I was in for doctor prescribed blood work Monday and got the results yesterday. Doctor's office ran a copy for me and the doctor always circles items of concern and will call me if anything needs immediate attention. Having had coronary artery bypass surgery in 2004 and an abdominal aortic aneurysum in 2007, I kind of pay attention to required tests. I have blood work twice a year and a CT scan annually for the AAA to check for leakage and continued proper placement of the stent.
I'm happy to report that lab results were good. Items of importance to me are:
Total cholesterol=168 compared to a range of 100-199
Triglycerides =147 compared to a range of 0-149 (a little high for me)
HDL cholesterol =42 should be greater than 39
LDL cholesterol =97 compared to a range of 0-99
Glucose =106 compared to a range of 65-99 (mine is high)
Doctor circled the glucose but didn't make any written comment on this.
Do most people have regular blood work and if so what methods do you use to control those risk factors. For me, I've never controlled my cholesterol by diet and exercize. I've always used prescriiption drugs and seems to work for me. For example, for cholesterol, I take simvastatin. I've only been on this for about two years. Prior to that I was taking Vytorin. The numbers were good but the FDA determined there were problems with Vytorin and my doctor changed the medication.
Having read something recently concernng gout, I requested the doctor ask for a uric acid test also. That result was not good. The range is 3.7-8.6 and I came in at 3.6. The note said "therapeutic target for gout patients is less than 6.0" and that is what I suspected. Doctor's note said "we'll talk about this".
I guess the older you become, the more you pay attention to stuff like this. My point is that if I hadn't had the heart attack in 2004, would I be paying much attention? Probably not. However, had I paid more attention in earlier years maybe I wouldn't have had the attack. Do most of you early retirees in your late 40's, 50's and 60's check on this or are you waiting for something to force you to attention?
The forum is named "Health and Early Retirement" and I think more discussion is needed on health.
I'm happy to report that lab results were good. Items of importance to me are:
Total cholesterol=168 compared to a range of 100-199
Triglycerides =147 compared to a range of 0-149 (a little high for me)
HDL cholesterol =42 should be greater than 39
LDL cholesterol =97 compared to a range of 0-99
Glucose =106 compared to a range of 65-99 (mine is high)
Doctor circled the glucose but didn't make any written comment on this.
Do most people have regular blood work and if so what methods do you use to control those risk factors. For me, I've never controlled my cholesterol by diet and exercize. I've always used prescriiption drugs and seems to work for me. For example, for cholesterol, I take simvastatin. I've only been on this for about two years. Prior to that I was taking Vytorin. The numbers were good but the FDA determined there were problems with Vytorin and my doctor changed the medication.
Having read something recently concernng gout, I requested the doctor ask for a uric acid test also. That result was not good. The range is 3.7-8.6 and I came in at 3.6. The note said "therapeutic target for gout patients is less than 6.0" and that is what I suspected. Doctor's note said "we'll talk about this".
I guess the older you become, the more you pay attention to stuff like this. My point is that if I hadn't had the heart attack in 2004, would I be paying much attention? Probably not. However, had I paid more attention in earlier years maybe I wouldn't have had the attack. Do most of you early retirees in your late 40's, 50's and 60's check on this or are you waiting for something to force you to attention?
The forum is named "Health and Early Retirement" and I think more discussion is needed on health.
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