i just received bloodwork results from the doctor. as far as i am concerned the results were great news. liver & kidney function were fine, cholesterol was alittle high, 212 (not that bad). everything else was normal. the doctor didn't agree. he calls me after the results were in (two weeks later, i guess he was in no hurry). he says, " if you are still doing atkins, i want you to stop." he says we detected ketones in your urine. & i said well, that is the point of atkins, burning fat. he said i want you to do a low fat, low cholesterol diet. after negotiating back & forth for quite awhile, he says " well, how about doing motified atkins & drinking more water?" i drink a gallon per day as it is. he wants me to add more carbs. i agree i've been at 25 carbs for weeks. but the point is these doctors still feel that low fat is the way to go. this is working for me & i refuse to stop if my results were good. what do all of you seasoned low carbers think? stick with it or heed the doctors warning? thanks for your support & help.

christine

166/153/120

Well, you have Dr. Atkins and all the other doctors advocating low or lower carb to consult with. Do you have other health problems where ketones would be a concern? Diabetes in the family?

You are obviously losing the weight on low carb. I find it odd that he would call just to try to get you to change your diet.

Connie

I would find a doctor that was atkins friendly....as much as I love my md if he were to be stupid about something that is a good thing,[my doc says go for it] I would replace him in a heartbeat!

To get to the rainbow you must first pass through the rain!

I also wouldn't be afraid to get a second opinion. Getting a second opinion doesn't mean you have to fire your present doctor or destroy the relationship or anything. We have to face the fact that medical science is in no way an exact one, and 100 different doctors will give you 100 different opinions on the results of your lab work.

Assuming you have no other mitigating factors, then volunteer to be his Atkins case study. Tell him you'll get lab work every three months while on this WOE, and he can carefully monitor the risk factors, and in a year you'll demonstrate a much healthier you. Maybe after doing so, he'll change his tune. Don't be afraid to refer him to DANDR and the research papers in the footnotes, etc. He obviously doesn't realize the difference between ketosis and ketoacidosis.

Detractors of ketosis seem to ignore the fact that it is a natural metabolic state. I mean it is how we use our fat stores for energy. It is the only way I know of we do this with any efficiency, and it amazes me that this natural function is so misunderstood and maligned. Are we to assume our bodies are meant to easily store fat, yet are severely endangered by ketosis to get rid of it? I don't think so.

Mikeyrat

Started Atkins 5/30/2003
337/283.5/237 - 6'2" 43 YO
Wife: 224/194/165 - 5'11"

I had the same thing happen to me after I had my blood work done. I had been on Atkins for 3 days when I went to the doctor. I had asked him about it and he said sure, that he had done it himself for a while.

I got my call from them(his nurse) that my cholesterol was high and my ldl (total 232) and the nurse told me he wanted me to go on a low-fat & low-cholesterol diet. I then told them that I was on the Atkins and she then replied that I should stay on it.(guess they for got). Anyway, my urine test did show a trace of ketones which surprised me for it to have been such a short time.

Now, I went on July 29th, I go back on October 29th for a check up and will ask to have another blood work up done. If things have not changed by then, I am considering doing something else. I DO feel that it will change in 3 months or it should.

Just waiting it all out until October.



MY triclycerides was 48.

Darlene

[This message was edited by Darlene Collins on 09-20-03 at 05:25 AM.]

Ditto on finding an Atkins-friendly (or at least open minded) doctor if necessary.

My mom's doctor wanted her to lose some weight and asked her what worked for her in the past. When she said Atkins, the doctor asked why isn't she still doing that then?

They are out there.

Linda

My doctor can't make up his mind..

I told him I was on a "low carb" diet.. He said "Great! It looks to be working, so just keep doing what you're doing." (normal blood pressure, normal blood sugar levels, decreasing weight with each visit, etc.)

15 mins later, I said "Atkins" instead of "low carb". He said "Well, that's a bad diet anyway."

I told him I probably eat more vegetables in a day than he eats in a week. Jerk.

(296/226.5/135) 04/01/03
The Downward Spiral Begins

It can be argued that more important than Total is HDL and Triglycerides (according to my Dr.). Did you get readings on those? In my case, my Total is 234 with HDL 72 and Tri's 51. I'm comfortable with these numbers. I think it's critical for you and your Dr. to be on the same page, which means if you feel this WOL is best for you find a Dr. that is willing to work with you. Finally, what's your exercice routine?

thank you for all of your support & info. for the record, i don't have any other health probs or diabetes in the family. i am riding a stationary bike for 35 minutes per day & lifting weights for my arms.
everyone is so helpful here, thanks for your responses.
i am going to have my blood work repeated in a month or so, hopefully it might shut the doctor up about atkins. at first he said it was fine to go an atkins saying how healthy it was and then i guess he changed his mind. at the time that i had the first blood work done i had only been on atkins for 4 weeks. by the time i get it done again it will be about 3 months. thanks again!

christine

166/153/120

ken, forgot to answer your question, yes i did get my readings and the tris were 76. thank you

christine

166/153/120

Christine,

hopefully your MD will change his mind on your diet. I'm with mikeyrat - your MD should maybe read up on what ketosis is compared to ketoacidosis. You could even refer him to the Atkins website. But ultimately, if he refuses to accept that Atkins works and has good effects on one's health, I would find a MD that works with you. Fortunately my MD doesn't have a problem with my DH and I doing Atkins. When I told him, I was first very worried that he would tell me to go off it. I was prepared to give him a speech. I guess I'm lucky.

Let us know how your next appointment goes!

Never give up! Never surrender!

Katrin

You want a second opinion? okay, here it is. Get another doctor!

Want a third opinion? Here it is. Get another doctor!

Want a fourth one?

Seriously, if you're stuck with this doctor for some reason, listen to his reasons. If the only reason he has is some basic opinion about low-carbing in general, then he's just giving you his superstitious beliefs, not a medical diagnosis. If he says you have a particular rare condition that requires you to drop the diet, he should be able to tell you waht it is in clear language.

***********************
"Sometimes I think you have to march right in and demand your rights, even if you don't know what your rights are, or who the person is you're talking to. Then on the way out, slam the door."

I think most doctors that refute Atkins do so out of ignorance - they simply are uninformed as to the where's how's and whyfore's of the plan!

My doctors (for whom I work) did a lot of reading up on Atkins when the father of one of the docs had a stroke - she had already recommended he cut out the bread, potatoes etc. but wanted to give him a good guideline to follow. So, they studied the plan and are now recommending it to a lot of our patients, IF it fits in with their medical needs and personal willingness to change their eating habits in what many consider a "radical" way.

And you know what, the father has now lost over 40 pounds (in about 4 months), looks great, and his labs are excellent! You'd never know he had a stroke at all.

I don't necessarily believe in going from doctor to doctor until you get the answer you want, but I DO think it's appropriate to ask your own doctor WHY he recommends or advises against ANY treatment or eating plan. If it's not based on sound medical judgment and facts - then maybe it IS time for a different MD!

JMHO of course....

Char

Don't squat with yer spurs on!

Christine9471 I think you should consult another physician but you should also be glad that your doctor even wanted to do blood work I requested blood from mine a few months into the whole Atkins thing and they refused saying that there was no need my weight was coming off nicely and the only reason they would do blood work was if I were losing it too fast. I have been doing the Atkins thing since the middle of May and I have lost 23 LBS and at least several pant sizes was a size 18 just bought my self a new pair of pants 12-14. I think if you really dont want to go to another doctor and this is working for you then just stick with it your doctor needs to understand that it is working for you and that should be what matters.
Good luck

Christine,

I'm in the "get a second opinion" contingent here. It's enough of a challenge to be doing this way of eating in a high-carb world without having to fight a health care provider who isn't keeping up with the literature. BTW your triglycerides are excellent! What is your HDL number?


Ken,

Your md is on the cutting edge. The best dr's I know are according very little weight to the total cholesterol number and would be very impressed with your really low triglycerides and HDL/total ratio of 3.2. That's because it's become increasingly clear that there's little predictive value in it. What seems to be much more important is the HDL/total ratio & triglycerides.

Maggie
5'1" ~~ Atkins since '98 (160)/Maintaining nicely (110) ~~ Redhead until further notice!