I wake up and it's a beautiful sunny day out which is nice because it's been rainy for the past few weeks. I'm a bit groggy at first until I have my my morning coffee and toast with almond butter and jam. Suddenly, I remember my lab results should be posted online. I'm anxious because I just have this feeling something isn't right with my labs. Phosphorous, OK. Magnesium, OK. Potassium...I run down the list. My cholesterol is finally down to 260 which is much better than 380. Gosh, I hate genetics. Finally, I find the red flag- my liver isn't doing so good. For a second, I panic. Why? Why now?! I've never had a problem with my liver. I text my doctor and get a long email back from him. I have a great doctor.
He tells me the AST levels do seem to be up. He also notices my white blood cell count is low and my hemoglobin levels are also low, which means I'm very near anemic levels again. Dr. White explains this could just be a "blip," since my body is going through lots of changes with veganism, exercise and weight restoration. He wants me to continue what I'm doing, cut back on the duration of exercise by 30-40% (does he really expect me to do the math here?), and we'll watch my labs.
I sigh with relief. I'll be okay. That's all I want to know.
It's so freaky reading about your liver results because it gives me deja vu! Your results are almost exactly identical to mine from my lab tests back in January, only I was anemic to the point of not being able to function at all (which sucked massively because I had to stop my volunteer work and Christmas was an unfestive blur). It's taking a while, but it's slowly being corrected; my liver is slowly getting back to functioning level. I'm glad yours did not get down to that point! Hang in there <3
ReplyDeleteI don't know if you've been experiencing any janudice or not...I was horribly yellow-almost-green in skin tone with a disgusting yellow discoloration around my mouth, but it's slowly going away as well.
I'm glad everything else came out okay! The resiliency of our bodies despite our years of abuse should serve as a prime motivator to treat ourselves much better!
One thing I found is that my cholesterol levels normalized as I stopped purging and my diet somewhat normalized. It is common for cholesterol to be somewhat high with purging and anoreia. Regardless of your genetics, this may continue to come down as you continue your new healthy diet! I am glad other levels are somewhat normal. I think alot of us struggle with anemia. I have. It can be such a drain on energy! I hope this gets better for you! I am glad things are getting better for you and you had a good day with your friends!
ReplyDeleteI can completely empathize with labs drama. I felt like I was eating so much better and everything, but my labs still came back terrible. Just hang in there and know that you're not alone. You are such an inspiration to me!!
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