Lower blood sugars but higher cholesterol

togram

Member
Messages
12
Type of diabetes
Type 2
UOTE="bulkbiker, post: 1953341, member: 219467"]Do you have all the numbers? It's easier to see exactly what you are experiencing if we have them all.
Also if you are in weight loss mode then your lipid levels could well be out of whack and had you fasted for 10-14 hours before the bloods were taken for the test?[/QUOTE]

Hi bulkbiker, when I saw your response about statins and cholesterol I wondered if you might be able to shine a light on my question.
All my bloods are normal, came off statins 2 years ago & all is fine. I recently went a bit weird and had what my sis described as a word salad for a day and a half. Had brain scan, neck ultrasound, bloods, ecg, neuro exam etc and all were fine. On discharge they advised I take aspirin and statins.
Is the kneejerk reaction to everything statins?
Anything about "them" would be welcome. I've googled till my fingers are sore. Regards
 

LittleGreyCat

Well-Known Member
Messages
4,232
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Tablets (oral)
Dislikes
Diet drinks - the artificial sweeteners taste vile.
Having to forswear foods I have loved all my life.
Trying to find low carb meals when eating out.

jpen

Member
Messages
12
@jpen Can I also point you to https://www.diabetes.co.uk/forum/threads/dr-m-k-on-the-heart-risk-calculators.159901/ which suggests that cholesterol isn't a risk factor, at least for heart disease.

If this is accurate then you probably could both stop taking statins and stop worrying about cholesterol levels.

Yes - the more I read, the more it seems that cholesterol is a very contentious subject. When I visited the Dr yesterday he was not at all worried about the lipid results. 'One swallow does not make a summer' was his remark - which echos a bit what bulkbiker was saying about the variability of the test. He also agreed to me doing the test again - but this time a fasting test. So overall my worries about all this have substantially lessened! Thanks!
Oh - and he also halved my metformin dose - so THAT was good! :)
 

bulkbiker

BANNED
Messages
19,576
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Diet only
UOTE="bulkbiker, post: 1953341, member: 219467"]Do you have all the numbers? It's easier to see exactly what you are experiencing if we have them all.
Also if you are in weight loss mode then your lipid levels could well be out of whack and had you fasted for 10-14 hours before the bloods were taken for the test?



@togram
It seems to be the norm to prescribe statins for anyone over a certain age especially when T2 diabetes is in the mix..
I'm a complete sceptic on them and would never take them. However I have no experience of your symptoms but can't really see what statins would be supposed to be doing to help them... Did they check you out for mini strokes? TIA I think they are called.. that's the only thing I have heard of that has similar symptoms.. my mother had them in the past and may well still do as she has days when she's a bit "off" then again she's 92 and supposedly has early onset dementia.. although the symptoms of that went away when we took her off the statins! Go figure..
 
Last edited:

Kalobe

Well-Known Member
Messages
57
Type of diabetes
Type 1
Treatment type
Pump
Dislikes
The highs and lows
“The great cholesterol con” by Dr Malcolm Kendrick is a good read. The research shows that cholesterol is actually quite good for you if you are a woman and are over 50. As long as you are getting decent protein and green veg for your vitamins and minerals don’t worry about it. This is written about real research not **** from newspapers.
 

bulkbiker

BANNED
Messages
19,576
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Diet only
“The great cholesterol con” by Dr Malcolm Kendrick is a good read. The research shows that cholesterol is actually quite good for you if you are a woman and are over 50. As long as you are getting decent protein and green veg for your vitamins and minerals don’t worry about it. This is written about real research not **** from newspapers.
Cholesterol is in fact very good for us as without it we would be dead.. plain and simple. It is essential for life so anyone lowering their levels by medical means should think very carefully about why they would want to do that... in my view.
 
D

Deleted member 444941

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In my opinion it doesn't matter what colour a carb is they are all metabolised in the same way and given time they all end up as energy or fat, and as far as I know fibre has little or nothing to do with lipid values.
Not quite, Carbs that are absorbed more slowly, and contain more roughage, can actualy help reduce cholesterol.
 
D

Deleted member 444941

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Cholesterol is in fact very good for us as without it we would be dead.. plain and simple. It is essential for life so anyone lowering their levels by medical means should think very carefully about why they would want to do that... in my view.
The description I saw was that cholesterol was our bodies First Aid Kit, it's the first step to repair any damage!
 
D

Deleted member 444941

Guest
Always assuming that's a good thing...?
Yes, very true. 5yrs ago my cholesterol was high, can't remember how high now, and my hospital specialist decided to put me on statins. unfortunately he didn't read my file first, or he may have talked to me first instead of telling my GP to issue them. I have never touched them, my levels are in the normal range now, and my only change is that I now have porage for dreakfast. It worked within 6 months.
My specialist was delighted about the effect of his statins, till I told him that I hadn't touched them, and never would. He still can't get his head round how I did it without statins.
 

Guzzler

Master
Messages
10,577
Type of diabetes
Type 2
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Diet only
Dislikes
Poor grammar, bullying and drunks.
Not quite, Carbs that are absorbed more slowly, and contain more roughage, can actualy help reduce cholesterol.

I suppose it all depends on whether one needs to reduce cholesterol in the first place. Unless or until I hear strong evidence that fibre can reduce oxidised LDL I will carry on as I am.
 

hooha

Well-Known Member
Messages
205
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Diet only
Dislikes
long queues.
Thanks for reply!
Numbers are:
Total chol current 4.4; previous 3.6
HDL current 1.08; previous 0.94
LDL current (wouldn't provide an exact number but likely to be over 3.); previous 1.5
Triglycerides current 4.0; previous 2.6
Ratio current 4.1; previous 3.8

I had lost much more weight before previous tests - about 7 kg lost - than before current tests - about 2 kg loss.
I had milk in morning coffee, but otherwise nothing to eat for approx 15 hours.
Hello - the milk in your coffee might change your lipids level quickly. It is supposed to be a FAST with only water . Take a look at the Newcastle diet , check out the Guardian article by
Richard Doughty, lose more weight ,[ Prof Taylor says lose 15 -20% of your starting weight ] and he states that some people are very sensitive to a small amount of fat in liver and pancreas. ie. to lose their DB they have to get really light. tag @bulkbiker because I heartily agree with him.After REFUSING to help me reverse my DB , and AFTER I had done it, my GP in an embarassed tone explained if she'd had high blood sugar she would have done EXACTLY what I did - but she could not advise me or help me because it was not in line with the practice guidelines. Shocking, horrible and made me want to spit and commit violence ! Fancy condemning me to a progressive disease when she actually knew better. Ghastly . So best of luck dealing with those out of date attitudes.
 

hooha

Well-Known Member
Messages
205
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Diet only
Dislikes
long queues.
My GP '' diabetic nurse '' wanted to put me on statins. When I pointed out my ratios of trig to HDL were great and my total of trig was below the magic number [ according to Prof Ken Sikaris ] and I did NOT need statins, she got upset , and think she went off to have a cry and a smoke. Must have been also a shock to her that she had been trained to tell the patients rubbish. Most statins prescribed are doing no good. Research it and see. Just google do statins do any good? @HSSS @bulkbiker @The Mouse
 

jpen

Member
Messages
12
Hello - the milk in your coffee might change your lipids level quickly. It is supposed to be a FAST with only water . Take a look at the Newcastle diet , check out the Guardian article by
Richard Doughty, lose more weight ,[ Prof Taylor says lose 15 -20% of your starting weight ] and he states that some people are very sensitive to a small amount of fat in liver and pancreas. ie. to lose their DB they have to get really light. tag @bulkbiker because I heartily agree with him.After REFUSING to help me reverse my DB , and AFTER I had done it, my GP in an embarassed tone explained if she'd had high blood sugar she would have done EXACTLY what I did - but she could not advise me or help me because it was not in line with the practice guidelines. Shocking, horrible and made me want to spit and commit violence ! Fancy condemning me to a progressive disease when she actually knew better. Ghastly . So best of luck dealing with those out of date attitudes.

Hi - I've been meaning to get back to you, @bulkbiker and others who responded to my post, to update about my follow-up lipid test. So new results - (after fasting properly!) - are
Chol: 3.4
Trig: 1.1 (whoa!)
HDL: 1.12
LDL: 1.8
Ratio: 3.0
So that makes much more sense to me and I'm happy with those results. Seems like that little bit of milk was likely the culprit! Also asked my Dr what he would need to see in terms of my results to take me off the metformin completely - and he agreed that if my Hba1c was still within the 'normal' range in 3 months he would take me off the metformin.

I'm really sorry you had that experience with your doc. Just to give a wee bit of hope maybe - I sent my doc the link to Dr Unwins videos explaining the low carb approach to other GP's, and he said he was very interested in looking at them because "you are certainly a good advertisement for the treatment." :) So that's all hopeful! Next suggestion to him will be prof Taylor - but I'll just take things slowly. ;-) I think we just have to carry on, doing what we know is best for ourselves, and challenging out of date attitudes when we can. Good luck with your journey.
 
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Ponchu

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Messages
292
Hi all, I have been reading here on and off for a while, but only posted a couple of times before. Now I have a question regarding my latest blood test results.

I was diagnosed T2 in July 2018. I am a 65 year old female. Since then I have changed diet, cutting out all "white" carbs, eating much more fresh veges, fish etc. I have never had a 'sweet tooth' so not eating sugars was pretty easy. I also try to fast a couple of times a week when I can. I have managed to lose about 9 kilos - down from 107k to 98k. Initial Hba1c was 69, three months ago was down to 47, and results from last week were 37. I am wrapped about that!

However, on latest test, my lipids have all gone in the other direction! Total chol is up, LDL is up significantly, HDL has also gone up a bit, triglycerides have gone from 2.6 up to 4.0 and ratio is also up.

I am still quite new to all this - but I'm really puzzled about how I could be eating better, losing weight, lowering blood sugars, yet still getting worse cholesterol results. My only idea at the moment is maybe not eating enough fibre?

Would be grateful for any ideas/thoughts. Thanks!

Also Happy New Year everyone!
Jpen.



During weight loss on healthy diet like yours, lipids can go the opposite direction...

At first.


I’ve experienced it & researched others.

Those who stay the course see the numbers resolve.

Mine “improved” once the weight loss stopped.

I wonder if increase in cholesterol is the body interpreting weight loss as in need of protection.
 

hooha

Well-Known Member
Messages
205
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Diet only
Dislikes
long queues.
Hi - I've been meaning to get back to you, @bulkbiker and others who responded to my post, to update about my follow-up lipid test. So new results - (after fasting properly!) - are
Chol: 3.4
Trig: 1.1 (whoa!)
HDL: 1.12
LDL: 1.8
Ratio: 3.0
So that makes much more sense to me and I'm happy with those results. Seems like that little bit of milk was likely the culprit! Also asked my Dr what he would need to see in terms of my results to take me off the metformin completely - and he agreed that if my Hba1c was still within the 'normal' range in 3 months he would take me off the metformin.

I'm really sorry you had that experience with your doc. Just to give a wee bit of hope maybe - I sent my doc the link to Dr Unwins videos explaining the low carb approach to other GP's, and he said he was very interested in looking at them because "you are certainly a good advertisement for the treatment." :) So that's all hopeful! Next suggestion to him will be prof Taylor - but I'll just take things slowly. ;-) I think we just have to carry on, doing what we know is best for ourselves, and challenging out of date attitudes when we can. Good luck with your journey.
HI @jpen I have read that the most important ratio to look at is the Triglycerides over the HDL and yours seems fine.
 

Crocodile

Well-Known Member
Messages
683
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Tablets (oral)
Dislikes
I can't have it often
@jpen I've only just seen this thread. I would add that the triglyceride readings mean jack without fasting.