Hba1c not bad but cholesterol high

[Books1]

Just got results from gp Hba1c 43 down from 118 6 months ago on gliclazide & diet which I'm pleased about but cholesterol 7.5 no Hdl or ldl (too expensive he said?)
Any suggestions how to get cholesterol down?
Have 3 months to try by myself before statins are suggested more strongly. On various meds already so not keen to take more meds if i can avoid it.

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[andcol]

was it a fasting blood test?
had you done exercise before it?
are you losing weight at the moment?

All these things will effect your levels. Plus if he is not willing to do a full profile then he isn't worth listening to as total cholesterol means nothing

 

[Bluetit1802]

Well done on the HBa1c excellent. Total cholesterol means nothing on its own, and any doctor worth his salt should know that. You need HDL/LDL/Triglycerides before you or he can make any informative decisions on statins. I suggest you go back and ask for them, or at least next time demand them, and for triglycerides they need to be fasting.

 

[Books1]

Hi
Was a fasting test and no exercise beforehand and have stopped losing weight. have to say gp was clear we would ask for full results next time so we've got more info to work with but even so 7.5 is significantly above where ideally it should be.

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[ElyDave]

mine was a bit high at last test as well.

My diet changes so far are more oats (oatcakes are 5g carbs each, a bowl of porridge can come in at 25g) and less cheese and cream. Apparently dairy can elevate cholesterol in soem people on a restricted carb diets.

My test was also not fasted, and was post exercise. No-one told me it should have been fasted, but at least I got the full breakdown.

 

[NoCrbs4Me]

If you've been low carbing I wouldn't be surprised if your HDL, LDL, and triglycerides are fine or at least close to fine. The guidelines for cholesterol levels for diabetics are lower than for nondiabetics. However, I'd argue that if your HbA1c is at nondiabetic levels, you should be ok going with the nondiabetic guidelines, but you'd need to talk to your doctor about that more. My doctor wanted to put me on statins, but when I saw a type 2 diabetes specialist he looked at my test results and said I don't need statins or any other meds. As Bluetit says you need the full panel of tests so you can make an informed decision.

A low fat high carb diet will improve your cholesterol numbers marginally and send your triglycerides sky high. However a low carb diet will generally improve your HDL and drastically lower your triglycerides.

 

[Books1]

Have been low carbing (but not v low carb) and def don't want to high carb as bg will go skyward. Gp was sympathetic as low carb & low fat wouldn't leave me much food wise! Need to work on some changes.

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[andcol]

mine was a bit high at last test as well.

My diet changes so far are more oats (oatcakes are 5g carbs each, a bowl of porridge can come in at 25g) and less cheese and cream. Apparently dairy can elevate cholesterol in soem people on a restricted carb diets.

My test was also not fasted, and was post exercise. No-one told me it should have been fasted, but at least I got the full breakdown.

Yes I posted a snippet of info recently that exercising before your blood test raises LDL (especially if you are not high carb) - makes sense really needs the extra fuel

 

[noblehead]

Hi
Was a fasting test and no exercise beforehand and have stopped losing weight. have to say gp was clear we would ask for full results next time so we've got more info to work with but even so 7.5 is significantly above where ideally it should be.

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It is high but at least your Dr is prepared to do a full lipid breakdown next time so you can discuss things further, the following are the target cholesterol levels that they want people with diabetes to aim for:

• Your total cholesterol level should be below 4.0mmol/l.
• LDL levels should be less than 2.0mmol/l.
• HDL levels should be 1.0mmol/l or above in men and 1.2mmol/l or above in women.
• Triglyceride levels should be 1.7mmol/l or less.