Hi, I thought I'd start a new thread regarding my cholesterol as I cannot decide if I should be concerned about my lipid profile results or not. I'm trying not to worry but at the same time want to do what I can to keep healthy but am struggling to decide the best course of action.
Quick summary of my situation. Having been fit and healthy all my life and hardly set foot in a doctors I was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes and hypothyroid 2.5 years ago whilst pregnant. Straight onto insulin and levothyroxine. Have recently had 2nd child.
I Have also had a number of lipid profiles done over the last couple years, all showing 'high' cholesterol however the most recent showed 'very high'. Here are the numbers for the latest test:
Total cholesterol 8.7 mmol/L
Cholesterol/HDL ratio 2.9
HDL 3 mmol/L
LDL 5.4 mmol/L
Triglycerides 0.6 mmol/L
Non HDL 5.7 mmol/L
This test was done when my son was 7 weeks old and he is being breastfed. My diabetes team noted the levels and suggested the elevated values may be pregnancy related and to retest in 4 months.
My GP requested to see me and acknowledged that I cannot take statins while breastfeeding but recommended that I should take them - not sure if he thinks I should stop breastfeeding to take them or wait until I finish feeding my son. I asked how breastfeeding effects levels, since milk contains cholesterol which I guess is made in the liver then transported in the blood to be included in the milk, so I was wondering if this may increase levels.
It does concern me that I may have increased risk of CVD. I requested hs-CRP and Lp-PLA2 tests which look for inflammation so he has referred me to a lipid specialist.
I said I won't consider statins at the moment. I am not overweight (169cm and about 58 kg) and did not put on much weight in pregnancy. I usually stay pretty fit and did throughout pregnancy . We discussed diet, that I follow low carb and he suggested Mediterranean diet. I am going to look at low carb Mediterranean - which I think I'm quite close to doing anyway.
Anyway, not sure what I'm hoping to achieve from this post. Just trying to work out what course of action to take.
Quick summary of my situation. Having been fit and healthy all my life and hardly set foot in a doctors I was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes and hypothyroid 2.5 years ago whilst pregnant. Straight onto insulin and levothyroxine. Have recently had 2nd child.
I Have also had a number of lipid profiles done over the last couple years, all showing 'high' cholesterol however the most recent showed 'very high'. Here are the numbers for the latest test:
Total cholesterol 8.7 mmol/L
Cholesterol/HDL ratio 2.9
HDL 3 mmol/L
LDL 5.4 mmol/L
Triglycerides 0.6 mmol/L
Non HDL 5.7 mmol/L
This test was done when my son was 7 weeks old and he is being breastfed. My diabetes team noted the levels and suggested the elevated values may be pregnancy related and to retest in 4 months.
My GP requested to see me and acknowledged that I cannot take statins while breastfeeding but recommended that I should take them - not sure if he thinks I should stop breastfeeding to take them or wait until I finish feeding my son. I asked how breastfeeding effects levels, since milk contains cholesterol which I guess is made in the liver then transported in the blood to be included in the milk, so I was wondering if this may increase levels.
It does concern me that I may have increased risk of CVD. I requested hs-CRP and Lp-PLA2 tests which look for inflammation so he has referred me to a lipid specialist.
I said I won't consider statins at the moment. I am not overweight (169cm and about 58 kg) and did not put on much weight in pregnancy. I usually stay pretty fit and did throughout pregnancy . We discussed diet, that I follow low carb and he suggested Mediterranean diet. I am going to look at low carb Mediterranean - which I think I'm quite close to doing anyway.
Anyway, not sure what I'm hoping to achieve from this post. Just trying to work out what course of action to take.