Lost 37 pounds and my blood test results got worse???

ebayaddict0127
ebayaddict0127 Posts: 523 Member
in Motivation and Support
I'm freaking out! I had slightly high cholesterol and a high c-reactive protein count in January when I got blood work done (before I started losing weight). 37 pounds later, both have jumped up quite a bit AND my white blood cell count is high. I've been STRESSED TO THE MAX... is the stress inflating my numbers? Now I'm even more stressed because I feel like I must have heart disease and be close to death....

UGH!!!

Anyone else have similar issues?

Replies

  • lsmsrbls
    lsmsrbls Posts: 232 Member
    Over the course of a year I lost 50 lbs and my exercise levels increased drastically and my LDL went from 107 to 122.

    I decided to quit eating animal products and my LDL quickly dropped to 99.
  • Jestinia
    Jestinia Posts: 1,153 Member
    Stress is toxic. Absent something else (hopefully if there is something else going on your doctor will find it), I'd assume you need to find a way to get the stress out of your life.
  • MattyFTM
    MattyFTM Posts: 68 Member
    What did the doctor say when he/she gave you the results? I'm sure they'd be able to better inform you of why you might be seeing those results than a bunch of strangers on the internet could.
  • bodiva88
    bodiva88 Posts: 308 Member
    Cholesterol is a mix of diet and genetics. For my dad, no amount of dietary restriction moved the numbers down. For me (with half my mom's genes) I had dramatic change just from reducing red meat and adding Metamucil (because even with fruits and veggies I wasn't getting sufficient fiber). I've lost nearly 60 pounds and my bad numbers came down and good numbers went up. But most dramatic changes were glucose (from borderline to very healthy) and triglycerides (from very high to low). White blood cell count can be sign of infection or other immune issue.
  • CoderGal
    CoderGal Posts: 6,800 Member
    Do you exercise? If not I'd try that. Many scholarly articles show LDL reduces with exercise. There's many people who exercise who can eat ridiculous amounts of bad foods but as far as math goes they show up fine on paper.
  • ndj1979
    ndj1979 Posts: 29,136 Member
    personally, I would be more concerned with a high white blood cell count as that would indicate some kind of infection ..

    as others pointed out, what did your doctor say when giving you these results? I would trust his/her explanation rather then a bunch of random MFP thread goers...
  • Sreneesa
    Sreneesa Posts: 1,170 Member
    I was a little shocked that my last blood test results stated I was vitamin D deficient, dehydrated, and cholesterol was a little high. Told me to go on a low fat diet and prescribed me Vitamin D pills. This was three weeks ago.

    Last blood test before then was two years ago and all came back fine. lol.... wasn't exercising back then and a little overweight as well. lol....
  • ebayaddict0127
    ebayaddict0127 Posts: 523 Member
    I'm exercising. I don't see my doctor until Wednesday. I've had high white blood cell count before and when sent to a blood specialist, they found nothing to be concerned about.

    When my c-reactive protein was high in January the doctor said we'll revisit it when I get retested in April (and now it's much higher). And my cholesterol is higher....

    And now I have to wait three days to find anything out!
  • kuolo
    kuolo Posts: 251 Member
    Cholesterol etc isn't necessarily all about what you weigh, it's about what kind of foods you eat too. My husband has always been fit/slim but has to watch his cholesterol (the same with his whole family); he had high cholesterol at the age of 33 but didn't want to go onto statins so has managed to get it down to 'normal' by cutting out butter, cheese, cakes, refined sugar, chocolate etc and adding things like oats and grapefruit into his daily diet. Also we don't eat much meat and eat a lot of veg and lentils/beans, but we've always eaten like that and he tested high even on a mainly veggie diet, so it's cutting out the fat/sugar and adding the oats and grapefruit that actually made the difference in his numbers.

    Anyway I hope you get some answers soon and things are ok.
  • wilsoje74
    wilsoje74 Posts: 1,720 Member
    What did your doctor say? I would also be more concerned with the WBC
  • Ivana_KillerBody
    Ivana_KillerBody Posts: 56
    I'm freaking out! I had slightly high cholesterol and a high c-reactive protein count in January when I got blood work done (before I started losing weight). 37 pounds later, both have jumped up quite a bit AND my white blood cell count is high. I've been STRESSED TO THE MAX... is the stress inflating my numbers? Now I'm even more stressed because I feel like I must have heart disease and be close to death....

    UGH!!!

    Anyone else have similar issues?
    Sounds like some sort of infection or inflammation.
  • FatFreeFrolicking
    FatFreeFrolicking Posts: 4,252 Member
    I'm freaking out! I had slightly high cholesterol and a high c-reactive protein count in January when I got blood work done (before I started losing weight). 37 pounds later, both have jumped up quite a bit AND my white blood cell count is high. I've been STRESSED TO THE MAX... is the stress inflating my numbers? Now I'm even more stressed because I feel like I must have heart disease and be close to death....

    UGH!!!

    Anyone else have similar issues?

    How high is your c-reactive protein count? What about WBC count? Is it only slightly elevated or very high?

    Having an elevated c-reactive protein is sometimes just linked to being overweight. Actually, being obese can skew with results. An elevated c-reactive protein also suggests inflammation in the body.

    My WBC count is always elevated but no one ever says anything about it.

    Stressing over it is going to make everything worse so do your best to stay relaxed.
  • ebayaddict0127
    ebayaddict0127 Posts: 523 Member
    C-reactive is 17
    WBC 12.32
    LDL 147
    HDL 46
    Total Cholesterol 217

    Also have high uric acid and homocysteine
  • FatFreeFrolicking
    FatFreeFrolicking Posts: 4,252 Member
    C-reactive is 17
    WBC 12.32
    LDL 147
    HDL 46
    Total Cholesterol 217

    Also have high uric acid and homocysteine

    WBC is only slightly elevated. Normal range is 3.5-10.5.

    CRP is very high though which is concerning. Certain medications/supplements can affect results of CRP test so if you take medications/supplements, make sure you let the doctor know what they are and dosage.

    Elevated uric acid can also be caused by obesity.

    Because your CRP is high and you have an elevated homocysteine (this test is rarely done because it is expensive and usually not covered by insurance), I would highly recommend getting seen by a cardiologist. It sounds to me like you may have cardiovascular issues.

    Individuals with high homocysteine levels are encouraged to take B vitamins (I'd go buy a super B complex vitamin) because insufficient amounts of these vitamins can affect the natural breakdown of homocysteine in the body.

Categories