Predict My Cholesterol Change

[TromboneAl]

Today I go in for my free, none-of-your-business-Blue-Cross, cholesterol screening at Costco. I'm very interested in whether there will be an improvement in my numbers.

In 2002, they were 179 and 44 for total and HDL.

In 2005, I was curious to see how low I could get the total, and ate almost no meat for a few weeks before the test. The results were:

210 and 40 for total and HDL.

In Jan, 2008 I went from three days/week of exercising to six days of harder exercising, including two days per week of weight training. Some of those days include 40-80 mile bike rides. I've also virtually eliminated all refined grains. That is, I eat brown rice, whole grain pasta, and whole wheat bread. I did not change my diet in these weeks prior to the test (that is, I didn't stop eating meat).

So, do you think today's numbers will be better, worse, or about the same?

 

[bbbamI]

I certainly hope they are better for you Al as you have put so much effort into improving your numbers.

However for me, I ate weeds and sticks and still couldn't get my numbers right. I have to take cholesterol medication. My mom and dad are both on this medication...I guess it's in my genes.

 

[REWahoo]

I'll make a prediction only if you allow the stuffed beaver to announce your new numbers.

 

[bbbamI]

I'll make a prediction only if you allow the stuffed beaver to announce your new numbers.

I've got to see that one....

 

[Moemg]

I predict they will be slightly lower .

 

[TromboneAl]

Surprising, huh? I wonder how accurate these things are.

The machine gave no reading for LDL, which the pharmacist interpreted as a bad sign. Anyone understand that?? Triglycerides was 50, and the sheet said that LDL can't be calculated if Trig is less than 50. LDL is probably good, right?

My calculation is: 144 - (10 + 47) = 87

Blood pressure was a whole different story, and I don't want to talk about it.
​

 

[REWahoo]

Looks good Al. I'm suffering from triglyceride envy...

 

[Alan]

I predict that they will either go up or down. If they don't then I predict they'll stay the same.

I knew a couple of guys at work very well (they are now retired) who were both extremely fit and thin, but both had borderline high cholesterol. Both had heart attacks and needed multiple bypass surgery.

One of the guys was also a fellow soccer referee and was higher qualified than I and ref'ed more games- he was a real enthusiast. He also had a treadmill stress test 6 months before his heart attack, and the stress test showed low risk of heart problems.

DW and I get annual cholesterol screenings and the only time we have had a significant drop from year to year was when we lost appreciable weight (she lost 15% and myself 20% over a 12 month period). That was about 8 years ago and since then we have progressively improved our fitness levels and our diet but have not seen significant changes one way or another in Cholesterol readings.

YMMV but I really hope your results are down and you get your just rewards for your efforts - has your new regime produced any weight loss?

 

[Alan]

View attachment 7109

Surprising, huh? I wonder how accurate these things are.

The machine gave no reading for LDL, which the pharmacist interpreted as a bad sign. Anyone understand that?? Triglycerides was 50, and the sheet said that LDL can't be calculated if Trig is less than 50. LDL is probably good, right?

My calculation is: 144 - (10 + 47) = 87

Blood pressure was a whole different story, and I don't want to talk about it.
​

oops - timed my post wrong.

Great news Al, well done.

Now, about that blood pressure .....

 

[Alan]

Triglycerides was 50, and the sheet said that LDL can't be calculated if Trig is less than 50. LDL is probably good, right?

My calculation is: 144 - (10 + 47) = 87

​

Wow, low Trig, very impressive. Normal range is 0 -150, no lower limit. I hadn't heard that LDL can't be calculated with Trig below 50 but they are bound to be right.

 

[freebird5825]

Nice results, TAl. The beaver is really cute. Is he part of the household or just a clip-in image?

Ths thread reminded me I still need to get my annual blood w*rk done.
I did all the other "turn 50" tests, but kinda blew this one off.
I usually have normal numbers, so it is not a huge priority.
I'll nag myself next week...or you all can.

 

[vicente solano]

Glucose 129
HDL 143
Col Total 265.
Wife has put me on a diet. Amen.

 

[Tigger]

[IMG=http://www.early-retirement.org/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=7109&thumb=1&d=1249764822]
​

Congrats! Nice beaver BTW!

Blood pressure was a whole different story

Here's some stuff about hypertension.
Disclaimer: nobody knows nuttin! Don't take health advice from the internet! Talk to you doctor before taking health-related decisions!

According to Mercola (sometimes he has good ideas, sometimes he makes me cringe) for the most part, high blood pressure is caused by producing too much insulin. Something to keep an eye on?

Read up on current opinions on vitamin D requirements.
Vitamin D Council | Understanding Vitamin D Cholecalciferol

A good omega6 to omega3 ratio helps. For most people that means, taking omega3 supplements. Mercury may contribute to hypertension so maybe supplements are safer than tuna or sushi?

Sub-optimal sleep (you don't have apnea or sleep less than 6 hours don't you?) is bad
SLEEP - Current Issue
Could hypertension be a consequence of the 24/7 so...[J Clin Hypertens (Greenwich). 2006] - PubMed Result
and stress/anxiety/depression are bad (smile, optimists live longer!).
Negative Affect as a Prospective Risk Factor for Hypertension -- Jonas and Lando 62 (2): 188 -- Psychosomatic Medicine
Depression And Anxiety Linked To Hypertension

Excessive exercise seems to be bad for hypertensive patients (according to tests on rats), so be careful with that.
Effects of excessive long-term exercise on cardiac...[Hypertension. 2007] - PubMed Result

 

[W2R]

Glucose 129
HDL 143
Col Total 265.
Wife has put me on a diet. Amen.

My doctor would be really upset if my bloodwork came back like that! Mine is bad enough as it is. Be sure to exercise, too, even if it is just going for a walk sometimes. I think exercise helps me a lot (when I do it).

 

[harley]

Glucose 129
HDL 143
Col Total 265.
Wife has put me on a diet. Amen.

I don't know if that HDL level is a typo or not, but if your HDL is actually that high, you have nothing to worry about heart disease-wise. I read in a few places that no one with an HDL level over 100 has ever died of heart disease. And we all know that if it says it on the internet it must be true. I'd be interested to hear the medical experts' opinions on tis one.

That (fasting?) glucose level might be an issue, though.

 

[Buckeye]

HDL is a little low, isn't it? After all that exercise, is niacin your only option?

 

[vicente solano]

Correction: HDL 43. Not 143
Col LDL 203.
The other data are correct.

 

[RonBoyd]

Again, I can only offer "Good Calories, Bad Calories: Challenging the Conventional Wisdom on Diet, Weight Control, and Disease" as a source for understanding what this all means.

Where is Rich_in_Tampa when you need him?

 

[Alan]

Again, I can only offer "Good Calories, Bad Calories: Challenging the Conventional Wisdom on Diet, Weight Control, and Disease" as a source for understanding what this all means.

Where is Rich_in_Tampa when you need him?

Rich posted this a couple of days ago in this thread - so you are both of a similar opinion

Some think the bottom line to a healthy diet (aside from diversification, so to speak) is the sheer amount of carbs, especially highly refined carbs.

Here is a decent, if not entirely unbiased, review about this. I found it intriguing.
__________________
Rich
Tampa, FL (11% retired)

 

[RonBoyd]

Rich posted this a couple of days ago in this thread - so you are both of a similar opinion

My pricing was lower.

 

[harley]

HDL is a little low, isn't it? After all that exercise, is niacin your only option?

I don't think there's much you can do for HDL levels. It's mostly genetic, with a little leeway for lifestyle. But niacin does seem to be the best option for raising it. I've been fighting low HDL (<25) since I got diagnosed type II diabetic. I'm sure it was low before, but I wasn't paying attention then.

From what I've read, anything above 40 is normal, although the HDL/LDL ratio is extremely important. But all the research I've done shows that the various diet and exercise will only raise it maybe 10%. When you are at 25, that increase to 27.5 isn't going to help much. I started on high dose niacin about 3 months ago, and my last test had me at 41! I've still got a way to go with my LDL to get my ratio right.

In Al's case, his ratio is .29, and they say .3 is fine, with .4 being ideal. He could try the niacin to raise the HDL, or something (statin?) to lower the LDL. But he's in pretty decent shape, IMHO. Cholesterol-wise, I mean. He's in great shape otherwise!

 

[TromboneAl]

OK, I'm ready to talk about blood pressure, because things are looking better today.

A few years ago my BP was 122/76, but during other doc visits, I'd found it was creeping up. A few months ago I tested it on the automated machine at RiteAid (drug store), and it was 137/something. So I was somewhat worried about this -- not for my health, of course, but concerned that someone would make me take medicine , or that the health insurance premiums would go up.

So anyway, on Saturday I'm a bit worried about it. I go by the RiteAid, to get a preview reading, and it's 152/something! When they measure it at the Costco screening, it is 158/87 !

This is pretty disconcerting, especially since I don't smoke, am not overweight, don't drink too much, I exercise a lot, etc. I called the wife in Sweden to tell her I'd probably be dead before she got home. (just kidding.)

But I figured I'd wait a bit before I called my doctor. I hadn't gotten much sleep the week before, I had some big gigs on Fri and Saturday, and I do have white-coat hypertension. Also, when the Costco machine was doing the measurement, I had to lift my arm because it was on a clipboard that the next person needed.

So, Sunday I had a nice restful day, and slept well Sunday night. Today I rode my bike the 20 miles into town (didn't ride fast or hard), had a nanaimo bar and glass of 1% milk at a cafe, then walked over to the Riteaid, got nice and comfortable in the machine, and did two measurements. The results were:

122/87 and 119/86

Although the Internets tells me that BP is usually lower after exercise, this makes me feel better. I'll bring it up next time I see the doc, but I don't think I'll make a special appointment.

I'm glad the high reading didn't get sent to Blue Cross.

 

[RonBoyd]

 

[Alan]

Good news on the bp Al. For over 2 months I'd been using the machines at work (we have one in the Cafeteria and one in Medical) plus one in the drug store over the road. It was always higher than 130/90, sometimes over 140. Like you I couldn't think what I was doing wrong health wise, then I had my annual physical. I sat waiting 30 mins, reading, before the nurse took my bp using their machine - 98/55. An hour later with the Doc I told him about my concerns and he took my bp the conventional way and it was 110/58.

No idea what the issue was with the machines. I bought my own machine a week ago and find that when I take my bp when I am truly relaxed then no problems.

 

[Buckeye]

No idea what the issue was with the machines. I bought my own machine a week ago and find that when I take my bp when I am truly relaxed then no problems.

So is "relaxed" bp your "real" bp only if you spend most of the day in that state? If you typically run higher due to the normal daily frazzle, isn't that your "real" bp because that's what your body is experiencing? Do you need to record regular readings over an extended period of time to understand what is really going on?