Episode 23: Is Your Lab Work Lying to You? And What Your Doctor Might Be Missing

If you’ve ever gone to your doctor because you can feel something is off, only to be told everything looks fine, this is the conversation you need to hear to know how to advocate for yourself.  

Because lab reference ranges are built on population averages, which means they include a lot of people who aren't feeling great either. So, being told everything is "normal" when it's sitting at the high end of the range is very different from it being optimized.

And your hormones, thyroid, blood sugar, and nutrient levels can shift significantly in a matter of months during perimenopause. Waiting a full year to catch something that's been dragging you down for six months is too long. Regular labs give you a moving picture, not just a snapshot.

A standard panel barely scratches the surface. Here's what we recommend:

• Fasting insulin — not just blood sugar or A1C. Insulin resistance can show up years before glucose numbers move.
• Ferritin — not just hemoglobin. You can be iron-deficient with "normal" iron levels if ferritin is low.
• Vitamin D (25-OH) — most women in midlife are low, and it affects everything from mood to metabolism to immune function.
• Full thyroid panel — TSH, Free T3, Free T4, and thyroid antibodies (TPO and TgAb). A TSH alone misses a lot.
• Full cholesterol panel — not just total cholesterol, but LDL, HDL, triglycerides, and ideally LDL particle size (small, dense LDL is far more concerning than LDL number alone). This matters especially in perimenopause when estrogen decline directly impacts cardiovascular risk.
• hs-CRP (high-sensitivity C-reactive protein) — a marker of inflammation that can signal cardiovascular risk and metabolic dysfunction long before other numbers shift.
• Homocysteine — linked to cardiovascular health and often overlooked.
• DHEA-S and testosterone — yes, women need testosterone, and yes, it tanks in perimenopause.
• Estradiol, progesterone, and FSH — especially if you're trying to understand where you are in the hormonal transition.
• Cortisol (fasting AM) — because chronic stress and adrenal function matter and affect everything else on this list.

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Transcript

SPEAKER_01 0:00

Well we've got we're here on a Saturday. Yes, different day. Different day.

SPEAKER_00 0:05

Which actually works out well. So me too.

SPEAKER_01 0:08

I got a full day. Well, today, but tomorrow, so and Sundays, I just really like to keep nothing on the calendar. I don't know about you. It's like I need one sacred day.

SPEAKER_00 0:19

No, I agree. And I already have a standing phone call with a friend of mine every Sunday. I we probably have missed over the past gosh, at least three years now that we've been doing it. Maybe five total, maybe a little bit more than that. So that feels like something that I kind of have to commit to. And the timing is flexible, but yeah, other than that, and I'm always doing some type of type of work, whether it's creating content, writing emails, doing something. But yeah, to not have to be anywhere does feel nice. Yes. For one day.

unknown 0:54

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 0:54

If you want to switch to Saturdays, I well, honestly, now that like school's out too, we could do in the middle of the week. It's just that my weeks have been ridiculously chaotic. I I honestly feels like Saturday every day. I'm always like, wait, what day is it? And then I'm like panicking. Like this morning I woke up and was like, oh my god, is it Sunday? Because I didn't do my private podcast episode. No, it's Saturday. Like that's I just wake up kind of like untethered because I don't have like a regular schedule except to do a little work for myself, go see my mom, then take care of grandma. So yeah, that's every day.

SPEAKER_00 1:34

Yeah, that's understandable. I mean, we yeah, we have a lot, a lot going on during the movie. I do too, right? I'm running all over uh all over the place with in-person clients, you know, the dog sitting that I'm doing pretty much every day at this point. So I've got an interesting story about that, by the way. Let's hear it. Oh my gosh. So it's a new house, and ironically, this woman was the Spanish teacher at the high school that I went to when I was there. Okay. And she's a referral from one of my in-person clients. And my client said, Oh, you're gonna love her. She's this little blonde thing, she's smaller than you, she has such great energy. Tiny energy. Yeah, I know. She's like uh I'm five foot two. She's probably like five feet, if that. Um, but yeah, the tiny little thing. And she texted me. This is probably gosh, two months ago, and said I was referred from a bond. My name is, you know, I'm not gonna give her away her name away. And I didn't really think anything of it. And then I went to do the meet and greet a couple of months ago, and she opens the door, and immediately I was like, Where do I know this woman from?

SPEAKER_01 2:50

Oh no.

SPEAKER_00 2:50

And I said it to her. I said, I know you from somewhere, but I for the life of me cannot figure it out. And she said, Oh, we'll get to talking and it'll come to you. So, sure enough, a couple months or a couple minutes later, I'm like, Mrs. Siebel, like you were the Spanish teacher. So she wasn't my Spanish teacher, but I just remember her because everyone loved her so much. And anyway, so she got married when I was a senior, changed her name, which is why I didn't recognize her name when she texted me. But I started the job on Wednesday, and I texted her when I got there because she left for the airport at four in the morning. And I texted her when I got there and said, you know, everything's good. Send her a picture of the dog and asked her how her flight was. And she said, Well, I fell flat on my face at the airport, and I hurt my elbow and my knee. I'm so embarrassed. They had to bring a wheelchair. At that point, I wouldn't have even gotten on the plane. I was like, if I and she said that she was in so much pain, and I'd be like, you know what? This is just a sign that I should not be going. I mean, could you imagine she was going to Kentucky, but being in a different state and you needed, you know, medical intervention or whatever? So she decided to go. And for some reason, I thought that she was with her daughter and they were just going, the two of them, staying at a hotel. But no, she was going on a tour with a bunch of other people. So she was at the airport with a friend of hers, thankfully. But as soon as she got there, she had to go to the hospital. So I texted her and I just said, Hey, like, how are you doing? And she said, I'm at the hospital waiting for the doctor. That was at eight o'clock on Thursday night. And then on Friday morning, she texts me saying, I'm waiting to figure out if I need surgery. I didn't hear from her the rest of the day. So I called her this morning and she answers. And I think that she's kind of like drugged up on pain meds, but she called me Marilyn. I said, Oh, it's it's Marcy, you know. So finally, yeah. So she became like a little bit more coherent, but this poor woman, yeah, she's like, Well, I think my tour guide or excuse me, my tour group left without me. And I said, Your tour group? I thought you were with your daughter. And she said, No, I'm with a tour group. So here, this poor woman, she's 77 years old. Wow. In Kentucky, with she had a friend, but her friend's not there in the hospital, not really knowing what's going on. Is she gonna need surgery? How long does she have to stay? I feel so bad for her. Does that mean this job might go longer? I think so. She's like, uh, I might need to be here for seven more days. So she was supposed to come back on Friday. So at this point, who knows? Are you you're not you're at your house right now, no? Or I'm at my house. Okay, I was gonna say just because I had a client to train uh earlier this morning, and so I came back here, and then I'll go back to the house right after this. Yeah. Yeah. So I just feel so bad for her. Yeah.

unknown 5:52

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 5:53

Yeah. And it it was funny because not funny, but uh, she had texted me maybe a couple weeks ago. She's like, oh, by the way, I want you to write me a strength training program to do at home. And I was like, Yeah, no problem, I can do that. So I went over to her house last week just so she could show me everything that she needed to do. And she gives me these five-pound dumbbells and she's like, This is what I have. I'm like, okay, well, we can start there, but we're gonna need to get you some heavier ones as well. Oh, and you need to buy a workout bench. And she's like, send me the link. So she's I sent her the link. She had it ordered, and it got delivered a couple of days ago, and she messaged me saying, you're probably gonna have to set it up for me. I'm like, no, probably not gonna have to do that right now.

SPEAKER_01 6:35

Are you not handy with uh setting things or like uh putting things together or uh no?

SPEAKER_00 6:40

I'm not really that handy, but I mean, I'm sure I could figure it out. It's more so like is she gonna be able to use it? Because she's got this elbow injury. This I mean, it sounds like what my mom did two years ago when she fell in the garage on the concrete. So this woman was at SFO, and the the flooring there is very similar to concrete. So she said, like, I fell on my patella, and like that's a I didn't want to tell her, like, oh, that's exactly what happened to my mom. Luckily, she didn't have to have surgery, she was in the cast for or excuse me, um, a brace and crutches for six weeks. So it's gonna be interesting. Wow, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 7:19

Anyway, good luck to her. Good luck to her. Yeah. All right. Well, today I mean, we can go, we're gonna go a lot, probably a lot of different angles here. We're gonna let the conversation go where it may, but we want to talk labs. Yeah. And uh, yeah, the good, the bad, and everything in between. Do you wanna start us off?

SPEAKER_00 7:45

Or uh oh, I guess I can start us off. So I I've talked very openly on this podcast that I've struggled with health issues since I was in my early 20s. I got diagnosed with an autoimmune disease at 21, and then things just kind of progressively got worse from there. So I have been through the ringer when it comes to figuring out exactly what was going on. Um, you know, what was the eventually I wanted to figure out what was the root cause of this, not just put a band-aid on a bullet wound, which Western medicine is so good at doing. And I'll never forget this was probably when I was, oh, I don't know, 25, 26. And I had been going to multiple doctors at that point, and I had a new general practitioner. She was a lovely woman, and she did some labs. They noticed like my liver enzymes were really high. So she sent me for an ultrasound. She's like, you know, are you a drinker? And I was like, no, this makes no sense. So my liver ended up being fine, and then she really couldn't figure out what the issue was. So she sent me on my way a year later. I'm still not feeling well. So I go back. She runs more blood work, and I'll never forget, I was sitting in her office and she hands me a business card and she says, I'm gonna refer you to a hematologist. For those who don't know, it's a blood cancer doctor. And I said, Excuse me. She's like, Well, I noticed last year when you were here and we ran labs that your platelets were a little low and they're still that way. So I am concerned that this could be developing into leukemia, lymphoma. I mean, I lost my ever-loving mind, not on her, but I was like, You're just now doing something about this. Yeah. So and I get it, you know, this is what they do. Oh, let's keep an eye on it. But she didn't tell me come back in three months or six months. She just sent me on my way, even though things were not looking good.

SPEAKER_01 9:41

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 9:42

So luckily, I listened to my intuition, went back. Anyway, um, I did end up going to the hematologist, and I was seen by her for probably six months, I would say, and then eventually got the clean bill of health. And that's when I said, I am done with this. I'm gonna figure out like what really is going on. And I started to go down more of the functional medicine route. And ever since then, you know, I've worked with practitioners, coaches, whatever you want to call them. And I have done very extensive lab work for the past gosh, 15 plus years.

SPEAKER_01 10:17

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 10:18

Um, and once I started working with Vince in 2019, I mean, my health turned around very quickly. And ever since then, I felt pretty good, except for when I had that flare of my immune base issues or whatever exactly it was. I'm still not entirely sure. About three years ago, and I gained 15 pounds, like I mean, within a month or two, even though I had not changed anything, the bloating came back. So something was definitely going on. And then I went on a protocol to address that. Everything ended up being fine. I felt so much better. And really, since then, I've been feeling pretty good. I mean, I get more recently like a little bit more fatigue, but I'm also just doing so much throughout the day, right? You know, running around and, you know, I train really hard, I do a lot of cardio, I'm in perimenopause. So like it would make sense that maybe my, you know, I my sleep's terrible. Like that's my worst symptom at this point, is my sleep. And if you were to look at my labs, it makes perfect sense because my cortisol is through the roof. So trying to figure out why that is. Um, anyway, I'm saying this because I take impeccable care of myself. I have for a very long time. I have not drank alcohol since I was in my mid-20s. I eat very well, I exercise every day. Um, so yeah, aside from the sleep issue, which is for no fault of my own, I'm doing everything right. I feel pretty good when so many women our age are complaining about all these symptoms that they're experiencing, like I really don't have many of them. So, had it not been for my prior experience with ill health, not feeling well, and then making sure that I do keep an eye on everything because I want to be healthy and live a long time and be free of disease, like I am gonna get things checked every, you know, at least six months, if not sooner. I did also go on HRT through like a telehealth company, ooh, towards the end of last year, and it didn't do anything for me. It did not help with my sleep. Uh, I got labs run after the fact and it showed that I wasn't even absorbing it. So I was like, I'm not gonna stay on this if it's not doing anything. So I went off. Um, and then now I'm thinking, okay, just for you know, preventative purposes and whatnot, I should get back on. That's why I had these extensive labs done a couple of weeks ago. And I know better than to try to read my own blood work, but I made the mistake and I am going down the rabbit hole because things are not good. And there are certain things that have, you know, been off for years, and everyone's like, oh, you know, it's fine. And even though I do work with functional practitioners, so they have more optimal ranges. Whereas if you're going through Western medicine doctors, they're gonna say that anything that's in range is fine. And I'm like, well, I don't want to be fine, I want to be optimal. And what most people don't understand is that the labs that you are getting through a doctor are based on a sick population. So, like, what are we comparing here? So, again, I want to make sure things are optimal. That's why I choose to go with the functional lab ranges, and there is quite a bit that is out of range. My cholesterol is very high, like my good cholesterol is high, but my LDL is also high. And then my APOB, which is like the really damaging cholesterol, that is high. So I'm over here just scare chitless. I'm gonna be perfectly honest. And granted, I know that I have a family history of heart disease, so some of this can be hereditary. I've had hypothyroidism for a long time. My sex hormones are low. And unfortunately, all this work that I've done on myself, whether it's working with practitioners, taking the supplements, making changes to my lifestyle, it really hasn't moved the needle, which is incredibly frustrating. So, you know, I think the reason that my cholesterol is high is for is multiple at this point, but I gotta get this figured out. So I'm definitely in my head. But where I'm going with all this is had I not had that previous experience, had I not been making an effort to get labs run, I would think everything was good under the hood. I'm taking good care of myself, I don't have many symptoms. Why do I need to have blood work done? Well, thank God that I did, because now I see that there's a lot that still needs to be addressed. And if I don't address it, like I could have a heart attack. You know? So anyway, and I will say it's kind of embarrassing and almost like shameful to admit this because it's like, well, you're the fitness coach, you're the or the you know, nutrition fitness coach, you're the one who's practicing or who's preaching the importance of taking good care of your body, of eating well. And it's like, I'm doing all of that, and here I am. But I recently read an email from a woman who is also, I guess, a functional practitioner and her ferrison is really low, which I am seeing uh uh in so many women these days. And she also was saying, like, I'm kind of embarrassed to admit it. Like, I'm the one who is supposed to know exactly what to do. I'm the one who's supposed to be in great health, and here I am, but uh I think the good perspective is uh what would it like again? No one is perfect, right? And we can do everything right, but still have certain cards stacked against us that are out of our control, and unfortunately, lifestyle and supplementation can't really, you know, dig ourselves out of. Um, but what would it be had I not been taking care of myself, God forbid.

SPEAKER_01 16:26

Right. Yeah. I mean, that's this is why that baseline is so important, right? To at least have that piece and then build from there. But I I just think there's a great lesson in there in terms of like one, I think a lot of us as health coaches, nutrition coaches, whatever we call ourselves, um we go into this because of our own experiences. So we're already dealing with, you know, issues. And I just think across the board, everybody has something that they're kind of um not nailing in terms of their health. Now, obviously, like if you have no, you're taking no precautions, you're not doing any, you know, there's no intentions around eating healthier, living a healthier lifestyle. Yeah, you are obviously going to be more at risk for um, you know, a health issue, condition, um all cause mortality goes up, right? But as coaches, I don't think that I get it. I would, you know, I would definitely feel the same way. I'm gonna be getting my labs done soon too, so we'll see. I don't know where my labs are right now. Um, there's this expectation, oh, that we're nailing it and that it's perfect. But no, a lot of us are coming out of like, hey, we had this health thing, and so it's driven us down this road of like learning and experimenting and finding, you know, what works for us. So I think it's helpful actually for you to share your story to be like, look, I have this, this, and that, and I am doing all these things, which also means genetics and like the I think we talked a little bit about this last um episode about how I've changed my mind on like fat loss because I now recognize how multifactorial um fat loss is. And that's the same for your health, right? It's not just one thing, it's not just sleep, it's not just food, it's not just exercise. And even beyond those basics, there are other things beyond our control, um, or just again, things just coming into in a combination that puts you at risk, right? I mean, you and I had kind of a lengthy conversation before we hit record, just on, you know, where we're and like you have a lot on your plate. I mean, and I think for you, and I can do this for myself too, you are acclimated to it, the level of stress that you're under. I mean, you just lost your dad. That alone is a huge, it's like one of those like um life-altering stress points. It's like divorce, buying a home, getting married, losing a significant other or you know, significant person in your life, like a parent. That alters you, and I think it alters your brain. I think it alters, you know, yeah physically, but also like on the back end of that is that you have been grieving dealing with your dad for years. So there's an accumulation. So, anyways, all that to say, like all that has, I'm sure, a place in your health, right? And who knows? It's probably not what it okay. So I tell clients all the time, it's never one thing. We're never gonna just fix one thing and then it's all gonna be perfect, you know? It's a lot of little things and those things coming together, and that's never gonna be perfect, which means you're you're gonna go through seasons of like, oh, well, now my cholesterol, I need to deal with that, or you know, and again, I don't think that it's as simple as, oh, well, let's just let's just have you on a low-fat diet, or let's just, you know, give you omega-3s, or that's not gonna probably be the answer. It might be part of so right anyway.

SPEAKER_00 19:58

I think it's a great conversation to say this is very nuanced, and it is well, and I I appreciate you saying all that, and I understand that stress plays such a role, and you and I have talked on this podcast that I am I think both of us are, I'm the master at compartmentalizing and just whatever I'm going through from a personal standpoint. I don't want to say I stuck it down because I certainly allow myself to feel the feelings, but I don't let it paralyze me to the point where I stop moving.

unknown 20:34

Right.

SPEAKER_00 20:34

And when I say moving, I don't mean just like physically moving. Like, yes, that too. Trying I'm I'm gonna keep getting my workouts in, going for my walks, eating well, trying to sleep as well as I can. I'm going to keep the business going. So it's not like, oh, all the stuff is going on around me and I can't function. No, I have no choice but to. And I don't have a lot of I have some support, you know, but right now the main support system I have is my mom because she's the one who's closest by. But I feel guilty going to her because of everything that she was going through. So I was kind of being the emotional support system for her. And yes, like I would talk to her about stuff as well. Um, but I don't have someone, I don't have a partner who can help bear the load of the day-to-day responsibilities. So that is stressful in itself. Um, being, you know, a solopreneur who doesn't have a salary and benefits and all of that, like, yeah, everything falls on me. So that is incredibly stressful. And I think there's always a little bit of health anxiety in the back of my mind, even when I feel good, because I know of these genetic issues that I deal with and seen with. What's going on with my dad? So yeah, like is that gonna happen to me too? I think that's just always gonna be at the forefront. I shouldn't say at the forefront, but like it's gonna be there. And even that level of rumination or stress can really have an impact on your system. So it all makes sense. And yeah, just because I'm really good at holding it doesn't mean that my body isn't experiencing the burden, even if I can't always feel it.

SPEAKER_01 22:30

Absolutely. Yeah. It's uh interesting you say uh that because my sister is a nurse and she just had surgery, it was nothing major. Um, but she her level of like anxiety going into that was pretty high. Now, one, because she has children now, I think that has altered a lot of how she um looks at risk because I think as a mother, your biggest fear is leaving your children, right? So there's that. Um, but she's also a nurse and she's like, I just know all the things that can go wrong. And so it's kind of the same thing here with you and I being, you know, in in the health space, is like we know all the things that can go wrong. We know, we understand the the weight of some of our choices, and so that just brings this level of anxiety and stress that I I think most people don't have because they they don't understand, they don't get it, they don't have the impact. You know, it's like my sister who has worked in an OR has worked in what's uh called a step-down ICU. So they're not quite as severe, but she sees what happens, you know, and I'm getting a huge look behind the curtain in my mom's care, like just being at the hospital. I I told her the other day, I was like, I am way too familiar with this hospital. Everybody on the floor knows me. Like I get there, get off the elevator, and I've got somebody like, hey, you know, like, oh my god, they know us, you know. Um, but anyway, all that to say, like once you get really familiar and start seeing behind the curtain, so to speak, it's anxiety inducing. So for us, yeah, understanding the impact that some of this stuff has makes it harder. And you don't get to just be like, ah, I saw my cholesterol's raised or whatever. I mean, I think in your case, like the APOB, that's definitely something to be concerned about. Um, over, you know, I would look at that over your just your cholesterol numbers because that tells us more about your risk, right?

SPEAKER_00 24:26

So anyway, yeah, yeah. So we'll see. I have an assessment on Monday, actually, two. So one girl is going to do the lab review in depth and give me suggestions for supplementation, nutrition, lifestyle that I can start putting into place to hopefully address this. And the reason that I wanted to have the labs run and the review done with her is because she is definitely a proponent of the fact that just because you have perimenopausal symptoms or your hormones are low doesn't mean that you are necessarily a good candidate for HRT. And if your metabolic health is a mess, if your gut, if your liver is not functioning optimally, then adding hormones is kind of adding gasoline to the fire. So you're going to be even more puffy and inflamed if you're not if your gut is not able to recycle those hormones, then you know, they're gonna get recirculated and that's gonna cause issues. So I wanted to make sure am I even a candidate for this? But you know, it's it goes far beyond hormones at this point, and you know, what else can I do to deal with the um I mean it's low thyroid, it's what else? Um, low sex hormones, high cholesterol. You know, my glucose is a little bit higher than I would want. Again, like that functional range. So I'm not pre-diabetic by any means, but I would want it, you know, a point or two lower. Um and it's interesting because I had labs done in the beginning of the year because I had that like cancer scare. I can't remember if I talked about this on the podcast. So I went to my general practitioner at Kaiser for that. And my glucose was better, my cholesterol had come down. It was like, do they have the right blood? Because this is pretty wild. And so just within a matter of from February to now, my A1C went at 0.2, so from 5.1 to 5.3, and my cholesterol had dropped, you know, below 200 and is now back above 200. I was like, what is going on here? And and again, like you and I were talking offline, like, yes, I lost my dad. That is the most stressful thing that I could have gone through. But I I feel like it was very different because it wasn't sudden. And I I was I've been preparing myself for a very long time. So if anything, it felt like more of a relief in a sense. Um, but again, body keeps the score. So I'm sure that I am processing, you know, a trauma of sorts, a trauma that we've been going through for five years at the at this point. And yeah, maybe that's just driving a level of stress that I don't necessarily feel.

SPEAKER_01 27:16

Yeah. Body is so complex and so complex. I think what everything you're saying right now kind of reminded me of like the idea that it's just never one thing, which also means like you're talking about HRT. Yeah, that's not gonna be a fix-all for everybody because that's just one piece of your puzzle, you know. Like, yes, naturally, as you go through perimenopause, and then once you're postmenopause, sex hormones are gonna be low. That's how it's supposed to happen. But while that incurs a certain level of consequence, so does your lifestyle um behaviors, your stress levels. Like, I mean, there's so many other things that are impacting that. And yeah, if you're a mess internally, just giving you you giving you back the sex hormones you're missing is not the fix. I mean, could it help? Sure, but like we also need to address any other compounding issues besides just aging and like losing those, right?

SPEAKER_00 28:16

So yeah, yeah, I just I mean go ahead. Oh, I was just gonna say it's kind of akin to going on a prescription but not addressing the root cause. Yeah. So it's putting a bandit on a bullet wound.

SPEAKER_01 28:29

I mean, it's people who and I know people have very um wide opinions on statins, but they're life-saving for some people. But at the same time, I'm like, hey, but you also need the behavior change with it. Otherwise, you will just be on those statins forever, right? Like they can only do so much. I think they're great in terms of like somebody who's metabolically just at a very high risk. Please get on them, save your life, and do the work, you know, like but the it's not enough to just take the statin and think that that's gonna save you. It will definitely prolong your life. Um, will it improve the quality of your life? I mean, I think that's really up to how much you want to invest in actually changing your behavior um and your lifestyle. So, you know, it's it's more than just getting on a statin. And for people who are like statins are awful, and like, but they're keeping people alive. So let's give people a chance. Um, because unfortunately, we live in a world where it's very hard to be healthy and you have to basically go against all your instincts, and not everybody has the physiology to do that well. I mean, we talked a little bit about that last week, I think, um, in terms of or two weeks ago, um, some people have an easier time in terms of like food noise, and some people really struggle. And so for those people, like meds are gonna save their lives and give them some extra time. Um, but I don't think it absolves you of responsibility, but yeah, that's a great way to say it.

SPEAKER_00 29:56

And also, if anyone has watched any amount of TV and you see the commercials for medication, like, what do you hear? All of the possible side effects. And I know with statins because I'm like, is this what I need to do at this point? I'm kind of willing to do anything, to be honest with you. I feel like that is my last ditch effort, but I've been doing some research and yeah, the side effects are not pretty. So I would much rather not. But if it comes down to it, then yes, I will do whatever I have to do. So I think that there's, you know, two camps here. One, what you were saying, where getting on the medication does not absolve you of making the lifestyle changes, because if you don't, then the likelihood of you developing something else down the road that you know a statin can't address. So maybe it's high blood pressure or it's high glucose, you are gonna have issues. So it is multifactorial. But I think for me, I already have the lifestyle component down. So, and even some supplementation. And then if I get on HRT and things still are not improving, then yeah, I gotta bring in the big guns. But at the same time, I'm like, I don't wanna waste any time. So if I need to, do I just get on the drug now and then kind of like allow HRT and any lifestyle modifications or nutrition interventions that I have to make kind of run its course, but I think that that is gonna be much slower than a medication. So you know, like I just don't want to wait around. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 31:39

I think too, like in your case, um, you you obviously have some markers that are indicating higher risk, right? So, and that's how we can read it, I think, and be that's that's we we wouldn't argue over that, right? But it's now like going to maybe another level to say, like I had told you, like, oh, maybe getting like a CAC, right? Like a coronary artery scan, calcium scan, right? Yeah, yeah, to to really look at well, how how much blockage is there, right? And I was giving you an example of my dad, like uh, you know, his cholesterol was high. He actually brought it down with just lifestyle, just eating better. Um, but they still were kind of um suggesting that he go on a statin because there are other benefits that can come along with it. And because he is older, the risk might actually be worth you know, going on, or the benefit might be worth uh worth the risk, but at the same time, I told him, well, they're also suggesting you do a CAC to look at, well, what is your actual uh risk? Right now we're making an assumption based on numbers, right? And so let's let's look at how much blockage is there to really determine. So I think that's you know, in your case, worth now maybe going to that next level to say, okay, well, what does it actually look like internally? And then making an informed decision in terms of like, okay, well, what risk do I want to incur given this? And I know honestly, I just think so. On my mom's side, um, there is a hereditary um what's the word I want? Uh, pattern of high cholesterol. I know that's in my genes. Will I have that? I don't know. I have not displayed it yet, but I know it could possibly be in my genes. And like for my mom, my grandmother, my great-grandmother, they all had high cholesterol. So there is a level of like your genes might just be determined that cholesterol is gonna be higher. And so, in those cases, statins are gonna be really helpful because you just naturally run higher.

SPEAKER_00 33:36

So, yeah, and I think with me too, there's like definitely some gut stuff going on, which I have an autoimmune disease, so that is all rooted in the gut. And I've done so many gut protocols. I'm like, why is this still the case? But is there just something I'm missing? Like, I've wondered have I been exposed to mold? Is that part of it? There's just so many things that it could be, and I think that's where it gets really overwhelming for me as well, is just uh, how much more time am I gonna have to spend figuring this out? I mean, I'm willing to do it, but you know, it's time consuming, it's expensive doing all these out-of-pocket testing and you know, working with the practitioners. So I don't know. I'm just trying to, and I was having this conversation with a client of mine this morning, and we were talking about it, and she said, just because she's had some health issues in the past as well, and did the mental spiral in the beginning, and her husband just said, don't future trip, like you're here right now, and but it's so hard not to. I think it's just human nature to focus on the negative and catastrophize. So I'm trying not to let myself go there, but and instead just take it one day, one step at a time.

SPEAKER_01 34:47

It's it's tough and it is overwhelming. And I I know you have to go soon, so I'm gonna pull it back to kind of how we started, where thank God you had your basics in place because that's just the first place we would start anyway. You know, anytime I get a new client, we're gonna start with the basics because where why am I gonna go to the tippy top, you know, uh little hack here or there that like may just increase by one percent when like there's a huge base of foundation that just has to be in place, regardless. You know, even let's say someone like my mom who has a history of um just high cholesterol, I forget the name, it's what it's a long word.

SPEAKER_00 35:28

Um even the cholesterol anemia, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 35:31

Yeah, I always kind of like trip up my words or in saying that. Okay, so she's prone to having high cholesterol, but that doesn't mean she shouldn't do all the basics that she shouldn't be eating fruits and veggies and enough protein and like eating within her caloric budget and you know, being active in ways that she enjoys and getting rest. And and I know that sounds like a lot of things, but yeah, that's a lot of things you can still do and that still need to be in place regardless. Um, and who knows where you would be, she would be if she was not doing those things, right? So it's like don't miss that just because it may not solve the problem, but it's certainly at least helping, you know, like give you a leg.

SPEAKER_00 36:09

Yeah, and it's not making things worse by any means. Yeah, exactly.

SPEAKER_01 36:13

So well, I'll be doing my labs soon. There's an order, I just have to make the appointment, so it'll be interesting. Maybe we have another like a part two, or you know, who knows what I'm gonna find. I mean, it's not a great time for me to doing to be doing lab stress is very high right now, so that's something to consider when I when the doctor reads them.

SPEAKER_00 36:32

But um but it'll be interesting to compare labs that you had done previously to your current ones to see, you know, has all the stress that you've been going through impacted things.

SPEAKER_01 36:44

Yes. I think my last like um big panel that I did was in 2024 or so, and I was in a very different place then. So yeah, it would be great to kind of see and compare what is the last two years. I always encourage people once a year, just have a complete panel done. And like to me, they will always do like a CBC and a CMP. Okay, that's not anything that they're gonna say no to. Um, a lipid panel, look at your A1C, look at your TSH. I mean, if they'll do more of your thyroid, that'd be great. And APOB. I mean, I think those things alone are kind of the basics that you can look at over time to look at trends. Um, you know, how is how are your your risk factors and in what direction are they going? Um, so yeah, it'll be interesting to see.

SPEAKER_00 37:28

But I would also say, I mean, yes, CBC, CMP for women our age, full thyroid panel, so not just TSH, but I just want all the three. Yeah, no, no, I mean, I I had a digestive issue flare. Gosh, this is probably five years ago at this point. And I went to the doctor and she did a public ultrasound, everything was fine. And then I asked her, I said, Hey, it's been years since I've had blood work done because of COVID, and I wasn't able to get to the doctor. And I said, Would you mind doing some extensive lab work done? Like full fire panel, metabolic panel. And she looked at me like I had two heads. Yeah. And said, Well, why do you think you need that? And I said, Well, first of all, I'm in your office because I don't feel well. And then also, I have a history of autoimmune disease, so my health is not optimal. So she eventually agreed to do it, but you do have to be an advocate. And if your doctor says, Oh, everything's fine, you know, you look healthy on paper, do not take that at face value because again, you do not know what's going on. And God forbid, you know, there is something that needs to be addressed that you wouldn't know otherwise. So, yeah, full thyroid panel, uh, uh A1C, insulin, because oftentimes insulin can be high before it even shows up as glucose dysregulation. What else? Um vitamin D. Vitamin D, cholesterol, but not just the HDL, LDL. You want to get the Apo B, the APOLittle A. Those two are going to be indicative of is it the, you know, not just bad cholesterol, but the particle size and like the damage that those can be doing.

SPEAKER_01 39:12

So I know it's a lot, but you know, and I will say, yeah, I've had clients, it's there's always pushback on something in that list. So I always tell clients, you know, you can also go outside of your doctor. There's a lot of like direct-to-consumer. I just found good labs. I don't know if they're a newer company, but so reasonably priced. I really, really love. Um, and they still work with like Lab Corp and um, what's the other one? Uh Quest. So you can you purchase the requisition, but like a full, full panel that'll just take you through everything, including sex hormones, I think is about 175. And that is quite a deal compared to some other like direct-to-consumers that I have seen. Um, and then yeah, you buy the requisition, you get to take it to Lab Corp, and then um you can take that to your doctor. You can also take it to someone who can look them over just to say, hey, yeah, there might be some things you want to discuss with your doctor. That's kind of how I um say it for myself. Like, I can't diagnose you and I can't treat you, but we can certainly look at them. And if there's anything concerning, I might say, Hey, take this to your doctor and let like let them see. Hey, see, I don't feel good, and here's what's going on. Like, what can we do? Yeah, so yeah, good labs. And I think what I heard with good good labs is if you have your blood donated, your labs like it are either free or you get like a percentage off. So it's almost like blood donation, they run your labs, you get some money. Yeah, wow. I love that. Yeah, I like that.

SPEAKER_00 40:50

Okay. Well, very good. So thank you for listening.

SPEAKER_01 40:54

No, I mean, I think it's a great conversation. People need to hear it, you know. Like, we're not here on a pedestal, we're not perfect, and you know, we're working through our own health stuff, and we're human, so we're alive and we're aging. I'm 48. Of course, things are not perfect. I'm just I'm an older version of myself, so it's good to talk about things.

SPEAKER_00 41:16

Yeah, no, it's very important. And if you need any suggestions for where to go, if you feel like you get the run around from your general practitioner and you know you want to do a deeper dive, feel free to reach out and we can point you in the right direction. For sure. Yes, yes, it's all right. Right.

SPEAKER_01 41:32

All right, okay, until next time. Yes, happy Saturday.

SPEAKER_00 41:36

Have a great rest of the weekend.

SPEAKER_01 41:38

I know, right?

SPEAKER_00 41:40

We got time.

SPEAKER_01 41:41

All right.

SPEAKER_00 41:42

Okay, talk to you soon. Bye. Bye.