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cholesterol.

Alexandra100 said:
Do these show HDL, LDL and trugs separately, or just total cholesterol?
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The ones I was using just showed total cholesterol. You put a dollop of blood on a test strip and slot it into a shade card. On the other side of the test strip the area where the blood is goes a shade of green, you then check this shade against the shade card however its quite difficult to tell the difference between the shades. On the plus side the tests are quite cheap 2 tests for £9.99. I have actually ordered a test meter which shows Trigs, HDL and LDL, it should be arriving in a couple of days. A lot more expensive though at £145.00 for the meter and 5 test strips. It will be interesting to see the results of this one.
 
Ryhia said:
I too plan to make a fuss about going on statins
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Ryhia said:
The ones I was using just showed total cholesterol. You put a dollop of blood on a test strip and slot it into a shade card. On the other side of the test strip the area where the blood is goes a shade of green, you then check this shade against the shade card however its quite difficult to tell the difference between the shades. On the plus side the tests are quite cheap 2 tests for £9.99. I have actually ordered a test meter which shows Trigs, HDL and LDL, it should be arriving in a couple of days. A lot more expensive though at £145.00 for the meter and 5 test strips. It will be interesting to see the results of this one.
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@Ryhia that's intensely interesting. Please do post the results. My June cholesterol test showed total at 8.4, which worried me, especially as my HDL was only 3 and my trigs were 3.7, LDL 3.8. I was expecting a tussle with my GP and was determined NOT to start statins. He amazed me by saying that statins have pros and cons, and he would not necessarily recommend them for me! I suggested I try to lower my LDL etc by lifestyle modifications and he agreed to another cholesterol test in a few months. I was impressed!
 
Alexandra100 said:
@Ryhia that's intensely interesting. Please do post the results. My June cholesterol test showed total at 8.4, which worried me, especially as my HDL was only 3 and my trigs were 3.7, LDL 3.8. I was expecting a tussle with my GP and was determined NOT to start statins. He amazed me by saying that statins have pros and cons, and he would not necessarily recommend them for me! I suggested I try to lower my LDL etc by lifestyle modifications and he agreed to another cholesterol test in a few months. I was impressed!
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Others will no doubt come in on this post particularly if I am wrong but from what I can see your Trigs are quite high. Did you fast before your blood test and are you eating low carb? If you didn't fast that might account for the Trig levels. A low carb way of eating usually brings down trig levels.
HDL of 3 is very good mine is 1.9 and I would love mine to be higher. I also cant see anything really wrong with your LDL either. I think 3.0 is the level they prefer, but then who actually sets these things they are just a number at the end of the day. @bulkbiker pointed me in the direction of Dave Feldman of Cholesterolcode.com. If you have not come across him he is worth checking out. There is a calculator on his website which looks at your risk score if you are eating low carb.
 
Ryhia said:
from what I can see your Trigs are quite high. Did you fast before your blood test and are you eating low carb? If you didn't fast that might account for the Trig levels. A low carb way of eating usually brings down trig levels.
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I didn't fast this time, as my GP team don't recommend it and automaticaly put "not fasting" on the form if I don't catch them in time. Fasting can make me feel quite ill, but I am determined to do it next time. That said, one argument for a non-fasting test is that nowadays we are rarely in a fasted state, so our cholesterol after having eaten fairly recently is actually more realistic! Sadly, when I ate a very high carb Mediterranean style diet my trigs were vanishingly low. I was proud of them! They went up when I began eating low carb. (I am keeping under 30g carbs daily, with quite high protein.) My GP would like me to get my total cholesterol down. (I would like this too.) He seemed surprised when I pointed out that if I managed to raise my HDL that too would contribute to a high Total score.
 
Alexandra100 said:
I didn't fast this time, as my GP team don't recommend it and automaticaly put "not fasting" on the form if I don't catch them in time. Fasting can make me feel quite ill, but I am determined to do it next time. That said, one argument for a non-fasting test is that nowadays we are rarely in a fasted state, so our cholesterol after having eaten fairly recently is actually more realistic! Sadly, when I ate a very high carb Mediterranean style diet my trigs were vanishingly low. I was proud of them! They went up when I began eating low carb. (I am keeping under 30g carbs daily, with quite high protein.) My GP would like me to get my total cholesterol down. (I would like this too.) He seemed surprised when I pointed out that if I managed to raise my HDL that too would contribute to a high Total score.
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I try to arrange an appointment early in the day and make sure I fast beforehand but then I don't really eat anything after 6:00pm in any case so its fairly easy for me simply not to have breakfast until after I get back. My last bloods when my levels came back high I was asked back for another test when they asked that I make sure I had fasted so that my results were more accurate so fasting must make some difference.

By the way are you losing weight? Apparently if you are losing weight it can affect your Trigs as well as your LDL.
 
Got my new cholesterol test kit yesterday. The total cholesterol test I had undertaken previously was a whole cholesterol measure and also difficult to read. Looks like it was fairly accurate though. I couldn't really tell if the result showed 6 point something or 7point something. According to my new test kit, total cholesterol is 7.07 better than the 10.00 result I had in July. I am relatively ok with that as I am still eating low carb just modified my food choices. Its nice total cholesterol is reducing although I suspect this could have happened in any case without any interference from me. I still see an argument with the medical profession in the future but so be it. I am glad I purchased this device as I no longer have to wonder what my levels are that said I won't be checking too often as the blood draw is like Dracula, three pipettes full and the test strips are very expensive. I'm thinking of trying the Dave Feldman protocol to see what happens but I think I may have left it a bit late. I wanted to check to see if the protocol works in case I need to use this for my next blood test but as that might be imminent I may not have the time.

Interestingly I find that my trigs and HDL levels are not as good as previous, not sure why this should be as I have been doing all the things its says to do to lower trigs and raise HDL. Bit of a puzzle but but something to explore. I have recorded the test results below as @Alexandra100 asked me to post.

Total Chol 7.07
HDL 1.6
TG 1.05
LDL 4.95
Cho/HDL 4.3

The measurement range for the tester is:
Total = 2.59 - 10.36mmol/l
HDL = 0.52 - 2.07
TG = 0.57 - 6.78
 
Ryhia said:
I won't be checking too often as the blood draw is like Dracula, three pipettes full and the test strips are very expensive.)
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Thanks very much @Ryhia. Well, that's me well put off! Procuring the tiny drop of blood required for my regular bg tests is OK with me, but I don't at all like the idea of going further! So I'll wait and see how blood test shortages due to Covid go, and maybe request another free NHS cholesterol test in December. Maybe I can persuade my GP to throw in tests for vitamin D and B12 at the same time, not to mention A1c.
 
Ryhia said:
I have recorded the test results below as @Alexandra100 asked me to post.

Total Chol 7.07
HDL 1.6
TG 1.05
LDL 4.95
Cho/HDL 4.3
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@Ryhia I find I have noted in the past the following targets for trigs:
Fasting trigs <1.7
Non-fasting trigs <2.3
By this standard, my non-fasting trigs (3.8) are too high, but your trigs are stellar.
 
Ryhia said:
I find that my trigs and HDL levels are not as good as previous, not sure why this should be as I have been doing all the things its says to do to lower trigs and raise HDL.
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To raise HDL, are you doing resistance training? I am pinning my hopes on that, both to raise HDL and also to lower bg, as I believe muscle acts as a glucose sink. (Please excuse unscientific language!)
 
I am liking this post and find it very interesting. My own levels are around 8 (HDL 2.4, trigs 0.5, LDL 4.5) and I know that the ratios are fine. I still wonder at the back of my mind though, whether my LDL should be 'lower' but I think that is because we get it drummed into us that LDL is 'bad, bad, bad' and it's hard to shake off. I am 59years old (female) and healthy in every other respect, slim, fit blah, blah. I am convinced now though that my body is making the exact right amount of cholesterol for ME and although cholesterol levels can probably be changed by exercise/diet etc, it's only by very small amounts and there seems to be very little evidence that lowering by these small amounts benefit you in any notable way YET a whole lot of stress & effort is involved to make these changes. Personally I have now stopped worrying about it, I don't/won't take statins and have resigned myself to the fact that unless something drastic changes I'll just have to live with the 'risk' of higher LDL. Great post & liking the replies. x
 
Alexandra100 said:
@Ryhia I find I have noted in the past the following targets for trigs:
Fasting trigs <1.7
Non-fasting trigs <2.3
By this standard, my non-fasting trigs (3.8) are too high, but your trigs are stellar.
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Not as good as July when they were .9 fasting.
 
Alexandra100 said:
Hello @KK123, could I ask you (1) are those levels fasting? (2) what is your usual A1c? (3) do you follow a particular dietary regime? Congratulations on your brilliant trigs!
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Hi Alexandra, yes, those readings were taken having fasted. My A1c has been between 39 and 42 since diagnosis. I don't follow a dietary regime as such but I am fairly careful about what I eat. To be fair I don't think it's anything noble that I am doing as I am still in the honeymoon period (diagnosed just over 2 years ago). I use small amounts of insulin, 8 of basal and between none & 8 at the most of bolus (8 if I am eating a meal of around 120 carbs VERY occasionally....I know...I know....). Oddly enough no matter how high a carb meal might be I cannot take more than the 8 units because I go straight into hypo a while later so it seems as if my body is saying give me no more than 8 and I'll make up the rest if needed myself!!). My usual regime is one meal a day (I have always done that though due to the nature of my job which is shifts) and a couple of snacks. I was diagnosed with pre diabetes 5 years ago which I suspect was actually the slow onset of type 1. I do think I am still producing some of my own insulin but have no idea how much so I am glad I have insulin to use as and when to keep me in target. As for the trigs, I am sure that is more by luck than judgement and to me that is another reason I dislike being told to take statins on a just in case basis because even my Consultant said 'if your trigs are low your body's doing alright cholesterol wise'. Ask me any questions you like. x
 
Ryhia said:
Not as good as July when they were .9 fasting.
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Once down to such a low level, I wonder if there is any advantage in going even lower? Though of course one doesn't want to see an upward trend. I read that uncontrolled diabetes is a common cause of high triglycerides, but your diabetes is by no means uncontrolled. Still I do wonder if lowering bg might be more effective than lowering dietary fat to lower cholesterol? Not much hope of finding out, since all research seems to centre on doses of statins.
 
Alexandra100 said:
To raise HDL, are you doing resistance training? I am pinning my hopes on that, both to raise HDL and also to lower bg, as I believe muscle acts as a glucose sink. (Please excuse unscientific language!)
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The only exercise I do is walk on occasion. I do have an air walker and we have good walks on the doorstep so I am trying to build up the amount of walking I am doing.
 
Alexandra100 said:
Thanks very much @Ryhia. Well, that's me well put off! Procuring the tiny drop of blood required for my regular bg tests is OK with me, but I don't at all like the idea of going further! So I'll wait and see how blood test shortages due to Covid go, and maybe request another free NHS cholesterol test in December. Maybe I can persuade my GP to throw in tests for vitamin D and B12 at the same time, not to mention A1c.
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NICE guidelines are an HbA1c (mine includes cholesterol check) should be every six months so its perfectly feasible to ask for another HbA1c in 6 months. My test was reverted to annual last year because my bloods had stablised. I didn't push for a 6 monthly test as I knew my cholesterol was panicking them so I was hoping it would go down if I waited a while, no such luck. I also get so stressed waiting for my blood test that my blood levels go up in the weeks beforehand just when I want good control.
 
Alexandra100 said:
Thanks very much @Ryhia. Well, that's me well put off! Procuring the tiny drop of blood required for my regular bg tests is OK with me, but I don't at all like the idea of going further! So I'll wait and see how blood test shortages due to Covid go, and maybe request another free NHS cholesterol test in December. Maybe I can persuade my GP to throw in tests for vitamin D and B12 at the same time, not to mention A1c.
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Alexandra, I don't believe the shortages people are reporting have anything to do with COVID, but more to do with Roche moving premises. The Roche statement says they hope to be back to business as usual asap.

Many apologies for the derailment, @Ryhia
 
Pipp said:
My own decision to accept statins was based on knowledge at the time. In addition to the family history, I also had hypertension (since my first pregnancy in my mid twenties, when I also had pre-eclampsia), and was morbidly obese in addition to the diabetes diagnosis, I had seen close relatives develop heart problems and some had early onset dementia.
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@Pipp I am currently not taking a statin, but I do think you were absolutely right to do so. Despite being very slim, my mother suffered from high blood pressure from the time of her pregnancy with me, maybe before that, up to the premature end of her life. When she turned 60 she was already in the coma that she never came out of, after a haemorrhagic stroke. Maybe if statins had existed at that time she might have lived longer. Should I accumulate a few more risk factors, I may decide to join you. IMO it is important not to invest too much of our identity in these decisionss, especially as we get older and maybe frailer. Perhaps the older we get the more often we need to re-evaluate our strategies, as you have been doing.
 
Ryhia said:
The Endocrinologist has also referred me to their Dietician as they think this will be extremely useful. I am not so sure about that unless they understand about low carb eating.
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@Ryhia my GP referred me to a dietician. I had 2 appointments with him. I was shocked at this nice man's total ignorance about diabetes and low carb. His advice was that I should go on eating the Mediterranean-style diet I was eating when I had my first A1c of 41and just let my bg rip until it got really high, at which point my GP would cure it with meds. If only!
 
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