Establishing a baseline

[GeneGnome]

Hello, I’ve been doing a ton of reading but don’t seem to be able to find out a few things. I am 40, and 3/4. I was once an auto mechanic (about 10-15 yrs) and was exposed to a lot of toxins. I am now a teacher, and really starting to dial in my health. My first question comes from wanting to establish a baseline for the future. I feel my mind is ok (not great, maybe stress), but would like to have a “cognoscopy”. I am able to find some of these self ordering test but others need a doctors order. What does everyone do? What if your doc isn’t really familiar with what we are doing? I should note that I’ve been eating a ketogenic diet for about 2 years and recently have cut back on saturated fat. My ldl small particle number is elevated and am apoe B status. Also one bio marker that I plan on continuing to optimize is HS-CRP as, even though it comes in “normal”, I believe 2.7 to be far too high.

[emmabarton]

Hello, I’ve been doing a ton of reading but don’t seem to be able to find out a few things. I am 40, and 3/4. I was once an auto mechanic (about 10-15 yrs) and was exposed to a lot of toxins. I am now a teacher, and really starting to dial in my health. My first question comes from wanting to establish a baseline for the future. I feel my mind is ok (not great, maybe stress), but would like to have a “cognoscopy”. I am able to find some of these self ordering test but others need a doctors order. What does everyone do? What if your doc isn’t really familiar with what we are doing? I should note that I’ve been eating a ketogenic diet for about 2 years and recently have cut back on saturated fat. My ldl small particle number is elevated and am apoe B status. Also one bio marker that I plan on continuing to optimize is HS-CRP as, even though it comes in “normal”, I believe 2.7 to be far too high.

Hi GeneGnome--

Welcome to the ApoE4.info community! Thanks for reaching out! I'll do my best to direct you to aspects of the site that might offer you answers to your questions, but please feel free to continue your inquiry if for some reason whatever I offer is not enough. First, I think getting a baseline is a great plan for anybody on this path-- it appears that you have been doing a lot of research on your own, but here is a link to lab testing specifically pertaining to Dr. Bredesen's approach. Some people choose to do their research on their own, others seek out Functional Medicine doctors trained in the protocol. Here is a link that specifically details Bredesen's Protocol. Fortunately, direct-to-consumer labs are becoming more accessible (and affordable) every day-- and the labs themselves offer detailed explanations and interpretations to many of us who are not doctors. I believe there are even online services that will interpret your labs. I recently found this site: https://healthmatters.io. I have no personal experience with it, but I saved the site in case I decided to give it a try. It's not cheap, but much less costly than paying a doctor out of pocket for similar information-- here's the caveat: most Functional Medicine doctors do not take insurance. Anyway, here is a link on deciphering lipid data and here is one that details all things ketogenic diet, although it appears like you are pretty informed in this department. I'm just directing you to categories on the wiki page, which is just an all-around helpful feature of this site and worth keeping in your back pocket as you search for other ApoE info.

If you are relatively new to the page, consider checking out the primer written by a community member (Stavia) whom is also a doctor. And if you feel comfortable, consider sharing a little more about yourself in the Our Stories forum.

I hope that's helpful. If I missed something please feel free to let me know? I wish you success on your journey and look forward to future interactions with you!

Light and peace,
Emma