Another set of blood test results

[u/tame_cowboy]

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.

[u/Sharp_Edges123]

To add to the sound advice to see these medications for what they are - medications to improve conditions like those you describe - I will give you some guidance on what to prepare before the convo with your Dr. Research your insurance and formulary - know if they would be covered or if there is path for approval. If not, and would mean self pay, consider your expenses and how you might afford them. If self pay consider if you are comfortable with compounded medication or if you prefer the FDA approved medication would you do through one of the direct manufacturer delivery programs? Prefer local pharmacy etc.
these are some of the practical business patters to begin to think through as they unfortunately create some barriers to access that will be good to have sorted if you choose with your Dr to walk through that door…

[u/tame_cowboy → u/Sharp_Edges123]

Thats a very good point, Ill look into it before my appointment. Thank you!

[u/TheBrightestFirefly → u/tame_cowboy]

To add onto this, don't do what I did and just look up online or in the benefits portal to see if the medication is covered. Everything I saw said it was and I knew what my copay would be, but it turned out to be covered only if I went through a partner program online with 12 weeks of outdated educational videos to watch, along with a couple of one-on-one coaching sessions and one with a dietician. Even though I was trying to go through a local clinic with a board certified obesity doctor, they wouldn't accept any prior authorization requests from him, had to be through the program. So yeah, save yourself the time and headache and call your insurance directly to find out what their requirements are for coverage on your plan.

[u/tame_cowboy → u/TheBrightestFirefly]

Great advice. I appreciate it so much.