Lab results are in
 

I went to see my doctor today for my lab results. He is the one that suggested this WOL to begin with because I am insulin resistant. Well, he said that everything looked good. My bad cholesterol is way down. My good cholesterol is up but he wants me to get it up another 10 points. My BUN was also a little high. I have been having symptoms of hair loss, feeling cold, low sex drive, and tiredness. He said something about estrogen levels and insulin resistance and put me on Glucophage and said this should all level out. Has anyone had something similar and made sense of it? I am also taking Atkins Accel, Dieter's Advantage, and Basic 3. I forgot to ask if I could still take these with the Glucophage. Any input would be appreciated.

Congrats on the good cholesterol results and that awesome weight loss.

I don't know what BUN is-but those symptoms are also indicitive of hypothroid. Has he checked you for that?

I take glucophage for Polycystic Ovarian Disease and the Insulin resistance that goes along with it (also usually indicates lipid problems). I am also hypothyroid (take synthroid). Be aware that the glucophage will give you INTENSE digestion problems to begin with (running to the bathroom with explosive you know what). Ease into it...1 pill a day for several days, then 2, and finally 3. Also, the low carb/high fat way of living also gives me stomach woes when combined with glucophage. Always take with food. Are you taking the XR or 3 X daily? Make sure your liver is checked from time to time. It is unusual, but glucophage can cause severe liver damage in some people. It should help with your weight loss and it should help your body respond to your insulin...which we lead to lower lipid levels and weight loss.

Good luck!

Elle

You BUN stands for Blood Urea Nitrogen and it pertains to kidney function. This may be from your diabetes. (I'm assuming you are diabetic if he put you on Glucophage.) Sounds like you are doing great and hopefully your results will improve even more! Congratulations!

He also suspected the thyroid and ordered the test, but the lab missed doing it. But he said that from what he could see on the lab I had that the Glucophage should help, we would try that for two months and then go from there. I am still wondering about the thyroid. He is convinced that I need to be on this medicine (he has put me on it twice before). He said that there was something about my Estrogen and being insulin resistant that could cause these symptoms, but I cannot find anything along these lines.

BUN is a waste product of the body. They monitor that and creatinine clearance to see your kidney function status. If you have elevated levels in the blood, that means your kidneys aren't working too well.

Creatinine is much much more reliable. BUN is influenced by nutritional status and is less reliable. I wouldn't worry about it if the BUN was slightly elevated and creatinine clearance was normal.

Glucophage is an anti-hyperglycemic agent. It prevent high blood sugar by decreasing the sugar your liver produces, decreasing the sugar your intestines absorb, and improving the sensitivity of your cells to insulin. It's also being used now for patients with PCO (polycystic ovary disease). I'd say he's doing it for PCO'ish hormone levels (which also involves insulin resistance somewhere in there). Not entirely sure of course, since I don't know your full history.

He put me on XR 750mg once daily. He said that I am not diabetic but have hyperinsulinism? I have been doing this WOL since 02-2003 with great results. I love my doctor but worry sometimes that he puts a "blanket" on things.

THank you for all the info!!! Could the BUN be elevated (it was only by one point to high) due to the ketones?

If you have any worries, have you considered getting a second opinion? It sounds like he is okay but personally, I think I would go ahead and get the thyroid checked. It won't hurt anything and is just a simple blood test which I'm sure you are used to.

You really do sound like you may be low on thyroid with the hair loss, tiredness,cold feeling etc. Why not push for the test. It can't hurt. I don't know much about glucophage and estrogen connection so I will look it up.

My DH is a medical technologist and he does the tests you are talking about. He says that a one point elevation in BUN is nothing to get alarmed about. Do you know what your creatinine was? He suggests that if you are just going to a regular MD you should go to an endrocronologist before starting the Glucophage. They deal with this sort of thing exclusively and as a general rule are more up to date on things. As stated in a previous post the Glucophage can have some serious side effects. There are people that use it with no problems and I am not telling you not to use it...just see a specialist if you are not already.

BTW, the ketosis would most likely not cause a problem with the BUN.

Thank you all so much!!! I just don't want to take any medicine that is not necessary. I don't think my doctor would do that to me. I just want to understand the reasons behind it.

I requested a copy of my lab results: My BUN shows a 19 (HIGH) Norma l range is 7-18, CREA 0.6 (range 0.6-1.30), BUN/CREAT 31.7 (HIGH) normal range is 10.0-15.0. Can anyone help explain the difference?

My DH said that with a low creatinine like you have he personally, would have the BUN repeated. He also said to stress to you that if they are saying you are insulin resistant, etc. that he would go to an endrocronologist and see what they have to say. This is nothing against general practicioners...there are some really good ones but get the opinion of someone that deals with this type of thing daily. The last numbers on the BUN/CREAT is just the ratio. Most of the time both BUN and CREAT will go up together...there are some things that they won't though. Again, one point above normal is nothing to go crazy about but do have it repeated and see what it says.