What can I do to improve my next lab results?

In My Humble Opinion
1

I recently had blood work done after waiting over two and half years so I don’t feel comfortable using my last one as a comparison. I’m not sure what to ask my PCP when I see him on 11/24

I’m 40, over weight, no longer have sleep apnea. My father is a Diabetic (uses pills I believe) and my mother is still Pre-Diabetic.

My blood pressure was 149 over 92

Most of my #'s for the tests he ran are in the reference range except for

Glucose-101 mg/dL
Carbon Dioxide Level- 32 mEq/dL
Anion Gap 5 meq/L

HGB A1C is 6.5

My Cholesterol Level was 197 mg/dL
with Triglycerides Level at 95 mg/dl

I think those fall ok but then my

Hdl Only is 34 mg.dL and my LDL is 144 mg/dL

I’m the person who prefers not to take unnecessary medication.

I was on no medications prior to this appointment. I am now on

A Multi Vitamin
Omega 3 Fist Oil
C0Q10
and Wellbutrin (one of the reasons for the visit)

Someone suggested switching to a Paleo diet because I was very carb heavy. I don’t each much bread but I do like rice, quinoa, pasta and cake.

2

Well ‘fist oil’ is certainly a good idea.

3

IANAMD, are you doing any type of exercise? Walking 60 minutes, 5-6 times a week would help.
Curious how you got over the sleep apnea. Are you using a CPAP?

4

Quinoa is good, a complete protein.

5

Your blood pressure’s not so hot. If you’ve lost weight for the apnea, losing a little more will probably help your blood pressure, as will exercise if you’re not already doing that.

If you haven’t done much for weight loss, now’s the time to start if you don’t want to end up on meds for that, too.

6

I was tired when I posted. I meant FISH OIL.

I do walk daily. I had weight loss surgery and lost enough weight that I no longer have Sleep Apnea (Confirmed with a sleep study)

See I was told it’s too high in Carbohydrates. And Carbs are the same as sugar.

I had surgery for weight loss. After 3 years I’ve kept most of the weight off.

7

All sugars are carbs. All carbs are NOT sugar.

And not all carbs are created equal. Quinoa is way better than pasta, rice and cake. More whole grains (like quinoa, barley, etc., also legumes), less refined flour. If you’re borderline diabetic you might need to restrict even the “good” carbs, but in the short term, lose the cake, eat the quinoa. The higher fiber will help with weight loss (if you have more to lose), better feelings of fullness, and quite possibly the lipids.

An A1C of 6.5 is in the diabetic range, especially if it’s repeated (a single A1C in that range isn’t sufficient for a diagnosis, 2 in a row are). Interesting that your fasting glucose is only 101, as that’s barely above normal (top normal amount is 99). Try being VERY diligent about the bad carbs for a couple of months before your next blood test.

The BP is too high as well. I concur with losing a bit more weight (if appropriate), and exercising a bit more (if you can). For that, you could consider getting a FitBit or something and making a game of it to hit 10,000 (or whatever) steps a day. It may also help with the lipids readings.

I’d never heard of an anion gap test before but it looks like it points to some metabolic issues. I’d suspect that unless it continues to be out of range, you’re not likely to have major issues going on - but addressing things like your blood sugar levels will help prevent organ damage.

Apnea: I have mixed feelings about that. I had 3 separate sleep studies that said not enough apnea to treat, yet we KNEW that I stopped breathing in my sleep. Bad lab conditions. My husband got retested after he lost his weight (see below) and was “cured” but he found he didn’t feel as rested without the CPAP - so he’s using it again!!

I hear ya on unnecessary meds. My husband had blood readings over a number of years that were strongly suggestive of kidney damage. He decided to pull of some weight to reduce any stress on the kidneys. Lost 50 pounds (and has kept it off!!). Kidney readings still in the disease range. Then I spotted online that his cholesterol meds were implicated in out-of-range kidney readings (though the literature wasn’t sure if the drug caused damage, or just caused screwy readings). He took a month off the meds, and got retested. Kidney readings: normal. Lipids: just barely out of range. He started walking more - and those normalized too.

And on my own side, I had one drug mimic severe GERD symptoms and cause 4 months of misery, and another one cause my blood sugar to go from a titch higher than ideal to full-on diabetic. Needless to say I’m not on either of THOSE any more!!

8

I am using an UP24 that a friend of mine no longer needs so she gave it to me. I noticed while wearing it that it shows I am sleeping through the night. I feel very rested even on five hours of sleep. I don’t have a bed partner so I don’t know if I am snoring badly.

This is the first time I had the A1C tested. I am being tested again in 6 weeks. For now my PCP wants me to live as if I have diabetes.

When you say my fasting glucose it’s only barely above normal do you mean a normal fasting amount?

I need to find easy to cook recipes because I am not a good cook. I’m living with my parents and most of what they eat is packaged meals, or stuffed peppers and wraps from Costco.

9

Yes - fasting glucose should be between 60-something and 99, so your reading of 101 is not that bad. Barely into the prediabetic range. 125 or above on more than one reading is considered diabetic. I don’t know how that generally scales with the A1C but the prediabetic range there is 5.8 to 6.3 (I think). So my thinking was that your fasting glucose should have been a tad higher. I think the a1c is considered a better measure as it’s an average versus just the past couple of days.

Are there any places near you that offer cooking classes? Your folks might enjoy some homemade meals for a change. Also there are meal prep services like Let’s Dish where you go and assemble meals from pre-prepared ingredients (e.g. presliced veggies, precut meat), and then you take that home, toss in the freezer, and when you want the meal you take it out and follow the simple cooking instructions.

10

I will look into cooking classes. I know I can follow a recipe since they are easy instructions.

My main problem with cooking is logistics.

I still live with my parents for financial reasons. Yet I have no space in the kitchen for my own pots/pans/choppers/blenders etc and I am given very little space in the fridge to store things. I would not hesitate to take an afternoon to prepare my own ingredients to use for later but I lack the space to keep anything.

If my home scale can be trusted since I made the OP and reduced my carbohydrate intake I have lost 12 pounds.