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I met with my doctor on March 26, 2013. He received my medical records from my doctor in Anchorage so he reviewed them with me along with the blood test that he ordered. He said that my LDL cholesterol is down from 184 to 160–this is a good number but on the high side of borderline so he’d like to see it at 130. Last month he thought that at this appointment he would prescribe a statin that didn’t cause muscle pain, but he said I don’t need any statins since the LDL is coming down. I don’t take statins because of the side effects that make my muscles painful. Eating healthy impressed him since it’s making a difference in lowering my cholesterol without taking statins.
My weight loss went from 190 to 183 and he was really happy about this. He would like me to get to 150 lbs and said that is probably good for my height, bone structure and age. He noted that the blood test showed that my kidneys are just fine. He wants me to keep on exercising and do some weight training to strengthen my bones. He stated that my blood sugar is border-line for diabetes and I told him that I have been testing my blood. He said healthy eating and exercise will help to keep my blood sugar levels down too. He is ordering a test to check on my bone density.
He was really happy with my blood pressure readings, even when he took it in his office. I use an Omron Blood Pressure Monitor to measure my blood pressure (BP) at various times each day. I log my BP readings every day so I had a printout for him to review to see just how far they came down since I saw him last month. He mentioned that there was some uric acid in my urine, which he said can be gout but he doubts that I have it. We discussed gout, mainly that it causes pain in your joints. I told him I don’t ever have pain in my joints so I don’t think I have it. In researching this online I can keep the uric acid levels low just with eating some additional healthy food.
Last month I told him that in November 2011, I was diagnosed with fatty liver. At that time, I researched it online and found a book on Amazon about reversing fatty liver with healthy eating. I really focused on healthy eating that was suggested in the book. He told me that my blood tests showed that I have really good liver enzymes now so I no longer have fatty liver. Since I’m on a water pill, he wants me to take another blood test to check my potassium level in case I need to take a potassium supplement. Also, I told him that I have eliminated all salt from my diet and that I have been eating a banana every day just to be on the safe side.
I advised him that May 2012 one of my sisters had both breasts removed due to breast cancer and last week my other sister was diagnosed with breast cancer, cancer that is very different than my other sister’s cancer. He will be setting me up with a gynecological doctor so that I can have a mammogram.
I also gave him a printout of my Body Analysis taken from the readings on my Weight Watchers Scale. Not only did it show my weight but my age and height, my body fat and body fat percent, my bone, body water, and my body mass index. He was impressed with this analysis. But when he asked me if my watch had a second hand on it so he could take my heart rate and I said, “just a minute” and I punched a little button on it and after a little wait, up popped “60”. He said, “Oh, that’s great so I can take your heart rate now.” I said, “No, that is my heart rate.” He said, “What kind of a watch is that?” And I said, “It is a heart watch. It tells the time too.” Then I added, “My kids call me the queen of gadgets.” He was just beside himself. He added, “I’ve never had a patient like you who is so aware and motivated to make the behavioral health changes necessary to change their health outcomes for the better.” He went on to say, “Most of my patients want more medication. Some are on 5 and 6 different medications just for high blood pressure.”
I don’t have to see him for another three months and he claimed we can probably start lowering my blood pressure medication since I’m making such great progress. Last night my BP reading was 107/54 so since the diastolic was so low I didn’t take my BP medicine so that both numbers wouldn’t go any lower. The lowest you can go without problems is 90/60 but when either one of those numbers is lower than it should be then you have low BP, which can be problematic too. I’m very careful about monitoring my BP and adjusting how and when I need to do it with either garlic/apple cider vinegar/honey drink when the systolic reading gets to 160 or cutting my medication in half when either number goes below 90/60. However, I know if the systolic gets to 175 then I take a Clonidine pill.
Lastly he said that my vitamin D is low even though I take 5,000 IU a day so he has increased it to 10,000. I told him that coming from Alaska where you don’t receive much sun light in the winter is one of the reasons it’s low. I’m hoping that I can get out this summer to soak up the sunlight and enjoy living in Southern California.
Have you made any changes in the types of food you eat? Have you found that your health is getting better? How hard has it been to make these changes?
In this post, you mentioned that you were able to lower your LDL cholesterol without using statins. Certainly healthier eating helps but I’m interested to know if you did anything else to reduce your cholesterol.
Hi LeeAnn, no, all that I did was eat more vegetables and salads and less meat, but I ate Quinoa for breakfast with hemp milk about two hours after my fruit smoothie. My meat serving is no larger than the palm of my hand. My eat is all free range chicken and ground turkey, and very little grass fed beef, and wild salmon. Additionally, I juiced fresh vegetables and made my blueberry-banana smoothies. I don’t eat bread, especially anything that is white such as anything made with white flour, no white rice (not even brown rice), no pastas (and I love pasta) and no potatoes. I love lentils so I made lentil soups. I had tried statins in the past, but they gave me horrible pain in my muscles. After reading about them, I decided they weren’t for me. My doctor in Anchorage worked with me so that I didn’t need to take them. I hope this helps.
Yes thanks it does help. I try to be careful about allowing foods in my diet that contribute to cholesterol levels. Sometimes it’s tough though because just as you, I love love love pasta! Especially with Alfredo sauce!!!
I agree that it’s hard. I’ve struggled with this for years and things are finally paying off. It’s gotten easier. Once in a great while, I have a pasta dish but I eat Quinoa pasta. My favorite sauce has always been marinara. Now, when I have sauce it’s organic in a jar.