let's get PHYSICAL!

[nolly]

Back from the second part of the physical. Overall cholesterol is OK,but good cholesterol is low, so the ratio is bad. They are of the opinion that I need to lose ~50 pounds. I am of the philosophy that I will keep biking and doing yoga and eating reasonably well, and let my body be the weight it wants to be. They also suspect wacked out hormonal stuff -- the woman doing the exam asked if I was losing hair (I do shed a lot) and said my hairline/hair pattern appeared more typical of a male. So more blood drawn to test for weird endocrine stuff, plus I'll have an appointment later with my PCP to track the chronic borderline anemia I'm prone to. I take a multivitamin with plenty of iron, and eat things with iron, but still barely make the cut off for giving blood, and don't always. But overall, nothing really major or unexpected.

Comments

[mactavish.livejournal.com]

My doctor never mentioned weight loss, when my bad cholesterol levels came back a little high. I'd told her, at one point, that I went through recovery from an eating disorder years ago. At this point, I could lose as much as 60 lbs and still be at a healthy weight. In response to my cholesterol, she just said, "Less animal fat, less saturated fat, eat more fruits and veggies if you can, exercise more if you can."

Mind you, this is from the same doctor who said, "Cool!" when I told her about my sex life.

[figmo.livejournal.com]

You need to lose 50 lbs???!?

Where the hell would you get it from? Would there be anything other than bone left?

[nolly.livejournal.com]

Exactly. I don't think I've weighed my so-called "ideal weight" since sometime in junior high, when I wasn't done growing. So I don't take that too seriously, and if that's the worst they have to say, I think I'm doing great!

[firecat]

That's what I was thinking too.

[lizw.livejournal.com]

They are of the opinion that I need to lose ~50 pounds. I am of the philosophy that I will keep biking and doing yoga and eating reasonably well, and let my body be the weight it wants to be.

*applause*

PCOS?

[lenniersd.livejournal.com]

The questions about hair make me wonder if they're thinking they need to look for PCOS (PolyCystic Ovarian Syndrome) -- though the symptoms there are more about being hirsute than losing hair. Still, if it's not something they've looked at, maybe they should -- it seems to be commonly associated with higher than "ideal" weights. BTW, *bigapplause* on your reaction to their declaration that you "should" lose a certain amount.

Re: PCOS?

[nolly.livejournal.com]

Because of the high number of women I know who've gotten that diagnosis in the past couple of years, I've done some reading on it. I do have some of the signs, but I'm definitely not a textbook case. We'll see what the blood tests show. I know my blood sugar levels test normal; I don't know if they've checked insulin levels yet.