Good News for Me

Since today was my extra day off, I did my usual thing of catching up on errands. Last month I had some bloodwork done to check my cholesterol levels, but I had not seen the results. I dropped into my doctor's office, and the person at the front told me the reason that I had not seen the results was because everything was normal, and they only get in touch with someone if things are not normal. So I'll take that as a good sign, but of course I asked for a copy of the lab results.

For those who don't know, last year when I had my cholesterol tested, I had a high level of triglycerides, and my HDL (good) cholesterol was low. That for me is a warning sign that I could develop Hyperlipidemia Type IIb and since I would not like to die of a heart attack in 30 years or less, it meant taking steps to see if I could bring the cholesterol under control. Diet and exercise changes were the big things, because as I have said before, I do not want to go on pills.

Well it looks like the lifestyle changes are working because things are more normal

Normal Ranges:

Cholesterol: 100-200
HDL: 40-59
LDL: 0-100
Triglycerides: <150

Old Results:
Cholesterol: 137
HDL: 37
LDL: 59
Triglycerides: 207

New Results:
Cholesterol: 141
HDL: 42
LDL: 71
Triglycerides: 141

So from what I can see, I dropped my triglycerides 66 points, which is great. I have raised the HDL to where it should be, and stayed within a good range for the overall cholesterol. I am thinking the LDL is a little higher than I want it to be, but that can be fixed. I know I can improve on the lifestyle stuff, and so I'll keep on doing what I am doing, and a bit more.