High cholesterol at diagnosis

Everyone knows that eating fats will cause cholesterol to go up - except that for me doing Atkins and eating my mushrooms fried in goose fat - and all the other things too - my cholesterol is now 5.7, down from 6.4 on the cholesterol lowering carby diet I was advised to eat.
Taking statins has really affected my memory and intellect, and I only took them for just over a month, stopped before Christmas and I'm not getting any better now - though I have seen a bit of improvement from when it was at the worst.
I think that the high blood glucose generated high cholesterol, and the way to reduce it is reducing carbs and blood glucose, as statins simply have too dangerous side effects.

If you are not keen on statins then tell your doctor so.

I assume you will be making some diet and lifestyle choices due to your diagnosis so ask for, say, a three month delay. That will allow your lifestyle changes to show some effect.

In the meantime have a good read around this site. There is quite a lot of anecdotal evidence and some links to lectures etc on a low carbohydrate high fat diet. I have been following this way of eating for about three weeks now and my blood sugar results are showing a downward trend - I'm hoping that my cholesterol mix will change as well - even if my overall total doesn't change.

I bought myself a meter and it's the best thing I did as I can see what is happening when I eat different food. If your doctor doesn't offer you one then you may wish to consider getting one - look at the running cost of the strips rather than the cost of the meter. Someone will be along to give you some links soon - I'm on my iPad and it is having a funny do this morning otherwise I'd find them for you.

Let us know how you get on

Hi, you don't mention your Triglycerides in your cholesterol figures.

Can I ask whether your cholesterol test was a fasting one?

The reason I ask is that your Triglycerides rise and fall depending on what you have been eating over the last meal or two. So a fasting test will give your background Trig numbers, while a non-fasting test may throw up an inconveniently high Trig number, which is only transitary. Other factors that influence Trigs are carb intake and alcohol intake.

The NHS often says that fasting tests are unnecessary, but I prefer to know the background number, rather than a temporary number, so I fast before the bloodtest anyway.

Also, have a look at this calculator:
http://www.hughcalc.org/chol-si.php
If you enter the figures that you have available, it gives your HDL as OPTIMAL and your ratio of 4.00 as GOOD.

Obviously listen to your Doc, but then come back and do your own research, on statins and cholesterol. Age, sex and lifestyle are all important factors, while doctors sometimes just look at a single number and base their decisions on that.

Lally123 said:

My cholesterol readings were total 6.8, hdl 1.7, non hdl 5.1, ratio 4.0..

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Sadly you do not mention figures for triglycerides or VLDL. Were these tested ?
For me, these are the most telling numbers. Although LDL has been dubbed 'bad' cholesterol, it isn't necessarily. It's the size of the LDL particles that's ALL important. Large fluffy particles are harmless. Small dense particles are harmful.
Your ratio of triglycerides to HDL is the most useful statistic to come from a lipid profile :
https://www.drsinatra.com/the-most-important-cholesterol-ratio-to-watch/
High triglyceride numbers are the best indicator of the presence of small dense and harmful LDL particles.


To recap

High cholesterol isn't necessarily bad
High LDL isn't necessarily bad
High triglycerides are bad
A high triglycerides to HDL ratio is bad

Finally if your lipid test was not done after fasting, your triglycerides level will be higher than after fasting, and less accurate.

Personally, I'd never accept statins. Never accept advice on a lipid profile without a triglycerides test.
There are other cholesterol improving methods out there.And great books on the truth about cholesterol, such as The Great Cholesterol Con by Dr Malcolm Kendrick.

Geoff

Take a look at the Film Statin Nation. First 13 minutes ..

The full film is available on dietdoctor.com

Lally123 said:

Thanks all for some very helpful advice. Haven't had a triglyceride or a vldl test so will ask for those to be done before I make any decision and will make sure they are fasting tests. My last test was fasting. Will have a look at the links and look at the video later but at least I have something to go on when I see gp later. Thanks again

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I agree with the others. Before you even vaguely contemplate statins you need a fasting triglyceride level, This should have been included with the others. The VLDL tests aren't routinely done in the UK.

Ultramum said:

If you are not keen on statins then tell your doctor so.

I assume you will be making some diet and lifestyle choices due to your diagnosis so ask for, say, a three month delay. That will allow your lifestyle changes to show some effect.

In the meantime have a good read around this site. There is quite a lot of anecdotal evidence and some links to lectures etc on a low carbohydrate high fat diet. I have been following this way of eating for about three weeks now and my blood sugar results are showing a downward trend - I'm hoping that my cholesterol mix will change as well - even if my overall total doesn't change.

I bought myself a meter and it's the best thing I did as I can see what is happening when I eat different food. If your doctor doesn't offer you one then you may wish to consider getting one - look at the running cost of the strips rather than the cost of the meter. Someone will be along to give you some links soon - I'm on my iPad and it is having a funny do this morning otherwise I'd find them for you.

Let us know how you get on

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Hi @Lally123 .. and welcome As .. @Ultramum suggested above .. here's some info that may be helpful ...

Ifyou are planning to test your BG levels, this may be useful. I was given the website at: https://homehealth-uk.com/product-category/blood-glucose/ for the SD Codefree meter and I ordered one which arrived a few days ago . While I was waiting for this I also found the website at: http://spirit-healthcare.co.uk/product/tee2-blood-glucose-meter/ who distribute the TEE 2 meter, which is free. I have been using both for comparative purposes since Feb 16th. In a recent email, I received details of a new T2 testing programme offer: https://www.type2testing.com .. another free meter. The costs of testing comes down to the ongoing charges for test strips and lancets. I'm testing 3-4 times a day which works out at around £10 to £12 per month for the three packages above. I don't know yet whether my Surgery will provide the strips etc on prescription .. but, more importantly, I now know what my BG levels are .. and I will be able to manage them

You might also find the following post useful ...
http://www.diabetes.co.uk/forum/threads/taking-the-driving-seat.116651/

Hi. Genetics come into play with regard to cholesterol levels. I take statins with no side effects but many do suffer. My lipids ratios were not too good before the statins and my circulatory system isn't ideal following various tests. Try a minimum dose if you agree that you need to adjust the lipids balance a bit and check for the typical muscle pains; also take some CoQ10.