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Medical Tests for Women in Their 40s

Blood sugar

Decades of eating the wrong food (think soda, hot dogs, fries — you get the picture) plus weight gain (often due to hormone changes) may have overworked your pancreas. It can’t keep up and that can lead to diabetes. By the age of 45, everyone should get a fasting blood sugar test and then have another at least once every three years. Your doctor may recommend earlier or more frequent checking depending on your risk.

Breast exam and mammogram

You may be checking your breasts at home regularly and having your doctor do an exam annually, but most experts recommend adding a mammogram to the mix somewhere after age 40.  The American Cancer Society puts the age at 45. Not all breast cancer experts agree. When to start? Work with your doctor to decide.

Blood pressure

Don’t be surprised if your blood pressure starts rising now — that’s common. Fortunately, you can lower your blood pressure through diet, exercise, and medication. It’s worth the effort. Lower blood pressure is a key factor in longevity.

Cholesterol profile

Take heart: this simple blood test can save your life. More than 31 million adults in America have high cholesterol levels, a condition that can lead to heart attacks or strokes — diseases that claim a life every 40 seconds! If you have high cholesterol, protect yourself by changing your diet and taking medications such as statins.

Stepping on the scales. You blissfully enjoyed chips and hamburgers while ignoring your expanding waistline, but the scale doesn’t lie. Pay attention to the results: being overweight puts you at high risk for developing a number of diseases, including diabetes and heart disease.

Pelvic exam and pap

Yes, you still need these — especially if you’re sexually active. A few minutes of mild discomfort pay big dividends in protecting you from cancer and sexually transmitted diseases. Your doctor can tell you how often you need a Pap test.

Looking for moles

Those years of getting “a healthy tan” can lead to something not so healthy — skin cancer. Luckily, most skin cancers are curable. So don’t forget to ask your doctor to check your skin if you find any moles or skin changes.  Tell your doctor about any irregularities in skin appearance, itchiness and other not normal findings you can find from your skin.

Protecting your eyes

Having trouble reading or working at the computer? It’s not unusual. Be sure to get your eyes examined regularly — every 2 to 4 years until age 60 — to check for common problems like presbyopia, glaucoma, and macular degeneration. Go more often if you have vision problems or risk factors for eye problems.

 

Female Panel

  • female-test
  • Item Catalog Number: LC322535 ; A personalized diet plan from Connie Dello Buono comes with this female blood panel, comprehensive test. Email motherhealth@gmail.com
This panel contains the following tests:

    • Chemistry Panel (metabolic panel with lipids) – The cornerstone of any complete physical, the chemistry panel provides an array of markers to help assess cardiovascular risk, metabolic function, electrolyte status, minerals important for bone health, plus liver and kidney function.
    • Complete Blood Count (CBC) – The CBC test evaluates three types of cells that circulate in the blood (red blood cells, white blood cells, and platelets). These markers can help to provide information regarding the immune system, possibility of an infection, blood disorder, nutritional deficiencies, your body’s ability to clot, and more.
    • Free & Total Testosterone – Known as the feel-good hormone, testosterone helps maintain a woman’s libido, bone and muscle mass, cardiovascular health, mood, and sense of well-being. Testosterone in conjunction with estrogen is crucial in minimizing hot flashes, sleep disturbances, night sweats, and vaginal dryness.
    • Dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate (DHEA-S) – Produced primarily by the adrenal glands, DHEA is the most abundant steroid hormone in the human body. DHEA plays a fundamental role in hormone balance, as well as supporting one’s immune function, energy, mood, and maintenance of muscle and bone mass. Since orally administered DHEA is mostly converted to DHEA-S, coupled with the fact that DHEA-S levels are more stable in the blood than DHEA, measurement of DHEA-S is preferable to DHEA.
    • Progesterone – Instrumental in balancing the powerful effects of estrogen, an imbalance between progesterone and estrogen is linked to weight gain, insomnia, anxiety, depression, migraine, cancer, uterine fibroids, ovarian cysts, and osteoporosis.
    • Estradiol (E2) – The primary female sex hormone, estradiol is a form of estrogen responsible for regulating the menstrual cycle, skin elasticity, bone strength, bladder and vaginal health.
    • Homocysteine – Identified by Life Extension as 1 of 17 independent risk factors for cardiovascular disease, high homocysteine levels can directly damage the delicate endothelial cells that line the inside of arteries, resulting in vascular inflammation, arterial plaque rupture, and blood clot formation.
    • C-reactive protein (High sensitivity) – CRP measures general levels of inflammation in your body, but cannot show where the inflammation is located or what is causing it. Uncontrolled, systemic inflammation places you at risk for many degenerative diseases like heart disease and stroke.
    • TSH (Thyroid stimulating hormone) – TSH is produced by the pituitary gland, and stimulates your thyroid to produce thyroid hormones T3 and T4. TSH can be used to screen for thyroid disease and other thyroid imbalances.
    • Vitamin D3, 25-Hydroxy – Known as the sunshine vitamin, vitamin D is important to every cell and tissue throughout the body. From proper immune function and bone density to heart health and mood disorders, vitamin D is critical for optimal health.
  • Hemoglobin A1C (HbA1C) – HbA1C shows the average level of blood sugar (glucose) over the previous 3 months. HbA1C is a useful indicator of how well blood glucose is being controlled, and is also used to monitor the effects of diet, exercise, and drug therapy in diabetic patients.

Sample Report

One of Life Extension’s® most popular panels, the Life Extension Female Panel is a comprehensive blood test that addresses cardiovascular health, hormone status, and general health.

An 8 to 12 hour fast is required for this blood test. However, drink plenty of water and take your medications as prescribed.

Special Note:
If you are supplementing with any hormones, it is important to take them approximately 2 hours prior to having your blood drawn. Any type of contraceptives that contain hormones will invalidate hormone results.

Published by connie dello buono

Health educator, author and enterpreneur motherhealth@gmail.com or conniedbuono@gmail.com ; cell 408-854-1883 Helping families in the bay area by providing compassionate and live-in caregivers for homebound bay area seniors. Blogs at www.clubalthea.com Currently writing a self help and self cure ebook to help transform others in their journey to wellness, Healing within, transform inside and out. This is a compilation of topics Connie answered at quora.com and posts in this site.

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