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Sunday, August 26, 2012

my 6 month blood draw results...

I hate getting my blood drawn {like, I've passed out before} but through all the labs and OHSU visits this year...I'm getting used to it, I guess. When I had my 6 month blood draw labs done a week or so ago...I didn't even need to hold a little teddy bear. Big steps, I tell you!!

Myself {and my general doc} were very happy with the results. I haven't heard back from my Endo but I'm guessing she'll be pretty happy too. I saw my Endo about 6 weeks ago and she was very happy with just weight loss. Ha, just the weight loss. Like that was easy ;-)



I have spent the last 8+ months eating right, exercising, and trying my best to head off any disease or illness {diabetes, heart disease}. While there is still a chance I could get them based off the past years of my lifestyle ~ 80% of the time doing everything in my power to help myself. Because I am not a doctor I am not going to go too much in to the "numbers" of all the tests {but I will post mine and what my doc considers "normal"}...but there was one test of concern but all the rest of the main ones we've been watching are within the "normal" range. And for that I am grateful.

Thyroid - Normal Range.
Vitamin D - Now in Normal Range. Went from 17.6ng/mL --> 63ng/mL. The range is 30 - 100 ng/mL. This is GREAT improvement!
Glucose - Low lower within the Normal Range. Went from 96 mg/dL DOWN to 85 mg/dL!!! The range is 65 - 99 mg/dL.
Cholesterol - This is the ones we are focusing on for the next 6 months!!
Total Cholesterol- 180 mg/dL {range 15- 200 mg/dL}
HDL {Good Cholesterol} - 53 mg/dL {range >50 mg/dL in Women}
LDL {Bad Cholesterol} - 99 mg/dL {range for women with Insulin Resistance/Endocrine Syndromes (PCOS) according to my doc is 70 - 80 mg/dL.

The LDL is the one that we are going to be focusing on for the next 6 months. It is known that women with PCOS have a higher risk for heart disease and having high levels of LDL {bad cholesterol} can also lead to heart disease. Those two things together are a cause of concern for me and my health and my doctors. I am going to be going on a very, very low dose of a HMG-CoA reductase inhibitors (statins). This medicine can be used many ways. For me it will hopefully lower my LDL count which will likely decrease my likely hood of getting any type of heart disease. I will be monitored monthly for the first 2 months and then I'm not sure after that. They monitor me at first to make sure that my body is reacting well {quickly} and that my liver is doing okay. It just requires a few fasting blood draws and a quick 10 minute appointment in 2 months.

When talking to my doctor about options she did say that I could continue with the diet & exercise but since it is a personal goal of mine to have all this *ISH* figured by the time I'm 30 {on 3/16}and I'm obviously not opposed to medications - we decided to go for it. It's such a low does that the side affects should be very minimal.

I've been on Metformin for the past 6 months to help control the insulin resistance that I have. We are going to stay on it for another 6 months. I have my 1 year appointment with my Endo scheduled for January 2013!! Wow. Hard to think that I'll have been {knowingly} battling this for a year in just 5 months.

The only part of me that is really worried about all of this is that hopefully there is going to be a time when I will be off all the " weight/helpful" meds {Metformin, Pravastatin} and what will happen to my body then? I supposed when it is time to go off all the meds hopefully my body will be in the normal range and ready to rock-and-roll medicine-less?!? Will the weight loss continue or maintain depending on what stage I am in when I go off the meds?? Will I gain weight back?? Will I be on some kind of medication forever? I know I will be monitored by an Endocrinologist yearly for the rest of forever. I get physicals AND annuals {did you know there was a difference?!?!?}? I have no doubt that it will all be examined and a thoughtful process and I look forward {hopefully} to a day where I am medince free and managing my PCOS and Insulin Resistance on my own accord.



Fingers crossed.

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