The Imperfect Community

Jessica · Last edited by Jessica on Sat Nov 04, 2006 6:30 pm; edited 1 time in total

I just had a "heart awareness" test done, to test my cholesterol levels, it's part of heart healthy initiative we have at work and the results came back that I have an extremely high risk level of bad cholesterol and a low level of good cholesterol. For somebody my age, I was at a 3X greater risk of having a heart attack at any moment than others my age! Yikes!!

The good news is that I have a low glucose level, so low, it barely hit the lowest marker for normal and my blood pressure is extremely low.

Everybody is telling me to go to the doctor. People at work with half of my cholesterol level were put on medication for their problem and they're much older than me.

I'd really rather not go on medication. Any recipe or food suggestions? I don't really think I eat all that bad. I'm not sure what my problem is, but I'm also not sure how to manage it. Any suggestions?

Petulant Pixie · Posted: Sat Nov 04, 2006 12:48 pm Post subject:

Well, I think first I'd try doing the oatmeal for a month, and upping the olive oil and avacado and stuff like that.

Was this a fasting test? Because not fasting can seriously fuck up both the cholesterol test and the glucose test. Even just coffee can fuck them both up badly.

Jessica · Posted: Sat Nov 04, 2006 1:44 pm Post subject:

It was supposed to be a fasting test, but I forgot. I did tell them though, that I had a bowl of frosted shredded wheat and 2 cups of coffe a few hours prior and they said that it wasn't the best for accurate test results, but that it wouldn't be significant enough to not take the test. They said it would only cause a few point deviation, so I don't know...I think I'm going take it again in 6 months, and this time I'll fast and see if it comes out any better.

Petulant Pixie · Posted: Sat Nov 04, 2006 4:01 pm Post subject:

Yeah, I had a cholesterol test before my surgery and I forgot to fast and just had coffee with half and half in it and it totally fucked the whole test up. ANY food will mess with the triglycerides, and I guess some of the numbers they get for the other cholesterol numbers are actually derived from equations using the triglycerides, so it can mess the whole thing up. Since your numbers were really freaky, I'd just assume it was because you didn't fast.

And, I KNOW that glucose will be affected by not fasting (I know waaaay too much about that from my GD experience), your sugar can peak and then plummet way low even if you're diabetic. Not that you are, I'm sure you're not, lol, but the blood test might have just caught you in a plummet wheras if you'd have fasted, you would have been higher (your body releases sugar into the blood stream while you sleep, and insulin to take care of it, so the fasting glucose level is very different than any other).

Jessica · Posted: Sat Nov 04, 2006 6:37 pm Post subject:

Petulant Pixie · Posted: Sun Nov 05, 2006 9:34 am Post subject:

I know that when I had the GD, I *knew* I had it even before I flunked the test. I had that shaking you described, when I'd eat cereal or another high sugar thing for breakfast, then like an hour or hour and a half later, I'd have that shaking and queasy feeling. But, I also had the thirst. It was a totally unquenchable thirst, like you hadn't had anything to drink all day. I'd get up in the middle of the night (several times) and just stand at the kitchen counter gulping bottles of Aquafina (I had a thing for bottled water during that pregnancy).

And, I had the weight loss. When you're diabetic, your body isn't processing the sugars, so it just keeps them flowing in your blood stream and you pee them out. The organs and muscles don't get the sugar they need to be healthy (the description that fits best is that a sugar and an insulin need to "buddy up" to get from the bloodstream to the organs and muscles, so without a buddy, the sugar just floats around all lonely and worthless). So, you lose weight because your body is basically starving, which is why you crave more sugar. In GD, the sugar can pass into the baby, and the baby's insulin buddy's up with it, which is why the babies of GD moms can be so big.

So, if you're having the shaking, the thirst and the weight loss, then I'd go get a fasting test done. Otherwise, you might just process sugar in a funky way that isn't necessarily worrysome. Make sense?

Jessica · Posted: Sun Nov 05, 2006 10:00 am Post subject:

MainstreamMom · Posted: Sun Nov 05, 2006 10:27 am Post subject:

Yikes that is scary news! But I agree fasting to get an accurate test done.

I would eat oatmeal and/or cherios everyday!

Scout · Posted: Sun Nov 05, 2006 12:22 pm Post subject:

My parents both had high cholesterol about a year and a half ago, and my dad's was super high in the bad and low in the good. They totally changed their dite and bout an elliptical machine and started really using it. The switched to eating only whole grains, severely limited red meat and fried foods, cut way down on sugar, and added regular exercies. My Dad did go on the medication for about six months, and they take an Omega 3 fish oil. Since then, both of their bad levels have gone down into the healthy range, they have lost weight (my Mom weighs 120 and wears a 4 or 6 now!), and feel better than they have in years. It has been a very good thing for them, even though it was scary at the time.

As far as the shakes, I am like that but I just know that I can't eat carb-only meals. I must have protein every time I eat, period.