Just got my blood work back - Good news and Bad news page

[Miss Understood]

I am in the process of reading Good Calories Bad Calories, so I know intellectually that Total cholesterol for a person over 50, particularly a woman, is not particularly meaningful. I also know that when you have lost 30+ pounds in a short period of time your total cholesterol can be elevated. Stilll, I am rather surprised that my numbers went up. I had expected them to be the same or lower. Here's my comparison from 2007 (the last blood work I had done) to this week's results. I have been on Primal Blueprint since the beginning of January and have lost somewhere between 40-45 pounds.

2007 Cholesterol 256 Now 334
2007 Calc LDL 157 Now 259
2007 HDL 41 Now 51
Triglycerides 294 Now 122

So, my HDL is up marginally, which is good, but it's not up as much as I would have thought. The biggest plus is that my triglycerides which were scary high before are now under 150 which is pretty good, although I've heard of some people having trigs under 100 oreven under 75!

Naturally, the doctor was concerned about my over 300 cholesterol and I explained that I was not alarmed because I have read that this is a common phenomenon with significant weight loss. I said I was much more interested in the HDL and Triglycerides which are good. He wanted me to "take something to bring down my numbers while I am working on diet and exercise!" I replied that I was not currently concerned due to my weight loss and the improvement in HDL and Trigs and that I would have another blood test done in 3 - 6 months to see where the numbers stood, and if they were still high at that time. . . . well, I don't expect they will be, but even if I still have total cholesterol over 300 I would never take statins. My willingness to monitor the situation seemed to satisfy the doctor, but he is only a "nurse practitioner" and I'm not sure if the blood work will be handed over to my M.D and perhaps he will be more concerned and more insistent that I "do something."

Could someone please remind me what the ratio of HDL to Trigs is supposed to be? I know that's supposed to be a better indicator of good heart health than LDL or total cholesterol. Any other comments and observations on these numbers are also much appreciated.

[Dirlot]

Your numbers are moving in the right direction. IMHO it looks like you are donig the right thing but it will take time to get to your normal levels once you have lost the weight you want to loose.

Ideally you want your HDL higher than your trigs.
This http://www.marksdailyapple.com/forum/thread4723.html and this http://www.marksdailyapple.com/forum...tml#post963197

[Miss Understood]

Thanks for the links. The cholesterol primer is a great resource. Even though I know total cholesterol doesn't mean that much it's hard not to be a bit disturbed, especially since I was expecting a decrease. The dive in triglycerides is the most important and reassuring number.

[Knifegill]

Mine's been going up slightly, too. TC was 265 or something last time. But HDL was 93 and LDL was an almost unchanged 135-ish. I'll worry if my trigs are ever high, or if my TC breaks, like 350 or something.

[Miss Understood]

I got my results back in the mail from the doctor along with the lab order sheet to get a second blood test. They had the form dated for early December. That's only two months. I had said I would do a retest in 3-6 months when I had finished losing weight and my weight had stabilized. I'm not sure what happens if I just ignore the paperwork and wait till Spring for the second test.

[magicmerl]

Thanks for the links. The cholesterol primer is a great resource. Even though I know total cholesterol doesn't mean that much it's hard not to be a bit disturbed, especially since I was expecting a decrease. The dive in triglycerides is the most important and reassuring number.

Absolutely.

[Jena]

I got my results back in the mail from the doctor along with the lab order sheet to get a second blood test. They had the form dated for early December. That's only two months. I had said I would do a retest in 3-6 months when I had finished losing weight and my weight had stabilized. I'm not sure what happens if I just ignore the paperwork and wait till Spring for the second test.

I mean what can they do really? My doctor was quite unhappy when I went off my anti-depressants, but that was my choice. It was a rough withdrawl period, but I feel great now. She's just pissed that she's not doing the only things she is good at to me anymore... being a pill pusher. My goal has been to get as healthy as is humanly possible so I don't have to go to the doctor's office anymore. Yes, its a bit naive, but that's what I'm shooting for! You go in and get your numbers checked when YOU want to!

[mostofthetime7]

I mean what can they do really? My doctor was quite unhappy when I went off my anti-depressants, but that was my choice. It was a rough withdrawl period, but I feel great now. She's just pissed that she's not doing the only things she is good at to me anymore... being a pill pusher. My goal has been to get as healthy as is humanly possible so I don't have to go to the doctor's office anymore. Yes, its a bit naive, but that's what I'm shooting for! You go in and get your numbers checked when YOU want to!

It's not naive in my opinion

[Annlee]

First of all, cholesterol is critical in so many ways to the body. It's the foundation for vitamin D (the innate immune system? hello??), for a cascade of hormones, is heavily found in the brain .... I could go on. I want mine nice and "high" by current CW. Also, with solid respect to Griff for compiling the data, new research has shown some interesting new things. If you are concerned, I strongly recommend going to Peter Attia's blog and reading his 9-part series (part 10 coming one of these days) on cholesterol. It's highly educational.

The straight dope on cholesterol

My $0.02 (US) - watch Alzheimer's explode as the statin crowd ages a little more.

[Danielle5690]

I mean what can they do really? My doctor was quite unhappy when I went off my anti-depressants, but that was my choice. It was a rough withdrawl period, but I feel great now. She's just pissed that she's not doing the only things she is good at to me anymore... being a pill pusher. My goal has been to get as healthy as is humanly possible so I don't have to go to the doctor's office anymore. Yes, its a bit naive, but that's what I'm shooting for! You go in and get your numbers checked when YOU want to!

I don't think that's naive at all. It's a good goal. If I still had a thyroid gland (removed 5 years ago) and didn't have to get my blood tested all the time, I would never see my doctor.

Has anyone seen those commercials that have been running lately about not doing your doctor's job? Ugh, they make me so angry. It's not your doctor's job to care for your health. It's YOURS.