Any Medical Science Aspies out there???...help!! !

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Horus
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07 Jan 2011, 5:48 pm

I'm very scared!! ! 8O My lab results from a recent blood test I had to take for my meds (Celexa/Citalopram) were very bad in terms of LDL, Triglycerides and blood glucose/insulin resistance. I'm not great at interpreting lab results like these and I don't know what to do, or even, if there's anything I CAN do at this point aside from getting an Rx for one of those equally scary Statin drugs. 8O I DO try to eat right, but i've been drinking alcohol quite a bit lately and I never exercise. I can't stand exercising just for the sake of exercising.....it bores me and I have bad panic attacks when I do it. I am about 40-50lbs over my ideal body weight right now and just two years ago, I was well-within it. I know I shouldn't be drinking while taking Celexa, but it brought me out of the SEVERE depression I was dealing with for two years and now I feel like going out alot and having fun.

Anyway....I am in a rush and I can't say much more right now. If one of you medical experts out there would like (I know this sort of stuff may be a special interest for some of you) to interpret these results for me and tell me what I should do, it would be greatly appreciated :D


Click on "View" to see my results.


https://www.labsmd.com/patient/


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MidlifeAspie
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07 Jan 2011, 6:29 pm

You need to listen to your doctor, eat right, exercise, lose weight and cut back on the drinking. You knew all this already didn't you?



Kon
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07 Jan 2011, 8:33 pm

If you want to improve risk factors, there's no escaping weight (fat) loss. You need to eat less and do some type of exercise, even if it's simple walking. That shouldn't give you panic attacks. You have to find a way to decrease total caloric intake. That takes a lot of will power, since access to food, especially high-calorie "junk" food is so readily available.



anbuend
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07 Jan 2011, 8:44 pm

Just whatever you do, don't diet. Instead go for exercise and moderate eating. Dieting will just result in gaining more weight back later and the weight fluctuations will put you at greater risk for health problems than you already are. Measure the effectiveness of what you're doing with test results, not body size alone (which can either lull you into a false sense of security as most thin people do, or make you focus on weight rather than health as most fat people do -- both of which lead to horrible consequences for the people doing it).


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kfisherx
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07 Jan 2011, 8:45 pm

LOL @ your results. It means you are fat, don't exercise and are high risk for all the issues that come with your lifestyle. Pretty straightforward stuff.



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07 Jan 2011, 9:00 pm

I can't access your lab results, but unless you're on an atypical antipsychotic that could be triggering the blood lipids and insulin resistance, it does seem it's largely lifestyle, although with Celexa you should get your thyroid checked too to make sure you don't have hypothyroidism. And if your blood pressure is at all high, definitely talk to your doctor. Ask about beta blockers--that'll help with your panic attacks too.

Blood pressure is #1 priority, then blood sugar levels and then blood lipids. Try controlling them in that order. Helps make this seem less daunting. Good luck.



Laz
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07 Jan 2011, 9:01 pm

Syndrome X (aka Borderline type 2 diabeties)
Increased progression of Cardio Vascular Disease
Hypertension
High cholesterol, not just any cholesterol Triglyceride the worst you can get, comes from the body breaking down alcohol.

I'd be worried when a fat fella like me is healthier then you :lol:



DandelionFireworks
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07 Jan 2011, 9:14 pm

What kinds of exercise have you already tried and found unpleasant? Have you tried swimming, walking, bicycling, rollerskating, dancing, soccer? Kickboxing, fencing, wrestling, karate? Maybe you could babysit a five-year-old with ADHD.

(Also, I'm glad to hear you managed to do something about your depression.)


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Horus
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09 Jan 2011, 3:37 am

MidlifeAspie wrote:
You need to listen to your doctor, eat right, exercise, lose weight and cut back on the drinking. You knew all this already didn't you?




YES..... BUT......there's certain acronyms I didn't know the meaning of (like "MCV" and "MCH") and I wanted to know if I truly could avoid a Statin Rx at this point considering my LDL is 133 and Total Cholesterol is 245. My Triglycerides are TWICE the highest normal limit ( <150 mg/DL) at 310 8O I'm so medically-ignorant idk even know for sure if Statin drugs have any positive impact on Triglycerides or not. I think they do....but idk for sure.

I was also curious about the C-reactive protein test, cardiac test that I had. While my results on that were in the low normal range, (I was at 0.74 and the reference interval/normal range for this is 0.00-3.00) I was merely curious about what this particular test measures.


Everything is kosher now :) I got a chance to speak to my adorable long-distance friend-with-benefits :wink: who lives 700 miles away from me about all this. She is a brilliant (at least in terms of her knowledge of medical science) nursing student who might as well be a doctor. Heck...she knows more overall about medical science than alot of defacto doctors i've encountered do. Still...she is very busy with school and everything else and I don't get to talk with her as much as i'd prefer.

She cleared ALL this up for me thankfully. She told things I already knew about exercise, diet, sugar intake, cutting down the drinking, etc.....and that I can PROBABLY safely avoid getting an Rx for a Statin. :wtg:

Fortunately....everything aside from cholesterol, Tris and blood glucose levels was more or less normal on this blood test/lab report. No prostate, thyroid, liver, renal, etc..... trouble. 8) Also....according to the results of the C-reactive protein Cardiac test, i'm at low risk for future cardiovascular events. My blood pressure is normal as well. My blood glucose level of 106 ( normal ranges are 65-99) IS indicative of at least being VERY close to the pre-diabetic range. I took an A1C test awhile back and I received a 5.5 on it. The American Diabetes association considers a score of 5.6 or higher on the A1C to be within the Pre-Diabetic range.

Thus....not even the most alarming of these lab results suggest i'll be dead in the next two years or something.....but they are certainly cause for concern and far more importantly, action on my part. :)


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Horus
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09 Jan 2011, 4:17 am

kfisherx wrote:
LOL @ your results. It means you are fat, don't exercise and are high risk for all the issues that come with your lifestyle. Pretty straightforward stuff.




Well....perhaps I can make a mockery of some the unpleasant things in your own life now eh?


I would be remiss as a determinist if I did so though now wouldn't I? Revenge for a determinist such as myself is wholly illogical. Unlike revenge for a TRUE follower of christ and in that case, it would be wholly contrary to his teachings.


For your information sir, (or madam....i'm betting you are male with a name like "kfisherx" however not to mention the pic of a male as your default pic) up until about six months ago, I was suffering from severe depression. Clincal depression. Now perhaps you're a better man than me and if so, it's no cause for celebration on your part from my deterministic perspective. That is, I don't believe you had any say-so or "free will" in your "better man" status and likewise I had none in my "lesser man" status.

If you are the "better man"......then maybe you find it easy to engage in physical exercise when you're severely depressed, but I did not. Furthermore....maybe you don't know what's like to have panic attacks and while mere walking and modestly intense lap-swimming (unless I get really winded) will not trigger one on me, just about any other form of exercise does and i'd prefer to avoid thinking i'm having a cardiac arrest even if the sensations i'm having are due to nothing more than yet another panic attack. In any case.....I will offer no excuse as to why I haven't been walking/swimming since i've been out of my depression. While it's a bit too cold usually (even in South Florida where I live) to swim outdoors this time of year, walking is certainly not a problem and hundreds, if not thousands, of people in my immediate neighborhood do so everyday.


I'm starting tomorrow. I've already started cutting WAY back on my portions and THAT is the crux of the matter when it comes to my diet itself. I have a very big appetite (at least when i'm not depressed) and I can out-eat most people. I DO NOT, however, eat much of ANYTHING high in fat, calories, bad carbs, cholesterol,etc.....It's a quanity issue for me rather than a quality one IOW. It's all fine and dandy to eat lean ground sirloin and other comparatively lean meats for your protein....but eating at least twice serving size defeats the whole purpose correct?

Anyway....in May 09' I was exercising everyday (swimming, walking, weight training, etc....) and eating smaller portions. For reasons I need not mention here, my neurochemical propensity for depression was triggered not after that and I spiraled down into a near-nihilistic and certainly anhedonic state. I remained there until around June 2010 when Celexa/Citalopram (and I think some, unlike yourself, very kind, empathetic and supportive folks on Wrongplanet helped me through this unspeakably dark and awful time in my life) began to gradually lift me out of it.


Now I have a job, i'm playing my beloved guitar again, i'm enjoying being with my friends and family again and i'm having sex again with women I find attractive who actually WANT to have sex with me rather than fantasizing about ones in porn who, in all likelyhood, never would and best of all.....i'm returning to college/uni to study psychology/neuropsychology. I WILL succeed at that if I have to annihilate all infinity save my own tiny portion of it and sell my soul to Mephistopheles in the process.


So determinism aside since none of us are 100% rational beings....put all of the above in your demeaning and condesceding pipe and smoke it bubba!! ! :x


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pensieve
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09 Jan 2011, 4:24 am

Horus wrote:
For your information sir, (or madam....i'm betting you are male with a name like "kfisherx" however not to mention the pic of a male as your default pic) up until about six months ago, I was suffering from severe depression. Clincal depression. Now perhaps you're a better man than me and if so, it's no cause for celebration on your part from my deterministic perspective. That is, I don't believe you had any say-so or "free will" in your "better man" status and likewise I had none in my "lesser man" status.

Oi, no attacking. That's breaking every forum rule on the planet. What they said was offensive but keep in mind this is an autistic forum where people don't always think of the consequences of their words.

My labs came back fine but I was still told to exercise. Anyway, I hope you can stabilise your blood levels or whatever.

Now stop the hatin'. Just ignore the people that upset you.


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Horus
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09 Jan 2011, 4:30 am

Mercurial wrote:
I can't access your lab results, but unless you're on an atypical antipsychotic that could be triggering the blood lipids and insulin resistance, it does seem it's largely lifestyle, although with Celexa you should get your thyroid checked too to make sure you don't have hypothyroidism. And if your blood pressure is at all high, definitely talk to your doctor. Ask about beta blockers--that'll help with your panic attacks too.

Blood pressure is #1 priority, then blood sugar levels and then blood lipids. Try controlling them in that order. Helps make this seem less daunting. Good luck.



I did have TBH test on this lab....my results were well-within the normal range :) For some reason.... yesterday the link took me directly to the page where you could click "View" and then see my results, but it's just going to the login page for some reason now....sorry!! ! :(


Is it possible for people to have hypo/hyper thyroidism even though that particular test would suggest my thyroid functioning is perfectly normal? I'm almost certain it isn't possible...but again....my medical knowledge is limited at best.

My BP is normal....always has been usually in the 120's over 80's.


Everything was cleared up by a trusted and brilliant nursing student friend of mine though, so no more worries. 8) Thanks to you and all others who've posted (except for that rather mean-spirited kfisherx person :roll: ) nonetheless though!! ! :D


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Morning comes the sunrise and i'm driven to my bed, I see that it is empty and there's devils in my head. I embrace, the many-colored beast...I grow weary of the torment....can there be no peace? I find myself just wishing, that my life would simply cease


Horus
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09 Jan 2011, 5:00 am

:)

DandelionFireworks wrote:
What kinds of exercise have you already tried and found unpleasant? Have you tried swimming, walking, bicycling, rollerskating, dancing, soccer? Kickboxing, fencing, wrestling, karate? Maybe you could babysit a five-year-old with ADHD.

(Also, I'm glad to hear you managed to do something about your depression.)






I've tried all the above and then some aside from dancing, wrestling, soccer and kickboxing at some point in my life or another. Basically I wrongfully stated the exercise in general triggers panic attacks in me....just certain kinds of exercise which seem to be all the rage these days. A perfect example would be machines like Ellipticals. For whatever reason/s....they trigger panic attacks in me everytime I step onto one :?

I'm going back to the most panic-free and safe exercises for me....Walking and swimming laps :) I used to love to rollerskate when I was 13 or so, but i'd probably break my neck on skates these days...lol. I love riding bikes too...but don't own a bike and can't afford one right now after all those 19 long, dark months of depression-enabled unemployment and the subsequent depletion of every penny I had to my name. I have no use at all for dancing, soccer, or wrestling. Fencing I could deal with and I did it in high school, but again, it's question of money right now :shrug:

I have a yellow belt in Chinese Kenpo and i'd love to take up martial arts again. Sadly.....both time (the new job I have is quite demanding in that regard until the paid training period is over in four weeks) and money again makes that impossible for the moment.


Babysitting a kid with ADHD is the least viable option for me. It would be among the most psychologically traumatizing activity I could engage in. Few things could rival it in that regard. Maybe a month in a nazi death camp or something...idk :wink:

Babysitting ANY kid would be bad enough. Heck.....I run screaming from the majority of adult humans. I FLY screaming from most of the ones under 18...lol.

Thanks for the advice anyway Dandelion!! ! :D


I am completely out of the depression and I hope it never rears it's dark and hellish head again in this lifetime. I am feeling better than I have for years and all external things in my microcosm are looking up!! ! 8) I hope the same is true for you as well dear lady!! ! :D


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Morning comes the sunrise and i'm driven to my bed, I see that it is empty and there's devils in my head. I embrace, the many-colored beast...I grow weary of the torment....can there be no peace? I find myself just wishing, that my life would simply cease


Horus
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09 Jan 2011, 5:12 am

pensieve wrote:
Horus wrote:
For your information sir, (or madam....i'm betting you are male with a name like "kfisherx" however not to mention the pic of a male as your default pic) up until about six months ago, I was suffering from severe depression. Clincal depression. Now perhaps you're a better man than me and if so, it's no cause for celebration on your part from my deterministic perspective. That is, I don't believe you had any say-so or "free will" in your "better man" status and likewise I had none in my "lesser man" status.

Oi, no attacking. That's breaking every forum rule on the planet. What they said was offensive but keep in mind this is an autistic forum where people don't always think of the consequences of their words.

My labs came back fine but I was still told to exercise. Anyway, I hope you can stabilise your blood levels or whatever.

Now stop the hatin'. Just ignore the people that upset you.




Sound advice pensieve and for my part, I apologize. :oops: A determinist such as myself REALLY ought to know better in the first place. I do admit to having an anger management problem though and sometimes that gets the best of my cool rationality and deterministic worldview in which EVERYONE ought to be forgiven for they can't, ultimately, HELP what they do.

Anyway.....i'm working on my AM problem in weekly therapy but I still "fall off the wagon" often enough in that respect. I just have little patience with people who demean, degrade and dehumanize me and/or others. I think I speak for enough people on WrongPlanet and the ASD/non-neurotypical community in general when I say I dealt with more than enough demeaning/degrading/dehumanizing crap in my experiences in K-12.


Thanks for your concern, advice and gentle and justified admonishment pensieve :)

I hope you are happy and healthy these days!! ! :D


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09 Jan 2011, 11:31 am

MCV = Mean Corpuscular Volume. This is the total volume of red blood cells in your whole blood.

MCH = Mean Corpuscular Hemoglobin. This is the hemoglobin level in your blood which is the compound that carries oxygen.

I can't access your actual results as you must log in to that link you sent, but any specific questions you have about particular results I will be happy to help as mush as I can.



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09 Jan 2011, 12:46 pm

MidlifeAspie wrote:
You need to listen to your doctor, eat right, exercise, lose weight and cut back on the drinking. You knew all this already didn't you?


This. There aren't any miracle cures out there, apart from statins (and most doctors will recommend the former first).