Eating bad before blood tests

[tommy246]

I have been on atripla since nov 6th and had a blood draw on monday 30th nov . All good except trigilicerides had gone from 200 to 300 and small rise in bad cholesterol . Now i am aware meds cause a rise in these but was shocked how quick it was so today i was checking my social calender and realised on the saturday 28th november i was at a social function eating loads of rich food especially cakes of which i took some home and ate more on the sunday could this still be in the blood monday morning 8am  and be responsible  for such a quick rise?

[Miss Philicia]

You're suppose to fast before blood work is taken, as a general rule (though I semi-scoff at this because I have to have food with my morning dose of meds).  However, I know at least where I go the phlebotomist asks if this was the case so I guess if I said "no" maybe they adjust something.  You can't really go by what you ate two days before your blood work so I really wouldn't fixate on that.  In fact, I remember back when I was recovering from wasting issues and was taking testosterone, which made me so incredibly hungry that I'd grab a McDonald's breakfast with an extra-greasy steak, egg and cheese bagel sandwich with two of those potato thingies they serve, with two large coffees full of sugar and half-and-half.  At that time my HIV doctor actually took the blood work himself and he could actually see the coagulated fat floating in the test tube with my blood as only about four hours had passed since gorging on that fat-laden breakfast.  I made sure not to do that again.

[weasel]

     Tommy ,
                 I am going with a YES it could !

         If you gorged on beef , gravies  , sugary  glopp !

         And did NOT  have a Royal Flush ...........................

            I would have to say it's still floating around the blood stream !

           I know when I get over clogged I feel  like crap and this is because  all the

            Bad  stuff is still in the system !

                                               Be well , do not gorge before tests 

                                                                            Carl

[Nestor]

At what time on Sunday did you last eat?  I think "fasting labs" just means not eating that day; I haven't heard anything about not eating the day before. 

I too had my appointment on Monday 30th Nov.  I was very concerned about my weight, and the good news was that I had lost five pounds since the previous appointment four months before, but my doctor and I both laughed at the idea of someone being concerned about his weight and scheduling a "weighing" for the very day after the Thanksgiving weekend. 

Try eating well for a few days before your next labs and see what happens. 

[dixieman]

If I read correctly ... you ate high fatty food 2 days before? no your levels would not be that out of whack? but, you should always try to fast before you have your blood drawn... sometimes its just not possible... when I say fast do not eat at least 8 hours before... and only drink water... smoking cigarettes will raise your triglycerides... also any intake of sugar...

[Cerrid]

Eating sweets and cakes before bloodwork usually increases trigs because that's what the body makes with excess sugar: fat. Try to get used to a healthy diet, not just before bloodwork but also in between.

 

[bocker3]

You should fast for 12 hours prior to having a lipid profile drawn --- in particular the Triglycerides.  Your diet from 2 days ago only impacts your results if that is how you normally eat -- then, of course, your high readings are due to your diet.

To answer a question (sort of) from Miss P -- if you tell your phlebotomist that you are not fasting when they draw you, they note this and report it.  This allows your clinician to properly interpret any "out of whack" results on tests that require fasting.
Also -- even for tests that don't really require fasting, you can cause issues if you go hog-wild.  Having a blood sample that is very lipemic (Miss P's coagulated floating fat sample) can interfere even with things like the CBC -- in particular the HGB that requires a "color" reading.

Bottomline -- it is always best to fast at least 8 hrs and it should be 12 if you have a trig being drawn.

Hope that helps.
Mike

[Miss Philicia]

\

To answer a question (sort of) from Miss P -- if you tell your phlebotomist that you are not fasting when they draw you, they note this and report it.  This allows your clinician to properly interpret any "out of whack" results on tests that require fasting.
Also -- even for tests that don't really require fasting, you can cause issues if you go hog-wild.  Having a blood sample that is very lipemic (Miss P's coagulated floating fat sample) can interfere even with things like the CBC -- in particular the HGB that requires a "color" reading.

Thanks, that's what I figured.  Like I said I have to have some food with my AM dose, but I eat something on the minimum side then just wait for a full meal after my blood work.  My McDonald's experiment happened about ten years ago. 

[tednlou2]

On how long you're suppose to fast--  I've been told 8 hours and 12 hours by others.  I fasted for 12 to make sure.  My AST liver enzyme was slightly high for the first time on the same blood draw as the cholesterol.  I began wondering whether taking medications on an empty stomach could cause that increase.  I know that seems off topic, but do labs really know how long food/fats stay in your blood and how meds on empty stomach affect the liver numbers?  Does eating with medications lessen the effect on the liver?  All good questions.

If a person could fast for 24 or 48 hours without passing out, would cholesterol/triglycerides be much better?  Then again, would that tell us anything?  Nobody would normally go without eating for that long in everyday life. 

[RapidRod]

Your doctor will usually tell you if they want you to fast.

[bocker3]

On how long you're suppose to fast--  I've been told 8 hours and 12 hours by others.  I fasted for 12 to make sure.  My AST liver enzyme was slightly high for the first time on the same blood draw as the cholesterol.  I began wondering whether taking medications on an empty stomach could cause that increase.  I know that seems off topic, but do labs really know how long food/fats stay in your blood and how meds on empty stomach affect the liver numbers?  Does eating with medications lessen the effect on the liver?  All good questions.

If a person could fast for 24 or 48 hours without passing out, would cholesterol/triglycerides be much better?  Then again, would that tell us anything?  Nobody would normally go without eating for that long in everyday life. 

The point of fasting for blood work is to insure that the results are not skewed by your "current" meal/snack being processed by your body.  They want to see what your blood levels are between meals.  It is desired to get a reading that is (somewhat) repeatable.  This would not be possible if you always came in having recently eaten. Why?  Because different things can be influenced by what your eat -- your cholesterol might be only slightly elevated if you had recently eaten a salad vs. more highly elevated if you had just eaten a double quarter-pounder and a large fry.
Also -- most reference ranges were developed on a fasting population, so if you aren't fasting it's difficult to know if you are truly out of the reference range.

Mike

[tommy246]

Thanks for the replies. My normal diet is a healthy mediterrenean diet at home but as i have more or less cut my beloved beer out since starting meds i have developed a sweet tooth so cant resist the odd snicker bar whilst the wifes not around anyway all under control again just the healthy diet again but i am going to test at my local chemist after the weekend to see if im back on track i dont want to wait two months to find my trigs still rising. Is 10 days of healthy eating long enough to see a difference im really hoping it was just a blip as my fats are normally ok.I eat at 8pm and have blood draws at 8am with only a sip of water during the night.

[bear60]

I cannot comment on whether what you eat is reflected in the short term in your bloodwork.  I do know that what you eat is reflected in the toilet bowl in the short term...lol.
My opinion for what its worth is: if you are concerned about changing your cholesterol levels, if I were you, I would stick with a REGULAR testing schedule of once a month (or whatever it is you choose) and stay with it.  Running in to have new blood work done on a whim seems to defeat the idea of seeing a trend develop.
Also, for what its worth; from my observations most people treat any blip as the start of a trend and develop anxiety over it.  When often its only a blip.  Treating everything like an emergency is stressful and unnecessary.

[Assurbanipal]

...since starting meds i have developed a sweet tooth so cant resist the odd snicker bar ...

Triglycerides are (sigh) pretty susceptible to extra sugar in foods.  The standard advice on lowering triglyceride levels (barring drugs) is:

- Lose weight
- Eat less sugar
- Reduce cholesterol and transfats in your diet
- Exercise 30 minutes per day

[tommy246]

Triglycerides are (sigh) pretty susceptible to extra sugar in foods.  The standard advice on lowering triglyceride levels (barring drugs) is:

- Lose weight
- Eat less sugar
- Reduce cholesterol and transfats in your diet
- Exercise 30 minutes per day

I have  implemented all of those tips plus almost no booze as thats bad as well, i must admit i felt so much better starting meds my appetite went a bit mad for a few weeks now settled down again