Re: Test Results
From: Anne (anonymous@obgyn.net)
Wed, 27 Mar 2002 08:41:30 -0600 (CST)
Belle,
My Endo tests liver and kidney functions every three months - I vaguely
recall that the prescribing info with glucophage recommends this - at
least the kidney function.
Denise,
If you had your fasting insulin levels checked every day for a month,
I'm sure there would be some variations such as your two tests have
shown. There will also be lab variations.
Two months may not be enough time to reduce your insulin levels. Are
you exercising and eating well? Maybe you need to find the right diet
for you. There's low glycemic eg sugar busters, low carb/high protein,
and high fiber vegatarian -which is what I settled on after the low
glycemic didn't help and low carb/high protein made me ill.
As to HDL I suggest that you run some searches at medical sites, and
regular search engines to see what you can do to improve that - my
husband's was on the low side and his doctor told him to exercise to
improve it.
General search engine - http://www.google.com (the best)
Good medical site: http://www.medscape.com
Hope you feel better soon. Oh - suggest you get all copies of your
blood results from your doctor and chart them. If he is patriarical and
refuses to give you a copy, tell him that under federal law you are
entitled to them. (This also makes it easier if you decide to change
doctors.)
Anne
At Tue, 26 Mar 2002, Belle wrote:
>
>Your sugar level is normal. I can not explain why your insulin level
>went up. It could have been the last thing you had eaten or your eating
>patterns for the days before your test was taken. It could be a
>mistake, miscalibration or error by the tech. It could be due to a
>number of things. Glucophage/metformin does help your insulin levels go
>down.
>
>The reduction in the cholesterol may be related to the use of
>Glucophage. It would be better if your HDLs were higher.
>
>Glucophage is not a medication where you are required to have kidney or
>liver function tests preformed unless you have a pre-existing problem.
>If you had the blood drawn for the test, I can think of no reason why
>you would not be able to hear the results. It is probably not very
>important (not like with some other meds) but it seems that it would be
>easier to give you the numbers than to offend you.
>
>At Tue, 26 Mar 2002, Denise wrote:
>>
>>I've been on 2000mg of Metformin for two
>>months now and my doctor just told me that my insulin levels have gone
>>up from 27.8 at the beginning before met to 32. Is this normal? I
>>thought met was supposed to help your insulin levels go down? My sugar
>>level was 89. On the good side my triglycerides have dropped 19 points
>>from 198 to 179 and my LDL is 104 but HDL is 34 which it is my
>>understanding that the HDL number is not good I have read that you are
>>at greater risk for heart problems if your HDL is lower than 35, is this
>>true? As for the other parts of the blood test, ie: Liver and kidney
>>function my doctor didn't feel that it was important for me to know, is
>>that true?
>>
>>--
>>Thanks,
>>Denise
>>
>--
>Hope this helps a little,
>
>Belle
>
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