Cholesterol testing

[Jean from Stoke on Trent]

Apart from the yearly cholesterol test done at the same time as the HbA1c, does anyone self test? I know there are a lot of choices for meter's which i'm finding confusing, any advice welcomed.

many thanks.

 

[Rachox]

Can you just clarify? Do you mean self testing of cholesterol or blood sugars? Assuming you mean blood sugars then yes, many of us Type 2s here self test. We can advise if you want to buy a blood glucose meter.

 

[Jean from Stoke on Trent]

Can you just clarify? Do you mean self testing of cholesterol or blood sugars? Assuming you mean blood sugars then yes, many of us Type 2s here self test. We can advise if you want to buy a blood glucose meter.

I use an SD Codefree meter for testing my glucose and wondered if I should be testing my cholesterol level as I eat a lot of eggs.

 

[JohnEGreen]

The Wellion LUNA duo tests glucose and cholesterol I believe but strips for cholesterol are quite expensive and for me that is rather prohibitive of self testing for cholesterol levels.

Edit to add as I don't see cholesterol as a major issue I would not be to enthusiastic about testing.

my grandson told me today that yesterday he ate about 20 eggs he doesn't have a cholesterol problem for many here eggs are a staple as low in carbs high in protein.

 

[Jean from Stoke on Trent]

The Wellion LUNA duo tests glucose and cholesterol I believe but strips for cholesterol are quite expensive and for me that is rather prohibitive of self testing for cholesterol levels.

hank you

 

[bulkbiker]

I use an SD Codefree meter for testing my glucose and wondered if I should be testing my cholesterol level as I eat a lot of eggs.

Theres no problem with eating lots of eggs as dietary cholesterol has very little impact on the cholesterol our livers make so we can survive.

 

[Jean from Stoke on Trent]

Theres no problem with eating lots of eggs as dietary cholesterol has very little impact on the cholesterol our livers make so we can survive.

thank you very much

 

[Guzzler]

How is your cholesterol (lipid) panel looking?

 

[Jean from Stoke on Trent]

How is your cholesterol (lipid) panel looking?

Last August it was 4:4 with no statins. I have changed my diet to include eggs which is why I asked if I should be self testing cholesterol levels.

 

[Guzzler]

Last August it was 4:4 with no statins. I have changed my diet to include eggs which is why I asked if I should be self testing cholesterol levels.

Your total cholesterol number tells you little about how your lipids are made up. To get a clearer picture you need to look at the breakdown of the numbers so that means LDL, HDL and Triglycerides. It is the ratio of HDL to Triglycerides that is the most useful marker in terms of Diabetes and cardiovascular health.

 

[Jean from Stoke on Trent]

Your total cholesterol number tells you little about how your lipids are made up. To get a clearer picture you need to look at the breakdown of the numbers so that means LDL, HDL and Triglycerides. It is the ratio of HDL to Triglycerides that is the most useful marker in terms of Diabetes and cardiovascular health.

I did ask the nurse for the breakdown but she was unable to give them to me. I will be more determined next time.

 

[bulkbiker]

I did ask the nurse for the breakdown but she was unable to give them to me. I will be more determined next time.

Had you fasted for 12 hours before the blood was taken? If not then they probably didn't do a full lipid panel anyway so they wouldn't have the breakdown. This makes the test not worth doing in my opinion.

 

[DavidGrahamJones]

as I eat a lot of eggs.

Ingested cholesterol should not affect your blood cholesterol results.
There's a good article here https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/dietary-cholesterol-does-not-matter#section3. If you Google Dietary Cholesterol, there's loads more articles.

 

[Jean from Stoke on Trent]

Thank you for the replies. On the blood test form is said non fasting test although cholesterol test was also there. It’s a minefield with Drs so I will carry on as normal and have the argument after the next test, I’m not taking statins.

 

[PenguinMum]

Ingested cholesterol should not affect your blood cholesterol results.
There's a good article here https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/dietary-cholesterol-does-not-matter#section3. If you Google Dietary Cholesterol, there's loads more articles.

David the last link in that article seems to suggest while eggs are fine for the general population they can be bad for Diabetics. Confused though I dont plan to stop eating eggs. I currently average around 8 a week.

 

[DavidGrahamJones]

Confused though I dont plan to stop eating eggs.

I stopped taking statins when I started low carb about 5 years ago. I also started to eat more eggs, prawns, cheese, kidney, liver, things that had been limited because of inaccurate dietary advice given by my GP at the time. My total cholesterol is around 4 and the only things I have discovered will increase that is full fat yogurt and cream. Although I mentioned one interesting article, there are a lot more that basically say ingested cholesterol,doesn't have much of an effect on the body's total cholesterol. The more you eat, the less the body has to make is how I saw it explained.