High Triglyceride Level and Fasting?

Question

During my recent physical, my triglycerides came back at 1480, dangerously high. However, the people at this office did NOT tell me to fast before the test. The night before, my wife and I celebrated her birthday by basically pigging out on fatty foods (steak for dinner; cake for dessert; 2 glasses of wine each). I also had a glass of OJ that morning before the test, as well as a couple bites of the birthday cake (a crappy breakfast, I know).

My blood sugar was elevated as well, which I'm pretty sure was due to the sugary stuff I had with no fast. Would that admittedly crappy diet have an effect on my triglyceride levels?

I'm thinking about switching doctors because I didn't even know my triglycerides were that high until I requested my medical records. He didn't tell me about the results of the triglycerides, only the blood sugar level. His response, coupled with the ineffectiveness of the office in not telling me to fast, has not inspired me with confidence. Time to switch?

Answer 1

Well maybe not. If you were two hours post-prandial and your blood sugar was still high he may be smarter than you think. Keep in mind that the body moves to store blood sugar much more quickly than triglyceride. If you had a high post-meal blood sugar level he may have been keying in on the fact that you had a high fat meal with wine and OJ to figure your trigs were high. However if it had been long enough post-meal there is good reason to believe that you may have what is called insulin resistance or impaired glucose tolerance. This is commonly referred to as syndrome X or metabolic syndrome in the literature. This is a precursor for diabetes and would (and should) worry any physician. If the office staff had reported to the doctor you were not in a fasted state he would have no reason to address your triglycerides at this time.

Answer 2

yes the crappy diet can affect your triglyceride levels, however i'm pretty sure that it cant affect it too much the day before by eating a relatively "crappy" meal (although it sounds really yummy). the dr may have his own reasons for not telling you about your high triglyceride levels...and all of them may be valid. however if you would prefer a dr. who explains everything to you and keeps you informed then i'd consider a switch. i'd talk to him about it first, maybe he justneeds to understand you're the kind of patient that wants to be part of the decision making process about your health (the way it should be). otherwise, here's one important reason why he might have focussed only on your blood sugars than your high triglycerides:
if your blood sugars are high that means you're either pre-diabetic or diabetic (depends on your exact blood sugar levels and diagnosis). the problem with diabetes is that you wont know you have it and your blood sugar levels wont show it until the disease has progressed for months, even years. the fact that your sugars are becoming harder to control by your body will support that.
diabetes itself will almost never cause death but the complications will. one of the biggest complications of diabetes is increased lipid levels (including LDL, cholesterol and triglycerides!). this can eventually lead to heart attacks, strokes, all the stuff you might have heard about already.
the best way to approach someone who has high lipid levels with high sugar levels is to first control the sugar levels, then control the lipid levels. in most cases if you can control your diabetes/sugar control with lifestyle changes (diet, exercise, less alcohol/caffeine, weight loss) then you will also be able to help your triglycerides.
it doesn't make sense to treat your high triglycerides first if it's your high blood sugar that's causing it, its best to treat the source first.
i hope that all made sense!

Answer 3

First off if your BS was high it probably is a sign you have diabetes as most people make enough insulin to keep their blood sugar level. As for the doc not telling you to fast before a physical that is getting to be the norm now that anytime you have a physical scheduled you should not eat or drink as they will do blood work. I too found that out the hard way and I am a nurse
The doc should have called you with the results or sent you a copy. Most clinics send you a standard form with your results written into the blank by each test they ran. I think your doc is doing ok except for notifying you but since you don't seem happy with him then maybe it is time to change for your personal satisfaction. Do get a test for diabetes though since you level was high.

Answer 4

Yes, your triglycerides level is very hight. You must condinually see your family doctor, and follow the precription of the drug to lower your triglycerides.

Answer 5

Fasting or not, your Trigs and BS still shouldn't be that elevated. Not fasting only affects your results 20-25 percent unless you eat a 6 corse meal just before the test. Retest now, and pay special attention to HDL and LDL.Statins help some people. Not me though. I started taking niacin and Cholesterol LDL dropped almost 30 points.

Answer 6

the crappy diet have an effect on my triglyceride levels. find another doctor for recheck of your triglycerides and be sure to fast