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Scaring the sh*t out of me. Wonderful.
So, my H and I applied for life insurance last month, and got the exam done on 9/24. We've been waiting and waiting for the results to get our premium confirmed, and I just got the results (after bugging my insurance agent about it AGAIN) this morning.
There are four levels of premiums, and which one you get is dependent upon your health exam and history--super preferred, preferred, standard, and sub-standard.
H came back preferred, and I expected the same for me. Imagine my surprise when he said that there was a problem, and I was only approved for sub-standard rate. Agent wasn't allowed to tell me why, and gave me this run-around about how I needed to call my doctor, and wait for the results of the lab work to come through the mail from the insurance company, yada yada. I kind of freaked out, so he told me to call the underwriting department directly and see if they could tell me.
As it turns out, I have elevated protein in my urine. This was the only abnormality in my lab work. However, the lovely underwriter informed me that elevated protein can be indicative of kidney problems, diabetes, hypertension, and connective tissue disease.
I know I do not have hypertension--my blood pressure is always perfect at 108/68-ish. Sooooo... the other three are just... wow.
I have a doctor's appointment at 1:45 today. I'm literally shaking, I'm so nervous.
Re: Scaring the sh*t out of me. Wonderful.
Try not to panic...the underwriter is NOT a doctor. As the underwriter said, this is only a "could be indicative" issue. You've had a child and you've been going to your doctor on the regular, yes? It could be a small, next-to-nothing issue.
If it makes you feel any better, my father struggles with getting life insurance because of how his urine/bloodwork turns out. His doctor says that, based on the numbers, he looks like an alcoholic to an insurance company. I can assure you, my father is NOT an alcoholic, he barely drinks at all..its just how his body metabolizes.
Good luck!
Something you've possibly have developed in the last year?
I wouldn't worry about it. Just breathe, try to relax, no sense in getting your BP all worked up for your doctor's appointment, then that really won't look good.
Try not to panic, hard as it is. Protein in the urine can be many things, I believe. If you end up needing to see a Nephrologist, let me know, and I can see if DH knows anyone up your way he'd recommend.
Did you ever end up finding out what the deal with your Dad's kidneys is? Could be totally unrelated but if you do find out you have an issue - may want to revisit with Dad and see if he'll share with you now in case it's a run-in-the-family kind of thing.
T&P, Heather!
I have the results in my hands now--looks like normal total protein levels are supposed to be between 0-30 mg%, and mine is 69. There's a particular protein called microalbumin? That number is supposed to be between 0-6 mg/dL and mine is 36.6.
I had my protein tested every doctor's appointment when I was pregnant, and I never had any problems. It was never even slightly elevated--because even when I had blood pressure issues (it kept creeping up from 28 weeks until the end), they were never worried about pre-e because my protein was always totally normal.
I still don't know what's wrong with my dad. He went for his rescheduled MRI and he wasn't able to do it. I think I've mentioned he has an absolutely terrible back, and they weren't able to get him in the right position on the MRI machine in order to do the test. I questioned him about what the next steps were to figure out what was wrong, expressed my worry again, etc., and all he said to me was that he loves me for caring so much, but that I shouldn't worry--he said, "I would let you know if I was dying." And that was the end of it. Nice.
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Sending good thoughts & prayers your way for good results at the doctors.... keep us posted!
Does the result have your specific gravity on it? That can make the protein unreliable if the SG is greater than 1.030.
Were there any red blood cells? If you were on your period or just before or after your period that can cause protein in your blood.
A lot of times it's a false positive result and goes away on recheck.
Thinking bout you!
Specific gravity is also flagged as abnormal. It says result is 1.037, normal range is 1.003-1.035
No red blood cells. They actually called me a couple of weeks ago to ask if the test had been taken just before/after my period, and it hadn't. I was right in the middle of my cycle.
Hoping for better results on the recheck!
Thanks all!
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