immunobuffoono

[immunobuffoono]

Inflammatory Cytokines

Inflammatory cytokines are signaling proteins released by immune cells that regulate inflammation and immune responses. They play a key role in defending against infections, but excessive or chronic inflammation can contribute to autoimmune diseases and other health issues.

• IL-17: A pro-inflammatory cytokine primarily produced by Th17 cells, IL-17 promotes the recruitment of neutrophils and enhances tissue inflammation. It is involved in autoimmune diseases like rheumatoid arthritis and psoriasis.

• IL-6: A multifunctional cytokine that plays a role in both inflammation and immune regulation. It promotes the production of acute-phase proteins, stimulates B and T cell differentiation, and contributes to chronic inflammatory conditions.

• IL-8: A chemokine that primarily attracts neutrophils to sites of infection or injury. It is involved in acute inflammation and plays a role in diseases such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and cancer.

These cytokines are crucial in both protective immune responses and inflammatory diseases. Since these cytokines are involved in autoimmune activity, chronic inflammation, and immune system signaling, elevated levels could suggest:

1. Persistent Inflammation or Autoimmune Activity – IL-17 is linked to autoimmune diseases, while IL-6 and IL-8 are general markers of inflammation.

2. Steroid Resistance or Incomplete Suppression – Despite being on 20 mg of Prednisone for three months, inflammation remains active, which could indicate a condition not fully controlled by steroids.

3. Chronic Immune Activation – The combination of elevated VEGF, D-dimer, and hsCRP (other previously tested & elevated immune markers) suggests possible vascular inflammation, which ties into IL-8’s role in blood vessel regulation.

What It Doesn’t Necessarily Mean

• Not Proof of Infection – While these cytokines can rise during infections, additional markers (like white blood cell count, which for the record for me is ALWAYS elevated) would be needed to confirm.

• Not Diagnostic of a Specific Disease – Many conditions, including autoimmune diseases, chronic infections, and metabolic inflammation, could cause these elevations.

Conclusion: We never have a fucking clue about anything at all pretty much. If you have any ideas, please holler.

[immunobuffoono]

Viruses Suck. All of Them.

My first Covid back around Christmas, 2021, was genuinely a cake walk. This time, it was quite a bit shittier, but honestly? The flu has always been 700x worse for me. Covid sucked this time a little bit, I guess, but we back on top now. Ish. Thank FUCK I get my vaccines like clockwork though...

P.S. In my Swedish death metal from high school era again. #🤘

[immunobuffoono]

The VECTRA Blood Panel

*Scroll to the bottom portion of this post to view my test results...

PSA: If you are struggling with a mystery illness and cannot find the "right" medical specialists, I do formally recommend making a request to your most trusted physician about a blood serum/plasma panel known as "VECTRA." Testing individual inflammatory markers like C-Reactive Protein (CRP) and Erythrocyte Sedimentation Rate (ESR) will inform you about potential inflammation underway in your body, but VECTRA is far more comprehensive & can give you insight into your disease activity as compared to a large population of patients with diagnosed rheumatoid arthritis.

[Sort of Unnecessary Side Quest: HAVING A NEGATIVE ANA RESULT IS NOT A REASON FOR A PHYSICIAN'S DISMISSAL! Personally, I have consistently tested negative on ANA panels, and after 20 years of this horseshit, that god awful test is the sole reason for being dismissed by many, many specialists time and time and time and time and time again... A negative ANA alongside positive inflammatory markers (like CRP & ESR) is termed "seronegative." Seronegative autoimmune diseases, although far less common, are absolutely real and deserve the same attention from physicians as the more common, seropositive autoimmune diseases. VECTRA can help prove your pain is valid and needs treatment, especially in the face of a consistently negative ANA!]

VECTRA Panel Pros/Cons (& What It Can Do For You)

What it definitely means/can do to help expedite the diagnostic process:

Measures RA disease activity: VECTRA provides an objective score reflecting the level of inflammation and joint damage that is suspected to occur without appropriate and prompt treatment.

Monitors treatment response: Helps doctors determine whether a patient's RA treatment is working or if adjustments are needed.

Assesses risk of joint damage: Higher scores are associated with increased risk of progressive joint damage.

Incorporates multiple biomarkers: The test evaluates 12 proteins associated with inflammation and immune activation, offering a more comprehensive look at disease activity compared to single-marker tests (e.g., CRP alone).

What it could mean but is not definitive without further testing:

Could indicate active inflammation: A high VECTRA score suggests ongoing inflammation, but it does not pinpoint the exact cause. Additional testing is needed to determine if another condition (e.g., chronic infection, another autoimmune disease with similar features, certain types of cancer, etc.) is contributing.

Could correlate with other inflammatory conditions: While designed for RA, some biomarkers in the test can be elevated due to other inflammatory or autoimmune diseases.

Does not confirm or rule out RA: A high or low VECTRA score alone does not diagnose or exclude rheumatoid arthritis—other clinical criteria and tests (ANA, RF, Anti-CCP, Tissue Imaging, Gene Mutation Analysis, etc.) are required for a diagnosis.

What it does not mean/can't tell you/can't do for you:

Not Covered by All Insurances: VECTRA is a Labcorp-owned blood panel. Unfortunately, this privatization of services does mean that VECTRA may not be covered by certain health insurance plans. Be sure to check with your insurance company first before moving forward with testing.

Does not diagnose RA: VECTRA is a disease activity test, not a diagnostic test for rheumatoid arthritis specifically.

Does not differentiate between different autoimmune diseases: Elevated markers may suggest inflammation, but they do not confirm RA specifically. The test simply compares your disease activity with approximately 300,000 patients definitively diagnosed with RA and can help define the severity of the disease activity in your body.

Not useful for all RA patients: Some people, particularly those with low CRP levels or seronegative RA, may not get reliable results from this test.

Not a replacement for imaging or clinical assessment: While VECTRA provides valuable biomarker data, physical exams, imaging (X-rays, MRIs), and other lab tests remain essential for evaluating RA progression.

My VECTRA Blood Panel Results

What My Results Definitely Mean For Me:

My Vectra DA Score is 45, which falls into the high disease activity category.

A high Vectra score indicates that I have some sort of disease underway that is highly active & that correlates with an increased risk of radiographic progression (observable joint damage/erosion). In other words, I am dealing with a chronic, observable disease which is causing severe & ongoing damage to my body - resulting in multi-system organ involvement and an array of primary diagnoses that may rather be secondary comorbidities of my unnamed systemic illness instead. AKA it means I'm sick AF you guys. Literally all the time. For 20 fucking years straight.

My 1-year risk of radiographic progression is 7%, suggesting a predictable joint damage progression within the coming year if left untreated or mismanaged.

My highest inflammatory marker percentile result listed was EGF (Epidermal Growth Factor), which showed that, compared to the tested RA patients, I am in the >99th percentile for this inflammatory marker. This essentially means that, if continued to be left unmanaged, the progression of this disease could result in irreparable joint and tissue damage. [These higher percentile scores typically display which disease pathway that needs to be targeted in order to treat the condition.] (Example: Biologics that treat diseases like Crohn's often target Interleukin 6, an inflammatory cytokine that, for me, has always tested within the normal range. Long story short, this VECTRA panel helps pinpoint possibilities for treatment potentially [despite maybe never being able to give this a formal name], but due to the complexity of my case, we still have a long way to go and lots more tests to undergo before this gal could potentially see any sort of remission.)

Other Resources

"A Guide to Your VECTRA Molecular Result" as Published by Labcorp for Patients

"Guiding Rheumatoid Arthritis Treatment Decisions" (with regard to VECTRA results) as published by Labcorp for Patients

"Rheumatoid Arthritis Comprehensive Testing Capabilities" as Published by Labcorp for Patients

[immunobuffoono]

"Foooooourrrrrr!"

The wonky science data I feel like sharing with you today even though it's not really technically diagnostic other than the fact that it clearly shows a dysregulated immune system still fighting the good fight in spite of taking 20mg Prednisone every single day for the last three or four months. I gotta hand it to my immune system for that one, I guess. Anyway - here you will find the abnormalities in my blood serum results as found in my "Natural Killer Cell and Activated T-Cell Profile/IL-2r" panel. Good times.

Shall we?

1. "Ab NK (CD56/16)" describes the Abnormal Natural Killer (NK) Cells that express the surface markers CD56 and CD16 found in a given volume of blood.

2. "Absolute CD3" refers to the total number of T cells in a given volume of blood.

3. "Abs. CD3+CD25+ Lymphs" (also known as "Absolute Count of CD3+CD25+ Lymphocytes") refers to the absolute count of activated T lymphocytes (T cells) in a given volume of blood.

4. "% CD3+CD25+ Lymphs" (also known as "Percentage of Activated T Lymphocytes [T Cells]") refers to the percentage of activated T cells among total lymphocytes in a given volume of blood.

5. "Platelets" are small blood cell fragments that help with clotting by stopping bleeding when blood vessels are injured.

^That particular result is honestly beautiful compared to how high it has been in the months prior. So... woooooo!!!!! I guess.

6. "Lymphs" (also known to as "Lymphocyte Percentage") represents the proportion of white blood cells involved in immune responses - including B cells, T cells, and natural killer (NK) cells, in a given volume of blood.

[Note: A lymphocyte percentage of 45% is slightly above the typical reference range, which is usually around 20-40% of total white blood cells.]

7. "Lymphs (Absolute)" (also known as "Absolute Lymphocyte Count") refers to the total number of lymphocytes in a given volume of blood. Lymphocytes are a type of white blood cell playing a key role in immune defense and responses.

And there ya have it for that vague panel's findings, folks!

It's a real party up in this bitch. Always.

Stay Gnar Ya Rascals!

Merler

#autoimmunehavoc4evr

[immunobuffoono]

#cool #fuckitidontcareanymore

[immunobuffoono]

So This is a Fun Result…

#guessilljustdie

[immunobuffoono]

“‘Cause baby now we got bad blood… Hey!”

Welp, kids. My hematologist says the wonky CBC profile is either a reactive process in my blood stream due to an autoimmune disorder or polycythemia vera. We are now in an observation period post-bone marrow biopsy (that I got done last April) where we look for progressing results via monthly blood serum tests. Unfortunately, we do appear to be increasing across the board here with regard to the abnormal elevations. That said, I’m still pretty convinced it’s just my fucked up mystery immune nonsense wreaking hematological havoc erryday as opposed to blood cancer. Keep you in the loop though!

(See attached pics for today’s CBC results.)

#mysteryautoimmunedisease #chronicillness #polycythemiavera #polycythemia #thrombocytosis #leukocytosis #erythrocytosis #leftshiftedneutrophilia #ankrd26variant #apcvariant #completebloodcount #cbc

[immunobuffoono]

Lightning McGee: The Electric Non-Wizard (But if I was, I’m a Hufflepuff and not a Ravenclaw in 2025, and that RULES.)

Part 1 of 2

Another flu-like day today as I continue to try to ween myself off the ‘roids. I can’t tell if the sensation of an impending sinus infection in my face is due to the symptomatic rebounding of Prednisone withdrawal or if it is really brewing. I do know if this is the beginning of something seriously acute & unrelated to steroid withdrawal, shit’s absolutely about to get real up in here.

Electrocution-like sensations all throughout my body again. But that appears to be consistently related to coming off the corticosteroids and generally happens once in the morning & once in the evening, and resolves shortly after my next dose.

The lymph node under my right arms feels like it was replaced with a battered volleyball. I often get unexplained swelling of lymph nodes in my neck and underarms. What a party.

Worsening pain in the upper right quadrant of my abdomen that feels like it goes from right underneath the bottom rib, and wraps around my core, with the most acute pain experienced directly under the bottom tip of my right shoulder blade. It also extends upwards into my right shoulder. I’d thought yesterday that I may have pulled my latissimus dorsi, but at the time I didn’t understand how I would have done such a thing, and with all the added flu-like symptoms this morning, I am concerned about further developments related to my liver or even possibly new ones associated with my gall bladder.

The great thing about withdrawal from Preddy though is that I’ll be able to tell one way or another in ~an hour or so whether all of these symptoms are more acute or more chronic in nature though. Fingers crossed I’m only shitty like this for a little while today.

Pain rating rn: 5/10 (I deal with pain a lot, but I’m relatively unmoved by this symptom most days. At least compared to the fatigue. That’s the symptom that sucks the most for me. With that said, fatigue eating rn: 167/10. Debilitating. Always. 167/10. I have been tired for 20 years straight and there’s really nothing anyone can do about it.

Thank god for coffee, I guess.

Stay Gnar,

Merler

#mysteryautoimmunedisease #chronicillness #chronicfatiguesyndrome #cfs #myalgicencephalomyelitis #fibromyalgia #advancedliverdisease #metavirF3fibrosis #smad7gene #humantransforminggrowthfactorbeta1 #tgf-b1 #excessivedaytimesleepiness #chronicinflammation #poppunkbandblogtitlesftw #hailsatan #fuck

[immunobuffoono]

"Welcome to the Jungle, We've Got (Shit) Lungs and Genes." -Thumbs N Noses

^I imagine if you have made it all the way here, we're probably close enough that you are, to some extent, aware of this already, but - if you have not yet been informed... I'm sick. Like for realz. And I'm feeling good and ready to spill the beans about it all if you feel like hanging for a little. Feel free to stick around. Feel free to leave when you get bored. Shall we begin? “Once upon a time, there lived a big dopey dumb dumb whose brain was two sizes too smol…” Check back later for a less tuckered out update tho. Dumb dumb hittin’ the hay for now. Nighnight, dudelings & co.! Tawk to yas. 💕

Stay Gnar,

Merler