Connect
Cobalt levels going down??
For those of you that have experienced the risk or onset of metallosis due to metal on metal hip or knee replacement, have any of you ever experienced your heavy metal levels going down? I am getting cobalt and chromium tests every three months now, and the one that was drawn August 9, 2024 came back as 2.0 µg per liter, which is down from 2.4 µg per liter that the results showed in May 2024. I am so thankful it has not increased. But I’m asking myself, can I trust that number? I used the same lab, it is as consistent as I believe it can be. Is it possible my body is processing the metals well? or dare I hope?
Like
Helpful
HugInterested in more discussions like this? Go to the Joint Replacements Support Group.
Connect
@hurkey I haven't seen this before. I personally would watch to see if it is a trend when you have the next test.
I am curious what test the lab is doing, because mine were always reported as two separate numbers.
Two numbers; just for cobalt itself? Interesting. I recently become aware that I can order my own tests through Quest lab for certain things, and Cobalt and chromium are on the list of available testing. So I ordered exactly what my orthopedist last ordered for me in May 2024, which was ‘cobalt serum/plasma’, and ‘chromium, serum’. My orders for the blood drawn August 9, 2024 was provided by two different labs, one for the cobalt, one for the chromium. I just now received my results from the chromium, and it has stayed exactly the same in the last three months, which is .9 micrograms per liter. however, that is down from two years prior in April 2022. The earlier result in 2022 was 1.2 mcg/L. so I’m thankful that it went down over two years, and has stayed the same in the last three months. I will retest again in November. I read somewhere that surgeons suggest testing every three months for people like myself with the metal on metal implant still in place.