I'm sorry to have been AWOL again for the last couple of weeks but have been struggling with health/life issues. I thought I would just pop on here with a quick update ....
Health:
The lovely lady Doctor I saw a few weeks ago had commissioned another round of blood tests. This time quite extensive tests, and they threw another spanner in the works. I have insufficient vitamin D levels in my blood. With our UK weather I'm not entirely surprised, but quite shocked at the very low levels I actually have. I was informed by text message 😕to begin taking 1000 ug of D3 a day ( which I could buy from a pharmacy) as well as my B12 supplement......
On Monday of this week I spoke to the GP as she is concerned about my high cholesterol levels too. Blimey 6.9 is really far too high 😨......
So....I am on a mission to sort myself out. As well as taking my supplements I have bought myself a cheap smartwatch to record my daily steps and track my sleep patterns, and I am aiming to get a little natural sunlight on my skin every day. Today, Saturday, I have donned shorts and T shirt and got into the garden for half an hour, deadheading the daffs and tidying up. I've washed the bistro table and chairs and have sat drinking my tea and eating my banana in the sunshine! 😇
I refuse to give in and get old and frail by default.
I am ON A MISSION!
I will need repeat blood tests in July and hope to have improved things for myself by then or I will need statins and I'm not sure about those at all.
Have you ever had your vitamin D levels checked?
Are you on statins?
-----------
Life Issues:
Briefly... son in law has still not been offered a job, my lovely daughter has health issues and so does my beautiful granddaughter. Gray is still waiting for a hospital appointment for injections in his neck too. We have had a family bereavement recently too.
It never rains but it pours...
-----------
Take care everyone. Stay safe and well wherever you happen to be,
Angie 💗
I've had high cholesterol since I was 19, slim and healthy, you can get good and bad cholesterol, I had more good, kept everything at bay until my 50's, I take stations, only low dosage, I now eat butter and whole milk, my doctor told me I need to to help my bones. Hope things improve for you all soon.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Marlene, and thank you for sharing your own experience.
DeleteThank you for comment on my blog, goodness, you have had a lot going on, no wonder you've not been blogging.
ReplyDeleteI had no idea that low Vit D levels could cause all those problems . I really really hope that adding it and getting some sunshine will help for you.
No one has asked me about cholesterol lately and I'm avoiding statins but like you I have the drink thing and the spread and hope that helps. I've been taking Vit D supplement through the last two winters just in case.
Hope your son in law gets a job offer soon - it must be so discouraging and depressing.
Take care.
Yes, vitamin D deficiency can certainly creep up on a person in the UK. You are obviously doing the right thing Sue.
DeleteThank you for the good wishes for son in law.
You've a lot going on! Yes, I was diagnosed with low Vit. D levels and have been on prescription strength supplements for the past several years. I had high cholesterol levels, too, and was on medications, including statins. I was taken off the statins after some time and my doctor would like me to go off the one cholesterol medication I am on now, but, when I went off it, my blood pressure shot up, so I am back on it, taking a lower dosage.
ReplyDeleteGosh, Bless, its a job juggling meds and health issues isnt it 😒
DeleteI was prescribed but D some years ago and it really made a significant difference. I hope it does for you too. My high cholesterol is a familial thing, most of my relatives suffer with this problem, whatever their diet or fitness levels.
ReplyDeleteI know that it could take 3 months before my levels are back to normal so it won't be a quick fix, but I really hope D3 will do the trick. I read about familial high cholesterol. As far as I know I'm not in that category but years ago it wasn't the done thing to get tested so I cant be sure.
DeleteSorry to hear of your health problems. It is now known that low vitamin D is found in many people. Doorstep milk helped to boost our intake at one time and we spent more time outdoors. The researchers are still uncovering a lot of things and are finding that type 2 diabetes, high cholesterol, high blood pressure and dementia are very linked. One of the general links are the changes in our microbiome and a poor microbiome can have significant impact on our health. I recently had a microbiome test and I had an overload of one of the bad bacterias. I have been working to resolve this by eating more of the foods with helpful bacteria like lettuce, cucumber and other dark green veg and lowering my carb intake.
ReplyDeleteThere is a lot of information on the Internet, but be careful. Dr's Kitchen is good and reliable, Dr William Li, Dr Chattergee, Dr David Unwin and the Zoe team also. All on you tube or have websites and either scientists or GPs. Be careful not to find the AI spoof ones though. Good luck and I am sure the vit D will help.x
Thank you so much for your comment and all the helpful tips. I do try to eat healthily but it seems harder the older I get. I will certainly look at some of the things you mentioned in your comment 😀 I need all the help I can get!
DeleteI am so sorry about your health and family issues. I hope all your efforts regarding your health start to work quickly. Cholesterol problems can be genetic so even if your diet is low cholesterol there can still be a problem. I was put on statins after I had a spinal infarction 7 years ago and I have no problem taking them. I hope your daughter and granddaughter are soon better and that your son-in-law finds a job. Worrying times, as you say it never rains but it pours. Thinking of you. Regards Sue H
ReplyDeleteThanks so much for your good wishes Sue. And thank you for sharing your own experience 😊
DeleteHave a good week x
Sorry for your health problems and the family troubles. I have to take 1000 units of Vit. D because of my bone loss (along with Calcium). I do take a statin for my cholesterol, but that seems to keep it under control and exercise does help as well.
ReplyDeleteGod bless.
Thank you for sharing your experience, Jackie, it seems like many people are experiencing low Vit D problems. I hope your back is easier this week too
DeleteOh gosh, you have really been through it, so it's good to see you back. I was put on high dose vitamin D when I was diagnosed with osteoporosis five years ago. It seems that everyone in the UK should be taking at least an over the counter vit D table, especially in the winter months, our sunshine levels are just not sufficient. The doctor asks me about starting on statins every year at my annual review as my cholesterol is slightly raised, but they are something I would never touch.
ReplyDeleteI think that sitting in the garden, in the sunshine drinking tea and eating your banana sounds like the perfect medicine.
'Tablet' not 'table'. :-)
DeleteVitamin D deficiency is something I never thought about as we spend a lot of time at the allotment in the summer. Now I HAVE given it some thought I realise that i wear jeans and long sleeves so as not to get bitten!! I think a high dose supplement will have to be a permanent addition to my diet. Osteoporosis is something which worries me. I know how much you have suffered in the past Sue.
ReplyDelete