Monday 8 March 2010

Doc visit this time

Medical check-up is never a pleasant experience, regardless of the purpose. It’s much worse in mine as my check up is to see whether things have gotten worse. It’s either status quo, i.e. still abnormal but within control, or the situation has worsened. Either way, it’s not exactly good news.

Thank God though, things have actually improved in my case. There are still red blood cells in my urine but protein leakage has reduced to bare minimum.

One thing I always observed during my visits… I am always the youngest patient in the clinic. Others, as far as I can see, are most in their 40s or 50s. It makes me wonder whether I should be glad that I discovered this condition early… or… should I be worried whether my kidneys will last that long.

My observation took a twist last Friday. 2 patients who showed up are younger than me. 1 is a girl, probably in her teens. She came with her mother, I thought her mom was the patient until the nurse asked for the patient’s weight and she went to the scale instead. She didn’t look exactly pleased, neither was her mother.

The other is a guy, probably mid 20s. He was rather overweight, something which the doc asked me to control. Apparently, being overweight puts a lot of stress on the kidneys. He looked pretty cool though, no sign of anxiety in his face.

This time round, the doc also did a GSP 1 blood test on me. Kidney functions are holding up well, so is my liver. However, the test showed that I have what is known as a lifestyle condition… I have high cholesterol!

I’ve been asked to eat oat twice a day, else I may have a heart attack by the time I am 50!

Apparently; there are a lot of people out there with high-cholesterol, they just don’t know it. With the abundance of good food here… that shouldn’t come as a surprise.

Do you know your health profile?


1 year ago…
The most difficult question in the interview and how to answer it

32 comments:

Monyet King said...

I have high cholestrol as well. Been on statins for the past 6 years. tried oats and many other stuff - never worked on me. Now it is just 10 mg of statin per day for the rest of my life, I guess.

C said...

Hey, I'm not sure if we are having the same prob.. But there's also a tiny bit of blood cell found in my urine all this while (since few yrs back) Went thru numerous tests..and each time report came back GOOD..Docs assured me things are fine..Despite so, i'm still quite skeptical abt it..thus, been keeping my medical check an annual routine =)

May God bless us =)

uncle james said...

Dear Zewt,
glad to hear tat all's fine with you.

High cholesterol? dun you worry too much, it is just another many-fangled word.I have been having abnormally high cholesterol for many years, but it WON'T keep me from partaking in more juicy "siew yoke" !!

WTH, life is too short to worry about cholesterol ! For so many years, i have foregone my favorite half-boiled eggs....and NOW they tell us that eggs ARE good !!

WTF!! (sorry about my french)..hope my young frens dun read this !!

CHEERS...to more siew yoke !!

Anonymous said...

pantai ipoh is very2 un-people-friendly : apart from parking congestion , charges at the out-patient clinic is @#$%^& :
consultation by local u MO ,rm30/
temperature taking , rm4/
admin fees (?), rm10/
ubat (antibiotic), sky-high.
SIGH ....no money pls dun ever get sick.

Jerine said...

You don't look overweight at all. Just take your medication well and take care of your food intake.

missironic said...

Yeah, with the food we have here, people tend to get high cholesterol. Now u have to control ur food intake. Good to hear that ur kidneys are functioning well. Take care, Zewt! Keep up maintaining the good health. :)

Pinknpurplelizard said...

There was a boy in my high school who was diagnosed with heart problems. He was in form 2 or 3 when I first head about it.The best thing is that his parents and himself was very cbb about it. He regularly had roast pork (siew yoke) lunches, brought to school by mom, and didn't exercise, he's obese.

There are many with some health condition or other but most do not realise it or don't want to know about it. Hoping that they'll die swiftly. Little do they realise the burden their family will have to bear if they do not die swiftly and are crippled, as result of stroke, etc. Fear makes ppl run faster than Usain Bolt.

Pinknpurplelizard said...

Zewt,

U can try eating psyllium husk which helps for weight and cholesterol reduction/control. Just add a few tablespoon to ur oats, cereal or drink. It is effective.

U can get them at pharmacies who sell them clean & processed or from any Indian grocery/goods store in the unrefined form. Store it in a bottle in the freezer (it goes bad quickly) and scoop from there as needed.

Jorji said...

me also got high kolestrol.
roti canai punya pasal la ni.

i makan oat...tak sampai sebulan,lepas tu berhenti.

InjusticeSistem said...

Da last time i went to hv a medical check up, da doctor shove something big n hard up my ass, i was dumbfuck n i tot it was a normal medical check up procedure....
Later i heard da dr was verbally screwing da nurse for some silly mistakes n da dr apologise to me for da mix up in patientss record...
He tot i was som1 else.....
I took da patient's record from his hand n saw da name....
SAIFUL.......
Wateva happened after tat cannot be disclose, otherwise i will be sue for breach of contract...wats da word for it....basically dey paid me a lot of $$$ to sign a contract to keep my mouth shut...wat contract was tat?
Oppsss.....i alredy said it n click da publish button liao....

eiling lim said...

the "people out there" should be me I guess. I must have over the top cholesterol levels

flaminglambo said...

good to hear that there wasn't anything unpleasant.

i too have high cholesterol. docs told me that it could be hereditary but i try to watch my diet and exercise when i can. it's only when i'm in k.l that my discipline goes out the window. however, that may not be for long seeing that many of the food i used to enjoy are now cooked by the cheap labour they hire.

i suggest that people with high cholesterol to get a blood test every 6 months to monitor it. it's not something you want to procrastinate.

Kiersten said...

Hey good to know everything's looking bright. I'm sure in time, everything will be all right. Stay positive.

Xabi said...

bah! when it comes to health, you do what you can, ie. eat well, exercise etc. but sometimes whether you get inflicted with an illness or not is beyond your control.

carpe diem. make the most of life (remaining) =)

Anonymous said...

aiyooo ! on employer's request for a medical check-up : in front of a lady
doctor I've to cough cough cough for
her to watch if my cock could raise or not ...i passed !

doc said...

thanks for the reminder. after that colonoscope, i should head down that direction.

suituapui said...

My cholesterol so high that they cannot give me a reading... Whatever it is, I wish you well...and all the best in the years ahead. Take care now...pray...and think positive!

zewt said...

Planet of the Monyets - hmmm... i am trying to avoid meds. still hoping i can do it the natural way.

Chloe Teah - as discussed, should go a 24 hour urine protein check. further, presences of red blood cells also means the kidneys are still leaky.

uncle james - haha... i am sure your young friends will forgive you.

anon @ 9/3 7.39am - haha... yeah, thus we need insurance.

Jerine - cholesterol is not related to weight though. but yeah, will surely have to watch food intake.

zewt said...

missironic - cheers... let's hope the kidneys last forever! :)

pinknpurplelizard - what happened to that boy? yeah, many ppl just dont care. the thing is, cholesterol is so common, ppl take it lightly. it's bad. as for psyllium, yeah, i have been asked to sprinkle some into my rice when i have dinner. will do that.

j or ji - bukan roti canai bro... it's the nasi lemak, the santan in the nasi lemak, that's the killer.

injusticeSistem - man, you should really start a blog, your creativity is endless. seriously...

eiling lim - with the kinda indulgence you have been doing... i wouldnt doubt it :)

flaminglambo - well, since you are mostly based in aust, should be a problem right? :P i am sure the vietnamese food in springvale is low in cholesterol :P

zewt said...

Kiersten - staying positive is indeed, important...

xabi - ahh... the doc speaks... i guess you have a point, some things just cant be explained.

anon @ 9/3 6.36pm - haha... hernia test... did it rise?

doc - hmmm... didnt look good?

suituapui - wow... u should really watch what you eat already my friend.

Anonymous said...

YES, it did & it spat !

zewt said...

anon @ 10/3 4.24pm - lol!!! good news!

Lisa said...

exercise, cut down on oily food and eat lots of oats.... that's for u...

anyway, my time for body check up is due..... need to set up a time to do so when i come back msia...

take care there !

zewt said...

lisalicious - thanks... and yes, u should...

Melisa said...

It's good to hear that at least you're fine. You must really take good care of your health. Right, oats will give you great health benefits.

I was thankful to have started some activities where I could exercise physically and mentally. The badminton was really great. I wonder if you also engage yourself in some sports? Or maybe you go to the gym?

Pinknpurplelizard said...

That boy (now a man) is still the same size and all but with a stinkier attitude; when I glimpsed him some time ago.

zewt said...

Melisa - yeah, badminton is my current fav sports since i cant play football anymore. and i do hit the gym too do keep up with my running schedule. long may that continue.

pinknpurplelizard - i guess some ppl just dont change eh?

jam said...

I have high cholesterol level too. I guess this is quite common in today's world.

C said...

May I know which doc you go to??

zewt said...

jam - have to watch out, else we may not last long :)

Chloe Teah - which one would you want to see? the urologist? or straight away to the kidney doctor, i.e. nephrologist?

Kathryne said...

Hav u heard of of the black fungus soup? It really helps in reducing the cholesterol level in our body. My hubby's been taking it for the past one year and his cholesterol level dropped almost 1 point after only 3 months!
Do email me at kathryne.yeoh@gmail.com for the recipe if u r interested.
take care!

zewt said...

Aniston - thanks... will e-mail you.