I am a male 48 years old, so I was 86 kgs in Aug 2018 and now I am 68 kgs…Have moved from size 36 jeans to 30 being loose for me now. I feel energetic and doing so much better…my acidity and BP issues are sorted out and I feel great. I am also regular with my walks and doing even better at my work. I was diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes in Aug 2018 and I stumbled into Keto, IF and HIIT initially to reverse the Type 2 Diabetes and all the other benefits were incidental ( at least at first) . However my spouse , parents etc have been worried that this is not good for me and warn me of dangers. So far I have resisted going for a blood test to even check the Type 2 Diabetes…have not felt the need…or am I scared that some tests may show something I may get worried about…procrastination on my part perhaps but have kept postponing the blood test…now I think I will get one done in the next 2 to 3 days just to assure my loved ones that all health markers are fine. But for some reason i am a bit scared (honestly). Would love to hear from others in the forum about what i could expect in the test results and any particular tests I should do.
Going for a blood test first time after 8 months in Keto
If you have been in ketosis since August, then your metabolic numbers should all look good by now. At three months, people’s test results are usually concerning (to the doctors, anyway), but by six months, everything should be within the normal range.
One possible exception is your lipid panel. If you are what Dave Feldman calls a lean mass hyper-responder, your triglycerides and your LDL-C and LDL-P may be high enough to concern your doctor. If so, the first thing to check is the ratio of triglycerides to HDL. [The following sentence has been corrected:] If the values are expressed in mg/dL, then a ratio of 2.0 or under is a good indicator of cardiovascular health, if expressed in mmol/L, 0.9 or under is excellent. You can ask for an NMR analysis of your LDL particle sizes, but a good trig/HDL ratio makes that practically superfluous.
At any rate if your cholesterol numbers are of concern, go to Dave’s Web site, www.cholesterolcode.com, and see if you qualify as one of his lean mass hyper-responders. Because if you do, there is a protocol for how to eat during the week before the blood draw to get the numbers to look acceptable to your physician. You could ask for a re-test, do the protocol, and get your doctor to stop worrying.
In any case, if your doctor makes noises about prescribing a statin, just smile and don’t fill the prescription. If you enjoy confrontation, you can refuse to his face, of course. The standard of care requires your doctor to advise taking a statin, but you are not obliged to actually take it (for myself, the side effects would preclude my taking such a drug; I also find the evidence for the “lipid hypothesis” of cardiovascular risk to be seriously lacking).
For a direct measure of your cardiovascular condition, ask for a CAC (coronary artery calcium) scan, but in most jurisdictions, insurance won’t pay for it and many doctors won’t order it in any case. I’m sure that’s because it’s the one test that actually measures your level of disease and provides an accurate assessment of your future risk.
Be sure also that your physician, in addition to testing your fasting glucose and insulin, also orders an HbA1C test. That is a measure of the glycation of your hemoglobin and a pretty good marker for your level of insulin resistance. Given how long you’ve been ketotic, it should be at a pretty good level.
It’s up to you whether you wish to discuss your ketogenic diet with your physician or not. Just be advised that Dr. Berry believes it takes around 100 keto patients before most doctors will become willing to check the diet out. It’s no fun being one of the first 99, but without them, the doctor won’t come round. I suppose it just depends on how confrontational you are comfortable with being. I went to my first visit with my current physician prepared to to battle, and when I mentioned being on a ketogenic diet, all he said was, “Oh, good!” It was something of an anticlimax, actually, lol!
Thanks Paul for such a detailed response…will keep you updated on my test results
Paul, got my first lab test results post starting my IF and High Fat diet…I am no longer pre diabetic and Cholestrol levels are that of a 20 year old:grinning:
your msg helped me go ahead and get the test done
