Good News

iVillage Member
Registered: 07-10-2003
Good News
26
Fri, 10-26-2007 - 1:32pm

Had doctors appt this morning.  I am not really thrilled with the A1C number which was still up there at 6.3 BUT i also know I had several food attacks lately where i should have either not ate things, or ate less.  That said, she said all the numbers were very good.  It was sort of funny how she said it.  She started out saying " Well, you really do need to lose more weight(well anyone can see that!!) BUT(she literally said the BUT)  I certainly cannot fault you on your lab test numbers. they are really good!!" 


 


i will confess this time I was sort of worried, the A1C would be up high. Well, it is still high for me because in the almost 5 years of having diabetes, there have ONLY been 4 times where I was at 6.0 or higher. 2- 6.1's. 1- 6.3 and 1-6.4(the really rotten one last time when the physical therapist was applying a steroid med to my shoulder).  All of the rest have been 5.9 or below.   By some miracle my BP(which is usually affected by white coat syndrome BIG TIME) was literally 108/67!! She did also give me referal to ortho for my shoulder.  It is not really that I want to get cortisone(previos steroid meds lead me to believe IT WILL mess up my numbers) and surgery is alno potential problem but I want to at least know what is wrong...is it arthritis, rotator cuff tear,  or something else.  dr said the center of pain would not be in line of rotator cuff, but it might be important to know what it is to avoid it getting worse!!

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iVillage Member
Registered: 04-03-2003
In reply to: auntydoxzz
Tue, 11-06-2007 - 1:56pm

I inherited my cholesterol from my dad also - but I also inherited his abundance of HDL as well (my numbers usually range between 60 and 70 which is good).

Thanks for the info on Caduet. I shouldn't need the dual-action stuff (at this point) since my blood pressure is rarely high.

The aching for a month, not able to do anything part is one reason I'm holding off as long as possible on the statins - I WOH fulltime, sole income for our household, and I've got a 9 yr old DS and a 39 yr old DH (yup I really 'robbed the cradle' lol - he graduated high school 3 years after I graduated college!). I really can't deal with being out of action for a month as a wife, mom, and employee even though my hubby, son and boss would all be understanding and try to help as much as possible.

--Deb

Avatar for cl_coldfingers
iVillage Member
Registered: 03-19-2003
In reply to: auntydoxzz
Tue, 11-06-2007 - 2:28pm
Honestly though, if it comes down to it, you might not experience what I did...

iVillage Member
Registered: 04-03-2003
In reply to: auntydoxzz
Tue, 11-06-2007 - 4:00pm

"I put it off till I felt that it had to be.... My numbers were always raised but my ratio was good and so not to 'worry'. But the ratio stopped being 'good'"

That's exactly what I'm looking at - see where I can get things to. The ratio of HDL to total (total/HDL) with my numbers is about 2.8 (169/60) and the American Heart Association targets 3.5:1 as optimal. And, the numbers themselves are pretty good. I'm still aiming to get the LDL under 100 with a combination of diet and exercise. (parenthetically, in looking over research on the subject I found that cholesterol production is related to carbohydrate metabolism. So, watching carbs closely can assist in this as well as watching animal product intake).

*disclaimer 1: the AHA website also says that they prefer to use the actual numbers rather than the ratio in determining treatment options.

*disclaimer 2: many doctors now feel that ALL diabetics, regardless of cholesterol levels, should be taking statins - barring any counterindications to preclude them.

--Deb

iVillage Member
Registered: 07-10-2003
In reply to: auntydoxzz
Tue, 11-06-2007 - 7:10pm

I fear doctors will find me not very cooperative if they say I MUST go on statins!!

iVillage Member
Registered: 04-03-2003
In reply to: auntydoxzz
Wed, 11-07-2007 - 8:45am

LOL - yeah - my endo started in on the "must do statins" back around April/May and I said NO (and she said Well, at least you didn't take the prescription then not use it). In July/August (my previous appointment), she said "statins?" I said NO. At this last appointment, she wasn't quite picking up the subtext in my comment because it wasn't yes, go ahead and prescribe Statins for me it was "I agree with my primary that we wait until we see where my levels plateau and then we'll discuss it" - what she missed was that prior to that, I wouldn't even discuss it, it was just No way - too many possible issues and I just don't want to deal with that right now. Not to mention that I did a little research on my own and found some studies that indicate that across the board statins for diabetics are not *necessarily* indicated for folks under 50 if their diabetes is well controlled and their cholesterol levels are improving. One study even indicated that the simple baby-aspirin-a-day treatment was almost as effective as statins (as far as cardiovascular issues) in those same situations - and I know that a baby aspirin per day would be something I could well tolerate. When I mentioned that one to my endo, she gave me a bit of a superior smirk and said Well, *actually* you should be on aspirin AND statins. Sheesh! I was trying to reach common ground and she's shooting me down! I've even contemplated changing endos but aside from this one issue I really like her (I'd been seeing her for several years prior to dx for my thyroid).

--Deb

Avatar for cl_maryfrances40
iVillage Member
Registered: 03-25-2003
In reply to: auntydoxzz
Wed, 11-07-2007 - 10:16pm

Deb,


I was on Zocor but I am now on Lipitor 40mgm. I have a therrible family history of elevated cholesterol and triglycerides. I am also on Zetia and that seemed to do the trick for me. Before treatment my cholesterol was 308 now it is down to something like 108. I can't get my HDL up where we would like it even with exercise though.


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