“Give it to me straight, doc, will I live?”
Apparently so.
The final tests are back and not only do I have blood, but a lot of it is good.
There’s rarely any excitement or mystery going in for my annual checkup except my blood work. Those are numbers I eagerly await with hope and crossed fingers.
I’ve got a lot of family genetics working for and against me (mostly against), so it’s the least “certain” part of my exam.
I put in a lot of work this past year and, despite some interruptions, I was thinking I should see a good report. The results suggest I was mostly successful.
Two key categories I made excellent progress on, one I made okay progress on and one I need to work on.
Cholesterol, everyone’s favorite diet-changing word, is a mixed bag. I’ve continued my decreasing of the LDL number, but the HDL slipped a little. One is still too high and the other has now fallen below the low range.
Dad takes a pill. My friends take pills. I do not yet and hope I won’t have to. I plan on redoubling my diet and exercise-based efforts in my attempt to naturally beat back age and family history.
I killed it on my triglycerides, which only means I’m still much too high per the recommended levels. Meh. Banning Coke from the fridge has helped. I guess I need to review some of my other sweet tooth weaknesses (as well as more well-disguised sources).
While I was in the waiting area to see my doctor (before my test results), a lady sitting across from me commented that I was in good spirits. I replied that I only had to come see the doctor once a year, to this point, so it wasn’t hard to be upbeat. She smiled knowingly and nodded.
Hopefully, I have more reports like this over the next few years. Having to only see the doctor once a year sounds bloody good to me!
Good job, Jeff!