Wednesday, October 12, 2011

Lab results to exult!


Natalie ._c-

High five!

Just can't resist proclaiming it to the world!!!!

It's been just about a year since I decided to get serious about diabetes control, and started limiting carbs. That does NOT mean going "no carb" nor as low as Bernstein suggests -- I've been aiming at around 60g a day. It also does not mean resisting occasional treats, an occasional piece of fruit, a restaurant meal, or an occasional bit of grain here and there, including wheat.

So I got my lab results today. The easy stuff first: A1c of 5.8, which I was expecting. For me, being a low glycator, this is NOT "excellent" but it IS good enough. :-)

Now for the stuff I have ALWAYS had problems with: cholesterol. I inherited the genes for lousy cholesterol from my father, who was thin, and had no diabetes in his family. So, voila!
Total: 170 (range 100-199)
Triglycerides 77 (range 0-149) First time EVER in the normal range
VLDL 15 (range 5-40) I've NEVER had it this good
HDL 65 (range >39) >59 is supposed to be protective, but again, I've NEVER had it this high! And I DON'T run marathons!
LDL 90 (range 0-99) I read somewhere that LDL really shouldn't go below 25, and that diabetics should be under 70, but given the above results, I really think I'm not going to worry about it.

Vitamin D was low normal range, but I can supplement a little more in order to be mid-normal.

My TSH was still low and my T4 was still high, but that's because my body was really screwed up after the coma, and they raised my thyroid dose a lot, and still haven't brought it down to where it was before the coma, which was 125 ug. When I see the APN, I'm going to suggest that -- it's a pretty normal dose for my size.

The only conclusion I can draw from my year-long experiment is that for MY metabolism, it works. I don't have any trouble staying on this plan, and am confident I can keep it up long term. I'm not having weight or hunger issues, I'm not using excessive doses of insulin, I'm feeling good, and I really can't think of any cons or disadvantages. I'm NOT craving carbs, and I haven't lost any brain power as far as I can tell!

Everyone is different, and I'm definitely not telling anyone what to do, just reporting on what has worked for me. I'll take it! :-)

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