Got my lab results

I've been worried. I had no health insurance, so hadn't been to the
doctor's in a couple of years. I'm a very big girl, and lately I've
been feeling thirsty all the time, one of the classic symptoms of
diabetes. A disease my father has. I was worried.

A couple of months ago, I finally got hired on at my temp job at the
factory. My health benefits just kicked in, and I went straight to the
doctor's He said I looked healthy enough, but would have to get results
back from the blood work to see how my stats were.

Glucose 93. Anything under 100 is considered normal. I'm not even
pre-diabetic! Yay! I was so worried that I might have started my new
way of life too late! I'd like to lower this a bit if I could, but I'm
hoping my new diet and exercise patterns will help with that.
Meanwhile: /happy Snoopy dance.

I also wondered about my cholesterol levels. Like I said, I'm big.

Cholesterol 128. Anything under 200 is considered good. This is very,
very low.

HDL "Good Cholesterol" 38. Anything above 40 is considered normal.
Mine is just a tad low here.

LDL "Bad Cholesterol" 66. Anything below 130 is considered good.
Again, very low here.

The doctor said to not change anything in my diet. He's not worried
about the low value of the HDL because my whole is cholesterol panel is
so low, this simply doesn't concern him.

I was a bit stunned. I sorta expected him to tell me that my
cholesterol values were just slightly less than a slab of bacon. And
how often does a doctor look at someone as fat as me and not say
something along the lines of "You need to start eating healthier"?

Ok, I know this might not be interesting to anyone but me. But it's
such a big weight off my mind, I just wanted to share!

--

Annie

258/226.5/140

Started February/07/05

"Annie Benson Lennaman" wrote in
message . ..
I've been worried. I had no health insurance, so hadn't been to the
doctor's in a couple of years. I'm a very big girl, and lately I've
been feeling thirsty all the time, one of the classic symptoms of
diabetes. A disease my father has. I was worried.

A couple of months ago, I finally got hired on at my temp job at the
factory. My health benefits just kicked in, and I went straight to the
doctor's He said I looked healthy enough, but would have to get results
back from the blood work to see how my stats were.

Glucose 93. Anything under 100 is considered normal. I'm not even
pre-diabetic! Yay! I was so worried that I might have started my new
way of life too late! I'd like to lower this a bit if I could, but I'm
hoping my new diet and exercise patterns will help with that.
Meanwhile: /happy Snoopy dance.

I also wondered about my cholesterol levels. Like I said, I'm big.

Cholesterol 128. Anything under 200 is considered good. This is very,
very low.

HDL "Good Cholesterol" 38. Anything above 40 is considered normal.
Mine is just a tad low here.

LDL "Bad Cholesterol" 66. Anything below 130 is considered good.
Again, very low here.

The doctor said to not change anything in my diet. He's not worried
about the low value of the HDL because my whole is cholesterol panel is
so low, this simply doesn't concern him.

I was a bit stunned. I sorta expected him to tell me that my
cholesterol values were just slightly less than a slab of bacon. And
how often does a doctor look at someone as fat as me and not say
something along the lines of "You need to start eating healthier"?

Ok, I know this might not be interesting to anyone but me. But it's
such a big weight off my mind, I just wanted to share!

Your lab results are wonderful. Cholesterol does seem to be more of a
genetic thing though what you're eating certainly does influence it - mine
will fluctuate between 115-155 depending on what I'm eating. Exercise will
also raise your good cholesterol so as you are getting more active that
number will continue to rise. My cholesterol has always been healthy, even
when I was over 300 lbs.

Also good news about the blood sugar. You can lower your blood sugar by
watching the types of carbs you eat and in what combinations you eat them. I
hope that everything continues to go well for you.
--
the volleyballchick

"Annie Benson Lennaman" wrote in
message . ..
I've been worried. I had no health insurance, so hadn't been to the
doctor's in a couple of years. I'm a very big girl, and lately I've
been feeling thirsty all the time, one of the classic symptoms of
diabetes. A disease my father has. I was worried.

A couple of months ago, I finally got hired on at my temp job at the
factory. My health benefits just kicked in, and I went straight to the
doctor's He said I looked healthy enough, but would have to get results
back from the blood work to see how my stats were.

Glucose 93. Anything under 100 is considered normal. I'm not even
pre-diabetic! Yay! I was so worried that I might have started my new
way of life too late! I'd like to lower this a bit if I could, but I'm
hoping my new diet and exercise patterns will help with that.
Meanwhile: /happy Snoopy dance.

I also wondered about my cholesterol levels. Like I said, I'm big.

Cholesterol 128. Anything under 200 is considered good. This is very,
very low.

HDL "Good Cholesterol" 38. Anything above 40 is considered normal.
Mine is just a tad low here.

LDL "Bad Cholesterol" 66. Anything below 130 is considered good.
Again, very low here.

The doctor said to not change anything in my diet. He's not worried
about the low value of the HDL because my whole is cholesterol panel is
so low, this simply doesn't concern him.

I was a bit stunned. I sorta expected him to tell me that my
cholesterol values were just slightly less than a slab of bacon. And
how often does a doctor look at someone as fat as me and not say
something along the lines of "You need to start eating healthier"?

Ok, I know this might not be interesting to anyone but me. But it's
such a big weight off my mind, I just wanted to share!

Good for you; glad to hear you got good bookwork results. My recent
bloodwork is the reason why I've been on a strict diet for the past two
weeks. Started at 164 and now down to 155 (with a goal of 130). I've been
dieting since I was 13 (I just turned 44) and if I'm not strict, I gain
weight very easily. Anyhoo, my triglyceride level was 282 (anything above
150 is considered high) and that was the wake-up call I needed. So now it's
no red meat, no cheese, pretty much low-fat everything, lots of salads and
no alcohol except or a glass or two of merlot on the weekends. For me
personally, I've found health reasons make it easier to stick to a diet than
vanity.

How was your triglyceride level? Considering how great everything else was,
I'm sure it was low as well.

Robyn

164/155/130

On Mon, 20 Jun 2005 13:15:37 -0500, Annie Benson Lennaman
wrote:

I've been worried. I had no health insurance, so hadn't been to the
doctor's in a couple of years. I'm a very big girl, and lately I've
been feeling thirsty all the time, one of the classic symptoms of
diabetes. A disease my father has. I was worried.

A couple of months ago, I finally got hired on at my temp job at the
factory. My health benefits just kicked in, and I went straight to the
doctor's He said I looked healthy enough, but would have to get results
back from the blood work to see how my stats were.

Glucose 93. Anything under 100 is considered normal. I'm not even
pre-diabetic! Yay! I was so worried that I might have started my new
way of life too late! I'd like to lower this a bit if I could, but I'm
hoping my new diet and exercise patterns will help with that.
Meanwhile: /happy Snoopy dance.

I also wondered about my cholesterol levels. Like I said, I'm big.

Cholesterol 128. Anything under 200 is considered good. This is very,
very low.

HDL "Good Cholesterol" 38. Anything above 40 is considered normal.
Mine is just a tad low here.

LDL "Bad Cholesterol" 66. Anything below 130 is considered good.
Again, very low here.

The doctor said to not change anything in my diet. He's not worried
about the low value of the HDL because my whole is cholesterol panel is
so low, this simply doesn't concern him.

I was a bit stunned. I sorta expected him to tell me that my
cholesterol values were just slightly less than a slab of bacon. And
how often does a doctor look at someone as fat as me and not say
something along the lines of "You need to start eating healthier"?

Ok, I know this might not be interesting to anyone but me. But it's
such a big weight off my mind, I just wanted to share!

That's excellent news Annie, and should really encourage you to stick
with your WOL.

janice

Wonderful results, Annie! I'm smiling for you :-).

Chris
262/130s/130s

These are wonderful results, Annie.

Beverly



"Annie Benson Lennaman" wrote in
message . ..
I've been worried. I had no health insurance, so hadn't been to the
doctor's in a couple of years. I'm a very big girl, and lately I've
been feeling thirsty all the time, one of the classic symptoms of
diabetes. A disease my father has. I was worried.

A couple of months ago, I finally got hired on at my temp job at the
factory. My health benefits just kicked in, and I went straight to the
doctor's He said I looked healthy enough, but would have to get results
back from the blood work to see how my stats were.

Glucose 93. Anything under 100 is considered normal. I'm not even
pre-diabetic! Yay! I was so worried that I might have started my new
way of life too late! I'd like to lower this a bit if I could, but I'm
hoping my new diet and exercise patterns will help with that.
Meanwhile: /happy Snoopy dance.

I also wondered about my cholesterol levels. Like I said, I'm big.

Cholesterol 128. Anything under 200 is considered good. This is very,
very low.

HDL "Good Cholesterol" 38. Anything above 40 is considered normal.
Mine is just a tad low here.

LDL "Bad Cholesterol" 66. Anything below 130 is considered good.
Again, very low here.

The doctor said to not change anything in my diet. He's not worried
about the low value of the HDL because my whole is cholesterol panel is
so low, this simply doesn't concern him.

I was a bit stunned. I sorta expected him to tell me that my
cholesterol values were just slightly less than a slab of bacon. And
how often does a doctor look at someone as fat as me and not say
something along the lines of "You need to start eating healthier"?

Ok, I know this might not be interesting to anyone but me. But it's
such a big weight off my mind, I just wanted to share!

--

Annie

258/226.5/140

Started February/07/05

Thanks for the replies all; I just wanted to do a little crowing.

The doctor didn't mention my triglyceride levels per se, though he
did say that everything in my results were in the normal range. I did
request a copy of the results, so I should be able to look and tell and
a couple of days.

I am hoping that my new WOL, including exercising more, will have an
affect on keeping my numbers good. It's a little late, since I've been
doing this for four months, but at least I now have a baseline to
compare as I continue to do this for the next several months. Maybe I
was pre-diabetic when I started, I dunno. The fear of this disease was
one of my prime motivators for finally starting my new WOL.

It was interesting to hear about the increased risk of hemorrhagic
stroke. I had always thought that the body produced all the cholesterol
it needed within, with the numbers being able to be raised above optimum
levels by either diet or genetics. Dang, if I knew that, I would have
asked the doctor if I should start eating more bacon (just to see the
look on his face, if nothing else). But I don't know that I'm really
ready to start taking steps to try to bring my numbers up. Right now
I'm too busy focusing on getting to a healthy weight, which I know will
have big impact on my quality of life!

--

Annie

258/226.5/140

Started February/07/05

"Ilene Bilenky" wrote in message
...
In article ,
Annie Benson Lennaman wrote:

The doctor didn't mention my triglyceride levels per se, though he
did say that everything in my results were in the normal range.

A test that is getting some new scrutiny is the cardio-reactive protein
(CRP) which is often done in accordance with cholesterol/triglycerides.
Since something like 50% of people with heart attacks have normal
cholesterol/trigly. levels, it's been considered that the CRP is a
better indicator- that there is some sort of vessel inflammation,
whereby plaques then break off from the vessel and cause a heart attack.
I was getting my chol./tri. levels quite good and low with diet (and not
much exercise. yet.) and my doc insisted on putting me on Lipitor
anyway. I argued a bit, and she explained about the CRP. Mine was too
high. After a few weeks of Lipitor, it is much lower (as are the other
levels, but I wasn't worried about them.

My doctor said that taking Omega 3 fish oil pills was just as good as taking
Lipitor. He said the only reason why the drug companies don't push Omega 3
is because they can't make any money off of it shrugs

I don't know if that is true or not, but I've been taking the Omega 3.
Hopefully it'll be effective (I'm sure knocking off the chardonnay will help
my levels immensely as well cough)
--
Robyn
164/155/130

Annie Benson Lennaman wrote in
message . ..

Dang, if I knew that, I would have
asked the doctor if I should start eating more bacon (just to see
the
look on his face, if nothing else).

Some low-carb dieters have found their cholesterol levels dropped so I
would bet you can't eat enough fat to significantly alter your results
over the long term.

But it might be fun to try ;-)

In article ,
Annie Benson Lennaman wrote:

The doctor didn't mention my triglyceride levels per se, though he
did say that everything in my results were in the normal range.

A test that is getting some new scrutiny is the cardio-reactive protein
(CRP) which is often done in accordance with cholesterol/triglycerides.
Since something like 50% of people with heart attacks have normal
cholesterol/trigly. levels, it's been considered that the CRP is a
better indicator- that there is some sort of vessel inflammation,
whereby plaques then break off from the vessel and cause a heart attack.
I was getting my chol./tri. levels quite good and low with diet (and not
much exercise. yet.) and my doc insisted on putting me on Lipitor
anyway. I argued a bit, and she explained about the CRP. Mine was too
high. After a few weeks of Lipitor, it is much lower (as are the other
levels, but I wasn't worried about them.

Ilene B (now posting in seriousness)
227/224/145