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Medical Forum / Diseases and Disorders / Prostate Cancer / April 2008VA PSA Lab
Got te paper copy and pSA is < 0.05 Howie > Got te paper copy and pSA is < 0.05 Howie Bingo!!! The assay your lab used tests to 0.05 and couldn't find it. Now how do you feel? :-) Feel much better on the psa thing..now have to get my trigs down from over 500!!! > Feel much better on the psa thing..now have to get my trigs down from > over 500!!! As you know, that's dangerous. May we presume you eat very little sweets and simple carbs and take at least four fish oil gel caps a day? I.P. I take 1 fish oil cap a day..Omega 3 a big pill. I have 2 cups of coffee a day in the am..I put powdered creamer in them..one tsp sugar and one Equal in each...been snacking in evenings at the TV..chips, pretzels, Wife makes goodies..celebrates all holidays and birthdays,,,,, etc..dont drink much soda.. Give me some idea how to lower the trigs...Has been high most my life....??? Howie > I take 1 fish oil cap a day..Omega 3 a big pill. I have 2 cups of coffee > a day in the am..I put powdered creamer in them..one tsp sugar and one > Equal in each...been snacking in evenings at the TV..chips, pretzels, > Wife makes goodies..celebrates all holidays and birthdays,,,,, etc..dont > drink much soda.. Give me some idea how to lower the trigs...Has been > high most my life....??? Howie Lowering triglycerides requires at least 4 grams/capsules a day, according to studies. But if you keep eating junk food, whether it's baked potatoes or chips or pie, your trigs will stay high. 500 is very serious stuff, quite possibly a bigger threat than our cancer, especially if your HDL is low. I also strongly advise you change primary care physicians; there's no excuse for one who lets you run around with triglycerides at that level. I.P. This was the VA, They never called me (I had to call them about my PSA and tell them to send me results..that's when I saw the trigs)..So I am going to see my GP here and get some help...VA never checked for Diabetes (Glucose?) so I wil have the GP do a blood test for sugar..I have SOME symptons..tired in mid day, Hungry in late evening but no thirst or weight loss..I start today on lowering all sugars..a bit more exercise etc. Howie > This was the VA, They never called me (I had to call them about my PSA > and tell them to send me results..that's when I saw the trigs)..So I am [quoted text clipped - 3 lines] > thirst or weight loss..I start today on lowering all sugars..a bit more > exercise etc. Howie Prediabetes (fasting glucose between 90 and 125) has no symptoms, but does a lot of irreversible damage. Diabetes (fasting glucose > 125) does even more damage, and is still imperceptible until it gets pretty high or of long duration. There is ZERO excuse for the VA not being on top of your blood and urine chemistry. I.P. I made appt with my GP for Friday..will show him VA labs also ask for diabetes check (VA did no urine test)..Can you recommend a margerine I can use instead of butter ? How about milk 1% ? Bread ? Is Oatmeal bread ok? Thanks. Howie > I made appt with my GP for Friday..will show him VA labs also ask for > diabetes check (VA did no urine test)..Can you recommend a margerine I > can use instead of butter ? How about milk 1% ? Bread ? Is Oatmeal bread > ok? Thanks. Howie Butter is bad stuff ... too much sat fat. Ordinary margarine is worse ... contains trans fats. I quit both decades ago. Olive oil is FAR healthier, and tastes better on breads. And "oatmeal bread" is just bread with some oatmeal sprinkled on it. Our grains -- whether as cereal, bread, or pasta -- should be whole grains, with the first ingredient being whole wheat and the fiber content at least about 3 gms in each 30-40 gms of product. But this is just a drop in the swimming pool of healthy eating, whether for general health, weight control, or reversal of your quite dangerous and quite likely metabolic syndrome (including high triglycerides and low HDL, among other criteria easily Googled). Your VA docs or GP should be assessing your blood chemistry at least annually, and should be all over that 500 triglycerides level; that's extreme. Your lab work results should guide your GP and you towards the appropriate effort and books focussing on triglycerides, cholesterol, and/or metabolic syndrome. You may not know which topic is most appropriate until your blood work is done. I'm sure your doc and the books will guide you towards the new heart-healthy margarines, which Google can tell you (and me) far more about them than I could offer. I.P. Thanks i.p....I see my GP Friday unless someone cancels. I had my blood sugar checked and it was 118...good, bad, borderline? So, Looks like whole grain Wheat bread is the best ? 1% milk or Soy milk ? How about Peanut Butter and Jams ??? I ask questions and I learn...Howard > Thanks i.p....I see my GP Friday unless someone cancels. I had my blood > sugar checked and it was 118...good, bad, borderline? So, Looks like > whole grain Wheat bread is the best ? 1% milk or Soy milk ? How about > Peanut Butter and Jams ??? I ask questions and I learn...Howard 118 is prediabetic, better than diabetes but doing irreversible harm. True whole grain whole wheat is good, but it still drives blood glucose up because it has a high glycemic index. And bread labels are misleading, because "Wheat bread" and "Whole wheat" and "12-grain" and the like are just white bread, i.e., sugar. This is the kind of crap Atkins is right in banning from our diets. Soy probably exacerbates PC, so 1% milk us better. Peanut butter is an excellent food in small quantities (lots of calories); the jelly is, of course, just sugar. Yes, asking questions is good, but it's like trying to design a car from the ground up by by asking questions about metallurgy or tire pressure; there are a million questions and answers involved and until we read a few auto design books we don't know what questions to ask. Eat the Mediterranean diet (that's not an opinion; it's a fact supported by very extensive research), read and heed a couple of books on triglycerides/cholesterol/etc., and call your VA dietician for a consult and/or class. The VA dieticians I've consulted were dedicated, very helpful, extremely knowledgeable, and free. I.P. > Thanks i.p....I see my GP Friday unless someone cancels. I had my blood > sugar checked and it was 118...good, bad, borderline? I think that's bad. I think it's glucose and should not be more than 100. Here's what I get tested for and the ranges I'm told that males my age should have (it'll be interesting to see if it keeps its formatting): RANGE Comprehensive Metabolic 1/Creatinine Albumin 3.6 - 5.1 Albumin/Globulin Ratio 1.0 - 2.1 Alk Phosphatase 40 - 115 ALT (SGPT) 9 - 60 Anion Gap 3 - 16 AST (SGOT) 10 - 35 BILI, Direct 0 - 0.3 BILI, Total 0.2 - 1.2 Urea Nitrogen (BUN) 7 - 25 BUN / Creatinine Ratio 6 - 22 Calcium 8.6 - 10.2 Chloride 98 - 110 CO2 21 - 33 Creatinine .5 - 1.3 Glucose 65 - 99 GFR Estimaged > 60 Globulin 2.1 - 3.7 Phosphorus 2.5 - 4.5 Potassium 3.5 - 5.3 Protein, Total 6.2 - 8.3 Sodium 135 - 146 Hgb A1C Vitamin D 20 - 100 Lipid Panel Cholesterol 125 - 200 CHOL/HDLC Ratio </= 5.0 High Density Lipids (HDL) >/= 40 Low Density Lipids (LDL) 0 - 100 Triglycerides < 150 CBC (H/H, RBC, Indicies, WBC, PLT Hematocrit 38.5 - 50 Hemoglobin 13.2 - 17.1 MCH 27 - 33 MCHC 32 - 36 MCV 80 - 100 Platelet Count 140 - 400 RDW 11 - 15 Red Blood Cell Count 4.2 - 5.8 T-4, Free 0.8 - 1.8 White Blood Cell Count 3.8 - 10.8 > "H. Sharrott"qrote >> I had my blood [quoted text clipped - 6 lines] > RANGE > Glucose 65 - 99 Yup. "Sugar" = glucose. But the modern standard is <90, and "they" are debating lowering that into the 80s. But prediabetes is now defined by repeated fasting glucose between 90 (100 by some sources) and 125, and does several things: 1. It indicates that our glucose regulation system is not working properly. 2. It damages many body systems, without symptoms, until enough irreparable damage is done so that the damage causes symptoms. 3. It may cause blood glucose swings we can feel quite dramatically -- all the more reason to get it back under control and under 90. Unfortunately, that's not always possible via diet and exercise changes alone, hence drugs. 4. A person may stay prediabetic for years, even a lifetime, or s/he may progress into full-fledged Type II diabetes (by definition, fasting glucose > 125), which must be treated one way or another if we enjoy having feet, vision, erextions, functioning nerves, circulation, heartbeat, etc. Prediabetes threatens those things, but more slowly. Those millions of fat kids we see every day now? They're giving themselves (with junk food and lack of exercise) Type II diabetes and high LDL and low HDL decades earlier than our generation did, and for the first time in history, their life expectancy is lower than that of their parents. And to think guys here have reported that the doctors giving them ADT refused to believe that it exacerbates diabetic tendencies, sometimes very dramatically. I.P. >> "H. Sharrott"qrote >>> I had my blood [quoted text clipped - 11 lines] > repeated fasting glucose between 90 (100 by some sources) and 125, and > does several things: I sometimes think some people are like MADD when it comes to glucose and trigs, etc. Nothing is ever low enough. However, 65-99 is the standard according to my doctor and I'm satisfied to be within that range. Howard is not, and that is the salient point. Steve, you might have noted that Hemoglobin (Hgb) A1C should be <6.0 (I believe). This would be an important test for Howie since it is a measure of the average amount of glucose in the blood over the prior three months, as I understand it. My own Hgb A1C the week before last was 6.3...I am prediabetic. Next PSA coming up later this month.  SignatureJerryW Please respond to group; email address is not valid 2/11/04 PSA 2.6, Suspicious DRE (age 62) 2/23/04 Biopsy: Gleason 3+4=7, T2a, left lobe 5/18/04 RRP, Path: Gleason 4+3=7, T2c, both lobes Fully continent by 9/04 PSA through 10/15/07: <0.1 >> Thanks i.p....I see my GP Friday unless someone cancels. I had my blood >> sugar checked and it was 118...good, bad, borderline? [quoted text clipped - 49 lines] > T-4, Free 0.8 - 1.8 > White Blood Cell Count 3.8 - 10.8 > I am prediabetic When my glucose repeatedly increased, I began reading up on it. I was dismayed to learn that many people cannot prevent their prediabetes from advancing into diabetes, even with dramatic lifestyle/ diet/ exercise changes. Fortunately, a large enough percentage are successful that it's well worth the effort. I.P. Just had my blood sugar checked again..103...down from 118 a week ago...I cut my sweets and evening snacks..Gotta get the trigs down now. I see GP Friday.. Howie > This was the VA, They never called me (I had to call them about my PSA > and tell them to send me results..that's when I saw the trigs)..So I am [quoted text clipped - 3 lines] > thirst or weight loss..I start today on lowering all sugars..a bit more > exercise etc. I didn't realize you were new to this Triglycerides problem. As such, I will highly recommend three (five is better) meals of reasonably healthy food and start with the biggest first, if you can. The only absolute, since most of us just cannot change lifestyles, is no "late evening" food. Once you have had your dinner, which should be your smallest meal, don't eat until breakfast. As to exercise, most of mine comes from walking and most of that comes after dinner. That's probably the best, but I am no expert. I imagine starting out your day with a vigorous walk is good and I would not be surprised to find that walking after breakfast is good. If you are like me, a moderation of habits is a whole lot better than taking meds. Sadly, moderation and exercise were not sufficient for me, so I'm on three meds geared toward BP and triglycerides. >Sadly, moderation and exercise were not sufficient for me, so I'm on > three meds geared toward BP and triglycerides. Triglyceride reduction via exercise requires much higher effort and longer duration than walking a few miles, and 500, especially with any of the other metabolic syndrome flags, warrants aggressive medical intervention if proper diet and lots of intensive exercise don't bring it down quickly. The next question is what damage is has already done to the cardiovascular system and how to reverse that (with the Pritikin diet?) I.P. >I take 1 fish oil cap a day..Omega 3 a big pill. 1 is not enough. I take 4 of the 1000 per cap variety. Steve Kramer wrote: > Here's what I get tested for and the ranges I'm told that males > my age should have > RANGE > Glucose 65 - 99 And I.P. replied: > Yup. "Sugar" = glucose. But the modern standard is <90, and "they" are > debating lowering that into the 80s. Curiousity: modern is defined as when? My labs in November 2007 still had the 65 - 99 range for glucose, serum. ___ Blue Wave/QWK v2.12 |
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