Diario de Egull1, 19 ene. 19

~Good News! And, some encouraging research regarding exercise and immunity for the workout crew~ Kenna Morton, you might be interested in this!

My blood work already came back from yesterday's visit to the neurologist. And, I am one healthy gal!! All markers are well within standard range, and my liver panel came back stellar! I have yet to take a blood sugar work up to test for diabetes.

My primary care put in for a glucose test as a routine check up last year, since she noted I have never had one done. I confess - I totally blew it off. It's hard for me to fast because I take a daily poison pill for the MS that requires me to eat something with it or risk stomach upset. It's in part why I had to give up intermittent fasting way back when. Ya don't mess around with side effects when it comes to "immuno-modulatory" drugs.

However, so far I haven't noted suffering any of the symptoms associated with type II diabetes. And, with an A+ liver panel, I'm not too worried about it. The reason why they take the liver panel every 6 months is due to long term impact of the immuno-suppressant. Most of these first and second generation biologics carry long term risks to both heart and liver. They need to know if things are going south, in case it's time to pull me off the drug and re-assess treatment.

However, the primary thing every MS'er and their neurologist focus on is the WBC count (i.e. white blood cell count). Now, for those of you that don't know, your WBC's are a MAJOR reason you're alive and kickin' regardless of any current medical condition you might have. They are the "army ants" of your immune system. They're the first to kick a$$ and take names when a foreign body or bacteria enters your system. And, they die for you...by the hundreds. They also reproduce perty darn fast too. They're warriors, folks. Always, respect your t-cells!

Unfortunately, in MS - the WBC's get a bit confused and start attacking the neural insulation around our neural fibers in both the brain and spinal cord. We still don't know why the WBC's do this, but it's "no bueno" to be sure and leads to all manner of mobility issues in addition to other unsightly results like blindness, and complete loss of sensation in the limbs.

It's easy to to resent the WBC's for this mass confusion. But, guess what - we still need them. Obliterate the WBC's and there is no immune defense and screw the wheel chair, it will be death by the common cold (no joke).

The immuno-suppressant I am on is not a cure but a middle ground. Take out some of the WBC's and maybe they stop acting so damn crazy and start attacking what they're supposed too, but not so many the body loses it's defenses altogether. It's a slippery slope, but also the reason why blood tests are needed every 6 months.

When it comes to this girl. She has an immune system built for ULTIMATE DEFENSE lemme tell ya. First thing, the neurologists said upon diagnosis in July of 2017 was, "heck knows you have more than enough WBC's to spare." And, I do. The LAST row of numbers in the chart below are my WBC averages. The standard norm runs 3.4-10.2. I'm 7.6, which means I gotta perty swell army in there. Perhaps they got bored...

However, back in July I noted the number dipped a point and landed at 6.9 and I thought "okay, here we go." I don't mind losing some WBC's, but, the drug I'm on will not only take out 30%, but has a track record for rendering folks the inability to create more WBC's once they've been taken off the drug. That's not cool. A dip by one point is no big deal, but makes me mindful.

A new report by the NYT was done last year regarding exercise and immune cells -

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/04/25/well/move/how-strenuous-exercise-affects-our-immune-system.html

the long and short of this is that new science indicates a strenuous work out or endurance training like running marathons may actually bolster the immune system, not deplete it as once thought. The study has only been confirmed in mice, but when I read it I thought

"heck-I'm already a lab rat for science. Why not see if it helps to bolster my immune cells."

It wasn't too long after I took my 1-point dip in WBC's that I hit goal and increased exercise intensity on every level. This is much less challenging to do as one releases excess weight. I wanted to take strength training and endurance to a whole other level. In fact, at one point this year I got sick with a cold and decided to push through and exercise when I was sick. I've done this before and it always seems the cold doesn't last as long.

Sure enough, it was the same. I worked out, and the cold lasted 4 days tops, which is saying something for a person on an immuno-suppressant. My mother and I were curious, based on this article, if my WBC's might be lower or stay the same since I've increased the intensity of my workouts.

The results are listed below. My WBC's not only jumped they rose higher than their normal average to 8.2. In short, this girls immune army doesn't care what kind of poison you throw at it, it has no intention of backing down.

I rather love this, but I also petition the universe these WBC's keep to the task at hand and don't get any ideas about attacking things they DON'T need to be attacking like my brain matter! Also, it's not conclusive this jump is based on exercise. We'll have to see what the next blood test reveals. However, it is interesting to say the least.

Note: The SECOND to the last row is my RDW count (red blood cell count). This number is not so stellar. It's on the high side of normal and continues to increase.It basically means, my Red blood cells are getting larger because I'm not able to produce a lot red blood cells. It is also an indication of low levels of B-12, folate acid, and iron.

I'm at a bit of a loss here. I eat veggies everyday, my protein is good, I doubled the B-12 and vitamin D. But, my RBC's don't want to rally as well as my WBC's. Anyhow, this is very likely the reason for the fatigue I've been dealing with lately. And, if it gets any higher, I'll be courting anemia. I'm going to try adding some folic acid supplements to the mix to see if this helps.

Anyhow, if ya got this far - check out the article, it's worth a read!