Making Sense of The Numbers

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Paul-in-Somerset

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Relationship to Diabetes
Type 2
Had tests at beginning of December and only just managed to get results today.

BUT WHAT DO THEY MEAN lol ?

Total Cholesterol 2.7

Se non HDL 1.9

HDL 1.1
LDL 1.2

HbA1c 46

I've no idea if they are good, borderline Diabetes or very, very bad.


I was diagnosed pre-Diabetic in March 2021 following a TIA stroke, so want to understand the above - sadly, Doctors Practice are useless and soonest appointment with a Dr is scheduled at death.
 
Your HbA1C result of 46mmol/mol which is the average glucose level over the previous 3 month period puts you in the 'prediabetes range', 48mmol/mol being the level which would be diagnostic for diabetes. So the in the same range as when you had the previous test.
I assume you were given no dietary advice about reducing the amount of carbohydrates in your diet. At the level you are at, some modest changes would most likely be sufficient to get your level to below 42mmol/mol which would be normal.
So looking at your intake of sugary foods like cakes and biscuits but also reducing portions of potatoes, rice, pasta, cereals, pastry and tropical fruits which are all high carb foods.
Your cholesterol results look fabulous, for somebody 'at risk' which you would probably be classified as then they like total cholesterol to be below 4.
 
Re chol - we don't know what Paul's Trigs are though, do we? - even though they can only calculate LDL is they know the Trigs .... since they can't actually measure LDL.
 
Sorry to hear you are having trouble getting appointments and information from your surgery @Paul-in-Somerset :(

There’s an overview of cholesterol here:

Cholesterol and diabetes

Cholesterol is fat that is found in our blood. Sometimes it’s called lipids. When we hear this word, we think of it building up in our arteries and contributing to long-term health problems, but cholesterol isn’t just a bad guy. Healthy levels of cholesterol are vital for our cells to function...
www.diabetes.org.uk www.diabetes.org.uk

And links to some cholesterol numbers guidance on this thread

For HbA1c, 42-47mmol/L is deemed to indicate that a person is at increased risk of developing diabetes (sometimes called prediabetes). An HbA1c of 48 or above gives a diagnosis with diabetes.

What is HbA1c?

HbA1c is your average blood glucose (sugar) levels for the last two to three months. If you have diabetes, an ideal HbA1c level is 48mmol/mol (6.5%) or below. If you're at risk of developing type 2 diabetes, your target HbA1c level should be below 42mmol/mol (6%).
www.diabetes.org.uk www.diabetes.org.uk
 
trophywench said:
Re chol - we don't know what Paul's Trigs are though, do we? - even though they can only calculate LDL is they know the Trigs .... since they can't actually measure LDL.
Click to expand...

We know two, so trigs must be 0.5
 
travellor said:
We know two, so trigs must be 0.5
Click to expand...

Intriguingly I’ve found the elements of my lipid panel vs ‘total cholesterol’ don’t seem to obey the usual conventions of mathematics.

Not had them checked recently with pandemic and vial shortages, but:

TC 4.8
HDL 2.0
LDL 2.5
Trigs 0.7

Never understood why!
 
everydayupsanddowns said:
Intriguingly I’ve found the elements of my lipid panel vs ‘total cholesterol’ don’t seem to obey the usual conventions of mathematics.

Not had them checked recently with pandemic and vial shortages, but:

TC 4.8
HDL 2.0
LDL 2.5
Trigs 0.7

Never understood why!
Click to expand...
Whoops, missed the divide by 5!

LDL-C (mg/dL) = total cholesterol – HDL-C – (triglycerides/5),

eg from yours,
2.66=4.8-2-0.14
which is close, there may be rounding factors in the actual printed results.

For the op
1.2=2.7-1.1-0.4
which gives trigs at around 2.
But the Se non HDL is 2, so it's confusing.

Was it a fasting or non fasting test?
 
travellor said:
Was it a fasting or non fasting test?
Click to expand...

It was that long ago I can’t remember.

But I generally get the impression that trigs/chol are more reliable if fasting, so I usually try to get them done before eating that day
 
everydayupsanddowns said:
It was that long ago I can’t remember.

But I generally get the impression that trigs/chol are more reliable if fasting, so I usually try to get them done before eating that day
Click to expand...

Trigs always go up when you eat, I always fast before any bloods.
I think it can be a difference of around 0.7 for the trigs measurement between a fasting and non fasting test, but it also impacts on the LDL calculation to some degree.
 
Paul-in-Somerset said:
Had tests at beginning of December and only just managed to get results today.

BUT WHAT DO THEY MEAN lol ?

Total Cholesterol 2.7

Se non HDL 1.9

HDL 1.1
LDL 1.2

HbA1c 46

I've no idea if they are good, borderline Diabetes or very, very bad.


I was diagnosed pre-Diabetic in March 2021 following a TIA stroke, so want to understand the above - sadly, Doctors Practice are useless and soonest appointment with a Dr is scheduled at death.
Click to expand...
Are you on a statin ?
 
Sorry for the delay in coming back - I am completely fed-up - the reason is that my Dr Practice is an absolute shambles and I cannot get any sense or meaningful dialogue with them. I have complained to the CQC and health regulator but they say they can only take on comments but not actually do anything.

I am now on 4 prescriptions (Losartan, Atorvastatin, Clopidogrel, Amlodipine) plus eye drops to reduce pressure and now for the last 3 weeks Im on Metformin 500mg.

I did manage to get a blood test 3 months ago and got a text message to state I had an issue with my liver and they were prescribing Metformin - and that was it.

I have given up trying to complain to the Dr Practice and they have given up responding. I cannot change Doctor Surgery as the other one is operated by the same Company (they took over after the previous operator was put under special measures).

I'm 57, 23 stone and 6'2" and have never been able to motivate myself to exercise - it's not just a case of telling myself to move.
 
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