Five Years Watching: Status Report

I began this Blog early in 2010, so a five-year "Snapshot" is in order.

My lipid profile remains good, with borderline "low" HDL readings. Exercise is good, with a recent 44 on Polar's OwnIndex, which correlates very well with the O2Max test, the gold standard in aerobic fitness.

This result puts me in the top category for those in the 60-65 age-range. At 74 I would think this is a good reading, but they haven't included us oldsters in their table.

I have also added the Basis Peak to my collection of health gadgets. More about this later, but it can track REM sleep. Preliminary results are excellent with on-target REM results.

Weight, however, remains an issue. It is steady at about 204 without clothes. In recent years, I've gotten it down to 189, but it creeps back up.

But the "presenting" issue of the past several months has been ferritin. My GP flagged this earlier this year. He was afraid it might indicated hemochromotosis. However, the two genetic tests were negative. At least I didn't have to be "bled" as in the Middle Ages.

But the ferritin is clearly tied into the constellation of factors that caused me to embark on this health project and this blog five years ago. I needed to become more pro-active.

I've now visited a highly-recommended endocrinologist, who has researched my past lab results, interviewed me thoroughly, and has recommended a battery of tests to complete, including another round of VAP tests. I'll also have another heart scan which we can compare to the earlier one done at Orange County, so we can see whether the level of obstruction has been stable. It is even possible that it has been rolled back slightly.  My risk level was "High" in 2010 with a score of 58. See this post.

I am reminded of the issue of whether the risk level remains high even with treatment that reduces cholesterol, etc. The Orange County results implied a 20% chance of heart incident, presumably if untreated. Does it remain at 20% if treated? What are the differences in percentage between treated and untreated cases. I assume my risk remains "High" even if treated. But my GP seemed to disagree. Well, I assume he would, otherwise, what's the point of treatment? I puzzled over this earlier.

So I will head to the labs next week to see what's up. At the five year point, this is a good thing to do. It is ten years since my serious look at my lipids at the time of my prostate procedure. I'll be able to revisit my VAP results, including the "small LDL trait"  that puzzled me first time around. I'll also be able to follow up by doing another calcium heart scan and checking progression. And deal with my diet. Good to be doing this.

Looks like some attention will be paid to my liver too.

I have appointments with my GP and cardiologist upcoming as well.
Stay tuned.