Crisco blood!

[Alondro]

Well, as I feared, I've inherited the hypertriglyceridemia from my mom's side of the family.  My mom has it quite severely.  She was still thin when diagnosed (I'm currently about average healthy weight for my height and age) and had a level so high it went off the scale!  Fortunately, mine has been caught early, but still my triglycerides were already over 400 mg/dL! 

It's a good idea to have one's blood tested for the basic problem biochemicals (sugar, LDL, triglycerides) at least every other year after age 30, even when you feel healthy.  Those three can sneak off balance with little warning and by the time you feel symptoms of what they cause when chronically elevated (diabetes, atherosclerosis, pancreatitis, to name a few diseases) there's already been damage done.

In my case, a little more and I would have been at risk for pancreatitis (trig. level >500 mg/dL).   I must now go on a low-fat diet and take Tricor (also will raise my HDL, which is low due to the same dysregulation that causes the high trigs). 

On the good side, all the green tea I've been drinking has lowered my LDL to 86 (had been 141, about 40 points more than is considered in the healthy range), which is a huge drop and may save my blood vessels from problems from the high triglycerides.

If you have both very high LDL and very high triglycerides, the risk of atherosclerosis is almost 100%.

So be sure to watch your blood chemistry and catch the abnormal levels quickly!  The cost of preventing the adverse effects is wayyyy less than treating the damage once it's done.

[rabid_fox]

I don't like going to the medicine man. Which is why I still don't know why I've lost sensation in one of my toes after months.

[Alondro]

I don't like going to the medicine man. Which is why I still don't know why I've lost sensation in one of my toes after months.

Obviously we're dealing with an alien parasite slowly taking over your body.

We must amputate at once!

[llearch n'n'daCorna]

Obviously we're dealing with an alien parasite slowly taking over your body.

We must amputate at once!

... Yes, but at the neck?

[silentassassin]

No we shall use THOR'S HAMMER.  *stargate joke*

[techmaster-glitch]

Well, as you said, it's good thing this was caught early, Alondro. I sincerely hope this doesn't impact your life too negatively.

[Alondro]

Well, as you said, it's good thing this was caught early, Alondro. I sincerely hope this doesn't impact your life too negatively.

Well, I do need to cut back heavily on my lipid intake, though it wasn't that high to begin with.  No fast food EVER anymore.  Lots of fruits, veggies, high-fiber stuff.  I even have to watch starches and sugars, since this type of dyslipidemia is usually due to an overactive synthesis pathway and sugars are the raw material.

I basically need to go back to being a stick.