My Blood Work.

 I'm titling this blog "My Blood Work" because it is the journey I took, and the results I received, as opposed to anyone else.  I really hate it when I blog and then those who feel that they need to correct everyone send me emails saying that I'm wrong because...and they try to explain to me why it is that my personal experience isn't what should have happened. Don't bother, I delete negative feedback. Sorry, if that seems harsh, it's not meant to be. I just don't have time for nonsense.  What happens to me happens, whether or not it fits into their bubble or box.

    I hadn't had my blood work done officially or professionally since I had my last baby, which was in 1990. (Geez, she's really old, huh?) I have gone to the hospital for surgery, and you'd think they'd run tests at that time, but they didn't. They only took blood to see if I had any infections I think.  I think they may have asked me if I was pregnant, but that would have only caused me to laugh and I was in such pain over my gall bladder, that I think they must have refrained from asking such things.

    So, last week, because I could, (and this is hilarious because I've had insurance in the past) I decided to do the whole full panel blood work thing, which also included a physical and a urine test. I opted out of the pap and mamo, I'll do that another time. I wanted to do the bloodwork because I'm about to turn 62 and hadn't ever had my cholesterol checked. I have heavy-set friends, thin friends, and average friends (and family) all saying they think I should have my numbers run to see where I am. People think if you have high cholesterol you must be overweight. This is so not true.

    My good friend who can be called "thin" if not thinner still, has extreme issues with her cholesterol. My good friend who is quite heavy does as well, but you can't go around saying that all heavy people have higher cholesterol. It's just not true. Since I hadn't had it done I thought I'd go ahead and do it. It can't hurt anything, and in fact, it can only help. If I found out my numbers were off I would know what to do to make them go back into place.  Well, here's what they found.

    My "Total" was 202.  It's supposed to be under 200, so I'm right there. Slightly over. I'll work on that.  My "good", or HDL number was 49 and it should be 50 or higher. Again, I'll work on that. My "bad", or LDL number was 140, and that's the one that needs the most work. The better levels are at 100 or lower. That's where I have to really see a difference, but it wasn't in the "danger" zone, and barely showing up in the "risk" zone. At my age, it's normal, but I prefer it to be lower if it's supposed to be lower.  They did tell me I was overweight, and I knew that. Since about January of this year, I've been adding weight; it could be because I wasn't doing as much exercise, and it could be because I've written four books since then, and spend too much time sitting down.

    Plan of action? Sure. What I found to be really interesting was the diet plan I was given is the diet plan I am currently on now. In fact, they told me to eat more beans and I'm literally cooking them for lunch now!  (Hint: soak them 48 hours before cooking them 15 hours on low in the crock pot.) I will admit that I've not been as straightforward with it as I should be, but nothing too crazy. I need to cut out the fattier meats, add more fiber, and take a Vitamin D supplement. I already use psyllium husk, but not as regularly as I did before the first of the year. I also have increased my bacon intake since January, and that's probably not the best thing. I can do turkey bacon, I'm good. Again, there was nothing too severe going on, but it was funny when I saw the diet and thought to myself, "OK, this is what I buy now, I guess I'll just stop eating bacon, maybe take the hazel nuts out of my trail mix, and walk another 1/2 mile every day."  

    I will be 100% honest. I stopped the exercise program I had last year only because I was writing. I can pick that up again. I need to lose the same 30 pounds I had to lose before, and if I can get a grip on that I can all but guarantee the numbers will fall into place. Still, I'm pretty happy with the overall results. I do drink about 100 ounces of water, lemon water, and/or cucumber water every day, so I'm pretty flushed out; this is good. My Vitamin C levels were excellent. Woot!!  I watch a lot of Perry Mason, so I guess I can exercise during that, and I can walk around the complex again. My dog will be happy - - I think. She's only good for about a mile, then she putz out on me. Damn dog.

    The bottom line is if you think you need to get your bloodwork done, do that. My heart rate was actually higher than it normally is, but I had just walked up a couple of flights of stairs and watched a few videos on the Israeli war. I can stop doing that too; not the stairs thing, that's a good thing. I normally hoover around 110/80 or 120/80 at the most, and it was 140/74, so I need to meditate more...walk the stairs instead of running them, and limit my intake of the catastrophes that are taking place around us. Good plan....good.

Photo Credit: Me.