Monday, March 29, 2021, 9:15 a.m.
I decided I was going to fast, even though I was not told to fast for this blood draw. I want to see if fasting makes any difference in the lipid panel. Also, I stopped taking biotin as of last Wednesday, based on Dr. Brian Mowll’s statement: “Biotin in large doses may affect thyroid testing leading to false highs on thyroid tests. It doesn’t actually raise thyroid hormone levels but affects the way the test works. The solution: stop taking high dose biotin 48 hours before thyroid testing.”
I drove myself to the San Leandro Medical Facility and deliberately did not go pee at all after I got up, to make sure I would be able to give an adequate urine sample for the creatinine test. I parked at the far end of the “A” lot where I knew there would be spaces for parking, even though I would have to walk farther. The staff at the entrance asked the obligatory questions and took my temperature but didn’t bother asking me where I was going. But I know by now how to follow the signs inside.
When I was called to a reception desk, I handed her my printout of the tests ordered, asking her to make sure all the tests were there. They were. She handed me a urine sample plastic cup and wipe but didn’t bother putting it in a brown paper bag.
I didn’t have to wait at all before being called to a blood draw station. In the station next to the one where I was, there was a toddler getting a blood draw and he was crying the whole time. Poor little guy!
I didn’t have to wait for a restroom, and I was able to fill the container to the line they had marked. The sign that used to say to leave the container in the little window now said to leave the specimen “in the tray outside.” I didn’t know what that meant, since there was no tray in the restroom. So I went out to the reception desk and asked, and she told me there were trays in the hallway. (So why didn’t they say to leave it “in the hallway” instead of “leave it outside.” Outside of where?)
I was finished with the entire process by 9:15 a.m. (which was the time of my appointment), so I got home by 9:30 a.m.
Tuesday, March 30-April 1, 2021 – TEST RESULTS
Nonfasting Lipid Panel
Total cholesterol – 230 (up from 198)
HDL – 65 (up from 55)
LDL (calculated) – 143 (up from 115)
Triglycerides – 101 (down from 142)
Liver:
AST – 18 (within range 10-40 U/L)
ALT – 14 (within range 0-36 U/L)
Kidneys:
Creatinine – 0.74 (within range <1.11- mg/dL
Albumin/creatinine ratio – 12.2 ug/mg (standard range 0.0-29.9 ug/mg)
Thyroid:
TSH – 4.30 (within range 0.40-5.00 uIU/mL, but up from 0.90) This was in spite of not taking biotin before the test!
Potassium – 4.3 (within range 3.5-5.3)
A1C – 6.2% (up from 5.8%)
Average – 131 mg/dL (up from 120 mg/dL)
C-peptide – 0.9 (down from 1.8, normal range 0.5-6.3 ng/mL)
Vitamin D – 83 ng/mL (normal range 20-79 ng/mL)
**heavy sigh**
The Good News: HDL and Triglycerides are improving, liver and kidney functions appear to be okay (in spite of all the pain medication I’m taking), potassium is fine, not deficient in vitamin D and I’m not worried about toxicity
The Bad News: A1C is going in the wrong direction! So is my weight. I’m starting to wonder/worry about my thyroid function. Am I going hypo again? Is that why my weight is going up? C-peptide seems to indicate that my insulin levels are going down. Is that a bad thing? Or a good thing?
The Plan for the Next 6 Months:
- Be consistent with MyFitnessPal Daily Food Diary and aim for Dr. Bernstein’s goal of < 30g carbs/day. More specifically, < 30g total carbs and < 20g net carbs.
- NO berries, nuts, or seeds on days when FBG is > 100 mg/dL.
- Aim to practice intermittent fasting Every. Single. Day. Especially no bedtime snacks!
- Beginning in the month of May, go for a walk (with Emily) Every. Single. Day. Even when it’s scorching hot in the summer (go before 10 a.m. or after 5 p.m.). With those caveats, I should be able to keep this up to or through October. Or until the time changes again in November.
Update: April 2, 2021
Apparently they do a drug screening on all Chronic Pain Patients, which tests for a long list of drugs (like opiates, oxycodone, cocaine, etc., and including THC). All of my results came back as “UNDETECTED.” Linda thinks it means undetected above a certain minimal level. I dunno but it’s not something I’m going to obsess about.
UPDATE: April 5, 2021
Are Nonfasting Triglyceride Levels More Accurate Than Fasting Triglyceride Levels?
Written by Henri Wathieu — Updated on March 13, 2019
https://www.healthline.com/health/nonfasting-triglycerides-levels
Yes! “Your nonfasting triglyceride levels are typically higher than your fasting levels.”
