6 Month Checkup

[NiVZ]

Had my 6 month checkup yesterday. What a difference a good doctor makes. He actually took the time to look back over my records and explained everything really well.

Bottom line was my Hba1c is 76 (9%) which is down from last time 78 (9.1%). Need to try to get closer to 60 (7%).

My Cholesterol has worried me as my level is around 5.1%, however this time it was explained that although it's high it's due to me having an elevated GOOD cholesterol. Figures were HDL (he called this 'happy' level) 2.3 and LDL ('lousy' level) was 2.6 from memory. Doc explained that HDL above 1.2 is good, anything above 1.3 is excellent. So although my combined cholesterol is raised it's mostly due to my 'happy' cholesterol.

He also asked about my thyroxine dose and I said it had been upped from 125mcg to 150mcg. He checked my results which were bang in the middle this time and said that he also noticed from the previous results that the part in my brain that monitors thyroxine appears to be very sensitive and is picking up even the smallest change. He also explained that a dose of 125mcg - 175mcg is considered a full replacement dose, ie my thyroid isn't doing very much at all (must have taken lessons from my pancreas 😉) which I also wasn't aware of before.

Was very happy with my appointment. HbA1c is a bit on the high side, but it's heading in the right direction this time.

NiVZ

 

[novorapidboi26]

Glad your happy with you results............

My last cholesterol check was 4.9, with the HDL being 1.53 and the LDL being 2.2, so does that mean I have more of the bad stuff?........

 

[Northerner]

Hi NiVZ, it does make a huge difference when you have a doctor who is prepared to take the time to listen to you and explain things clearly 🙂 Did he give you any advice on how to reduce your HbA1c? Do you have any problem areas, like waking high etc.?

 

[imtrying]

That's great news!! Well done!

And your explanation of his explanation even made sense to me! I'd never heard it explained so clearly before, so thank you for sharing. I know mine was 4.7 last time (down from 5.2) but I don't actually know what the breakdown of those figures are I dread to think!! 😱

Keep up the good work, and your HbA1c will follow suit.

 

[NiVZ]

@Novorapidboi - He never mentioned if LDL of 2.6 was good or bad but as he didn't mention it I guess it wasn't causing him any concern. He just mentioned that the HDL of 2.3 was particularly good and said thats mainly due to lifestyle and good genes.

@Northerner - He did ask me to check for nighttime hypos (which I was planning to anyway) but I know exactly what my problem area is - FOOD. I love food, and the sweeter the better I know what I need to do but the theory is easier than the practice 😉

@Imtrying - Yeah he was really good. I decided to post in case it helped others as these things can be difficult to explain clearly.

Thanks everyone 🙂

NiVZ

 

[everydayupsanddowns]

The last time I had full lipid splits given to me (haven't been able to get hold of them from the most recent test) the Registrar suggested that the target for LDL was less than 2 - but since my HDL was almost as high as yours Nivz it was not thought to be any problem (2.1HDL/2.3LDL/0.7Trigs at the time).

I think for normal peeps (aiming for <5 Total Chol) the target for LDL is . But for us lot of course... the targets are a bit tighter 🙄

 

[novorapidboi26]

My last trigs was high in my opinion, but I read that this is done to being overweight.....................3.0 it was.........😱

 

[Steff]

well done NiVz good results

 

[Pigeon]

Hi NiVZ, good to hear you had a productive appointment.

Just thought I'd pop in as a fellow foodie to say hi! I eat far more carbs than most people on here (at least 200g per day) and the only thing I tend to really avoid is sweet drinks - I try to go for low GI foods but if I fancy something then I won't miss it because of diabetes. So in some people's eyes I'm a "bad" diabetic but I think quality of life is important and if food is a big part of your life then so be it!

But having said that my latest A1c was 7.2% so thought I'd add a few suggestions.

I recently got some add-and weigh Salter scales which are great for quickly weighing your food for more accurate carbohydrate counting. So I can quickly weigh my muesli or a big hunk of home made bread and know the carbs.

Also I bought the "carbs and cals" book (available on Amazon) which is good for visually estimating carg content.

I got a pen that does half units so I can be more accurate with my ratios of insulin to carbs - and worked out different ratios for different times of the day.

Also I did some experiments with tricky foods - this was something that Bev started on here a few years ago - you eat something like pizza then take a BG reading every hour all evening and try to work out how you could split your dose to make the results better.

Sorry if you know al of this already - just thought I'd mention a few things that have helped me eat a fairly unrestricted diet.

best of luck with it all!