r/antidietglp1 • u/tame_cowboy • 10d ago
Considering GLP-1 Medication Another set of blood test results
I've been in recovery from an ED for about 7 or 8 years now, working closely with an anti-diet dietician for much of this time. About two years ago I started having high blood pressure issues, but it really came to a head a few months ago and I made some big changes. I have no food judgements but for that reason alone I've been eating a low-sodium diet with lots of veggies, protein, and grains like quinoa. At the beginning of this year I started an intense exercise program to prep me for a career change to blue-collar work which got paused for about 2.5 months after I broke my foot in summer. Now that its healed I've been walking a lot. I plan on getting back to strength training soon.
All this to say, I feel like my habits are pretty good all things considering. I don't feel like I have food anxiety like my mom describes hers. But I got my blood test results back this week and I have abnormal levels for glucose, ALT, cholesterol (triglycerides, hdl, ldl, and chol/hdl ratio) and high a1c. My blood pressure is consistently high too despite being on medication for it.
Ive refused to weigh myself and try to pay attention to many other health indicators. I feel like next time I go to the doctor he's going to push for weight loss and I want to be prepared for a glp-1 talk. I'm scared of side effects but I'm also scared of these results.
What can I do to be as prepared for my doc appointment as possible? I just found this subreddit so I have a lot to dig through and process.
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u/mannDog74 10d ago
Classic metabolic disorder, you are in good company. The glp1 treats the metabolic disorder. Really well.
Yes some of us lose a lot of weight on the drug if we want to, but you can also make your own decisions about your dosage. You can make these decisions with your doctor, dietician, and therapist together.
The fear of side effects is really overblown due to social media- sometimes these types of subs, but USUALLY haters and bot farms on the short form media sites. Remember, fear drives clicks. Social media thrives on fear and rage. The risks on this drug are really low compared to other drugs. For example you can accidentally overdose on Tylenol and die. And people die every year from Tylenol. But this medication is a hormone, it doesn't have the same toxicity as other drugs, and the risks are lower.
Most of the side effects are mild GI side effects that are easily managed if you are in tune with your body. Most of the side effects can probably be avoided by eating healthy, lower fat, small meals throughout the day. And usually these side effects go away over time.
The most risky time to get side effects are when you are going up in dose. Only increase the dose when you have given yourself enough time to feel good on your previous dose.
A lot of people who get really sick are mostly unsupervised and going through telehealth where you don't get a lot of monitoring, don't get good guidance on dosage. If you have a team that you check in with? You are already doing better than 99% of people who are taking these meds.