What is Vitamin A

[LittlebitsMommy]

What does it mean to be high on Vitamin A? How do you get high on Vitamin A?

Just got result of last weeks labs. I was told by GI yes the old Gi ordered these. I was told everything was normal once again. I got results and everything isnt normal.It shows his vitamin A is high should be between 26-49 his is at 62.

Then his white blood cell count, red blood cell count, hemoglobin, hematocrit and absolute monocytes are all LOW. His Rdw is high. What can cause all these to be off and why th ehell does th edoctor continue to tell me everything is Normal.

 

[David]

Do you have him on any vitamins, multivitamins, or supplements such as cod liver oil? It's not common to get Hypervitaminosis A (high vitamin A) by normal diet alone.

Please remind me what medications he is on? They can affect some of those numbers.

It sounds like he has some sort of anemia which can have many causes.

 

[LittlebitsMommy]

He takes peppermint oil twice a day. 40 mg of nexium, 100 mg allopurinol, 12.5 mg of 6mp, culturell. HE isnt taking a mult vitamin

 

[LittlebitsMommy]

His magnesium came back normal, Vitamin D is normal, Vitamin B12 & Folate was normal

 

[David]

The 6-MP could be causing the low WBC, though that can actually be a good thing if it's not too low from what I've read.

Check the peppermint oil and Culturelle for anything that says vitamin A, Retinol, retinal, or retinoic acid. If he's getting too much vitamin A from some unnatural source it is important that it be found.

 

[LittlebitsMommy]

Coping this off bottle
Peppermint oil ---- oil of peppermint 50mg
(Mentha piperita) (aerial)
%DV not established
Other ingredients Sunflower seed oil, Gelatin, Glycerin,Enteric Coating,(Sodium Alginate and Stearic Acid)
No artificial color, flavor or sweetner, No sugar, No starch, No milk, No lactose, No soy, No gluten, No Wheat, No yeast, No fish

Culturelle
Lactobacillus GG 10 billion cells
other ingredients microcrystalline cellulose, gelatin, vegetable magnesium stearate, silica and titanium dioxide

Thats all that shows to be in them

 

[David]

Weird. If he eats any processed foods I'd check them. Other than that, I don't know or understand what is going on. It's something I'd followup with the doctor on.

Sorry I couldn't be more help

 

[Sascot]

I have something niggling at the back of my mind that too much vitamin A can be bad for the kidneys. It may be that because Kota has issues with his kidneys they are causing the higher vitamin A count. It might just be normal for him. When I look for kids multivitamins, I always try to get ones without extra vitamin A

 

[David]

Whoa, Kota has high vitamin A as well? Hmmmm. I'm going to try to do some research today and see what I can come up with, but here's what I know off the top of my head.

Excess vitamin A is bad news. You know all those "Accutane causes IBD" lawsuits? The active ingredient in Accutane is isotretinoin which is from a class of medications called retinoids. Sound familiar somehow?

Check the peppermint oil and Culturelle for anything that says vitamin A, Retinol, retinal, or retinoic acid. If he's getting too much vitamin A from some unnatural source it is important that it be found.

Retinoids are chemically related to vitamin A. You might say that Accutane is high dose vitamin A. Now, I don't believe that Accutane CAUSES IBD, but I do believe it can bring it out in genetically susceptible individuals. I say this because vitamin A interferes with vitamin D working right. You can have high levels of vitamin D in your system but if you have too much vitamin A, it's going to cause problems with your body using that D properly. And while I don't believe lack of vitamin D causes IBD, I do believe it is a corner piece in the IBD puzzle.

I'll see what else I can come up with later

 

[Leelee]

Hi David, could it be that the medication is harming the kidneys thus causing abnormal vit A levels. Has anyone tried going on a juice fast to treat Crohn's? It is used in alternative cancer therapy (The Gerson Protocol) so I thought juice fasting might apply here too as there is a connection between high acid levels, low oxygen in the blood and the resulting inflammation and yeast overgrowth in both cases.

 

[Leelee]

Oh ya, what about pancreatic enzyme therapy? It is also used in other inflammatory diseases with many benefits. You can google it. It is currently being researched for cancer and arthritis among many other chronic inflammatory illnesses

 

[David]

Hi Leelee,

It could be, I don't know enough to say but I'm going to try to find time to research it later today.

Some here have done well with juicing. I'm admittedly no expert of juice fasting but my concern would be getting all the nutrients you need when Crohn's Disease is characterized by malabsorption and malnutrition. I'm a bigger fan of enteral nutrition but in the end, it's what works best for you.

As for enzymes, I think it's worth being tested to see if you're producing abnormal amounts, but I wouldn't supplement blindly.

 

[LittlebitsMommy]

I was tired last night when I was repying an di didnt list all his medicines. He takes Promethazine but not on a daily basis, tylenol and amitriptyline 25mg

He does have hypercalcuira, small atrail septal defect, benign rolandic epilesy and asthma.

I just makes me so mad because they know I am going to go home and read these results. Why cant they say well this is going to ashow to be low but thats becasue xxxx. This shows to be high but its because xxx. Hell no they just say everything looks normal. I am so ready to see this new GI. We leave tomorrow for an 18 hour trip vacation. I have all his records and lab results. I know I am being an over protective mommy but I am taking them with me just in case something happens.

I have a call into today to nurse to see if she can explain any of this to me. I know all the doctor will say is I dont know I really dont know. Thats all he ever says about anything.

Thanks everyone for all the help. You are the best

 

[David]

I apologize, I didn't find time to research this today Hopefully in the next couple days I will. Sorry about that.

 

[LittlebitsMommy]

Its fine David I know you are busy. I have been checking back to see if you posted anything though.

I talked to nurse today and she was pretty rude with me. She said doctor told her everything was normal. I said well the results show its not normal. I said what can cause his vitamin A to be to high. She says vitamins.. I said no he doesnt take vitamins. She says well then maybe something he is eats. Okay a lot of help that is. The foods I have seen that are high in vitamin A he doesnt eat. She says the only things thats important on his labs are the Absolute Neutrophils.. And they are normal. SHe says we wont worry until they are under 1500. Uh okay 2 weeks ago they were 2260 and last week they were 1860. So its clear they are dropping with everything else. She says well how about this.. I will write down all your questions you have and I will tell the dr and he can answer them when and how he wants. Do you think I heard back from the dr Uh no I didnt.

I went to hospital today to get a print out from records of his last Gi appointment. Do you think he said anything about telling us Ko was faking Uh no he didnt. Coping this from chart HR 131 12 year old with history of Crohns disease currently on 6mp therpy. He intermittently complains of abdominal pain, diarrhea, although significantly improved from time of diagnosis. No rash, sick contacts recent travel. No significant wt change, He remains compliant with his 6mp and nexium. Mother reports that he continues to have episodes of elevated HR of uncler etiology..

I am just not reporting it is clear he has high heart rate. It was high when they checked it. How is he doing good on the 6 mp when none of his labs are usully good.

Sorry for the vent. Hope everyones having a good day. Ko had a good day. HE is so ready to leave on vacation and go see his cousins.

 

[Leelee]

I am interested in juice fasting after watching a documentary called "fat, sick and nearly dead". It shows the main character heal from an obscure inflammatory skin condition. The juice is actually higher in nutrients than regular food and enters the bloodstream faster. It think it would be promising for CD.

 

[David]

I did some research and found:

1. Zinc deficiency could potentially lead to higher levels of Vitamin A as it is required for metabolism. Zinc deficiency is somewhat common in people with Crohn's disease but DO NOT blindly supplement as Zinc toxicity is a very real thing.

2. Vitamin A fortified milk, breakfast cereals, or butter can lead to increased blood levels.

3. Too much vitamin A can cause increased calcium levels and hypercalciuria.


4.

Both vitamin A excess and deficiency are known to cause birth defects. Retinol and retinoic acid (RA) are essential for embryonic development (4). During fetal development, RA functions in limb development and formation of the heart, eyes, and ears

Source

5. Some interesting reading: http://www.hindawi.com/crim/endocrinology/2011/424712/

6. A vitamin A level of 64 might not be *that bad*. I don't know. Some of the reports I've seen where people take really high levels of vitamin a supplements are blood levels of like 934 and 625.

7. There may be a genetic component to vitamin A intake and how much it affects you. Source

Not much help, I realize