I think that Tuesday went pretty well. I have been experiencing a slow heart rate (less than 50 beats per minute) during dialysis for the last few weeks. My cardiologist gave me a Holter to wear which is designed to record all of your heartbeats for 24 hours. It hooks up the same way an EKG does (if you are familiar with that procedure). It has a small pager-sized box that records all of your heart beats and you are supposed to write down if you have any problems while wearing it. I am going to return it today, and maybe I’ll find out the results in a few weeks.
Also, in exciting news, I finally got my lab results for September. I am going to attempt to paste a table in here that will show my results comparing the August and September numbers. Numbers in BLUE are below the reference rage. Numbers in RED are above the reference range. For the medical students in the crowd, this might be exciting. For everyone else, I will try to explain the important numbers after the table.
Lab Results: 08/05/2005 compared to 09/09/2005
TEST NAME
08/05/2005
09/09/2005
UNITS
REFERENCE RANGE
CBC
WBC
5.18
4.58
1000/mcL
4.80 - 10.80
RBC
4.11
3.73
mill/mcL
4.70 - 6.10
HGB
11.6
11.8
g/dL
14.0 - 18.0
HCT
34.2
35.8
%
42.0 - 52.0
MCV
83
96
mcm3
80 - 94
MCH
28.2
31.6
pg/cell
27.0 - 31.0
MCHC
33.9
32.9
g/dL
33.0 - 37.0
HGB X 3
34.8
35.4
%
42.0 - 54.0
PLATELETS
242
-
1000/mcL
130 - 400
RETICULOCYTE COUNT
2.48
-
%
0.80 - 2.10
BUN (pre)
39
40
mg/dL
6 - 19
CREATININE
6.6
8.2
mg/dL
0.5 - 1.2
POTASSIUM
4.1
3.7
mEq/L
3.3 - 5.1
BICARBONATE
22
28
mEq/L
22 - 29
ALKALINE PHOS
74
65
U/L
40 - 129
AST/GOT
15
21
U/L
13 - 39
TOTAL PROTEIN
7.4
7.1
g/dL
5.9 - 8.4
ALBUMIN (BCG)
4.8
4.6
g/dL
3.8 - 5.2
CALCIUM
9.5
10.0
mg/dL
8.4 - 10.2
PHOSPHORUS
6.1
4.6
mg/dL
2.6 - 4.5
Ca X P PRODUCT
58
46
-
<55
SODIUM
142
144
mEq/L
133 - 145
CHLORIDE
107
102
mEq/L
96 - 108
GLUCOSE
92
-
mg/dL
70 - 105
CHOLESTEROL
116
-
mg/dL
<200
Reference Range is the Desirable Range as specified by the National Cholesterol Education Program Expert Panel.
TRIGLYCERIDE
127
-
mg/dL
<200
Normal Expected Value is the Desirable Range as specified by the National Cholesterol Education Program Wroking Group.
IRON
66
63
mcg/dL
45 - 160
UIBC
198
181
mcg/dL
110 - 370
TIBC (CALC)
264
244
mcg/dL
228 - 428
TRANSFERRIN SAT. (CALC)
25
26
%
20 - 55
FERRIRITIN
208
-
ng/mL
22 - 322
HEMOGLOBIN A1C
4.9
-
%
4.5 - 5.7
HBsAg
Negative
Negative
-
Negative
Please note, methodology has changed from EIA to Chemiluminescence.
HBsAb
<10
-
mIU/mL
-
<10 mIU/mL - NON-IMMUNE >=10 mIU/mL - IMMUNE The magnitude of the measured result above 10 mIU/mL is not indicative of the total amount of antibody present.
HEPATITIS C (ANTI-HCV)
Negative
-
mcg/L
0 - 10
Please note, methodology has changed from EIA to Chemiluminescence.
ALUMINUM UNSTIM
<5
-
mcg/L
0 - 10
BIO-INTACT PTH (I-84)
109.6
-
pg/mL
12.6 - 53.5
The Bio-intact PTH (I-84) Assay results are approximately 52% of the intact PTH Assay.
VITAMIN B12
3204
-
pg/mL
211 - 911
Verified by Repeat Analysis.
RBC FOLATE (CALC)
1216
-
ng/mL
280 - 791
TSH
2.13
-
mIU/L
0.35 - 5.50
HDL
40
-
mg/dL
-
CLINICAL SIGNIFICANCE NOT ESTABLISHED * Male
<35 mg/dL & Female
<45 mg/dL suggestive of increased susceptibility to Coronary Arery Disease. * Male 35-55 mg/dL & Female 45-65 mg/dL clinical significance not established. * Male >55 mg/dL & Female >65 mg/dL suggestive of decreased susceptibility to Coronary Artery Disease.
CORRECTED CALCUIM
8.9
9.5
mg/dL
-
Calcuated Calcium is not equivalent to measured ionized calcium
CORRECTED CA X P PROD
54
44
-
-
BUN (post)
-
12
mg/dL
6 - 19
UREA REDUCTION RATIO (URR)
-
70
%
65 - 80
As you can see, they did extensive blood work in August, and only some basic tests in September. I think they do the extensive testing every six months (or maybe every year), but they do the standard tests every month. The numbers that are most important to me are the Phosphorus, Potassium, Sodium, BUN, and Urea Reduction Ratio. The Potassium, Phosphorus, and Sodium are the chemicals that I can work on with my diet. The BUN (blood urea nitrogen) is a test that measures the amount of urea nitrogen (a breakdown product of protein metabolism) in the blood. There is a (pre) and (post) dialysis reading for the BUN, and you will notice that it dropped dramatically. The Urea Reduction Ration (URR) is the number that shows how well your dialysis is working. Since I am on the 16-guage needles, the nurse explained that 70% is about as good as I can get. When I move up to the 15-guage needles, then they can get that cleaning rate up closer to 80%.
Prayer Requests:
I am still feeling sick in the mornings when I get up for an hour or two. The doctor did not have any help when I asked him about it last night. Please pray that I will get back to feeling better. It’s not any fun to be sick.
Continue to pray that my paperwork goes through quickly and with no problems.
Also, in exciting news, I finally got my lab results for September. I am going to attempt to paste a table in here that will show my results comparing the August and September numbers. Numbers in BLUE are below the reference rage. Numbers in RED are above the reference range. For the medical students in the crowd, this might be exciting. For everyone else, I will try to explain the important numbers after the table.
RANGE
>=10 mIU/mL - IMMUNE
The magnitude of the measured result above 10 mIU/mL is not
indicative of the total amount of antibody present.
* Male <35 mg/dL & Female <45 mg/dL suggestive of increased susceptibility to Coronary Arery Disease.
* Male 35-55 mg/dL & Female 45-65 mg/dL clinical significance not established.
* Male >55 mg/dL & Female >65 mg/dL suggestive of decreased susceptibility to Coronary Artery Disease.
As you can see, they did extensive blood work in August, and only some basic tests in September. I think they do the extensive testing every six months (or maybe every year), but they do the standard tests every month. The numbers that are most important to me are the Phosphorus, Potassium, Sodium, BUN, and Urea Reduction Ratio. The Potassium, Phosphorus, and Sodium are the chemicals that I can work on with my diet. The BUN (blood urea nitrogen) is a test that measures the amount of urea nitrogen (a breakdown product of protein metabolism) in the blood. There is a (pre) and (post) dialysis reading for the BUN, and you will notice that it dropped dramatically. The Urea Reduction Ration (URR) is the number that shows how well your dialysis is working. Since I am on the 16-guage needles, the nurse explained that 70% is about as good as I can get. When I move up to the 15-guage needles, then they can get that cleaning rate up closer to 80%.
Prayer Requests: