Re: Test Results
From: Michelle (anonymous@obgyn.net)
Thu, 1 Jun 2000 17:56:14 -0500 (CDT)
OK. Here are two pages that I have found very helpful:
This page is from Fertility Plus, a great non-profit organization
started by Rebecca Smith Waddel, one of my "heros." She is a great lady
and has been working a long long time on PCOS and fertility issues
especially for large women. I urge anyone reading this to take a look
at the other things she has on her site:
http://www.fertilityplus.org/faq/hormonelevels.html
This page is part a huge FAQ about PCOS from INCIID. Very informative.
http://www.inciid.org/faq/pcos4.html#4.3
Good luck!
Michelle K. in CA
At Thu, 1 Jun 2000, Michelle wrote:
>
>I agree with Clara about the interpretation of tests being so different.
>It seems like each lab I go to has a different range of what "normal"
>is.
>
>I even got two completely different reads for fasting glucose from the
>EXACT SAME BLOOD DRAW (one was 87, then the next test was 114) The chick
>on the phone said "well, I guess we were just looking more carefully the
>second time." Hellooo??!!!
>
>If you don't have an elevated blood glucose, it just means that the
>insulin resistance has not yet progressed to the point that the insulin
>you produce can no longer process all your blood glucose. You'll need a
>fasting insulin test to determine if your body is cranking an abnormally
>high amount of insulin.
>
>If you do have elevated blood glucose, like me, it means that you are
>getting closer to being type 2 diabetic.
>
>Also, I always try to get the actual lab values--preferably a copy of
>the test results--but failing that, I get the lab values as well as the
>unit of measure they use, since some labs are different. I then compare
>my results with ranges I have found on the internet.
>
>I will find some information on these lab values and post links to them
>here in few minutes.
>
>:-)
>
>Michelle K. in CA
>
>At Thu, 1 Jun 2000, Avalos, wrote:
>>
>>well,
>>
>>first things first.... vent and rant and take a deep breath and try to
>>relax. Just because a nurse tells you that your results are in the normal
>>range (a) does not mean that is entirely so; (b) does not mean that you do
>>not have pcos; (c) does not preclude someone else from looking at your
>>symptoms & test results & giving you a different answer.
>>
>>Many of us have test results that "look" normal... I was told by the SAME
>>doctor that the SAME results were normal & two days later she called me and
>>revised her diagnosis (this is my ob-gyn)..... talk about confusion and
>>frustration! (Now, mind you, I KNEW that there was something wrong with her
>>evaluation the first time and so I really gave her my unadulterated opinion
>>of her interpretation of my results... and to her credit, she went back,
>>looked at the literature, reviewed my file & her notes, & revised her
>>evaluation!)
>>
>>Another thing, it is possible to have PCOS and to have normal test
>>results..... I think it is because the ranges that they look for are ranges
>>that have been set to screen for other types of illnesses, and if a test
>>were specifically designed for PCOS, the ranges would be different... I am
>>convinced of this. Help, is there anyone out there today who can provide a
>>clearer explanation of this... I'm trying, but since I'm not very technical,
>>it's kind of hard.... I hope I am making sense.
>>
>>Also, just because your results are normal does not mean that you can not be
>>treated with Metformin or any of the other medications that are used to
>>treat pcos....
>>
>>also, which glucose fast test did he order???? was it the 2-hour, 3-hour or
>>5-hour IGTT? while a diagnosis can be made from any of the three, I have
>>heard that the 5-hour one is the one to get, and many doctors do not ask for
>>it.... Also, they need to check insulin, not just blood sugar levels....
>>
>>Anyway, keep your spirits up and just keep asking for treatments. Sounds to
>>me like you are a candidate for treatment of this illness, regardless of the
>>test results....
>>
>>Wishing you the best,
>>
>>Clara
>>
>>-----Original Message-----
>>From: anonymous@obgyn.net [mailto:anonymous@obgyn.net
>>Sent: Thursday, June 01, 2000 2:29 PM
>>To: Multiple recipients of list PCOS
>>Subject: Test Results
>>
>>Last week I saw an rep. endo. for help with ongoing symptoms of PCOS.
>>I had a 2 hour appt with him, where he found one of my ovaries to be
>>filled with cysts. After discussing my history he said he was 99% sure
>>of the PCOS diagnosis and ordered the glucose fast test for the next am.
>>I just got a call from the nurse and was told me levels were within
>>NORMAL range. I AM DEVESTATED. How can this be? I have lived with
>>either irregular or continual periods, infertility and
>>anovulation,depression, insommnia, hirstutism, abdominal weight gain,
>>inability to lose weight, peeling fingernails. This is not a new
>>complaint. I am 43 years old and have been battling this for 20 years.
>>I cannot believe that I now have to go back to searching for reasons why
>>I feel so miserable all the time and to listening to people tell me it
>>is all in my head. I DO NOT MENSUSTRATE OUT MY NOSE OR EARS!!
>>HELP! WHAT DO I DO NOW?
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