Bloodwork - Elevated BUN, Low HDL

Medical Q&A [Moderated]
1

Hello,

Background -

*Male
32 Years Old
188 lbs
35" waist

LISS 7x/week for 30 mins
Currently working on the Bodybuilding 1 Template

Roughly 3k TDEE and have been on a 500 cal deficit for a bit
190 Protein - Chicken breast, yogurt, whey, beef
200+ Carbs - Through Beans, fruit, white rice
70-90 Fat - Whole milk, trace fats in protein, olive or avocado oil
Saturated fat typically below 35g
30-40g Fiber - 4 oz Strawberries, 1 can beans, Collectively 1 plate of veggies Spinach, green beans, mushrooms, peppers, onions, asian cabbagey veggies/greens
Maybe 300 Calories in junk
No alcohol, no tobacco use*, no recreational drugs*

6.5 Hours sleep. Trying to bump it to at least 7 Hours.

Meds/Sups - Nortriptyline, Buspirone, Ashwaganda (discontinuing soon), Creatine, Minoxidil, Caffeine
Short term* Methylprednisone and azithromycin for upper respiratory infection*
Blood Pressure was measured at 102/68 on 3/30/26
Pulse 95 BPM - Possibly genetic. My mother has been Tachycardic most of her life*

I just got bloodwork results back for my annual physical. I was mildly dehydrated when I got the bloodwork done. I have a couple of specific results that I have some questions on. Here are the relevant results.

Comprehensive Metabolic Panel

       Urea Nitrogen (BUN)          27                          

       Creatinine               1.10       

       BUN/Creatinine Ratio        25

1.) Any concerns here?

Lipid Panel

       Cholesterol, Total 165                        

       HDL Cholesterol   37          

       Triglycerides          78                          

       LDL-Cholesterol    111        

       Chol/HDLC Ratio   4.5         

       Non HDL Cholesterol          128

**2.) I’ve chronically had low HDL. It has been in the mid 30s my whole adult life. I believe it’s a genetic thing. I’ve had family members that struggle to raise theirs. What can I do to improve this?

3.) What result should I work on improving and how can I do so?

4.) In general, are there any areas I can improve?**

I appreciate your consideration.

Thank you,
Mike
2

It sounds like your body composition and lifestyle behaviors are in a pretty good place.

I would not have concerns about the BUN level; both high-protein diets and corticosteroids (like methylprednisolone) can cause that to increase – but this is not harmful in itself.

While your HDL-c is technically below what reference ranges deem “ideal”, we also know that this is not directly causal of cardiovascular benefits or harm. When I see low HDL-c levels I think about things like insulin resistance, anabolic steroid use, thyroid dysfunction, and other forms of advanced/severe chronic illness. It sounds like the first two are not an issue for you. Checking thyroid function would be reasonable if you have chronic tachycardia. There are no other recommendations I’d have to specifically raise HDL-c aside from general healthy lifestyle behaviors here.

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3
I appreciate your response Dr. Baraki. I’ll check out that article. Here are the results for my Thyroid panel. Would you recommend seeking out referrals to get checked out?






TSH And Free T4
TSH 2.76 0.40-4.50 N
T4, Free 1.6 0.8-1.8 N
4

These are well within normal ranges, so I do not see a reason for further thyroid evaluation based on what you have provided here.

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