During orientation, the nurse handed me a packet of reading materials. Inside was a sheet with risk factors and goals. I’ll summarize:
| Risk Factor | Goal |
| Physical Activity | > 30 – 45 min. 5 to 6 days/wk (3 – 5 METs achieved) |
| Diet | Saturated fat < 15 g/day Salt intake < 1500 – 2000 mg/day |
| Diabetes | Fasting Blood Sugar < 100 |
| Blood Pressure | < 120/80 |
| Lipids | Total Cholesterol < 200 Triglycerides < 150 HDL (m) > 45 (f) > 55 LDL < 70 |
| Weight/BMI | < 25 |
| Stress Management | Practice stress management techniques: relaxation, yoga, exercising at least 25 minutes |
| Depression | No depression |
| Substance Misuse | Alcohol <= 2 (m) / 1 (f) drinks/day Caffeine < 2 – 3 cups/day (24 oz brewed) Recreational Drugs = 0 Tobacco = 0 |
The problem is that after orientation and four sessions, I’ve only seen a few nurses helping with the exercise portion. I have not seen or even heard mention of nutritionists or psychologists. Also, I hope they aren’t grading me at the end of the program (24 sessions) based on the above goals. There is no way I will meet the Weight/BMI goal since that means another 25 lbs of weight loss after losing 25 lbs post surgery. The blood pressure goal will be hard too. I only come in at ~140/80 after taking all three medications beforehand. My nephrologist will need to increase the dosage on something to lower it more. Likewise for blood sugar. I’m on less than minimal dosage with one medication only in case of a hypoglycemia repeat so we may need to increase dosage or add more meds.
Looking through my lab results, the last lipid panel I could find is from late 2016. In it, my HDL is 43, LDL is 71, triglycerides is 184, and total cholesterol is 151. The triglycerides number is a bit high but I think the numbers should have improved in the last three years. I just drew blood for labs that my cardiologist ordered; it included a lipid panel so I’ll know more next week. The rest of the goals are doable.
Life with chronic diseases 
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