Fools guide to cholesterol?!!

[Sunny]

Getting my head around blood glucose levels, Hba1c etc & know a bit about BP from my previous job but feel to be a bit in the dark about cholesterol.
Could anyone give me a 'fools guide' please?
Thanks in anticipation.
Sunny

 

[viviennem]

Hi Sunny

NICE gudelines for cholesterol levels from about 2004 - don't think they've changed much:

Target levels:
Total - below 5
HDL - above 1.4
Triglycerides - below 1.7 and the lower the better - my best ever was 0.65
LDL - below 3.

Very important is the Total:HDL ratio - target is below 5:1, and preferably 3.5:1

My best ever lipid profile was after 18 months on Atkins Induction - low carb, high fat. Makes you think :wink:

HCPs like diabetics to have total cholesterol even as low as in the 3s. I'm not medically qualified in any way, but I have read round a lot and I prefer mine around the 5 mark, which is the non-diabetic target. As long as the rest of my readings (my 'lipid profile') are as above, I'm not concerned if my total figure seems a bit high - it was 5.5 last time. My GP is okay with that.

Interestingly, I'm told that the QOF target for diabetics (the readings GPs have to report back to the NHS) is a total cholesterol of 5.

I'm a refusenik when it comes to statins - I had a bad time with a low dose of Simvastatin, and now won't take them at all. Metformin gives some protection with regard to coronary heart disease and stroke, and I'm happy with that.

I get a full print-out from the surgery of all my test results, every 3 months. You are entitled to that if you want it. Ask for a full print-out, including your lipid profile, and if you have problems with it, ask your GP to explain. The lab that does the tests should print their target range alongside your results, so you can see for yourself where your readings lie.

Don't let them put you off - and you don't have to pay for them, either!

Hope I haven't confused you too much

Viv 8)

 

[simply_h]

Hello All,

Hope we are all well..

Well I have asked and asked for a print out of my results at my reviews and I have been refused this by the nurse and doctor, and told I have to PAY for them.!

I just ask them to tell me and I write them down, which they don't like, as the nurse once saiid to me, that I do NOT need them as she will make any changes for me.!

my last results where:
Now my HDL's and Trigs are fine, but my LDL's are higher than normal, so my doctors tell me.
HDL : 1.3
LDL : 5.3
Trig : 1.0

I dont take satins, as I dont want to, but I am low-carbing and do lots of resistant training as well.

SO we shall see how long I last before I drop off this earth.. lol lol..

Cheers
Simply_h

 

[viviennem]

Hi, Simply_h,

Your results are part of your medical records which you are now entitled by law to see if you want to. I would ask again, very politely pointing out this fact to them, and say you'll ask the practice manager if you get another refusal.

If you don't get any joy from the practice manager, contact the Patients Liaison Service for your PCT (can't remember the exact name) and complain to them.

Considering that the practice is rumoured to get £2000 for every registered diabetic (according to a Radio 4 programme), I think you'r entitled to a free photocopy. If really pushed, I might offer them 10p per sheet :wink: .

Viv 8)

Edited for PS: your LDL should improve as you continue to low carb. Ask you nurse whose diabetes it is, hers or yours? :lol:

 

[Sunny]

Thanks SO much Viv that's brilliant - much clearer. I'm seeing the practice nurse tomorrow morning so need to know what's going on. Will ask for a printout & see how it goes?!!
Thanks again.
Sunny

 

[Sunny]

Ps yes it's very interesting re lipids after 18 months on Atkins!!

 

[noblehead]

Hi Sunny

NICE gudelines for cholesterol levels from about 2004 - don't think they've changed much:

Target levels:
Total - below 5
HDL - above 1.4
Triglycerides - below 1.7 and the lower the better - my best ever was 0.65
LDL - below 3.

They have Viv, current target numbers for people with diabetes are as follows:

HDL: 1mmol/l or above for men; 1.2mmol/l or above for women

LDL: below 2mmol/l

Triglycerides: equal to or below 1.7mmol/l

Total Cholesterol: below 4mmol/l

 

[viviennem]

Thanks, Noblehead. Good to see the figures they're working to for diabetics.

Mine were for non-diabetics, which I don't think I made clear enough.

Do they give a reason why diabetics LDL and Total are supposed to be so much lower than for the non-diabetic population? apart from the usual "higher incidence of heart disease in diabetics" (which to me, as a layman, means higher incidence of heart disease in badly-controlled diabetics - but I'm a cynic. :wink: )

I'm not dissing the scientific studies, I'm sure that's what they show - I just think the stats they used are based on diabetics whose BG levels were outside the non-diabetic range. I don't see why, if no damage has already been done and our BGs are well-controlled, our risk level should be any different from the non-diabetic population.

Interesting discussion point? I'm always ready to learn! :wink:

Viv 8)

Edit PS - I'm talking about Type 2 here - don't know much about Type 1. V

 

[noblehead]

Do they give a reason why diabetics LDL and Total are supposed to be so much lower than for the non-diabetic population? apart from the usual "higher incidence of heart disease in diabetics" (which to me, as a layman, means higher incidence of heart disease in badly-controlled diabetics - but I'm a cynic. :wink: )

Undoubtedly those who are uncontrolled will have a greater risk as you say Viv, I don't really get too bogged-down with who is right and who is wrong when it comes to cholesterol and just go with the experts who have advised me both past and present.

 

[hanadr]

As long ago ass the 1970s, John Yudkin [a great medical researcher] was advocaing a low carb diet to reduce cholesterol.
Hana

 

[LindaBaxter]

I have just been diagnosed with type 2 diabetes but also have a cholesterol reading of 9.2 which is far too high! My late father also had a high reading but it was the normal reading for him and nothing would bring it any lower than 7.My mothers is also quite high at 6 so it stands to reason mine is going to be a natuarally high score. So I am on the " diabetics diet" and also "low cholesterol" and am at a bit of a loss as to what I should be eating!! :?: Can anyone shed any light on this for me please? :wave:

 

[viviennem]

Hi Linda, and welcome!

You have probably had the "Advice for Newbies" that Daisy1 greets our newcomers with. Have a good read of that, and also look around the forum.

You'll find that many of us on here try to control our carbohydrate intake to much lower levels than the NHS "Diabetic Diet" recommends. I try to keep my carbohydrate intake below 30g per day (sometimes I don't succeed :wink: ) because it suits me for weight loss, and for blood glucose levels, and because I like it. Others - such as Grazer, who I'm sure will be along soon - manage both perfectly well on a carb intake of around 100g - 150g per day. We're all different.

Some people do have naturally high cholesterol - there's a technical term for it, something like - hypercholesterolaemia?? In this case I would certainly like to see a specialist to learn all about it in some depth.

Please have a read of the Low-carb section on here - there are lots of good discussions and success-stories, and a recipe section to show how good a low-carb diet can be!

You'll gather I'm a bit of an enthusiast You must make up your own mind - we are all different (again!). All I can say is that the best lipid profile I ever had was after 18 months on Atkins Induction - before I was diabetic.

Don't be afraid to ask any questions you like - there's usually someone around to answer.

Viv 8)

 

[purpleya]

Hi, I've just been told that my good cholsterol has gone up but also my bad cholesterol! This is a new area for me. What does this mean? What should I be eating/avoiding to reduce the bad cholesterol.

I have been a diabetic for several years, went onto insulin October 2011 but have this year become aware of the effect carbs have and so have been trying to reduce them to 100g per day or less.

My sugar levels are going in the right direction 8.4 to 7.6 and I am very pleased about that.

 

[Sunny]

At my visit to the practice nurse yesterday my cholesterol results were-
HDL 1.2
LDL 4.0
Trig. 2.6
Serum ratio chol 5.3
Serum chol 6.3
So not too bad I don't think but still a bit confused about the last 2?!!
Sunny.

 

[viviennem]

At my visit to the practice nurse yesterday my cholesterol results were-
HDL 1.2
LDL 4.0
Trig. 2.6
Serum ratio chol 5.3
Serum chol 6.3
So not too bad I don't think but still a bit confused about the last 2?!!
Sunny.

I think 'serum chol' - total chol. Not sure about the serum ratio - it should be a ratio involving your total cholesterol, but it doesn't say what the other part is.

I'm afraid they are all a bit too high, except for the HDL (good chol) which is at the lower end of the range. However, some people have much worse, and if you carry on low-carbing they should all continue to improve. Keep at it!

Viv 8)

 

[phoenix]

agree with Viv that it refers to Total Cholesterol.
I think that the ratio is the HDL/TC ratio (actually works out at 5.25

It is better for

generally regarded as desirable:
TC/HDL ratio: 4.5 or less. That is, your total cholesterol divided by your HDL cholesterol. This reflects the fact that for any given TC level, the more HDL, the better

http://www.patient.co.uk/health/Cholesterol.htm

 

[Sunny]

Thanks Viv, well as you say I hope they continue to improve as I carry on low carbing - will look forward (sort of?!!) to seeing the next set of results - well that's if the GP's will agree to to order the bloods sometime in the next few years!!!
Thanks again for your help.