Cholesterol and Helpful Blood Test Ranges

Do you ever wonder what is wrong with you when you think to yourself, "I really want a fattening shake right now" (after looking over your high cholesterol panel results). At least it was a pineapple shake I was craving and not a triple chocolate marshmallow caramel fudge brownie shake.

I will say that at least my results were probably only high because I was recently pregnant (Nine days post part-em). Cholesterol levels can be eye-bulgingly high when you're pregnant. And since my eyes only twinged with minimal pain, I'm thinking my cholesterol is on its way back to normal. I'll recheck it in few months to make sure.

I have some family members with high cholesterol, so this may be helpful to them and it will definitely help me in hypercholesterolemia prevention. High cholesterol and triglyceride levels in your bloodstream can cause heart attacks and strokes. I'm thinking it'd be good to avoid these.

First off, here's a list of important ranges to refer to when you have your blood workup done:

(All of which help in detection of high cholesterol and other related test ranges)

1. BMI (Body Mass Index) -

Less than 18.5: Underweight

18.5 - 24.9: Normal

25.0 - 29.9: Overweight

Over 30: Obesity

2. Waist Circumference -

Men: Over 40 inches are at risk for Diabetes Type II

3. Blood Sugar-

Fasting

Less than 40mg/dL: Low

40-99: Normal

100-125: Impaired fasting glucose

More than 125: Indicates diabetes

Non-Fasting

Less than 40: Low

40-139: Normal

140-200: High

More than 200: Indicates diabetes

4. Hemoglobin A1C: Shows your average blood sugar control over the last three months.

Less than or equal to 7% of total hemoglobin: Normal

Greater than 7% is an indication of increased blood sugar levels: High

5. Kidney Function Tests: These investigate problems with your kidneys.

Albumin to creatinine ratio: Albumin is not usually found in the urine. High levels may indicate you have kidney disease and are called microalbuminuria.

Less than 30 mg/g: Normal

30 to 300: Abnormal (high)

Greater than 300: Abnormal (very high)

6. Estimated Glomerular Filtration Rate (eGFR) and Serum Creatinine: GFR measures how well your kidneys are filtering waste from your blood. It's the best blood test for checking kidney function. Normally, the estimated GFR decreases with age. Kidney function (and GFR) can decrease in patients with chronic diseases like high blood pressure and diabetes.

More than or equal to 60: Normal

Less than 60: Decreased kidney function

7. Hemoglobin: Test for anemia or low red blood cell count. Individuals with advanced kidney desease and poor kidney function can develop anemia.

Women

11.7-15.5 gm/dL: Normal

Less than 11.7: Low (anemia)

Men

13.2-17.1: Normal

Less than 13/2: Low (anemia)

8. Lipid Panel: Used to evaluate your risk of heart disease.

Total Cholesterol

Less than 200 mg/dL: Normal

More than or equal to 200: High

LDL: "Bad cholesterol" because it deposits cholesterol in the arteries.

Less than 100 mg/dL: Optimal

100-129: Near optimal

Greater than or equal to 130: High

HDL: "good cholesterol" because it helps remove cholesterol from the arteries and takes it to the liver where it is passed from the body.

Less than 40 mg/dL: Low (Undesirable)

Greater than or equal to 40: High (desirable)

Triglycerides: Important markers of risk for cardiovascular disease

Less than 150 mg/dL: Normal

150-499: High

Greater than or equal to 500: Very high

Since my focus in on lowering cholesterol, here are a list of foods and helpful hints to help lower and prevent cholesterolemia. The Good thing is that these hints are helpful in diabetes type II and heart disease prevention as well.

....To Be Continued

Antidepressants and Migraines

Procrastination isn't only bad for the anxious teenager scrambling to finish his AP english paper the night before it's due. As a medical assistant, having triaged several telephone calls from patients, I can't count the number of calls we've gotten from patients saying they've been out of their medication for a few days and need to refill them.

These tidbits of information below opened my eyes to the problems procrastination can have in regards to health and keeping current with your prescribed medication schedule:

Two days after undergoing a transurethral resection surgery, Peter Althouse, developed nausea and intermittent vomiting, followed by chills, dizziness, and tremors. He was anxious and irritable. After a series of testing to find the cause of these symptoms, they came back normal. With further questioning, the doctors found that he'd been prescribed paroxetine, a selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI), an anti-depressant, for major depressive disorder. He was told to take nothing by mouth the day of his surgery, so he refrained from taking his medications. This led to SSRI dicontinuation syndrome, which typically occurs 24-72 hours after the patient stops taking an SSRI. This is not life-threatening, however, it can cause distressing physical and emotional symptoms that can be mistaken for complications of an illness, procedure, or other medication. Signs and symptoms appear ABRUPTLY and last for 1 to 2 weeks if not identified and treated. The most common signs and symptoms fall into four categories:
*gastrointestinal- including nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, and indigestion
*neurologic- such as light-headedness, dizziness, vertigo, loss of balance, HEADACHE, tremors, involuntary muscle twitching, numbness, and electric-shock sensations
*somatic-including chills, rhinorrhea (runny nose), fatigue, lethargy that may mimic the flu,
*psychological-such as anxiety, irritability, agitation, depressed or labile mood, hypomania, insomnia, and vivid dreams or nightmares.

The severity of the signs and symptoms is dependent upon the duration of the patient taking the SSRI medication, the dosage, and the specific drug's half-life. For example, the patient that has only been taking the medicaiton for 6 weeks is less likely to develop signs and symptoms of SSRI discontinuation syndrome than patients whose brains have adapted over time to the medication. Medication half-life also effects the severity of serotonin reuptake discontinuation syndrome. The SSRI's with short half-lives, such as paroxetine, are more commonly prescribed because they typically cause less frequent and less severe adverse reactions.

Make sure you call your medication refills in ahead of time. The best time allotment is to call 3-4 days ahead of time. This gives some wiggling room for clinics and pharmacies that are extra busy and slow to get your refills called in. Don't wait for the last minute!
If you want to discontinue your SSRI (antidepressant), make sure you taper yourself off slowly!!!

The long and short of it is DON'T PROCRASTINATE!!!

(This post was developed around the article "The dark side of SSRIs" from the Nursing2009 Peer-Reviewed Journal of Clinical Excellence)