Wednesday, February 20, 2013

IGF-1 Assay Range for Comparison

I've recently learned of an IGF-1 assay range issue, and thought it would be interesting to post the range used for me. It is from January of 2012. I was 35 years at the time this assay was used, and my IGF-1 was 283 ng/mL, growth hormone (ICMA) was 0.721 ng/mL, with a range of <=6 for all ages. My UCSF endocrinologist wanted me under 1 ng/mL for growth hormone.



IGF-1 (BL- blood level) Assay Range by LabCorp (San Diego, CA US) for use by UCSF endocrinology for Acromegaly treatment (San Francisco, CA US) January 7, 2012
Age
Range
Mean
SD
19-20y
217-475
323
75
21-30y
87-368
237
74
31-40y
106-368
225
71
41-50y
118-298
205
60
51-60y
53-287
172
55
61-70y
75-263
180
51
71-80y
54-205
156
46

Acceptance of the Disease, or just Tired?

I've felt many times lately a feeling of peace that I hadn't felt before in regards to life and Acromegaly. As though I'd come to terms, well mostly, with my Acromegaly. Maybe it's just Tired Jenny speaking? I'm not sure. I should surely have gone through all of the *steps* with over 6 years of confirmed diagnosis. But it's a nice feeling.

Stress, Anxiety and Acromegaly


I used to stress and be anxious about what caused my Acromegaly. I think I've mostly come to terms with it, and hopefully one day I'll stumble upon the reason. As far as managing anxiety and stress, I would try medication, but I don't because I always get side effects. I've learned to pay attention and listen to my body more, learn my triggers and try to avoid them ahead of time. I avoid crowds, certain individuals that stress me (I've completely cut some friendships), shopping at certain times, driving long distance, amusement parks, small children (just screaming/cranky ones), etc. I really work on communicating my feelings, and learning what bothers me. I've learned to manage pretty well, but some days none of my techniques seem to matter! Unfortunately this means I also avoid some things I love.