tomgreen

😀 you do know that those are areas where sick people congregate .😀 Tom .

Many thanks , One thing that made be worry is this …. Chronic kidney disease (CKD) can be diagnosed with blood and urine tests. In many cases, CKD is only found when a routine blood or urine test you have for another problem shows that your kidneys may not be working normally. So some one may not realize that they in fact have a kidney problem ( no symptoms ) until they have a blood test done . Tom .

Thanks , the interesting part is ..... Since it isn't an actual test they never provide a high or low for it. I learn some thing new every day 👍 Tom .

Thanks for your comment , its appreciated . I'm looking forward to loosing some weight and receiving more encouraging future blood test results. As some one who has never spent a night in any hospital and currently has no medical symptoms and feels fine , I'm wondering what the future may have held if I had '' NOT '' decided to have any blood tests done at all . Would having '' NO'' blood tests done , may be reduced the high stress and anxiety I now find my self under , because I did decided to have a blood test done in the first place. I have expat friends here in Thailand around the same age as my self , and some of those friends have not had a blood test for over 10 years . Tom .

Thanks Ive already made some diet changes and a home tread mill should be on its way , Its crossed my mind if there may come a time later on in life ( 74 years of age ) when you think to your self , look enough is enough and like you say , let life take its natural course . Tom .

Thanks Sheryl. I think on the first blood test I could have been dehydrated , but on the following tests , due to the hot weather I have been drinking a lot more water through out each day . My Thai wife enquired about making an appointment to see Dr. Watanyu Parapiboon at Maharat , and there’s a very long waiting list . Would you happen to know of another nephrologist in the Korat area that may be a possibility . Alternatively my next scheduled blood test appointment is at Suranaree University of Technology (SUT) Hospital in Korat on the 28th of May 2024, and while at that blood test appointment , I could discuss the subject of seeing a nephrologist . My concern is waiting that length of time ( until the 28th of May 2024 ) to possibly arrange to see a nephrologist and if waiting that length of time would be a wise decision or not . Tom .

Hi and thanks for your comment . I was some how hoping that the blood test I had to day ( 11 March 2024 ) was an indicator that my creatinine number was not too high Vs my blood test results on 5th of March 2024 . Tom .

Thanks Sheryl On the 5th of March 2024 Blood test I did fast for 12 hours before the blood test as instructed by the hospital doctor, on to days blood test test I did not fast at all before the blood test , I'm a little confused with the results , have I got this right . It seems to suggest that a blood test can give you 2 different results , depending if the patient fasted before the blood test or not. So which blood test ( 5th of March 2024 ) Vs ( 11th of March 2024 ) would I assume to show the correct and more reliable results for the BUN / Creatinine numbers. Tom .

So after Sheryl’s recommendation today I had another blood test , but this time only for the following areas... 1. BUN 2. Creatnine 3. Sodium 4. Potassium The blood test cost 300 Baht and took 30 minuets to receive the test results . While sitting in the waiting room waiting for the blood test results I was thinking to my self that after seeing the blood test results from the 5th of March 2024 , which showed both high BUN and Creatnine test result numbers , todays new blood test results will only go to confirm that my BUN and Creatnine test results are going to also show high numbers. I was surprised to see that my BUN and Creatnine test results numbers on todays new blood test were both showing different lower numbers, and both the Sodium and Potassium numbers showed to be in a normal range I'm now not sure what to think 😒 Tom .

My wife told last night that her cousin purchased a new home treadmill 6 months ago , but the cousin had a motorbike accident and now cannot use that home treadmill , so I'm going to take a look at it in a few days and if it looks ok I will buy it and start using it in my home. Tom . .

Thanks , I'm going to check that book out 👍 Tom .

Hi , thanks for the advice , which most of it I’m now following , one thing that I’m finding difficult to do would be the daily aerobic exercise . My stumbling block is a combination of high ambient temperature ( its just too hot ) and at 74 years old my over all stamina and enthusiasm for doing any things too physical is on the decline . I’m hoping that my new diet will not only lead to better cholesterol numbers , but loosing some weight as well. Tom .

Just out of curiosity has any one purchased / used one of these home test units. Tom .

Thanks , the reason I asked is that a good expat friend ( 69 years old ) who lives here also underwent heart bypass surgery a few years ago , before the surgery he never really bothered about his diet and his physical exercising mainly consisted of lifting up a large bottle of Chang beer. A few weeks after his surgery I had a chat with him and of course brought up the subject about him having the bypass surgery . I was expecting him to tell me that he would now be looking at his diet and doing some sort of physical exercising . To my surprise he seemed to not be that worried about changing his diet and certainly not buying a home tread mill and doing some physical exercising . I did then say some thing like , look you have been given a warning and thankfully you are still here and aren't you worried . He just smiled and said that life is for living and its not his time to go . I often still meet up with that friend at a local bar and its not unusual to see him with a smile on his face as he asks for his 3rd big bottle of Chang beer. Tom .

Thanks , In what ways did having the heart bypass change your life , may be your diet or physical exercising , how about mentally or religiously . Tom .

Can I ask your age when you had your bypass surgery , and your age now. Tom .

First a big thank you to every one for your comments , recommendations and suggestions , they are much appreciated. While researching the subject of lowering high cholesterol numbers Ive seen the words herbs and supplements used. So I’m wondering if any one here has taken supplement or herbs to help lower their cholesterol numbers and if so did taking them help in any way . Tom .

Thanks for your comment . So after 20 years , what made you start taking statins ? Tom .

Thanks for your comment. Thats an interesting point of view , so if taking medicine to lower cholesterol is not recommended , then life style changes would be the only other option , Tom .

Hi , its interesting that you bring up drinking alcohol and the use of statins. Personally I don’t drink alcohol , but I do know other expat friends here who are also taking statins to lower their Cholesterol numbers and they have continued to drink alcohol on a daily basis . If fact one friend I recently talked to , who is also taking Atorvastatin and drinking alcohol on a regular basis, made the comment that as long as his Cholesterol numbers are being controlled and lowered by taking Atorvastatin , then its perfectly ok for him to continue his daily Chang beer drinking routine . Tom .

I had to Google ….. Familial hypercholesterolemia Familial hypercholesterolemia is a disorder that is passed down through families. It causes LDL (bad) cholesterol level to be very high. The condition begins at birth and can cause heart attacks at an early age. What are the signs and symptoms of familial hypercholesterolemia? These physical signs of FH occur when extra cholesterol builds up in different parts of the body: Bumps or lumps around your knees, knuckles, or elbows. Swollen or painful Achilles tendon. Yellowish areas around your eyes. I’m sorry you have to deal with this , it just amazes me what can go wrong with the human body. Tom .

I never realized about Cholesterol seems to be produced mostly during sleep . I learn some thing new every day . Tom .

Thats good news about not having stents put in . Ive seen a few articles about aspirin being good to take to reduce the risk of blood clots forming / heart attacks. Tom .

Hi and thanks for your comment. One area that I'm having a problem is where you say .... Find out where the problem is, sort it out and you’ll get normal LDL levels By that do you possibly mean the problem may be due to a poor diet . Also I would love to know how one can get their body into a state of homeostasis . Tom .

So have I got this in the right order . There you were, you had been taking statins for high cholesterol years , you had an annual physical exam that included a CAC scan and the results of that CAC scan were very high . You don’t drink alcohol or smoke and you exercise and are not over weight along with normal blood pressure . You eat a healthy diet . So after having the CAC scan and finding out that the results were very high , what action did you take . Tom .