Diabetes and cholesterol

[humaira]

Got my results today...and by my own admission I've not been taking my Metformin properly.. missing weeks sometimes because I forget.
Been taking it properly for three weeks now
It's gone from 42 to 45 now

Also cholesterol was 5.85 now at 5.6
How am I meant to get it under 4. I thought you needed to be under 5
Want to put me in statin I said no.
Any advice... doctors gave no advice on how to reduce

 

[humaira]

Got my results today...and by my own admission I've not been taking my Metformin properly.. missing weeks sometimes because I forget.
Been taking it properly for three weeks now
It's gone from 42 to 45 now

Also cholesterol was 5.85 now at 5.6
How am I meant to get it under 4. I thought you needed to be under 5
Want to put me in statin I said no.
Any advice... doctors gave no advice on how to reduce

Also to note...not been told to fast. Is this making my results skewed as well?

 

[bulkbiker]

Also to note...not been told to fast. Is this making my results skewed as well?

If you didn't fast for the cholesterol test then it may have had an impact on the results. The HbA1c won't have been influenced.
Did you get a full lipid panel? The total cholesterol number is thought to be pretty meaningless these days.
It's highly unlikely that your doctor doesn't understand cholesterol and is simply following the "guidelines".
Have you made any changes to what you are eating to try to control your blood sugars?

 

[JohnEGreen]

It's highly unlikely that your doctor doesn't understand cholesterol and is simply following the "guidelines".

@bulkbiker Did you mean likely or unlikely as it alters the meaning somewhat sorry to ask as I do get a little confused sometimes.

 

[Guzzler]

Do you have a breakdown of your cholesterol results? This should say lipid panel but doctors always refer to it as cholesterol and we all know why they do this. A breakdown of the numbers in your lipid panel will give you a more accurate idea of what is going on, the 'Total Cholesterol' number is pretty meaningless otherwise and, yes, fasting / not fasting will have had some impact on the results.

 

[bulkbiker]

@bulkbiker Did you mean likely or unlikely as it alters the meaning somewhat sorry to ask as I do get a little confused sometimes.

Oops sorry you are right I should have written .... it is highly likely that your doctor doesn’t understand ... etc..

 

[Bluetit1802]

Got my results today...and by my own admission I've not been taking my Metformin properly.. missing weeks sometimes because I forget.
Been taking it properly for three weeks now
It's gone from 42 to 45 now

Also cholesterol was 5.85 now at 5.6
How am I meant to get it under 4. I thought you needed to be under 5
Want to put me in statin I said no.
Any advice... doctors gave no advice on how to reduce

Total cholesterol is just that - the total of the good bits, the not so good bits, and the baddies. You need to know your HDL (good cholesterol), and your LDL and triglycerides. The triglycerides are the baddies, and these can be elevated if you had recently eaten, which is why you should fast if you are having these checked. It could be your HDL is high, which is excellent, and the higher that is, the higher your total will be.

 

[humaira]

I'll get the full lipid results.
They did not tell me to fast
I didn't know was lipid screen included.

Now I know I'll get it redone in 6 months.

No not doing anything about sugars

But what can I do about my cholesterol to lower it.

 

[bulkbiker]

But what can I do about my cholesterol to lower it.

You might not need to depending on what your breakdown of HDL and triglycerides is.
Probably far better to lower your blood sugars as that will have a greater impact on your health.

 

[humaira]

You might not need to depending on what your breakdown of HDL and triglycerides is.
Probably far better to lower your blood sugars as that will have a greater impact on your health.

Thank you!! I will get the full screen results

 

[kitedoc]

As a general rule, lowering one's weight lowers the cholesterol reading but the good vs less good cholesterol ratio may also depend on your body's metabolism and what oils and fats you eat and whether your diet is such that you are actively burning fats (a state called ketosis) etc.
I wish doctors would concentrate on the HDL cholesterol result and explain what the breakdown of figures really mean.
Perhaps if doctors had to pay for each statin script they wrote there might be more sensible prescribing and better dietary advice.

 

[bulkbiker]

Perhaps if doctors had to pay for each statin script they wrote there might be more sensible prescribing and better dietary advice.

Perhaps if doctors knew exactly what statins did to our bodies they wouldn't prescribe them at all...
I found this to be both illuminating and frightening..

Thanks to @Indy51 for the initial posting..

 

[Guzzler]

As a general rule, lowering one's weight lowers the cholesterol reading but the good vs less good cholesterol ratio may also depend on your body's metabolism and what oils and fats you eat and whether your diet is such that you are actively burning fats (a state called ketosis) etc.
I wish doctors would concentrate on the HDL cholesterol result and explain what the breakdown of figures really mean.
Perhaps if doctors had to pay for each statin script they wrote there might be more sensible prescribing and better dietary advice.

Doctors are busy people, they have boxes to tick.

 

[DavidGrahamJones]

Thank you!! I will get the full screen results

Since being prescribed Statins in 1997 I had always wondered why the target total cholesterol kept getting less and less. More research? Try finding it. A conflict of interests among those members of the panel making the decision? Maybe ask your doctor who set the targets and based on what empirical evidence.

My favourite document, produced by the British Heart Foundation and the World Health Organisation. Perhaps your doctor can explain why these fairly important organisations say there is only a weak correlation between CVD and cholesterol levels. If you look at the dotted red line which shows total cholesterol levels against cardio vascular deaths, the rate increases above 5.3 and also below 5.3. Maybe 5.3 is the optimum total cholesterol level.

As others have mentioned, a fuller picture of your blood tests would be good. BTW, my MIL's GP has been trying to get her to take statins and she finally relented to take the prescription and not take the pills. Her total cholesterol is > 7 and she's 91. My dad's the same, age and cholesterol levels. Doesn't prove much, who knows.

 

[Guzzler]

Since being prescribed Statins in 1997 I had always wondered why the target total cholesterol kept getting less and less. More research? Try finding it. A conflict of interests among those members of the panel making the decision? Maybe ask your doctor who set the targets and based on what empirical evidence.

My favourite document, produced by the British Heart Foundation and the World Health Organisation. Perhaps your doctor can explain why these fairly important organisations say there is only a weak correlation between CVD and cholesterol levels. If you look at the dotted red line which shows total cholesterol levels against cardio vascular deaths, the rate increases above 5.3 and also below 5.3. Maybe 5.3 is the optimum total cholesterol level.

As others have mentioned, a fuller picture of your blood tests would be good. BTW, my MIL's GP has been trying to get her to take statins and she finally relented to take the prescription and not take the pills. Her total cholesterol is > 7 and she's 91. My dad's the same, age and cholesterol levels. Doesn't prove much, who knows.
View attachment 28622

Do I read this right, this graph shows total cholesterol in men only?

 

[Bluetit1802]

@humaira

My advice to you is concentrate on lowering your blood sugar levels. They will do you more harm than your cholesterol. Perhaps buy a blood glucose monitor and keep records of your levels before eating and 2 hours later, plus what you ate.

 

[humaira]

@humaira

My advice to you is concentrate on lowering your blood sugar levels. They will do you more harm than your cholesterol. Perhaps buy a blood glucose monitor and keep records of your levels before eating and 2 hours later, plus what you ate.

I have tested and they are good. I just think overall need to reduce my bad eating and lose weight too

 

[Bluetit1802]

I have tested and they are good. I just think overall need to reduce my bad eating and lose weight too

Just let your meter tell you which your bad foods are, and try and act on what you see. Try to keep any rise from before eating to the 2 hour mark down as low as you can, and definitely less than 2mmol/l. What are you doing to lose weight?

 

[humaira]

Just let your meter tell you which your bad foods are, and try and act on what you see. Try to keep any rise from before eating to the 2 hour mark down as low as you can, and definitely less than 2mmol/l. What are you doing to lose weight?

Was going gym... until they changed all gym classes haha
I'm going to go do my own thing and some classes from next week. But I definitely need to eat better as diet is key

 

[Bluetit1802]

Was going gym... until they changed all gym classes haha
I'm going to go do my own thing and some classes from next week. But I definitely need to eat better as diet is key

Yes, diet is the key. Exercise is good for our general health, but only a tiny part of weight loss. As the saying goes .... you can't out run a bad diet. So, have you a plan for a new eating regime, such as greatly reducing your carbohydrate consumption, or trying a very low calorie diet (800 calories a day) or something else?