My Mot.

I did say I would let you know when the results from my MOT were in well they arrived yesterday ..

The figures in brackets are the desired norm or range for a woman.

in 2012 my results were.

BP 123/75
HB 8.5 ( 7.5-9.5)
bloodsugar 5.7 ( <7.1)
total cholesterol 4.4 ( <6.5)
HDL good cholestrol 1.1 (>1.0)
LDL 2.8 (<4.5)
triglyceriden 1.54(<2.0)

Now 3 years on

Bp 125/81
bloodsugar 5.5
total cholestrol 4.7
HDL 1.2
LDL 3.1
trigliceriden 1.85

Now I know they are not bad figures and all under the norms but my BMI is still high although lower than 3 years ago ..

What gets me is that since feb 2014 when OH had his heart attack we have increase fruit and veg consumption, cut our cheese intake,cut our meat portions, junk food is almost zero, I make my own bread, we have carefully lowered salt and sugar intake and use a nasty non melty low fat 'good cholestrol ' plant based spread in place of butter or marg.

So how do I explain the rise in fats and LDL?

I dont know. But I am not prepared to cut even more Im not a diet person never have been never will be so Im not about to give up even more than we have.

I do feel let down by the results though, Ive worked really hard with OH this last year to try to follow all the advice of the cardiac rehab people who said fat salt and sugar are the enemy..

Re: My Mot.

Morning Cass,
They look like very good figures to me. I'm not a Doctor, but I also had a Heart Attack in April last year, so I'm careful with what I eat. If you ever visited my 'Robert's Bits' page you will know that I have been a runner all my life, but It didn't stop me from having two Heart Attacks though. [but it might have altered the outcome] so, like you, I've done a lot of reading and research.
Cholesterol readings are a bit like weight, they vary on a daily basis, so a small rise in your LDL is not a reason for concern, and the food you eat is not the whole story, there are other factors that determine the amount of good and bad cholesterol in your blood.
Did you fast before taking the blood test? Very important in a cholesterol reading.
So keep up the good work, and good luck.

Re: My Mot.

Hi Cass - don't be down gal - you are on the right track and stress will only make matters worse.
Have you tried plant sterols, they are very good for lowering cholesterol ...

Re: My Mot.

I know I shouldnt moan they are not bad results but I think it shows that even with diet changes things can stilll rise..

If stress is a factor then my levels should be through the roof so I know Im lucky..

All the bloods are done after fasting I had to be there at 8am and had nothing to eat after 7pm or drink after 10 pm the night before.
I think its a good thing to be on this reserch programm though because otherwise I really wouldnt know what was going on.. My Gp is very lazy about these things.

Re: My Mot.

Exactly - it will affect the results - need some calming measures now ........

Re: My Mot.

Patsy makes a good point Cass, stress is known to raise LDL and lower HDL and it should be the other way round. Concerning cholesterol, I've just purchased a book that tells you all you need to know about cholesterol it's called 'Cut Your Cholesterol' by Doctor Sarah Brewer, [ISBN 978-1-84724-728-5] It's certainly the best description of cholesterol that I've read.

Re: My Mot.

Thanks for the tips OGF and yours too Patsy.. I will look into them.

OH is in for another operation on monday but I heard yesterday his mum had been admitted to hospital with a chest infection (shes 87) and on a liquid diet..
Then last night my mum phoned and she was being rushed to hospital with a suspected detatched retina..

With all that Im surprised its not through the roof..


But Id like to ask if anyone else gets an MOT from their GP what it entails and if their GPs are more proactive than mine?

He has never even suggested keeping tabs on OH's cholesterol after the heart attack and a request for a 24 sugar curve test for OH made 6 weeks ago by the dementia clinic has gone unanswered (they said we would get a letter confirming an appointment).. I have to get onto them next week to see if I can get them moving.

How does your Gp measure up against this? Or is this sort of thing normal nowadays?

Re: My Mot.

You will always find GPs vary Cass
You could change your GP within the surgery, do you know of one that is better that you have heard about ?

Re: My Mot.

When cholesterol checks first came out my readings were toward the top of the healthy range, then they changed the ranges so my readings came in the borderline bad range.

In order to reduce the cholesterol levels my doctor gave me two lists of food - one list of food that I could eat and one list of food that I should avoid. Every food stuff I liked was on the 'Avoid' list and every piece of food I loathed was on the 'must have' list.

To solve the problem I told him never to do a cholesterol test again - this has given the excellent result that cholesterol has not been a problem for me for at least 8 years.

Re: My Mot.

In our area there is a sort of agreement between Gps that they will not accept people just shifting about from one surgery to another .

within the practice Im now at there is a young man who did seem more helpful when it came to OH's knee so if and when I need to go again I might try to see him.

I just hear a lot about Gps providing health clinics and helping people help themselves and ours just doesnt,,so I wondered how other people find thier practice in this area of health care.