A story of two halves!

[Murph28]

Hi All,
I've been lurking in the shadows since being diagnosed as T2 at the end of March this year and agreed with the Dr to try for diet and exercise before considering medication, which is the last thing I want to do if I can possibly avoid it. I have done lots of reading around the forum and you have been a life saver to me. All the questions I've had have been answered in various old/new threads and has helped me get my head around the diabetes diagnosis. There are so many knowledgeable and generous people on this site, its fantastic. Thank you all so much!!
A little about my journey so far..... Had my first HbA1c and lipids etc 30/03/15 and immediatley started on LCHF (What a wonderful WOE!!) Since then I have felt so much better and watched my BG drop slowly (along with my weight). Went to have my blood tests last week and it was a story of two halves. My HbA1c was brill!!! BUT my cholesterol levels were dreadful!!
The DN was lovely and couldn't congratulate me enough for my Hb but was worried about the other stuff. Went to see the Dr today who advised me 'strongly' to take the prescription for statins (which I really, really don't want to do) We agreed to leave it for three months until my next Hb, and see what's changed. He was very pleasant about it and said 'I can't force the tablets on you but I would recommend you take them' He then asked me why I was following the LCHF and I was able to give him many very good reasons.. thanks to you people! He wasn't totally dismissive and took the name of the Trudi Deakins book, saying it would make interesting reading (I hope he does read it)
Anyway I am heading off at a tangent lol
My question is what would you suggest I do to improve my cholesterol levels? I've added the two sets of results to show the downward path of one
30/03/15
Height 5'6"
Weight 18 st 3lbs
HbA1c 88
Total cholesterol - 6.0
HDL - 0.99
LDL - 4.5
Trigs - 1.2

01/07/15
Weight 16 st
HbA1c 41
Total cholesterol - 6.9
HDL - 1.06
LDL - 5.3
Trigs - 1.2

Thanks so much x

 

[SueB743]

Hi and welcome. Firstly very well done on you hba1c results and your weight loss that is really fantastic. I was told my cholesterol was a bit high although still don't have the full break down. Due to get my 3 months results next week but I was told it can come down as the weight starts to come off so it might be worth giving it a bit longer to see if it starts coming back down. Hopefully others might have more practical suggestions which might help me too. Fingers crossed we will both see the figures all going the right way soon

 

[zand]

Welcome to the forum. Very well done on your weight loss and HbA1c (now better than mine!)

I think others have lost weight on LCHF and then found their cholesterol levels went up. I think most find they go back down again.

What would I suggest to reduce cholesterol levels? I don't know. I have never bothered trying to reduce my own levels so I will leave it to others to advise you on this.

Meanwhile have a look at this link.

https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/486704

This is purely my opinion but I would not call your cholesterol levels dreadful. I know many would disagree with me. I know it's fashionable to have them much lower than this but levels that are too low are much worse than high levels. So if it were me I would do nothing and see what happens. Many would accept statins at this point. I wouldn't, but that's for each of us to decide for ourselves.

 

[Bluetit1802]

Hi and welcome!

Brilliant drop in weight and HbA1c - very well done!

Your cholesterol may not be perfect, but it has actually improved.
HDL is up (very good)
LDL is down (very good)
Trigs the same.

So what is there to worry about? You can ignore the total cholesterol, that means nothing and most GP's are beginning to recognise this. It is a total of the other bits (with a bit of fiddling) so if your good cholesterol goes up (HDL) so will your total.

 

[Murph28]

Hi and welcome. Firstly very well done on you hba1c results and your weight loss that is really fantastic. I was told my cholesterol was a bit high although still don't have the full break down. Due to get my 3 months results next week but I was told it can come down as the weight starts to come off so it might be worth giving it a bit longer to see if it starts coming back down. Hopefully others might have more practical suggestions which might help me too. Fingers crossed we will both see the figures all going the right way soon

Thank you Sue I must admit I didn't realise how unwell I felt until I was diagnosed. The HbA1c made me feel even better, to say nothing of the weight loss!. Fingers crossed for you and your blood tests hope its a low one x

 

[Murph28]

Welcome to the forum. Very well done on your weight loss and HbA1c (now better than mine!)

I think others have lost weight on LCHF and then found their cholesterol levels went up. I think most find they go back down again.

What would I suggest to reduce cholesterol levels? I don't know. I have never bothered trying to reduce my own levels so I will leave it to others to advise you on this.

Meanwhile have a look at this link.

https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/486704

This is purely my opinion but I would not call your cholesterol levels dreadful. I know many would disagree with me. I know it's fashionable to have them much lower than this but levels that are too low are much worse than high levels. So if it were me I would do nothing and see what happens. Many would accept statins at this point. I wouldn't, but that's for each of us to decide for ourselves.

Thanks for the reply Zand and also the link to the book, a spot of light reading to add to the ever growing collection! I think you may be right and just to keep doing what I'm doing may be the answer. Being new to all this I tend to panic and then think. Three months down the line there may be some improvement ( and less of me) to show a move in the right direction x

 

[Murph28]

Hi and welcome!

Brilliant drop in weight and HbA1c - very well done!

Your cholesterol may not be perfect, but it has actually improved.
HDL is up (very good)
LDL is down (very good)
Trigs the same.

So what is there to worry about? You can ignore the total cholesterol, that means nothing and most GP's are beginning to recognise this. It is a total of the other bits (with a bit of fiddling) so if your good cholesterol goes up (HDL) so will your total.

Thank you for the welcome and the reply bluetit, my LDL however hasn't gone down (wish it had!) its up

 

[Bluetit1802]

Thank you for the welcome and the reply bluetit, my LDL however hasn't gone down (wish it had!) its up

Ooops yes, sorry about that.

Nuts, avocado and a glass of red wine a day may help with the LDL. Oily fish and other Omega 3 products may lower the triglycerides. Low trigs can mean your LDL particles are the light big fluffy type that are good for you, rather than the little hard ones that cause the damage. The lower the trigs the more likely your LDL will have more good fluffy particles.

 

[Winnie53]

Maybe you just fattened up size of your LDL cholesterol with all those healthy fats you've been eating.

I personally would want at minimum one more lipid profile - (after your weight has been stable for a couple of months) - then I'd want additional testing: particle size and Lp(a). You're doing good things for your body right now.

 

[Murph28]

Ooops yes, sorry about that.

Nuts, avocado and a glass of red wine a day may help with the LDL. Oily fish and other Omega 3 products may lower the triglycerides. Low trigs can mean your LDL particles are the light big fluffy type that are good for you, rather than the little hard ones that cause the damage. The lower the trigs the more likely your LDL will have more good fluffy particles.

Thanks for that, I must admit I think I might just be able to 'force' myself to add those things in greater quantity (especially the wine )

 

[Murph28]

Maybe you just fattened up size of your LDL cholesterol with all those healthy fats you've been eating.

I personally would want at minimum one more lipid profile - (after your weight has been stable for a couple of months) - then I'd want additional testing: particle size and Lp(a). You're doing good things for your body right now.

Thanks Winnie, I have a further test in 3 months, the doctor has said I can see what I am able to do with diet up to then. I must admit I did get the impression that he was convinced that he would be able to get the prescription pad out on my next visit. but we shall see!! Done a lot in the first 3 months so onwards and upwards!!

 

[Murph28]

Hi Murph! Congrats on the weight loss btw! I take vitamin supplements for my cholesterol as I've got a reeaally bad history of hereditary heart disease! Have you tried vitamins?

Hi Bradley thank you for that, feeling very positive atm but couldn't have got this far without the fantastic people on the forum. I must admit I haven tried vitamins but have read that B3 is supposed to do some good. What are you taking?

 

[Winnie53]

@Murph28 I'm passionate about heart health. In fact I'm attending a free, online Heart Summit this week.

Here's four nutritional supplements that you're likely deficient in, and likely would benefit from... B-complex - (get your B3 and the other important B vitamins too!) - vitamin D3, magnesium, and fish oil. (Magnesium comes in many forms. Magnesium citrate is a good middle of the road one. I take 150 mg with each meal for a total of 450 mg a day. I'd say that quality is important with the B-complex and fish oil. Ask around to find good quality ones.)

Learn more about how to maintain heart and artery health with these essential nutrients by reading this article - (it's also a good website to have a look around, lots of well documented, research based information here)...

http://www.greenmedinfo.com/blog/7-ways-prevent-and-even-reverse-heart-disease-nutrition1

 

[Murph28]

@Murph28 I'm passionate about heart health. In fact I'm attending a free, online Heart Summit this week.

Here's four nutritional supplements that you're likely deficient in, and likely would benefit from... B-complex - (get your B3 and the other important B vitamins too!) - vitamin D3, magnesium, and fish oil. (Magnesium comes in many forms. Magnesium citrate is a good middle of the road one. I take 150 mg with each meal for a total of 450 mg a day. I'd say that quality is important with the B-complex and fish oil. Ask around to find good quality ones.)

Learn more about how to maintain heart and artery health with these essential nutrients by reading this article - (it's also a good website to have a look around, lots of well documented, research based information here)...

http://www.greenmedinfo.com/blog/7-ways-prevent-and-even-reverse-heart-disease-nutrition1

Many thanks for that Winnie, will add them to my next order.. think I'm going to start rattling
Thank you also for the link, have started reading and it is very informative x