Just had a text from my GP........Cholesterol Gurus please advise!

zand

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Makes little sense, really - all a bit of an obstructive tactic!!

Anyhow, to update this thread with more info........my GP phoned me back, fortunately after my own outpatient clinic and his morning surgery!

He gave me the full blood results which I am very pleased to note place me reasonably firmly in a LOW RISK category and am most likely, as I thought, one of the Hyper Responders. I had a useful discussion with him about how Total Cholesterol is not a helpful number on its own, particularly in the context of considerable weight loss and keto diets.........and also discussed some of Prof Sikaris' presentations and how hyper responders can have TC levels of 15 or more sometimes...... I did manage to spark a hint of interest in him, I think.

The numbers are as follows for those interested:

Total Cholesterol 8.8
LDL 6.02
HDL 2.4
Trigiserides 0.84 (YIPPEEE!!!)
Non-HDL 6.4

The ratios are all pretty ideal - he agreed - and the Trigs had come down from my initial levels when I was firmly in diabetic territory, of over 2.

My HbA1c is now no longer pre-diabetic even - 5.4

GP initially thought I was on metformin - he should know really!!!! I said I was on NOTHING but dietary control.......he was puzzled and surprised i had managed to lose approx 25% of my body weight in the past 9 months and said "it must have been very difficult, but that is great!" I pointed out that it was not difficult at all...............and i would look to losing another approx 4kg before stabilising at just under 60kg.

He said he guessed I would pass on the statin and I said indeed I would - We agreed further HbA1C and lipids etc in 6 months.

I was going to try to source privately, electrophoresis of the LDL and even possibly a CAC scan, but I don't think it is necessary - I think I am one of the Dave Feldman cohort of Hyper Responders and that my Lipids reflect my very low carb diet and weight loss. And, for now anyway, my diabetes is IN REMISSION !!
Brilliant news. Very well done :)
 

CondorX

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I couldn't be happier at this point - it has been such a roller coaster journey, albeit only 9 months in my case, not helped by being medically qualified myself and quite uncertain about all the controversy about cholesterol and a GP who really seems to know not a lot about it at all...........he admitted being a bit panicky about my cholesterol.
 
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HSSS

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I couldn't be happier at this point - it has been such a roller coaster journey, albeit only 9 months in my case, not helped by being medically qualified myself and quite uncertain about all the controversy about cholesterol and a GP who really seems to know not a lot about it at all...........he admitted being a bit panicky about my cholesterol.
Now imagine how seriously some gp’s take us uneducated fools that insist on doing our own research, rather than believing every word they utter. Be grateful your gp is willing to listen to you and hopefully learn along with you. Hopefully patients will benefit as a result of the open mindedness.
 

CondorX

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Now imagine how seriously some gp’s take us uneducated fools that insist on doing our own research, rather than believing every word they utter. Be grateful your gp is willing to listen to you and hopefully learn along with you. Hopefully patients will benefit as a result of the open mindedness.

LOL he has got used to my challenges over many years........not sure he is convinced but at least he didn't argue about it and showed a little interest in the changes in lipid metabolism thinking. He is led by local criteria though - when I picked up my printed out results this afternoon, my total cholesterol has big panicky markers on it advising instant referral to the Local Lipid Clinic as this is "likely to be familial hypercholesterolaemia" . LDL marked in the same way. If this is the advice the GPs are getting they don't have much chance. I don't think he is at the point of changing his stance on cholesterol yet - but at least he respects and possibly now, partly understands, my position.
 
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HSSS

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but at least he respects and possibly now, partly understands, my position.
And now you’ve opened his eyes the next non medically trained patient of his will fair a little better, as a result of his listening to you. Thank you on their behalf.
 
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Tophat1900

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Congrats on the outstanding results @CondorX - in regards to CAC scan, seems you have been thinking of possibly having one. It might still be well worth it to get a baseline of where you are at. And I think lipids aside, there is nothing like the power of CAC in answering whether you do have any build up or not, but it's also information that may well be useful in the future. Just my thoughts on it.

That's just how I look at it, what you do is of course your business.
 

aard

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Nicole that video of Prof Sikaris is excellent - many thanks for posting it as it is reassuring.

Getting my detailed results from the GP practice is proving a nightmare as receptionists are now no longer able to give them out and there is no online facility at this practice for patients to access results. I am persisting however and hopefully will get the HDL and Trig levels and my HbA1c!! they are even refusing to post them, saying the GP has to authorise disclosing any results at all. Sigh. Might just pay for private tests I think.

At my surgery in England the receptionist will give out results, this is expected,
. They wont obviously make any comment on the results.

Sounds like this is a policy made up by your gp practice.
 

CondorX

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At my surgery in England the receptionist will give out results, this is expected,
. They wont obviously make any comment on the results.

Sounds like this is a policy made up by your gp practice.

I think my GP practice is more obstructive than many others - they make it up as they go along! I was surprised to hear that receptionists can no longer give results "due to errors" and that we cannot access them online.........in the end, I managed to speak to my GP and he printed the results off and I collected them at reception. All a bit clunky and not very streamlined, but I got them in the end.
 

Roller

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Hero status unlocked. Well done, and congratulations. Taking back control of your health from the clutches of metabolic meltdown is a liberating and exhilarating experience.
Is 0.98 for triglycerides good? Mine was 0.98 when last measured. The nurse was concerned about it.
 
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Is 0.98 for triglycerides good? Mine was 0.98 when last measured. The nurse was concerned about it.

Paging @bulkbiker et al. Lipids aren't my chosen specialist subject. From memory I believe under 1.0 is good. I may have seen 0.8 posted somewhere as being optimal. Others who are better versed in cholesterol panels will hopefully be along to comment.
 

CondorX

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Trig fasting levels should be under 1.2 from memory...0.84 was my last one, which is considered "optimal". If yours was 0.98 I can't imagine what the nurses' problem might be.......HDL is supposedly considered good over 1 for men and 1.2 for women. But the ratios are important - Total Cholesterol / HDL and HDL/LDL ratios. Use an online calculator like the one at hughescalc or cholesterolcode.com - and importantly, don't just believe all the doomsayers on the internet, Lipid Metabolism and interpretation of the levels is an evolving process. Do a lot of your own research - lots of helpful info on this site.
 

Roller

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The Trig/HDL ratio is the "new" measure
Anything under 0.87 is deemed excellent.. yours is 1.24 which is good.

How long had you fasted before the blood was taken?
Over night. I stopped eating after my evening meal And the blood sample was taken about 9am the next day.
 

bulkbiker

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Over night. I stopped eating after my evening meal And the blood sample was taken about 9am the next day.
So about a 12-14 hour fast which is usually considered the best period.
What kind of eating regime are you following? Sorry if it has been asked before but I can only remember a certain amount of peoples habits!
 

Roller

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So about a 12-14 hour fast which is usually considered the best period.
What kind of eating regime are you following? Sorry if it has been asked before but I can only remember a certain amount of peoples habits!
Well, I have cut out cakes, biscuits, sweets etc. No potatos or chips. But am eating brown rice and brown bread like the nurse said. Am eating fish and various meats and vegetables. She said don’t drink so much fruit juice.
 

CondorX

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"Eating brown rice and brown bread like the nurse said....." Oh dear...............
 

HSSS

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Well, I have cut out cakes, biscuits, sweets etc. No potatos or chips. But am eating brown rice and brown bread like the nurse said. Am eating fish and various meats and vegetables. She said don’t drink so much fruit juice.
To be fair that should show improvement if you previously ate a lot of them. Maybe not enough though. Rice and bread is still carbohydrates regardless of colour. Fish and meat are good. Veg is fine so long as it’s not potato (any colour). Other below ground veg might also be too starchy eg parsnips. Carrots are an issue for some people. She was right about fruit juice - liquid sugar. I’d say none not just less.
See what the scores are after tomorrow, ask for time to consider options and be more vigorous with diet if medications are suggested and come back with all the numbers (get a printout!) of the tests at diagnosis and tomorrow’s. Tell them if you like that you’ve found a diabetes support group and want to continue trying with that before drugs if you like. assuming of course that is what you want. Some may be resistant to it but it is your choice. Others are quite supportive.

Do you have a meter? That will show you very quickly what is good for you and what’s not.
 

bulkbiker

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Well, I have cut out cakes, biscuits, sweets etc. No potatos or chips. But am eating brown rice and brown bread like the nurse said.

OK hardly surprising your trigs were a bit elevated.. the nurse is an ill informed idiot..
Eating that stuff won't help you to get your blood sugars down.
She should also have said don't drink any fruit juice ever.