My lab results are back!

 REPOST from former blog My Type 2 Diabetic Life ©

May 2, 2020

After my appointment with Dr. Folb on April 13th, I got a call the next day about my lab results.  She told me that she would mail a copy of the full results, so that I could look at them.  

The good thing, she told me, was that the copy she would be mailing me would have not only the current results, but the previous results, so that we can begin to see where my body is going. 

My lab results are in!
Image: My Type 2 Diabetic Life © 

When I have bloodwork, Dr. Folb has told me there's no need to fast.  She wants to see where I am on a normal day – and most people don't fast all the time, so she wants to see what my levels are when I am myself.  

Last week I got the much anticipated letter in the mail with my lab results.  I was nervous and excited to open them.  So here are my results:

Tested	Result 1/17/20	Result 4/13/20	Range
Glucose	99	97	60-100 mg/dL
Hgb A1C	6.2	5.6	5.4 (Dr. Folb’s goal for me)
Blood Sugar	126	107	105 fasting  140 after meal (Dr. Folb’s goal for me)
Total Cholesterol	186	192	140-200 mg/dL
Triglycerides	186	210	<150 mg/dL
HDL (good)	34	36	>40 mg/dL
LDL (bad)	115	114	60-130 mg/dL

My Type 2 Diabetic Life ©

There were many other test results, but these are the areas where we focused our conversation when I went for my visit on April 13th.  

On the bottom of the results, Dr. Folb wrote me a note that said:

“Jan here are some copies of labs.  Great job… See you in July. L Folb”

That was so exciting to receive.  First of all, I had NEVER had a doctor to write me a personal note like that for my lab work.  Not even a nurse.  

But to have my doctor call me a couple of days after the appointment and tell me my labs, then mail me a copy with a personal note acknowledging my hard work – it really did validate that I am working hard, and I’m all in when it comes to healing my body. 

This all started with a visit to an internal medicine doctor on November 13, 2019, when my A1C results were 8.1 – and 5 months later, I am 5.6. 

So even though some of my results might not be perfect or in a “normal” range, Dr. Folb was very encouraging.  Most importantly – my Type 2 Diabetes is now under control with diet and exercise!  

I will be a Type 2 Diabetic for the rest of my life – but now I have to continue to watch my diet, and to exercise.  Both of which are key factors in not relapsing back into out of control diabetes.  

I told Dr. Folb that I was concerned about the HDL not being where it should be.  She told me that hopefully as I continue to exercise and eat clean, that hopefully that could return to normal levels – I’m close… just not there yet.  

She said that it could also be just genetic and I may not be able to ever get it back to that “normal” range.  But overall, my total cholesterol levels are much better than they have been in the past.  

I am very ready for this COVID19 stuff to end.  I’m ready for the gym to open back up so that we can get back to our workout routine.   It’s time to get back to normal – but at the same time, I am a little nervous.  

I do know that a healthy body is more able to fight off illness than an unhealthy one – so I’m looking forward to going back to the gym soon!

Thanks for stopping by to read my blog.  I hope that you’ll subscribe – top right corner of the page if on a desktop, and bottom of the post if using a mobile device.  

In the meantime, continue with your social distancing, live well, and be well!   

*Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links.

The Gym Is My Jam

REPOST from former blog My Type 2 Diabetic Life ©

January 25, 2020

Image: My Type 2 Diabetic Life ©

As I continued my reading and researching of what I should be doing to lower my blood sugar and my A1C, there were three things that continued to stand out:  DIET (what I’m eating), WATER, and EXERCISE.  

My new endocrinologist told me that regular exercise will increase my insulin sensitivity, causing my insulin to better use the glucose in my bloodstream not only during the workout, but afterwards, too, and regular exercise will help to lower my A1C over time.

Exercise helps a Type 2 diabetic not just lower their blood sugar level, but it also helps to decrease the risk of heart disease complications that could result from diabetes.  The Harvard Medical School has a great article that has helped me to understand a lot of the “why” it’s important for diabetics (me) to exercise.  

Back when we lived near the Houston Medical Center (“inside the loop” as Houstonians say), we lived across the street from the YMCA.  We walked across the street multiple times a week, to work out.  When we moved to the suburbs about 10 years ago, we didn’t keep that habit up.  

After I received my recent T2 diagnosis, and we had time to process the idea that my life (our life) needed change, we decided that we needed to join one of the gyms near our house.  We asked neighbors and friends, and I asked my hair stylist. (You know, if you ever need to know anything, your stylist is going to be the one who is in the know – Steel Magnolias!)  We ended up joining one of the two gyms that is closest to us, which also happened to be the one that my stylist goes to, also. 😁  

We made the commitment to go to the gym 5 days a week – that is every Monday through Friday.  So we grab our earbuds and make sure we’ve got some good tunes to listen to during our workout. (Tunes are very important!)  We rest our bodies on the weekend – well sort of.  We also run all of our errands and such over the weekends.

I had forgotten how much I enjoy going to the gym.  We spend anywhere from 2 to 3 hours each day that we go.  I spend 1 hour on the treadmill, and the rest of the time doing weight training.  And the weight training… well let’s just say I’m not talking about lifting a 5 pound dumbbell.  I have worked my way up to 70 pounds of resistance on the ab machine (crunches), and I’m pulling 70 lbs on the lat machine, as well.  80 pounds on the leg press machine, and 80 on some kind of machine that I call the “thigh master.”  I do 16 count reps, and repeat it 4 – 6 times, depending on what machine I’m using.  Sometimes we use YouTube to find workout regimen ideas.  One guy that we follow on YouTube is Chris Heria.  Click on his name to see some cool workout videos.  

Of course my sweet husband puts me to shame when he does his 150 pounds on the leg press, and lifts 125 pounds over his head with the bar, not to mention all the other awesome lifts he makes. 

I had a video of my sweet husband, but for some reason it won’t upload. I’ll work on it. 😩

Each day before we go work out, we eat a light lunch or snack, to fuel our workouts.  We eat about 1 hour before we go to the gym.  At first it was really hard to get motivated to go, and the time seemed to just drag on while we were there.  But now that we are starting our 3rd month of working out, the time really flies by.  We’ve met lots of really cool people, too.   

Together, we have lost a combined weight of over 25 pounds!  We both have also noticed that we are sleeping better.  I think it may be a combination of more healthy eating, weight loss, and working out.  This gym thing has become a permanent part of our lifestyle, it’s very enjoyable, and a great thing to do together as a couple.  

Everyone is different, so talk to your doctor and listen to your body about what kind of workouts are good (and safe) for you.

Thanks for stopping by to read the blog.  I would love for you to subscribe and follow along, as I document my journey. If you have questions or comments, please post them in the comments section below.