Cholesterol help!

[NoCrbs4Me]

I have reluctantly agreed to take statins following background retinopathy being found. My doctor is very supportive of me. I am giving them a go for a while and if there are no side effects I will review the situation with her. One statement she made was...your BP and BG are perfect, why not go for the hat trick?

I doubt very much that cholesterol levels have anything to do with retinopathy. What are your blood glucose levels?

 

[HelenHak]

I doubt very much that cholesterol levels have anything to do with retinopathy. What are your blood glucose levels?

Average BG 5, last Hba1c 36. I had read that cholesterol can effect retinopathy but am happy to be re educated.

 

[Colin of Kent]

I have reluctantly agreed to take statins following background retinopathy being found. My doctor is very supportive of me. I am giving them a go for a while and if there are no side effects I will review the situation with her. One statement she made was...your BP and BG are perfect, why not go for the hat trick?

I agree with @NoCrbs4Me on this. My cholesterol is astronomical now after going keto last March. My retinopathy has increased, but apparently that's a normal effect of tighter BG control, and it should improve in the long term. I asked my consultant specifically about the relationship between elevated cholesterol and retinopathy, and he said there is none.

My total cholesterol went from historically being under 5 to just over 17 mmol/l (roughly 800+ mg/dl). It's recently dropped to 12.5 mmol/l. I was alarmed at first, but I've now read 'The Great Cholesterol Con' by Malcolm Kendrick and 'Cholesterol Clarity' by Jimmy Moore. These demystified the whole concept for me. Now that I understand what cholesterol is for, I'm not so afraid of it! I'd recommend these books to anyone who is concerned about their cholesterol, and anyone who has been told to take a statin.

 

[HelenHak]

I agree with @NoCrbs4Me on this. My cholesterol is astronomical now after going keto last March. My retinopathy has increased, but apparently that's a normal effect of tighter BG control, and it should improve in the long term. I asked my consultant specifically about the relationship between elevated cholesterol and retinopathy, and he said there is none.

My total cholesterol went from historically being under 5 to just over 17 mmol/l (roughly 800+ mg/dl). It's recently dropped to 12.5 mmol/l. I was alarmed at first, but I've now read 'The Great Cholesterol Con' by Malcolm Kendrick and 'Cholesterol Clarity' by Jimmy Moore. These demystified the whole concept for me. Now that I understand what cholesterol is for, I'm not so afraid of it! I'd recommend these books to anyone who is concerned about their cholesterol, and anyone who has been told to take a statin.

Thank you for that. I am pondering with all my might.

 

[johnme]

I just want to add that I think the reason my cholesterol number was so high day before yesterday is that I have been eating too much beef the past six months. I was diagnosed T2 last April, and went very low-carb, and lost 26 pounds and my BG numbers came down.

But I also stopped having any appetite for vegetables. I did eat some salads over the summer, but later in the year I started trying cooked vegetables and just had no appetite for them. So I started eating more fish and chicken and, when I got fed up with them, beef (which I never seem to get tired of). I also started putting heavy whipping cream in my coffee, and having on average 1 or 1 1/2 cups a day.

So for the next 3 months, until my follow-up cholesterol blood work and A1C, I am not going to have any cream, and I am going to try not to eat any red meat. I will also cut back on chicken, eat more fish, more oatmeal (maybe 1 bowl a day), and more vegetables. Then I will see if that lowers my LDL cholesterol AND doesn't raise my A1C. I will keep checking BG in the morning and after meals with the increased veg, and oatmeal, and yogurt, and see if BG increases, and weight, or decreases, or stays about the same.

People recommend "eating to your meter" so I am going to see how my eating over the next 3 months registers on my BG meter and on my doctor's cholesterol meter. Then I will take things from there.

You do realise 85% of your cholesterol is produced by your body? The cholesterol laden foods have some effect but not that much. I would look elsewhere for the source

 

[Sue192]

http://www.statinnation.net/blog/20...your-cholesterol-level-is-normal-and-not-high

Thank you for posting those links, @SaskiaKC - very interesting. The one above is particularly of interest to me as my sister-in-law has cut out virtually all fat from her diet and is as thin as a rake. The last time I saw her I was concerned at how her bones stuck out. Her father died of a heart attack when he was 50 and so I can understand her approach, although I think as a family they have normally higher cholesterol levels than the 'statin trigger' anyway. She is not on statins and her doc is ok with what she eats (too much dried fruit and low-fat choices in my opinion!) but I wish I could persuade her to eat more fat as I am sure she's causing other problems (she's 66). Her husband tells her that it's sugar that's the enemy, not fat. I will be showing her those links at a suitable moment.

 

[Ponchu]

Nov 6 2018 blood test my cholesterol skyrocketed.

I had been LCHF for 5 months.

I lost 40 lbs and for the first time in 26 years, was no longer a chronic pain patient.

My blood pressure was healthy for the first time in years.

They didn’t “see” the results till early Jan 2019

I said, “my levels are high as I’m losing weight. They’ll stabilize.”

This angered admin. $

30% drop in cholesterol a few days after the administration insisted on statins.

Yeah, after yrs of pain, now gone, I’m going to go on statins?

Not happening.