I’m still alive and kicking, and until I’m not, I’m going to keep on doing what I do. I’m not saying what I do is anything special, but I will get it while I can. Take yesterday, for example:
I tested high (above the normal range) in FBS, cholesterol, uric acid, GGT, mean corpuscular volume, eosinophil, and basophil. My red blood cells were below normal. I have no idea what all that means, but I hope to find out tomorrow afternoon when I pay a visit to Dr. Jo. I’m mostly concerned about the FBS (hexokinase)–my 6.35 reading (the normal range is 3.89-5.49) places me in the “pre-diabetic” category. My mother was diabetic during the final years of her life, and I definitely don’t want to go there. It will be interesting to discover what lifestyle changes may await me.
I also did my usual grocery shopping excursion.
I’m ordering a new laptop through my pal Jim’s good graces (it will be shipped from the USA via his brother). My current keyboard is reluctant to type “o” and “l,” making writing even more challenging. I stopped by Jim’s place to see the model he’s going to order; then, we went out for some beers at Cheap Charlies and the Annex Bar.
When my hunger overwhelmed my thirst, I said farewell and headed up the highway to John’s place.
Since I was practically right across the street from Hideaway, I decided to pop in and give Joy a surprise. I was the day’s first customer, and you could sense how desperate the girls were for lady drink commissions something to drink. I obliged by ringing the bell (buying everyone a drink), something I rarely do, but seeing as how I was the first best customer, I felt a sense of duty to do so. (damn, there were a lot of “o’s” in that sentence.)
A bit later, Joy said she was hungry, so I sent one of the girls out to get some rice and chicken. Of course, I’ll also be back tonight for the regular Wednesday feeding. I’m just glad I’m healthy enough to go out on these drinking excursions missions of mercy. Nothing lasts forever, so I’d better grab the opportunities while I can!
Via Facebook memories, here’s a bit of humor I’ve shared in the past:
Man: Haven’t I seen you someplace before?
Woman: Yes, that’s why I don’t go there anymore.
Man: Is this seat empty?
Woman: Yes, and this one will be if you sit down.
Man: Your place or mine?
Woman: Both. You go to yours, and I’ll go to mine.
Man: So, what do you do for a living?
Woman: I’m a female impersonator.
Man: Hey baby, what’s your sign?
Woman: Do not enter.
Man: How do you like your eggs in the morning?
Woman: Unfertilized.
Man: Your body is like a temple.
Woman: Sorry, there are no services today.
Man: I would go to the end of the world for you.
Woman: But would you stay there?
Man: If I could see you naked, I’d die happy.
Woman: If I saw you naked, I’d probably die laughing
Sounds about right. That’s why the bars pay girls to sit with guys like me.
It will be interesting to discover what lifestyle changes may await me.
Just cut down on carbs. If you refuse to do that with beer, then do it with food. More leafy salads, fewer bready sandwiches and breaded fried foods. You almost never seem to eat pasta, so I guess that’s not a huge concern for you. Watch out about desserts like pie, brownies, and ice cream. If you eat those things X days per week, try eating them X – 1 days per week. Avoid snacking between meals. Every time you snack, you spike your insulin, and insulin is a fat-storing hormone. The object of the game is to minimize insulin spikes by minimizing frequency of eating (which is why intermittent fasting is so popular).
The paper is using terminology I don’t normally see, but yeah, your fasting blood sugar is a bit high at 114.43 (it should be under 99). If that 6.35 number is your A1c (glycated hemoglobin, a 3-month average), then yeah, that’s actually in the diabetic range, and it’s a better marker to go by than your FBS because your FBS can vary from hour to hour. Cholesterol looks a bit high, but not alarmingly so. Triglycerides (good indicator for stroke) are looking great.
All in all, you seem to have some slightly high numbers in some areas, but nothing to have nightmares about. Do work on your carb consumption to get your A1c down. If you want to cheat a little with your fasting blood sugar, don’t eat for 24-48 hours before your doctor’s appointment. Water only. That will temporarily depress your FBS. Of course, it is cheating to do that.
Because FBS varies so much, it is useful for one thing: figuring out your level of insulin resistance. The goal is to be insulin-sensitive, i.e., your body reacts quickly to an infusion of insulin, which lowers blood sugar. If your body doesn’t react quickly to the presence of insulin, you’re insulin-resistant (as I am), which isn’t a good thing (it means you need more insulin than normal to push down your blood sugar, which in turn means you end up storing more fat). Focusing on your FBS and testing yourself over the course of about two hours, test yourself once right before eating, then 30 minutes after eating, then 1 hour later, then 2 hours later. For most normal folks, your blood sugar should be more or less back to normal after 2 hours. For insulin-resistant folks, the blood sugar remains a bit high after two hours. You’ll need a home-testing kit to figure this out, of course, which involves the annoying but relatively painless act of finger-pricking and using a blood-glucose monitor to measure your blood sugar. Up to you whether you choose to invest in that. I pretty much had no choice.
Good luck with your docs. I’ll be curious to read about their interpretation of your results. (I’d be happy to have some of your numbers, frankly.)
Wow! Thanks for the insights, advice, and guidance Kevin. Or should I say, Dr. Kim?
I admit I’ve gotten a tad lazy when it comes to maintaining a healthy diet. Looks like it is past time to get back with the program. The desserts will be the hardest thing to let go.
I’m kind of at the stage in my life where I will have to weigh lifestyle changes against their impact on quality of life. Not to be overly dramatic, but what’s the point of living if the things you enjoy most are verboten? I guess I need to embrace the “everything in moderation” mindset going forward.
I really hope those pricks you mention aren’t a part of my future, but I guess if they help avoid even worse consequences it’s worth the effort.
I’ll keep you updated on what I find out.
That pulled pork and fries looks dreadful and all the food in your previous post that we’re supposed to yum yum after looks like if 9 year olds were asked to cater a funeral. Seriously, and don’t take this sacrosanctly, what is it with you Americans and that childish addiction to saturated fats and orange food? Stop it all and those numbers will improve and you can still enjoy a nice booze fade as per. And that ‘have to weigh against quality of life” shit is a direct quite from a book entitled ‘Fuck YOU Mom, I’ll do what I LIKE!’
How about weighing up the worth of making wholesale changes that include significant and regular infusions of garlic, leafy greens, quality fish and meat just once a day, mushrooms, tomatoes etc etc all the time against the fun of enjoying your fries sedentarily from a wheelchair? Seriously, you’ve got the time. Fast and eat intelligently.
Dr Kim above is only half right about cheating your blood numbers with pre appointment fasting. Do it regularly and you’ll be legitimately defeating thise numbers.
Regular readers want only healthgevity for you. Get to it.
Look I was harsh. My apologies. But surely if you’re picking your vices booze trumps food every day and twice on Sundays? When a man insists on having to vice its then that he has chosen to pick a fight with St Peter. Even Trump forgoes the drink so that he can tell lies. He also drops plenty of dead on truth bombs, which is only what I was attempting in my previous contribution to history.
*two vices
Dan, no problem with the truth as you see it and no apologies necessary. Let it rip!
Dan, your comment brought back memories of some of those talks I got from my dad when I misbehaved back in the day. Sometimes followed by him removing his belt and saying “this is gonna hurt me more than you” (I don’t think it did).
Anyway, harsh but fair and there is wisdom in your words. My docs agree there are some lifestyle changes in order, and diet is at the top of the list.
I’m motivated, let’s hope that I have the self-discipline to make it happen!