Conflicting diagnosis from two doctors re diabetes and high cholesterol.?
Diabetes Diagnosis Add comments
One doctor says I am diabetic and that my cholesterol is under control. The other one says I am pre-diabetic and should be taking a higher dosage of Zocor because my cholesterol is high. How do I determine who to believe? My blood tests are available to both doctors.
I am 70 years old, eating a proper diet (most of the time). I guess what I should have asked is how doctors determine the dosage of Zocor for a patient. One says 20 mg the other says 40 mg.
Get copies of both blood work results. You have paid for them and are entitled to them. Most labs have the "satisfactory" ranges for each item on the results page. You can google for the definition of each of the lines on the results page.
If doctor #1 says you are diabetic, and doctor #2 says you are Pre diabetic, find out what the A1c number actually is.
I would much rather be labeled diabetic. Insurance and medicare will pay for all testing supplies and if necessary the meds. They will also pay for your referal to dietician and to Certified Diabetes Educator and Diabetes Education classes. These are all very expensive except some of the meds.
I thought for years that I was eating healthy!! I taught foods and nutrition to children!! I lived, ate, and taught the food pyramid!!! Now I find that if I lop off the bottom layer of the food pyramid, lay off potatoes, carrots, peas, corn, dried beans, I can control my glucose levels much better.
Cholesterol meds do not lower cholesterol very much at all!!! Neither does eating fewer cholesterol containing foods. Maybe the statins do help with preventing kidney damage,
Loosing weight, tight control of glucose levels, and more exercise do work wonders in lowering Cholesterol.
Maybe you should go see a third doctor? This one an Endocrinologist?? At preferably a teaching hospital!!
November 6th, 2009 at 11:02 am
To me it would simply mean taking control of your own health. What are the #’s? Meaning what is the number they are showing for your sugar levels? And what are the numbers for your cholesterol? Once you have this information YOU should be better able to know what is what. They can tell you what normal ranges are, or you can look up what is considered normal for your age and weight. (not sure what that is, so I won’t try to guess). Seriously…educate yourself in these matters and stop leaving everything to someone else. They are here to assist of course, but after all it is your body and your health.
References :
self – master herbalist/life coach – http://www.Root2Health.com
November 6th, 2009 at 11:08 am
Diabetes is progressive, so there is a stage between non diabetic and diabetic that is ‘grey’. Following a good diet that a diabetic should follow can slow the onset of full diabetes in a prediabetic person.
Recent research shows that diabetics (who are at greater risk of cardiovascular disease) benefit from takin statins even if their cholesterol levels are normal. So even if your blood sugar count is on the high side and your cholesterol level is slightly raised you would probably benefit from taking the statins.
References :
November 6th, 2009 at 11:31 am
are the test results available to YOU to see to judge for yourself?
"I" would tell them to show it to me!!!!
References :
November 6th, 2009 at 11:57 am
Get copies of both blood work results. You have paid for them and are entitled to them. Most labs have the "satisfactory" ranges for each item on the results page. You can google for the definition of each of the lines on the results page.
If doctor #1 says you are diabetic, and doctor #2 says you are Pre diabetic, find out what the A1c number actually is.
I would much rather be labeled diabetic. Insurance and medicare will pay for all testing supplies and if necessary the meds. They will also pay for your referal to dietician and to Certified Diabetes Educator and Diabetes Education classes. These are all very expensive except some of the meds.
I thought for years that I was eating healthy!! I taught foods and nutrition to children!! I lived, ate, and taught the food pyramid!!! Now I find that if I lop off the bottom layer of the food pyramid, lay off potatoes, carrots, peas, corn, dried beans, I can control my glucose levels much better.
Cholesterol meds do not lower cholesterol very much at all!!! Neither does eating fewer cholesterol containing foods. Maybe the statins do help with preventing kidney damage,
Loosing weight, tight control of glucose levels, and more exercise do work wonders in lowering Cholesterol.
Maybe you should go see a third doctor? This one an Endocrinologist?? At preferably a teaching hospital!!
References :