 episodes per hour) and have been using cpap since; however am still struggling with mask leaks. I am still tired despite using cpap so my doctor ordered a fatigue profile that looked at hormones, thyroid etc. The blood work was normal with the exception of sed rate (42) alk phos (121) vitamin d 23.9. What are the implications of these numbers?
Answeralk phos... nothing
vitamin D.... everyone is low, simply take 2000 IU's per day
Sed rate--- harder question.... that is a non-specific measurement for inflammation and that is elevated.... it can be from an infection, from a chronic illness (like arthritis) or other inflammatory conditions, but it doesn't point you in one direction...... so it is a tough test to interpret without full details of all the health issues......