Blood Work Lab Results 20190215

My blood draw work was done Friday, February 15, 2019, in anticipation of my office visit with my GP on February 26th. To say I've been eager to get the test results somewhat understates the case. One measure in particular is of great importance to me.

At my prior GP office visit, he and I agreed to a broad set of tests. I needed to visit an endocrinologist to get the c-peptide test written. See is-it-tomorrow-or-just-endo-time

There were 11 sets of tests done on my blood and urine sample. Good thing they only took 5 tubes worth of blood. Those 11 sets were:

• MICROALBUMIN, UR RANDOM
• COMPREHENSIVE METABOLIC PANEL
• LIPID PANEL (CALC. LDL)
• TSH
• HEMOGLOBIN A1C
• PSA SCREEN
• CBC
• TESTOSTERONE
• C-PEPTIDE
• ANION GAP
• ESTIMATED GFR

The discussion that follows will be only for the results that I think are worth remarking on. If there's something else you'd care to know, please ask.

From COMPREHENSIVE METABOLIC PANEL

BUN 19 mg/dL 9 - 23 mg/dL

CREATININE 0.94 mg/dL 0.70 - 1.30 mg/dL

BUN/CREAT 20   10 20

The two values are in range, but the ratio is high end. I think I don't care, but don't know.

CO2 31 mmol/L 20 - 31 mmol/L

The value is high end of the range. I think I'd prefer it lower, and want to advice on how to arrange that.

ALT          20 U/L 1 - 44 U/L

AST 22 U/L 14 - 39 U/L

This is one of the Very Good News sets of numbers. Dead nuts normal, where as history was near or above the high end of the range. My takeaway is that I am successfully defatting my liver.

From LIPID PANEL (CALC. LDL)

CHOLESTEROL 189 mg/dL 1 - 199 mg/dL

HDL CHOLESTEROL 42 mg/dL 40 - 60 mg/dL

TRIGLYCERIDES 76 mg/dL <150 mg/dL

LDL (calc) 132 mg/dL <100 mg/dL

CHOL/HDL RATIO 4.5 

non-HDL-C 147 mg/dL <130 mg/dL

I'm interested in these numbers because eating low carb, fasting, and exercising, implies that I'll be getting more of my body energy needs met by liberating my own body fat - which is mostly all triglycerides. I thought there might be some negative surprises in here for me, but Nope. The Very Good News number is triglycerides, which is not only low in my historical range, but 50% the size of the prior 12 year low. My takeaway is that my energy consuming parts of my body are becoming more "fat adapted" and "burning fat". Freaking awesome !

From HEMOGLOBIN A1C

HEMOGLOBIN A1C 6.4 % 4.2 - 5.6 %

Per ADA 2018 Guidelines, HbA1c values should be interpreted as follows:

Normal: less than 5.7%

Prediabetes: 5.7%- 6.4%

Diabetes: 6.5% or higher

This is The Headline Good News Number. My most optimistic guess would have been 6.6%. I need to adjust my A1C guessing algo to see if I can match this. Note that I am not yet quite out of the diabetes club, but after 3 decades of being in it, this is a great result.

From C-PEPTIDE

C-PEPTIDE 0.5 NG/ML 0.8 - 3.9 NG/ML

This is the Headline Disappointing Number.  If the value was in range, my assumption would be that my pancreas was making a sufficient amount of insulin for my needs, and that increasing insulin sensitivity would eventually eliminate my need for Lantus. Because the value is out of range low, my need for Lantus continues.

This is the only C-PEPTIDE test I've ever had, so I do not know if there's any rate of change in the value, either up or down. One needs to start somewhere, and work to improve from there.

My things to do:

• Talk about the numbers of interest with my GP in a few weeks, and my endo in a few months.
• Get the endo to write another C-PEPTIDE order, for 3-6 months out past my next office visit (April, IIRC).
• Lose weight (another dozen pounds or so), lose body fat (another 10% or so), maintain muscle mass.

Thanks for reading this far. The journey continues.