Just got my annual bloodwork back. I have questions, and don't know how concerning any of this is. As a generally health-conscious place, I thought someone here might have some info, since it'll be several days until the dr. gets back to me.
My cholesterol is up 20 points from last year! My weight and activity level are the same, and the only thing that has changed about my diet is I'm trying to include more protein. Maybe it's the additional cheese and eggs? Total is 185, which is supposedly OK, and the ratio of good to bad is 2.2, which is OK since it's supposed to be below 5. But I don't like that it went up that much and I can't figure out why.
My iron is still the absolute lowest of the acceptable range. Guess it's time to supplement again.
Alkaline Phosphatase (ALP) got flagged as low. No clue if this is an actual problem, and I have never heard of this or noticed it on previous bloodwork, but they apparently always test it. Google says it can be a sign of protein deficiency, pernicious anemia, or malnutrition??
I am starting to worry that 20 something years of vegetarianism is starting to catch up with me :( Any thoughts? Not sure if anyone here has medical training, but extra appreciated if you do!
Thanks @skwigg and @sarah too . That does help. I do feel better with more protein, so that's a good point: if dairy and eggs make my cholesterol go up (but it's still OK) and I feel better, who cares? And sarah, you're I found the same thing when I looked up ALP, that high is more concerning. We'll see what the dr. says. I have not been super consistent with my iron supplement, so I'll do that daily and see if it helps. I do feel low energy a lot recently, but that could be the streak of 100+ heat we're having, too.
Thanks!!