Of lbs, LDLs and EMRs

I got the lab results from my recent annual physical this morning. I had been eagerly awaiting my cholesterol numbers since last year when my doctor warned that if I didn't bring my levels down, he would be putting me on a cholesterol-lowering medication called a statin.

The problem he told me was that I was putting on weight and my total cholesterol of 159 four years earlier had tracked the upward with the yearly addition of about 10 pounds to at 189 last year. So my New Year's resolution this year was to shed the weight and get back to a normal body-mass-index. My goal was and remains shedding a total of 25 pounds and I am half way there as of this morning.

I've changed my diet and am trying to jog and work out regularly – honestly that effort has ebbed and flowed with the amount of sleep our infant daughter is allowing me to get, but we are currently in a pretty good place. This morning my lab results were in and my total cholesterol was 178 – LDL 121, HDL 50 and triglycerides 35. That means I've dodged the statin, but I still want to get back to 159, by lowering my "bad" LDL level and raise my "good" LDL above 60.

On top of the good news from the lab results, I was really pleased with how I was able to get them. My annual check up had been pushed back a month because my doctor's office was putting in an electronic medical record.

While it meant the appointment took a little longer as my information was added into the computer, I was able to get all my test results online this morning. I logged into a secure website and clicked on a couple of buttons and voila: there were my cholesterol levels and other lab results. This afternoon my doctor's office called just to let me know the results were in and I'd done fine, everything was normal.

I feels good. And I'm ready to go for a run, 12 more pounds to lose.