I’m north of 40 now, blood work came back. Liver and kidneys are fine. I’ve never had anything other than a little bit high blood sugar and little bit low iron.

Most of yall know I “quit” drinking, and while I won’t claim to be sober I’ve about eliminated it all together. Special occasions and what not only. However…

1. A1C is just shy of pre-diabetic. This is one I should be able to control with more exercise and better diet. It’s always been a bit high when I’m not staying on top of my cardio. This one is an easy remedy I hope.

2. Testosterone is pretty LOW, one more low reading at the end of the month and they’ll start me on some treatment. So that one is probably common enough, the exercise should help that as well.

3. My cholesterol is HIGH, 192 or so I think she said. Good cholesterol isn’t too bad but the bad one is high. She said if it’s this high when I recheck this month I’ll immediately go on medicine.

So, looks like I’m back to my 5k a day. Back to alternating between chicken and fish. Meal prepping tons of broccoli, green beans, cabbage, and other leafy vegetables. With little to no salt.

I guess my days of doing my whatever I wanted and getting away with it are over. I wanna live a long time so I guess it’s time to start making sure that happens.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: OttoSig,

Wow, 192, I been hitting upper 150's recently and it feels like my heart is bursting out of my chest. My doc said I would go on medicine if it was like that in 6 months but it's been an ongoing thing with some other stuff for me. I bought a wrist cuff BP bluetooth monitor a couple years ago and was monitoring it once a week or so. Once I hit consistently over 150, and I went in the hospital for a motorcycle crash in oct, I was hitting 170's for the three days I was in, my doc told me to monitor it twice a day. I've been doing that for 4 months now. If I was at 192, I would start checking often, jmho.
This one from walmart bluetooths to a phone app and saves my data. Gives me a chart and rolling history so I get a 3/7/30 day average.
https://www.walmart.com/ip/Equ...REGULAR&athbdg=L1600

quote:

My blood pressure is HIGH, 192 or so

High indeed. Stroke level. Hopefully they prescribed meds for you.

OttoSig

Did the doc happen to mention or feel that your BP could be high due to what has transpired for the last few months with moving, family, military, etc?

Just curious?

With what has transpired the last couple of years due to being out of work, money and that crappy Army unit, my doctor is surprised mine is not worse.

I do take some taurine to help with mine.


I take a little bit of taurine to help with mine.

Please tell me you have a blood pressure monitor and taking a reading every day.

192 systolic is hypertensive crisis. If it stays that high you could end up like Fetterman.

My blood pressure was high for a while (couple years before my heart attack). Ended up OK after everything, one thing I did not think about was being off work for four months. I did not have three months of income saved for emergencies. EKG and other tests never caught the restricted artery on me.
Hang in there and get that blood pressure down.

Gentlemen, I’m so sorry, my cholesterol was 192, not my blood pressure. Mind lapse there I suppose.

quote:

Originally posted by OttoSig:
Gentlemen, I’m so sorry, my cholesterol was 192, not my blood pressure. Mind lapse there I suppose.

Damn, much better. Whew! I'll take that 192 cholesterol any days of the week. Not my BP.

I'm still confused. 192 for total cholesterol is healthy. So I'm thinking you're referring to LDL, the "bad" cholesterol?

quote:

Originally posted by kkina:
I'm still confused. 192 for total cholesterol is healthy. So I'm thinking you're referring to LDL, the "bad" cholesterol?

Yes, good one was 43, bad one was 192.

Gotcha. You're right. LDL is high, HDL is low.

You’ve got it Otto, diet and exercise. Like the doc told me yesterday 500 less calories a day should drop a pound a week. This was way more fun in our twenties!

Glad your BP wasn’t 192. I hit that nearly three years ago in the ER. I felt like crap. I was impressed you were acting like it was NBD.

easy stuff.

I droopped my choletoral from 201 to 175 in a matter of months by nothing more than a slight diet change

Round about July I was in the midst of my midlife crisis. One of the crossroads was either pretending I wasn’t a miserable fat bastard, or come to terms and do something about it.

I’ve had a few spells of routine exercise through the years but was never completely dedicated at all. I joined a CrossFit gym in July (I’m 41 years old) and worked myself up to 5-6 days a week. I use common sense and don’t try to do the crazy shit the 20somethings are doing. I’ve made over 120 classes since I started and have made real, visible progress. All to say, don’t be afraid of something like CrossFit, despite the age. I drag my ass out of bed every morning to go because I’m not going to let myself down, but I can’t get that same motivation doing it by myself.

I had a body dexa scan done in August or so. I’m doing another in March. I’m very interested to see that difference. Would also suggest considering that. I have not lost much weight, so the % change will be revealing. Diet has been real food, sometimes tracking and sometimes just not being dumb with what I eat. 180-200 mg of protein daily.

Also doing all my labs again next month. My cholesterol was also high. Gonna see if there’s a change. My testosterone was on the low-normal, and with the changes I feel from the exercise, I have no worries with rechecking that.

I would suggest researching some doctors who do not put all the emphasis on cholesterol numbers and meds to bring it down. Not saying you are, but since you mention your numbers it is something to consider. From what I have found in the last two years, diet, exercise and quality food are more important than the numbers being where they say they should be. Sugar is more harmful to the average American than most people realize.

Bear in mind once past 40 exercise makes relatively little difference diet is where it is at. And also to understand, most of the cholesterol in the blood stream is produced by liver metabolism not what you eat. Weight loss does help, and as long as you are in a calorie deficit what you eat doesn’t seem to matter. It isn’t just about veg/ fruit no red meat.

192?

If that’s your total cholesterol number it’s actually within the good range or so I thought?

quote:

Originally posted by PASig:
192?

If that’s your total cholesterol number it’s actually within the good range or so I thought?

No, that's just the LDL. I'm starting a version of the DASH diet but omitting most of the starches and grains. I did get some whole grain bread to eat in the morning with my avocados and fruit.

Salmon and brussel sprouts tonight.

Luckily I enjoy all the food that's good for me, just gotta get used to less salt on it.

My wife is a latina so she makes enough beans and veggies to keep me fed pretty well for lunch and the occasional dinner.

I'm also giving up my black coffee so of course I've got a killer headache today. Will probably subside by Monday.

I'll be sure to update results when I get bloodwork one later this month.