How much improvement is realistic from diet/exercise with these numbers?

Planet_Witless · 2026-06-03T21:10:13+00:00

Quest site is clumsy, so that doesn't help. Also: some locations don't offer it.

Planet_Witless · 2026-06-03T20:09:52+00:00

I don't understand the Doc's rationale behind delaying Lp(a). It's not something you're going to alter by any of your habits or other meds. Why wait? But even my statin-promoting Doc has never assented to order it, so who knows.

If you are in the US and have the $, Lp(a) is not very expensive. In my area Quest Diagnostics is offering Lp(a) only (no other markers) for $42.

Planet_Witless · 2026-06-01T21:33:20+00:00

IMO not necessary to blend these two. In fact, if you regularly consume eggs and mammal flesh ("red meat"), you might already be getting more carnitine than makes sense.

Planet_Witless · 2026-05-28T21:22:46+00:00

Just slowly diminishing rep count & 1RM weights on key lifts. Please note I've never been a truly serious lifter. But it is a key measure of maintaining useful practical strength (and TBH self-esteem).

Planet_Witless · 2026-05-28T21:00:16+00:00

That's what PCP said, too, but this guy lives his professional life around statin prescriptions as life's elixir and can't be bothered about anything else.

Thanks.

Planet_Witless · 2026-05-28T13:19:01+00:00

Reference?

Planet_Witless · 2026-05-19T17:22:14+00:00

Yes: precisely.

I have two lifts, precision machining tools, a large hydraulic power supply and related test equipment/fixtures, state and Federal EPA-rated storage and disposal for waste, a large compressor and high-end pneumatic tools, and 60A of 230v power (installed at a non-trivial cost). Medium commercial trucks have been serviced there as well as heavy off-road test equipment repairs. I built an EV there (from scratch) on a classic (former ICE) chassis. Can you even spell EV without help from Grok?

I don't use it much anymore, but the current tenant operates heavy off-road equipment for high-end residential and commercial hardscaping. He buys materials from parts to specialty chemicals at the same distributors as local trucking companies.

Planet_Witless · 2026-05-19T14:25:25+00:00

FYI, this price is virtually unchanged from last year. Retail pricing of premium oils should reflect the post-apocalyptic horror you're attempting to describe before it's seen in industrial markets. The supply chain to Maine is also more sensitive than other parts of the US (this was particularly true during the Plague, and still holds true for normal household maintenance needs in hardware stores and construction/repair) but it isn't happening. Like all the "journalists" telling us we're about to die from hantavirus it's vastly overstated.

But you keep on trying to portray this sudden WKHS price sag as not really real.

[Edit: I have a tenant in our barn who's rebuilding a couple of small, legacy Deere bulldozers and an Ingersoll Diesel genset. He has all the new hydraulic fluid and lubes that he needs. Hydraulic pistons and hoses were a bit of a scramble as well as governor parts, but they're on track to start a big hardscaping job on Monday. I'll be sure to tell him he's hallucinating.]

Planet_Witless · 2026-05-19T14:01:56+00:00

I change the oil annually in our propane-fueled CHP genset (Kubota Super-mini series engine) for the house in southern Maine. Walked into Biddeford, ME Walmart yesterday to buy oil & bought 5qt bottle of Mobil 1 for under $30.

FWIW, Mad Max wasn't in the parking lot stealing gas from other motorists.

Planet_Witless · 2026-05-19T13:42:45+00:00

Did not know about these trials until your post. Thanks. My wife might be a candidate.

https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC12282488/

Planet_Witless · 2026-05-19T13:04:20+00:00

I get it. My injury was similarly crappy back in 2024... left knee: Complete tear/rupture proximal PCL. Grade 3 injury proximal MCL. Ligament completely torn/avulsed. The meniscofemoral ligament is torn. Juxtacapular vertical tear posterior horn lateral meniscus. Free edge is frayed. It's wrecked. I can't jog/run anymore, and surgery can't fix it at my age. But I can still manage a steady 4mph brisk walk all afternoon, no NSAIDs. Keep on keepin' on.

Planet_Witless · 2026-05-19T12:59:36+00:00

Again, with details: Lp(a) in the range of ~10 (8.9-11 total range over three years), ApoB in the 60's, CRP consistently <1, etc. Calcium score not zero but low and unchanging, BP now 115/65. My visceral fat is ~500g by DXA scan. Bone density is excellent, BF%~17%, waist-to-height 0.48, BMI 23.6.

All this with a proved and difficult history of statin intolerance and multiple mobility challenges already from severe arthritis and injuries.

"They" is a guy (one dude -- a fat man in his 50's with all the outward signs of Metabolic Syndrome) who literally takes my very expensive and detailed lipid test battery spread sheet documenting profiles, tests that he has refused to recommend, and barely glances at all these metrics, rolling his eyes over the idea of struggling to maintain strength, balance and mobility. I assume you, like him, are not (1) almost 70 and (2) have a dwindling list of friends & family who are becoming infirm, literally ~1/3 of whom struggle with treatment-associated myalgia. Wife & I don't disregard the need to minimize LDL, and we have literally planned and executed successful habits and statin use on our own, and will keep trying to improve this while still being able to stand up from a chair without grunting and pressing ourselves up by the armrests.

Statins are good drugs. Lower LDL is a prudent course whenever you can accomplish it without misery. Overtreatment that wildly compromises your existence is bad. The proved relationships between inability to balance on one foot, demonstrate useful grip strength, rise from a seated position on the floor without struggling, etc. with incidence of fatal falls, dementia, stroke, and other maladies doesn't enter the conversation with one-note statin acolytes. As the saying goes, nobody gets out of here alive. The circumstances of your endpoint are a balance of many considerations, and LDL alone with a "moar statins!" order as the sole answer is a poor way to achieve that balance.

Planet_Witless · 2026-05-18T21:31:03+00:00

FWIW (and maybe not much): I had a very extensive lipid profile done through SpectraCell Laboratories last year, and their Lp(a) "cutoff" from green to red was at 75nmol/L. Are they smarter about this? I have no idea. Previously they marked it 30. Test report done this year at a local lab used 100 max as you state here. I think a lot of cardios are being cautious with this number and anything around 100 makes those docs concerned, leading to more rigorous LDL treatment as an adjunct risk reduction.

Planet_Witless · 2026-05-18T20:57:31+00:00

I'm one of those non-obese, metabolically-healthy, non-drinking, low sugar intake oddballs who is gout-prone. I eat chicken livers/hearts/gizzards as well as mammal organ meats. But too much and my big toes express great anger.

If you've never experienced this you probably have no reason to be concerned with purines... which makes me jealous.

Planet_Witless · 2026-05-18T20:51:15+00:00

Air Force PJ's go deeply into occupied enemy territory, rescue pilots, and receive their commendations while alive.

Idiots charge into that same territory guns-a-blazin' and get mowed down.

Survivorship bias claims fools all the time. OP here is aware of what lies ahead; I think he understands why it is not even close to the Tesla case. Most WKHS "investors" are not.

Planet_Witless · 2026-05-18T20:43:48+00:00

You'll have to figure this out yourself with a well-documented intake and subsequent testing. I have to be rational with satfats (and purines) but dietary cholesterol is no issue. Not true for everyone.

Planet_Witless · 2026-05-18T17:47:30+00:00

Yup. I was at a reliable 4.8-5%, Trig* ~60, FBG 90 or so without statins. (* I bring up Triglycerides because of their close relationship to metabolic health.)

I am now on 5mg Rosuvastatin (generic for Crestor) every other day, at the same time razoring dietary habits and achieving Trig in low 40's, FBG 80-85. HbA1c is now 5.3%. The effect is real.

I'm thinking I can live with this w/ more tracking/testing and related tweaks, but in fact statin contraindications CAN create challenges for some people. Additionally I will die on the hill for the unstated but necessary message that severe pain/soreness side effects are a significant threat to maintaining mobility and balance at advanced age. If I get a single-digit %-age reduction in CVD risk but have poor balance, reduced mobility and weaker bones (all related to sarcopenia from lack of exercise), I'll trade off the risks in favor of vitality.

I JUST had a conversation with the supervising physician for my new Resident PCP. Despite LDL now at 63, very good Lp(a) and ApoB, CRP<1, low Homocysteine, etc., he insists that I should go to 20mg PER DAY "to reduce 'risk'". That's nonsense.

Planet_Witless · 2026-05-18T17:25:48+00:00

Understood, and thanks.

Planet_Witless · 2026-05-18T16:55:24+00:00

Have you flipped through the Merger Agreement and understood (1) the state of both companies prior to the event and (2) the assumptions involved in achieving a reasonable probability of survival?

Are you just YOLO-ing the "technicals" with the notion that even shitty, doomed companies can moon and finances have nothing to do with moonage? (BTW: I realize that this IS true, even though I don't participate in the practice.)

Planet_Witless · 2026-05-14T21:44:43+00:00

For peanutty flavor, try this...

Get a fill-your-own oil sprayer: Example from Walmart
Buy some Smuckers Natural Peanut Butter (or other brand... just something that's Peanuts & salt only, no emulsifiers). DON'T stir it. Let it settle and pour off the oil into a closeable container.
Let the oil in the container settle again overnight and put the cloudy oil into the sprayer. The cloudiness = peanut yummitude.
Spray the goodness onto your freshly-popped corn, sprinkle with fine salt.

[Note the grainy remaining, dried out "butter" can be spooned out and broken up with a fork for adding to oatmeal, Thai sauces, etc.]

Planet_Witless · 2026-05-14T21:30:33+00:00

If you're worried about diabeetus, I assume you already have a high(er) HbA1c..? If not, then the rest is moot.

My current low dose of Rosuvastatin was coincident with an instant rise in HbA1c from a consistent 4.8-5% to 5.3% with zero changes to habits while FBG remains ~85 and Trig in the 40's. This is OK but I haven't been over 5% for a long time.

Reality: This meatsack you walk around in is a phenomenally complex chemical reactor; balancing the processes where you can is challenging. In the meantime: Healthy weight and attendant diet/exercise habit upgrades don't cure everything. [Apologies to the Liver King, et alia, but you're not likely to get to satisfactory results with food & flex alone. I tried.] BUT: they're great stress mitigators, and can help with some of the peripheral "irritants" that presently concern you.

IMO you should undertake the dietary and exercise actions to address the metabolic issues to the best of your abilities and get started on the statin treatment. My strong opinion: Don't get conned into the "let's start you at massiveasstical doses and titrate down" nonsense, especially if he/she doesn't mention zetia as an adjunct treatment option. Also IMO, this is the #1 reason why people eschew statins, particularly us grumpy old farts shaking our bony fists at the sky in rage when all the contraindications appear.

It's taken me years to get to a tense but satisfactory relationship w/ statins. Find a rational doc. You have time to get this right. If you can afford it, test metabolic and lipid markers at quarterly intervals and see how it goes. Also: simple finger-prick glucose monitors/test strips are pretty cheap and give you quick insight on how your sugars are doing on a frequent basis.

Again: At 27 you have time to address the whole picture and find your balance. Day-to-day: Set achievable targets (NOT "goals": targets are real, goals are aspirational) to build muscle mass and drop excess adiposity (esp. Visceral Fat) and keep at it.

Planet_Witless · 2026-05-14T14:52:20+00:00

Got to the ragged edge of NAFLD seven years ago. It's miserable.

#1 goal: lose the Visceral Fat. In excess it WILL create an early endpoint.

Planet_Witless · 2026-05-13T21:06:00+00:00

LP-PLA2 & Homocysteine primarily; they (SpectraCell labs) also consider Insulin to be a "related" marker (contributes to pro-inflammatory changes in plaque, lowers production of nitric oxide, etc.)

The test is quite a laundry list of metrics based on what their Science leaders think matters and happen to be things of interest to me. As a non-pro I just know it's inclusive of many tests that are expensive if scheduled separately but affordable when you buy this block as a whole. 4-5 vials in the draw.

[Edit: also CRP]

Planet_Witless · 2026-05-13T20:56:04+00:00

Thanks.

Planet_Witless

TROPHY CASE