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Ylva
July 17th, 2019, 10:18 AM
Hey!

I guess this is indirectly related to hair. I also posted this in the Bloodwork thread, but it seems pretty quiet.

I had some bloodwork done while on a "healthy western diet" that pretty much complied with the Finnish nutritional recommendations apart from the amount of fat I was consuming. I've since changed my diet drastically (went keto-carnivore), so I wanted to get these values so that I can have a new panel done in 2-3 months and compare the results.

I don't know much about this stuff, so if anyone more knowledgeable could shed light on these results for me, I'd be very thankful indeed!

https://forums.longhaircommunity.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=37710&d=1563379585

The image should be visible to LHC members only.

lapushka
July 17th, 2019, 10:48 AM
Can't your doctor shed some light on this for you? If they say it's OK, I would not worry.

-Fern
July 17th, 2019, 11:55 AM
Look, no one should be giving you medical advice online. You should speak to your doctor, who knows you and your medical history. Context is everything when it comes to your health. :o

Estrid
July 17th, 2019, 12:25 PM
All the numbers with a * after them are slightly elevated when compared to the reference interval ("normal") that is above them. Most of them seem so slight that I doubt it's of significance, the only one that's a bit higher is the blood platelet count, which is what helps your blood clot when there's an injury.

I don't know what to make of the numbers other than that, so I second what was said above, ask your doctor :o

littlestarface
July 17th, 2019, 12:31 PM
:eye: hmm yes yes I see I see, looks all normal to me.:graduate:

FennFire911
July 17th, 2019, 12:41 PM
Your glucose is normal and staying steady. That bottom set of numbers represents the running average of what your blood sugar has been for the past 3 months. So like, if you checked your blood sugar every day for 3 months then averaged it. In the US we called that the HbA1c or just A1c. If that number goes over 6.2 (and that's measured as a percentage) then you would be considered pre-diabetic, and if that number goes over 6.5% you would be considered diabetic.

For any abnormal results it would be best to call your clinic and at least speak with a nurse who can talk to you about you. I only explained the glucose testing because so many people deal with it but it seems doctors don't explain what that test is measuring and what it means.

Sorry I couldn't be more help but hopefully that helped at least a little.

Ylva
July 17th, 2019, 01:09 PM
Can't your doctor shed some light on this for you? If they say it's OK, I would not worry.

That requires booking an appointment which would cost me money. I'd rather save that money right now because my life situation is about to change. It's not the first time that a person has posted bloodwork here and asked for help with them, I don't see why this is different.


Look, no one should be giving you medical advice online. You should speak to your doctor, who knows you and your medical history. Context is everything when it comes to your health. :o

I'm not asking for medical advice, just some clarification on what the values represent. I have no medications and I'm generally healthy.


All the numbers with a * after them are slightly elevated when compared to the reference interval ("normal") that is above them. Most of them seem so slight that I doubt it's of significance, the only one that's a bit higher is the blood platelet count, which is what helps your blood clot when there's an injury.

I don't know what to make of the numbers other than that, so I second what was said above, ask your doctor :o

Thank you! :)


:eye: hmm yes yes I see I see, looks all normal to me.:graduate:

:D


Your glucose is normal and staying steady. That bottom set of numbers represents the running average of what your blood sugar has been for the past 3 months. So like, if you checked your blood sugar every day for 3 months then averaged it. In the US we called that the HbA1c or just A1c. If that number goes over 6.2 (and that's measured as a percentage) then you would be considered pre-diabetic, and if that number goes over 6.5% you would be considered diabetic.

For any abnormal results it would be best to call your clinic and at least speak with a nurse who can talk to you about you. I only explained the glucose testing because so many people deal with it but it seems doctors don't explain what that test is measuring and what it means.

Sorry I couldn't be more help but hopefully that helped at least a little.

Thank you! :)

Panthera
July 17th, 2019, 02:23 PM
Have you been sick lately, any stomach issues or other symptoms? Elevated leukocytes and trombocytes might indicate you have or had some kind of an infection or an illness, they're not dangerously high or anything and sometimes they rise without any obvious symptoms and go back to normal after a while. Medications, allergies, asthma, smoking etc can alter the levels too. Without knowing your medical history it's hard to say if it's something you should worry about or not and should you do something about it. I'm not a doctor but I've had elevated leukocytes and other blood cell levels too, they went back to normal after a month or so. My doctor wasn't too worried but had them checked again to make sure they weren't rising. So at least it's something to keep an eye on. If I were you I would call to a health center and ask if someone could take a look at the results.

Ylva
July 17th, 2019, 02:46 PM
Have you been sick lately, any stomach issues or other symptoms? Elevated leukocytes and trombocytes might indicate you have or had some kind of an infection or an illness, they're not dangerously high or anything and sometimes they rise without any obvious symptoms and go back to normal after a while. Medications, allergies, asthma, smoking etc can alter the levels too. Without knowing your medical history it's hard to say if it's something you should worry about or not and should you do something about it. I'm not a doctor but I've had elevated leukocytes and other blood cell levels too, they went back to normal after a month or so. My doctor wasn't too worried but had them checked again to make sure they weren't rising. So at least it's something to keep an eye on. If I were you I would call to a health center and ask if someone could take a look at the results.

Thank you. :)

I have had some minor inflammatory things which are pretty common for the average person, no one would particularly care about them. I am allergic and have had a lot of allergy symptoms this spring and summer. The allergy season seemed to go on and on, although it wasn't as strong as in the spring. I don't smoke.

MusicalSpoons
July 17th, 2019, 04:11 PM
Based on the range, the bottom one is actually your fasting plasma glucose not HbA1c, just FYI. Still absolutely fine though. Your ever-so-slightly elevated haemoglobin (B- Hb) is something I could only dream of :wink: (I'm permanently on the bottom of the range or just below, whether my dr is right that it's unrelated to the debiliating fatigue is another matter entirely :hmm:) and your TSH - Thyroid Stimulating Hormone - is good. There's some debate about whether the range ought to be brought down from 4.0 to 2.5, but either way 2.6 is decent. Very low CRP indicates no systemic inflammation.

The elevated blood cell results could be from dehydration, in that you have a normal amount of cells but the general volume of blood is reduced (because of dehydration) so *relatively* it looks like you have more, or it could be something to keep an eye on - but as you're planning to repeat the tests in a few months anyway it should be fine :) Of course if you're getting any weird symptoms then it's definitely worth getting it checked before then.

FennFire911
July 17th, 2019, 04:21 PM
Based on the range, the bottom one is actually your fasting plasma glucose not HbA1c, just FYI. Still absolutely fine though. Your ever-so-slightly elevated haemoglobin (B- Hb) is something I could only dream of :wink: (I'm permanently on the bottom of the range or just below, whether my dr is right that it's unrelated to the debiliating fatigue is another matter entirely :hmm:) and your TSH - Thyroid Stimulating Hormone - is good. There's some debate about whether the range ought to be brought down from 4.0 to 2.5, but either way 2.6 is decent. Very low CRP indicates no systemic inflammation.

The elevated blood cell results could be from dehydration, in that you have a normal amount of cells but the general volume of blood is reduced (because of dehydration) so *relatively* it looks like you have more, or it could be something to keep an eye on - but as you're planning to repeat the tests in a few months anyway it should be fine :) Of course if you're getting any weird symptoms then it's definitely worth getting it checked before then.

Sooooo, her blood glucose is 4.5?


ETA:

https://www.health.harvard.edu/newsletter_article/ask-the-doctor-whats-the-difference-between-blood-sugar-and-hemoglobin-a1c

MusicalSpoons
July 17th, 2019, 04:29 PM
Sooooo, her blood glucose is 4.5?

Yup. It's in mmol/l, with that range 4.0-6.1 it's definitely blood glucose :) America uses mg/dl which is completely different, and HbA1c is measured either in mmol/mol or %
This might explain a bit better: https://www.diabetes.co.uk/images/hba1c-chart.jpg

Edit: That's less informative than I thought at first! This might better illustrate the unit differences:




Fasting blood sugar test. A blood sample will be taken after an overnight fast. A fasting blood sugar level less than 100 mg/dL (5.6 mmol/L) is normal. A fasting blood sugar level from 100 to 125 mg/dL (5.6 to 6.9 mmol/L) is considered prediabetes. If it's 126 mg/dL (7 mmol/L) or higher on two separate tests, you have diabetes.

Source https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/diabetes/diagnosis-treatment/drc-20371451

Edit 2: Also it would say HbA1c on the test name as they call it HbA1c in Finland too https://www.diabetes.fi/sv/diabetesforbundet_i_finland/om_diabetes/att_mata_blodsockret/langtidsblodsockret_hba1c ;)

FennFire911
July 17th, 2019, 04:38 PM
Yup. It's in mmol/l, with that range 4.0-6.1 it's definitely blood glucose :) America uses mg/dl which is completely different, and HbA1c is measured either in mmol/mol or %
This might explain a bit better: https://www.diabetes.co.uk/images/hba1c-chart.jpg

Edit: That's less informative than I thought at first! This might be though:


[/LIST]
Source https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/diabetes/diagnosis-treatment/drc-20371451

That's so nuts! I wonder if the leading diabetes agencies in the US and UK realize they're allowed to speak to each other and agree on common measurements. You know, for those situations where people from different countries but with the same language decide to communicate with each other.
In the US a serum glucose reading of 4.5 would be less than dead. My own HbA1c on the other hand is 4.6%.
I'm beyond speechless right now. That's mindblowing.

MusicalSpoons
July 17th, 2019, 05:01 PM
That's so nuts! I wonder if the leading diabetes agencies in the US and UK realize they're allowed to speak to each other and agree on common measurements. You know, for those situations where people from different countries but with the same language decide to communicate with each other.
In the US a serum glucose reading of 4.5 would be less than dead. My own HbA1c on the other hand is 4.6%.
I'm beyond speechless right now. That's mindblowing.

Whereas for us it's the other way round - glucose of 70 and you'd most likely be dying from ketoacidosis, and the UK tends to say a normal HbA1c is below 42. We don't tend to use the % for some reason (don't know about Finland).
It is insane, but then again you guys measure in inches, cups, and km/h and we measure in cm*, grams, and mph :rollin:
*not always. In reality we're totally mixed, but schools only teach metric not imperial.

Edit: actually according to a quick search I was wrong, your speed limits are also in mph? They seem to be much faster than ours, in that case, though I guess you do have further to travel! We do still use miles and mph, and every day most of us use imperial measurements informally but we're officially a metric country :crazyq: So bizarre.

Ylva
July 17th, 2019, 05:16 PM
I'm very happy to see that this thread could be of some general use, too. :D


Based on the range, the bottom one is actually your fasting plasma glucose not HbA1c, just FYI. Still absolutely fine though. Your ever-so-slightly elevated haemoglobin (B- Hb) is something I could only dream of :wink: (I'm permanently on the bottom of the range or just below, whether my dr is right that it's unrelated to the debiliating fatigue is another matter entirely :hmm:) and your TSH - Thyroid Stimulating Hormone - is good. There's some debate about whether the range ought to be brought down from 4.0 to 2.5, but either way 2.6 is decent. Very low CRP indicates no systemic inflammation.

The elevated blood cell results could be from dehydration, in that you have a normal amount of cells but the general volume of blood is reduced (because of dehydration) so *relatively* it looks like you have more, or it could be something to keep an eye on - but as you're planning to repeat the tests in a few months anyway it should be fine :) Of course if you're getting any weird symptoms then it's definitely worth getting it checked before then.

Thank you so much, MusicalSpoons! That's super informative!


Whereas for us it's the other way round - glucose of 70 and you'd most likely be dying from ketoacidosis, and the UK tends to say a normal HbA1c is below 42. We don't tend to use the % for some reason (don't know about Finland).
It is insane, but then again you guys measure in inches, cups, and km/h and we measure in cm*, grams, and mph :rollin:
*not always. In reality we're totally mixed, but schools only teach metric not imperial.

Edit: actually according to a quick search I was wrong, your speed limits are also in mph? They seem to be much faster than ours, in that case, though I guess you do have further to travel! We do still use miles and mph, and every day most of us use imperial measurements informally but we're officially a metric country :crazyq: So bizarre.

I always found the "cup" measurement rather funny. I always go "What size cup, though?" in my mind.

FennFire911
July 17th, 2019, 05:21 PM
Whereas for us it's the other way round - glucose of 70 and you'd most likely be dying from ketoacidosis, and the UK tends to say a normal HbA1c is below 42. We don't tend to use the % for some reason (don't know about Finland).
It is insane, but then again you guys measure in inches, cups, and km/h and we measure in cm*, grams, and mph :rollin:
*not always. In reality we're totally mixed, but schools only teach metric not imperial.

Edit: actually according to a quick search I was wrong, your speed limits are also in mph? They seem to be much faster than ours, in that case, though I guess you do have further to travel! We do still use miles and mph, and every day most of us use imperial measurements informally but we're officially a metric country :crazyq: So bizarre.

Real funny, coming from the country who measures weight in stones! :D But we measure our speed in MPH too, it's Canada that uses Km/h. I don't know who even invented cups, I'm irritated that Fahrenheit is even a thing...We have to learn both imperial and metric in school here, and then just guess which situation gets which measure.

Anyway, I guess I'd better quit hijacking the thread. No matter how you look at it, OP isn't diabetic lol

;)

Ylva
July 17th, 2019, 05:23 PM
No matter how you look at it, OP isn't diabetic lol

Fäk yes :disco: :disco: :disco:

FennFire911
July 17th, 2019, 05:24 PM
I'm very happy to see that this thread could be of some general use, too. :D


Ditto. Do you mind if I show this to DH, and to the doctor and my coworkers tomorrow at the clinic? It's just so incredible that the numbers are almost perfectly reversed!

Ylva
July 17th, 2019, 06:10 PM
Ditto. Do you mind if I show this to DH, and to the doctor and my coworkers tomorrow at the clinic? It's just so incredible that the numbers are almost perfectly reversed!

I don't mind at all!

MusicalSpoons
July 17th, 2019, 06:23 PM
Real funny, coming from the country who measures weight in stones! :D But we measure our speed in MPH too, it's Canada that uses Km/h. I don't know who even invented cups, I'm irritated that Fahrenheit is even a thing...We have to learn both imperial and metric in school here, and then just guess which situation gets which measure.

Anyway, I guess I'd better quit hijacking the thread. No matter how you look at it, OP isn't diabetic lol

;)

When I was at school we learned common, useful metric/imperial conversions, like inches-cm, pints-litres and pounds-kilos, but as far as I know they don't teach that any more (yet Roman Numerals have made a huge comeback?!?! :confused:). I think our dairy situation sums up the everyday mixed-ness though: we buy fresh milk in pints and long-life milk in litres :rollin:

(Okay no more hijacking, I swear - sorry! :couch:)

Ylva
October 11th, 2019, 07:09 AM
Here are my results 3 months later, in case someone's interested.

https://i.ibb.co/NtkL3p5/verilokakuu.jpg

LMAO @ my cholesterol, but it's not something I care about. I eat very healthily and exercise moderately. I eat a lot of animal fat - in fact, it's the only type of fat I consume. To hell with canola oil and margarine.

This blood test was taken considering suddenly onset hair loss.

barnet_fair
October 11th, 2019, 07:32 AM
Ylva, have you written about your carnivore diet in detail anywhere that you could link to? I don't want to derail this thread but I'm curious about it (considering trying something similar at some point) and perhaps it'll provide some context on any changes in your blood results.

Ylva
October 11th, 2019, 07:45 AM
Ylva, have you written about your carnivore diet in detail anywhere that you could link to? I don't want to derail this thread but I'm curious about it (considering trying something similar at some point) and perhaps it'll provide some context on any changes in your blood results.

I haven't written about it in very much detail, but that which I have written is mostly located in the Health & Body Beautiful sub-forum in this (https://forums.longhaircommunity.com/showthread.php?t=149276) and this (https://forums.longhaircommunity.com/showthread.php?t=139676) thread.

I am considering starting a YouTube channel around the subject, though.