Statins when you’re homozygous APOE4

[Veero]

Perhaps this company might be easier?

https://empowerdxlab.com/products/produ ... gIm-vD_BwE

Here is access to the Boston Heart test through a consumer-ordered lab but I have no idea whether this test is accessible by Hawaii residents:
(Best to contact the website)
https://truehealthlabs.com/product/chol ... escription

[Nords]

Perhaps this company might be easier?

https://empowerdxlab.com/products/produ ... gIm-vD_BwE

Here is access to the Boston Heart test through a consumer-ordered lab but I have no idea whether this test is accessible by Hawaii residents:
(Best to contact the website)
https://truehealthlabs.com/product/chol ... escription

Thanks again-- I've ordered from EmpowerDX and we'll see how long it takes to get out to Hawaii.

TrueHealthLabs doesn't seem to have a network out here. (This is typical.) None of their working links came up with a Hawaii site, and their site www.ushospitalfinder.com is down. Their advice to "Contact your local hospital, clinic, or phlebotomy service" has been problematic in the past because most of those places here don't want to waste time on a draw that's outside of their routine services.

Along with the desmosterol results, I'll also add both Empower and TrueHealth to my list to discuss with my family doc. If he gives a referral to the lab (phlebotomy service) next door then they'll probably cooperate for future blood draws. But in the meantime I hope I'll have a desmosterol baseline from Empower and can move on to starting the rosuvastatin.

From what I've read of rosuvastatin and desmosterol, my concerns won't be an issue. However I'd rather collect a number beforehand (even at my own expense) instead of regretting the missed opportunity.

[SusanJ]

I've ordered from EmpowerDX and we'll see how long it takes to get out to Hawaii.

My experience with this test was frustrating. You use lancets to puncture your fingers to get enough blood in a small tube, and for me I had to lance and squeeze 2 fingers. They give you three lancets, so some people obviously need to lance 3 fingers.

The really frustrating thing is that I followed the directions to a T, and got back a "not enough sample to test". It had enough sample when I packaged it up, and in the back and forth with them, one of the things they said is maybe I shook it too hard (its says to gently rock it back and forth briefly after capping.) My guess is that I didn't shake it too hard, but more likely the FedEx folks threw the box around in the their holiday frenzy.

So, their process seems a bit fragile to me, and I do wonder how often this test fails. I asked for a refund (it was minus shipping) after they offered another kit for one more try, because I have zero desire to trash my fingers again just to get another "not enough sample". I'm going to see if my doc will sign up to use Boston Labs directly. I'd rather do a blood draw.

Let me know if you have better luck with it than I did.

[Nords]

I've ordered from EmpowerDX and we'll see how long it takes to get out to Hawaii.

My experience with this test was frustrating. You use lancets to puncture your fingers to get enough blood in a small tube, and for me I had to lance and squeeze 2 fingers. They give you three lancets, so some people obviously need to lance 3 fingers.

Let me know if you have better luck with it than I did.

I'll post here about it.

We'll see how I do. I eat a lot of vitamin C & E, and when the med tech does a finger stick I tend to leak excessively before it finally clots.

[Nords]

Perhaps this company might be easier?

https://empowerdxlab.com/products/produ ... gIm-vD_BwE

Here is access to the Boston Heart test through a consumer-ordered lab but I have no idea whether this test is accessible by Hawaii residents:
(Best to contact the website)
https://truehealthlabs.com/product/chol ... escription

Thanks again-- I've ordered from EmpowerDX and we'll see how long it takes to get out to Hawaii.

So far so good. I'm awaiting results.

The kit was sent from wherever EmpowerDX has their dropshipping (East Coast?) on 30 December and made it to Oahu by 9 January. This is outstanding for the aftermath of the holiday season.

The FedEx return envelope has a bunch of required biohazard labeling, but our local FedEx dropoff store was fine with it. I hesitated to use an unmonitored drop box but the dropoff store said that would have been fine too. EmpowerDX specifically points out that the envelope should be shipped Monday through Thursday to avoid being stuck at a FedEx staging area over the weekend.

EmpowerDX seems pretty good at this part. My questions about tracking & shipping were answered from their website Help link within 24 hours.

I took a photo of the FedEx shipping label before dropping off the envelope, so I had the tracking number. FedEx got the sample back to Boston Heart Diagnostics (Framingham MA) from Oahu in 40 hours. This is also outstanding. FedEx's tracking was fine.

EmpowerDX wrote back:

"Results take 5-6 business days to post to the account.
You will receive an email notification when the results post to the account."

.
.

My experience with this test was frustrating. You use lancets to puncture your fingers to get enough blood in a small tube, and for me I had to lance and squeeze 2 fingers. They give you three lancets, so some people obviously need to lance 3 fingers.

The really frustrating thing is that I followed the directions to a T, and got back a "not enough sample to test". It had enough sample when I packaged it up, and in the back and forth with them, one of the things they said is maybe I shook it too hard (its says to gently rock it back and forth briefly after capping.) My guess is that I didn't shake it too hard, but more likely the FedEx folks threw the box around in the their holiday frenzy.

So, their process seems a bit fragile to me, and I do wonder how often this test fails. I asked for a refund (it was minus shipping) after they offered another kit for one more try, because I have zero desire to trash my fingers again just to get another "not enough sample". I'm going to see if my doc will sign up to use Boston Labs directly. I'd rather do a blood draw.

Let me know if you have better luck with it than I did.

Yeah, their lancets were a little short on my XXL fingers. Unlike my local bloodmobile (where their lancet goes deep enough for my finger to squirt back a little) the EmpowerDX lancets barely pierce the skin.

It took me a couple minutes of their recommended milking procedure to fill the tube to the line. (The increments on the unfilled tube are very hard to see, and much more visible as the blood fills the tube.) I had to resist the temptation to shake more blood into my hands, which just sprayed a few drops instead of helping me collect them.

In retrospect, I would've paid attention to their recommendation to heat up my hand in a bowl of very warm water for more blood flow into the fingers. Oahu's room temperature was warm enough to get the job done but eventual clotting could've become an issue.

[SusanJ]

So far so good. I'm awaiting results.

Fingers crossed for your results!

[Nords]

EmpowerDX wrote back:
"Results take 5-6 business days to post to the account.
You will receive an email notification when the results post to the account."

Results were e-mailed at the end of the fifth day, and waiting for me when I checked on the morning of the sixth day. It looks like everything went fine at the lab.
.

Desmosterol January 2025 Boston Heart test part 1.png

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If that attached image doesn't come through, desmosterol was at 1.5 mg/L-- comfortably above Attia's recommendation of 1.0 mg/L.

Now that I (finally!) have a desmosterol baseline, I'll start a daily dose of 5mg rosuvastatin.

In other news, I don't make New Year's resolutions. However when we were on slow travel during November-December, we did a lot of walking and regularly logged at least 2.5 miles per day. (My hearing aids have a steps tracker.) Now that we're back home, I'm back to my regular routine of surfing 2-3 days per week and doing yardwork 1-2 days per week. Instead of treating the other days as pure recovery time, I've started walking about the same 2.5 miles on an incline treadmill.

I've kept up this routine of working out (surf, yard, or treadmill) seven days per week for over a month. It's beginning to look sustainable.