Crying over blood test results
 

I should be ashamed to post here - when you see my "join" date and to know that I have had no success in all that time. Why? Because I'm lazy. Because I make excuses. I'm wonderful at those things.
WELL - I finally asked my doctor for some blood tests.
My cholesterol came back at 266 which they said was a "little" elevated.
I think it's high.
My glucose came back at 105 which they said was a little high, that it should be lower than 99, but some friends have said 105 is VERY high.
I feel like a ticking time bomb now.
I'm finally SCARED.
My one excuse is that have something called INTERSTICIAL CYSTITIS and because of that I can't eat a lot of fruits and some other things - so I've been frustrated on how to approach a "diet plan"
Just curious if ANY of you have had blood work done prior to starting your plans. I'm not talking losing 20 pounds - I'm talking 80 pounds over weight here.
I tried a club here called that 70s show - but none of us ever stuck with except Amanda - she had huge success - the thread always kept dying.
I need support - and don't know where to turn.
I've been crying all morning since I got the blood results.
I feel like I need a personal chef to just come in and prepare my meals every day. I'm just afraid to step into the kitchen, and half the time I'm too tired. Why am I tired? Oh gee because I'm fat and unhealthy.
Sorry, just having a pity party....

You know, you can do this. Just improving the foods you eat can vastly improve your blood work. Have you ever looked at a whole foods type diet? I eat a low fat whole foods type diet myself and I think its the best thing I ever did.

First *HUGS* I understand how you feel. I have a few issues myself and though getting a diagnoses was a positive in the long run, woooosh I cried my little heart out at the time. The thing is, now that you know these things you can move forward with this knowledge and find something that works for you. You could also talk to your doctor about working with a nutritionist so you can hammer out a good eating plan that will work for you with your limitations.

I have a few myself, limitations, I can't have dairy, I don't eat meat, I can't eat eggs, I can't eat sugar (though I do at times), I have allergies and food intolerance...learning about what I can and cannot eat has been invaluable for me. I can find things that work and are exciting for me to eat.

As for your blood work question, I had mine done when I got my insurance and braved the doctor for the first time in years. I had already lost weight and was well on my way, but I needed to get things diagnosed, etc. My blood work surprised me with a few flags, mainly LOW cholesterol, which can be just as bad as high. So, I need more good fat in my diet... I made adjustments and will get more tests done in a few months probably near or around my yearly checkup. :)

Hang in there...we are here for you and get where you are coming from. *HUGS* You can do it, you can. As for being tired, try to do a food prep day or two a week. I do this. I cut up my lettuce, I get things ready for me so all I have to do is plop this or that down. Work something out for YOU. You can do this, we all can!

Hi, 2B! :hug: I'm so glad to see you back here. :)

Sorry to hear about your blood test results. IMO the glucose level is not THAT high, but enough to warrant some action. I did have blood tests done earlier this year in February when I began to get serious about losing weight. Diabetes and heart disease runs in my family so I wanted to get a complete work up in case I would need to adjust my diet plan based on the results. Fortunately everything came back just fine, but I still knew, given family history, that I could not continue to be obese forever without doing some serious damage to my health. I didn't want to continue playing with fire.

You know what did it for me, 2B? I was just sick and tired of being fat. I was fed up with it. I hated the way I looked. I hated not being able to climb the stairs in my own home without feeling winded. I was tired of selling myself short in life. The desire to be an athlete outweighed the desire to keep eating. That's ALL it was for me. I set out at the beginning of the year with two goals: to hike a 14,000 ft mountain with my husband and to run in a 5k race. It did not matter to me if I still weighed 200 lbs at the time of either, I just wanted to do it, to prove to myself that I could do anything. Well, I've accomplished both of those and in the process lost 50 lbs. All I did was run 4x a week and count my calories. Nothing magic diet or no secret pill. And you know what? I was terrified the entire time that I would fail at dieting ONCE AGAIN. How long have I been here? Oh yeah - since 2007. It took me two years to finally get it right. ;)

Many people come to "that point" where they no longer put up with being fat. For some people it's a certain number on the scale, for others it's just an alignment of the universe, I think. Are you at that point?

Because of your interstitial cystitis, have you thought about consulting a nutritionist to develop a diet plan? I just did a quick search for IC diet plans and found this: http://www.ic-network.com/diet/ It contains a master list of food of what to eat and what to avoid. Eating doesn't have to be so scary. :)

What it took for me was to make my goal other than weight loss... losing weight was just a nice side effect. I started blogging every day. I joined challenges on the forums which kept me accountable. I started eating like a runner would eat. And I found a great group of runners who always encourage me to look at the bigger picture when I get discouraged about weight loss! IMO I could not do it without all the support I have here. But ultimately it is up to YOU to stick with it! :)

Don't look at this as a diet. This is about making permanent lifestyle changes that you can maintain after the weight is gone. 105 blood sugar is not excessively high but it does show you will probably develop diabetes if you don't make changes now. Calorie counting always works. You might do well with South Beach.

You can do this. It takes some planning to get started. We all make mistakes on our way to health, so if you do don't stop trying. You will reach your goal.

The Beck Diet Solution is a great cognitive training program that works with any diet and address emotional eating, binging, etc. You might see if you can get a copy from your local library.

I am sorry to hear how upset you are over your blood test results. If you can leverage them to motivate a permanent change in your lifestyle, these results are a blessing in disguise!

I found I simply can't make food that works for me that the rest of my family will eat. Luckily, my husband is willing to take care of cooking for himself and our daughter which means I don't have to deal with that temptation. I didn't mind cooking when I was cooking for the whole family, but just for myself I rarely bother with anything beyond using the toaster oven or microwave. The meals I end up eating are not delicious, just acceptable. But that's OK with me too, because it's easier to control portions that way and food becomes a lower priority in my life.

My point is that you don't have to make yourself time-consuming gourmet meals from fresh produce in order to succeed at healthy eating.

I would also encourage you to start a walking program, since a little regular exercise can help tremendously.

Good luck, you can do it!!!

80 lbs is my ultimate goal, and I've been loosing and regaining the same 3 lbs so I still have that far to go! If you'd like to start that 80's show I'd be happy to join in...

I've been here since 2006, too! I'm still plugging away. Has it gone as fast as I would've liked? No, but I'm doing it.

I'm vegan, so I don't eat ANY products with meat, eggs, dairy, poultry, fish, honey, basically any animal or animal byproducts. Yeah, it was tough at first trying to figure out the best way for me to lose weight, but I got there.

I could make a million excuses as to why I can't lose weight, but I would be lying to myself. I CAN lose weight, I HAVE lost weight, so many other people with tougher situations than mine have lost weight.

You can do this. Really, I could sit here and tell you millions of motivational things, give you a ton of suggestions, but the only way it's going to work is if YOU make a COMMITMENT to do this. No one else can do it for you. No one can hold your hand and walk you through it. YOU choose what goes in your mouth, YOU choose whether you get up and exercise. With my health on the line I decided that it was NOT an option to have those bad foods anymore, just like for me having meat is NOT an option.

When you're ready to commit to your health and wellbeing, that's when you're ready to lose weight.

Listen, you can turn this around. I too had blood test results I didn't like. Cholesterol was 209, HDL was 47, fasting blood glucose was 109.

Last month I went in and had my annual tests. Cholesterol was 192, HDL 59, fasting blood glucose 84.

I understand about interstitial cystitis. Has your doc discussed vitamin C therapy? If not, ask about it.

You CAN change things. Find your willingness! Walk the walk! In fact, TAKE a walk! :cheer2: Exercise is a major factor in improving cholesterol and blood glucose--so be sure to add that as one of your goals.

Don't sit around and cry about it. That won't change a thing! Instead, think of one action you can take. Just one! And follow through on that.

Good luck! It can work!
Jay

I know how you feel- I have PCOS and have stalled badly for months! I've been losing the same few pounds (212-214) for months and right now I'm like screw it I'm maintaining till I get back into the workouts.

I say NOT gaining is also a good thing and I also look at NSV's like my skin is clearer, I have more energy, I feel healthier, and so on.

I'd look into your condition and see if there is an approved diet to follow. My doctor recently told me South Beach is recommended for people who have PCOS. I ordered the book right away and for now am just cutting carbs here and there. :)

Good luck!

Big hugs. It sounds like you are very upset right now and that's never fun. I would focus on sorting through those emotions for a day or 2 and see what comes of that. Maybe do some journaling or if you have a trusted friend, spend some time talking it through. Once the fog of emotion clears, that is a great time to start thinking about some actions you might want to take. I'm going to throw out some questions that might facilitate that process a bit:

1. There is a lot of research that indicates even a 10% weight loss will substantially improve blood chemistry numbers like the ones you are looking at. Would you be willing to consider just tackling that much weight loss right now?

2. What sorts of things are you willing/able to do in the next 4-6 weeks to take care of your health regardless of their effect on scale number. Meet with a registred dietician? Check some cookbooks out of the library? Take a 30 min walk whenever you can? Make a menu plan each week? Drink more water? Post on 3FC's at least x times per week?

3. Why do I want to be healthier? What do I get out of not improving my health?

It seems to me like you are in a bit of all or nothing land here. You've been here for a while and haven't been able to get off the dime on some sort of major life overhaul. Not surprising, those are incredibly difficult to mount. My questions are targeted toward a different smaller step approach to making some changes, not THE change.

HTH!

Peg

aww, im sorry that you're feeling so unhappy!!

try to turn this into a positive. this could be your final motivation to get on track and lose this weight!

I wanted to second QuilterinVA's suggestion for the books by Judith Beck about using Cognitive Behavior Therapy techniques to address weight loss. It's working for me. Even better, there's a 3FC thread (under General Diet Plans and Questions) that has several posters a day and seems in no danger of dying. A very supportive group!

You didn't mention your age, but I'm also getting support in the 40-something support group, so you might try your age group section of 3FC.

And, hugs! I agree with others that I have tons of sympathy for your situation and at the same time a good deal of hope that this will be the moment that you look back on and say "that's the day that I finally committed to losing my excess weight permanently."

Hang in there...just start moving in the right direction and the blood work will improve. At least you are gathering info now and you can reverse things before a real problem develops. Wishing you the best of luck on your weight loss journey!

Thank you EVERYONE! You each provided great information and wonderful words of wisdom, support and encouragement. I am taking notes about everything that you wrote.
The IC diet link was helpful too - and I am just so overwhelmed on how to fit those foods into a diet like So. Beach or WW, etc. etc.
As for can I try to lose 10% - heck yeah! Granted, that would be 27 pounds - I would LOVE to lose 27 pounds - and YES I can walk - that much I can do. We have a Wii fit but I don't use it as much as I should. I know to drink more water.
All of you had such simple suggestions - and some were even obvious - so it's like WHY haven't I done this? The bigger I get, the more depressed I am.
I know we're going to Disney in one year (again) - and would love to go as a skinny mom.
I just spent yet another summer being HOT and not enjoying the pool with my kids.
Goes w/o saying that the sex life is non-existent with the DH.
Thank you, thank you everyone.
I am still scared though. My appt is in ONE week - I don't know if he'll put me on medication right away or what. I met a woman today who had high cholesterol too and she is not taking anything and has no idea what her glucose is. I don't know that much about it- and I'm afraid to read about it to be honest.
Thank you for letting me cry everyone.
I appreciate the hugs and support
Thank you so much, thank you, thank you, thank you!!!!!!!!
And FatPants -- SOOOOOOOOOOOO good to hear from you! Congratulations on your success!!!

I wouldn't worry about researching the blood numbers. Go to your appointment and if you can be armed with a plan of what you intend to do. I think most doctors will give you at least a period of time (3-6 mos) to make nutrition changes. The cholesterol meds aren't without side effects so I think they like to avoid it if they can. It might however be an opportunity for the insurance to pay for an reg dietician appintment so I would definitely ask about that and/or check your insurance before then to find out.

Seems to me if you are open to using WW it might be your best bet because of the flexibility of the food and the fact that I imagine you could get some menu assistance at the center. Other than some of the spices and the fruit limitations, I didn't see a lot in the off-limits lists that would be anything close to mandatory in most healthy eating plans and lots of it would also be on a limited or off-limits basis anyway.

You sound a bit better this afternoon! Hope you are feeling better!

you'll be fine hon. like they said, losing 10% of your body weight can have big health benefits. it feels overwhelming if you look at the whole thing at once, just break it up into small goals. if this ends up being your motivation, then it could be one of the best things that ever happened.

you can do it!

Just wanted to put a quick note in here re: blood glucose -- 70-100 is considered "normal" range (though, like anything else, some people are "normal for them" at slightly higher or slightly lower numbers). At the hospital I work in, people who have blood glucose monitoring don't usually get insulin until it's between 110-120 because there's too much risk of sending the glucose numbers too low. So while 105 is a little bit elevated, it really is just a little bit, and you'll most likely see it lower with a change in diet. I've seen patients (who didn't know they had issues with blood glucose) as high as 480 (personally, I don't know how they were still walking, but that's another story). Blood glucose can be affected by medications and by some natural supplements as well, so depending on your overall health, whatever you might be taking may elevate it without you necessarily being diabetic.

However, if you're concerned, this is certainly motivation to make changes! Good luck!

(note: I am not a doctor, nurse, or anyone who can give professional medical advice. Best suggestion is to talk to your doctor and research. :) )

The good news is you can change it. You have that power and we are here to cheer you on :D :hug:

Well, I'm going tomorrow to get my bloodwork done. I naturally have high cholesterol it runs in my family. However, the extra weight and lack of exercise didn't help anything. I even landed in the hospital because my cholesterol and triglycerides were so high they cause pancreatitis and the docs were worried that it would get infected it was so bad. My cholesterol and triglycerides at the time approx 500 and 3000!!! This was several years ago and it prompted me to change a lot of how we ate but not completely until this January.

I'm very excited to see where the numbers are now that I've lost 40 lbs. (40 to go still) and I exercise everyday. I'm hoping the no's are good so I don't have to go on meds but if they're not, then meds it is I guess.

At any rate your numbers are high but could be worse. Calorie Counting is pretty easy but with your limitations in diet I would definitely consult a nutritionist. I would think with the excess weight and the high no's your insurance would pay for a nutritionist.

2B:hug: - I had blood work done about one month ago and my cholesterol was 220, blood sugar 107 and I forget what the number was for triglycerides but it was twice what it should be (high triglycerides run in my family, even when fit years ago mine were slightly high). I was not happy with these test results nor was I happy with what the doctor's scale read. It was then that I decided to get serious about losing weight. I had my blood work done again last week and I am curious as to the results. I don't think it would change that much in a month but you never know.

For me, I count calories and keep to under 1,500 per day. I get in five or more servings of fruit and veggies, few servings of grains and protein, and a couple servings of dairy. I have an allergy to gluten so I have been eating a gluten free diet as well starting this month. I drink a lot of water or homemade herbal tea. I exercise everyday, even if it only walking for ten minutes on my break at work. I am keeping a food journal of everything I eat and drink with the calories listed or estimated.

I am eating much smaller portions by measuring food, I do little things like use mustard instead of mayo on a sandwich and have that sandwich open faced. If I have a setback or a gain I try my best not to freak out and just get back on track right away. I really enjoy a variety of foods so I am eating lots of fruits and veggies, gluten free breads and pasta, lean meats, seafood and reduced fat dairy products.

Following my plans and finding the motivation to change my eating and exercising habits was very hard for me the first couple of weeks. Coming here and getting support was very very helpful to me. I like to read the success stories and celebrate the mini-goals of the members here. Earlier today I was looking in the recipe section and got some great ideas for soups. I know that you will find a plan that works for you and just coming here and getting support to do just that is the first step to getting healthier. I wish you much success.