Know your numbers

I have been passionate about this topic for decades! It is absolutely not okay to seek medical attention or have routine blood work and be told over the phone by a nurse that “everything is fine”, or that “your sugar is a little high”. An educated patient is one who is armed with vital data to which a life-style change, if in order, can be monitored for efficacy.

I urge you to request written copies of all lab results and tests. Keep these results in a file or scan them into your computer. You can have great fun being the subject of your own safe investigations. If your cholesterol ratio is not in a healthy range you might consider dietary modification and more exercise. Have your blood evaluated again to determine whether or not the changes had a life-saving impact. If not, then you and your medical practitioner should together plan the next step in your treatment protocol which may include medications along with your positive life-style changes.

What Numbers Should You Know?

• Blood pressure
• Blood glucose (sugar) level
• Cholesterol – this should include a total lipid profile that differentiates between high and low-density lipoproteins (cholesterol) as well as fat levels in the blood (triglycerides)
• For African American men over 40 and white males over 50 – prostate specific antigen/ cancer screening (PSA)
• Bone Density to screen for osteoporosis

Debbie Hellmann