Latest Cholesterol Figures

[Alineden]

Hi. I've spoken to some of you previously about cholesterol and was advised that I needed the triglycerides figure not just the non HDL cholesterol level. When I went to the doctors last week I explained this to the lass taking the blood sample but she didn't have a clue what I was talking about. She'd never heard of triglycerides and said she didn't know how to spell it. Anyway I pushed the issue and insisted that she noted that the test was to provide a figure for trigs. As expected the results came back with just the same test figures as before.

There has been quite a change since January and I'd like to invite those of you with more experience and knowledge than me to comment if you would be so kind as this whole high fat living does worry me at times.

I'll start with January's figures.

Serum cholesterol 3.7
Serum HDL cholesterol 1
Serum non HDL cholesterol 2.7
Serum cholesterol/HDL ratio 3.7

31st of May

Serum cholesterol 4.3
Serum HDL cholesterol 0.9
Serum non HDL cholesterol 3.4
Serum cholesterol/HDL ratio 4.8

I know I still don't have a figure for trigs but on the face of it these figures all appear to have worsened.

Any words of wisdom or advice would be very much appreciated.

Thanks

Alan

 

[Bluetit1802]

There isn't much I can say except your HDL is very low. I think you need to address this. It needs to be much nearer 2, if not over 2. Mine is 2.6.

Foods good for HDL are olive oil, fatty fish (often), flax seeds (linseed), chia seeds, nuts.
Eat a very low carb or keto diet
Moderate amounts of red wine
Exercise
Avoid seed oils and vegetable oils
Avoid trans fats (look in the ingredients for mono-diglycerides and hydrogenated vegetable oils and check for which emulsifiers are added)

PS you still have not got an LDL level, either. You need to ask for a FULL lipid panel next time.

 

[Alineden]

There isn't much I can say except your HDL is very low. I think you need to address this. It needs to be much nearer 2, if not over 2. Mine is 2.6.

Foods good for HDL are olive oil, fatty fish (often), flax seeds (linseed), chia seeds, nuts.
Eat a very low carb or keto diet
Moderate amounts of red wine
Exercise
Avoid seed oils and vegetable oils
Avoid trans fats (look in the ingredients for mono-diglycerides and hydrogenated vegetable oils and check for which emulsifiers are added)

PS you still have not got an LDL level, either. You need to ask for a FULL lipid panel next time.

Hi Bluetit. Thanks again for replying. I really don't know what more I can do to get a full lipid panel. Twice I've asked and twice I've had results back with no LDL.

I use olive oil daily and never vegetable or seed oil. I can get flax and chia seeds and have those daily. I do eat almonds and walnuts weekly but can increase that to daily. I like fish so I can try to eat that daily. My diet is very low carb and I try to follow keto guidelines. I don't get a lot of exercise as I always feel too tired but I've just started taking vitamin B12 and D3 to see if that helps. I do drink alcohol regularly and I know this is something I need to address. I probably average a bottle of dry white wine per day.

With regards to the nuts and seeds is it possible to quantify an amount. A daily dose as such?

 

[Bluetit1802]

Hi Bluetit. Thanks again for replying. I really don't know what more I can do to get a full lipid panel. Twice I've asked and twice I've had results back with no LDL.

I use olive oil daily and never vegetable or seed oil. I can get flax and chia seeds and have those daily. I do eat almonds and walnuts weekly but can increase that to daily. I like fish so I can try to eat that daily. My diet is very low carb and I try to follow keto guidelines. I don't get a lot of exercise as I always feel too tired but I've just started taking vitamin B12 and D3 to see if that helps. I do drink alcohol regularly and I know this is something I need to address. I probably average a bottle of dry white wine per day.

With regards to the nuts and seeds is it possible to quantify an amount. A daily dose as such?

Your diet looks good to me, but maybe change the white wine to red (red is heart healthy and is said to increase HDL) but in less quantity. I can't eat nuts so can't comment on quantity. As for seeds, I use ready milled flaxseed daily, sprinkled on my food, possibly a dessertspoon or a bit more in total. I eat 3 small tins of salmon a week, sometimes 4. Why do you feel too tired to exercise? Is there a reason for this? I don't do any strenuous stuff, but I do walk in addition to the normal household chores and a bit of gardening.

As for the full lipid panel, who orders your blood tests? Is it your GP or your nurse? Whichever, next time you have a review ask them again and try to be assertive about it.

 

[Alineden]

Your diet looks good to me, but maybe change the white wine to red (red is heart healthy and is said to increase HDL) but in less quantity. I can't eat nuts so can't comment on quantity. As for seeds, I use ready milled flaxseed daily, sprinkled on my food, possibly a dessertspoon or a bit more in total. I eat 3 small tins of salmon a week, sometimes 4. Why do you feel too tired to exercise? Is there a reason for this? I don't do any strenuous stuff, but I do walk in addition to the normal household chores and a bit of gardening.

As for the full lipid panel, who orders your blood tests? Is it your GP or your nurse? Whichever, next time you have a review ask them again and try to be assertive about it.

I've never seen a GP or a nurse I only ever see the blood removal technician (the one that has never heard of triglycerides). I actually rang and asked for a review and had an appointment with the practice nurse scheduled for Monday but got a message from the surgery yesterday saying it had been cancelled due to illness.

The tiredness thing I'm not sure about. I am up at 0515 every morning for work and I'm not the best sleeper and have wondered about vitamin deficiency hence the recent introduction of supplements.

I seem to have the blood glucose under control so I'm going to keep up the low carb eating but add the seeds, nuts and fish daily along with the avocados and olive oil I already eat. Also I'm going to cut down on the bacon and Cumberland sausage.

I've just thought on, I do eat a lot of cheese and eggs but I thought these were classed as healthy fats?

 

[Bluetit1802]

I've never seen a GP or a nurse I only ever see the blood removal technician (the one that has never heard of triglycerides). I actually rang and asked for a review and had an appointment with the practice nurse scheduled for Monday but got a message from the surgery yesterday saying it had been cancelled due to illness.

The tiredness thing I'm not sure about. I am up at 0515 every morning for work and I'm not the best sleeper and have wondered about vitamin deficiency hence the recent introduction of supplements.

I seem to have the blood glucose under control so I'm going to keep up the low carb eating but add the seeds, nuts and fish daily along with the avocados and olive oil I already eat. Also I'm going to cut down on the bacon and Cumberland sausage.

I've just thought on, I do eat a lot of cheese and eggs but I thought these were classed as healthy fats?

Do you mean you have never seen a nurse or GP about your diabetes?. I am assuming you are T2 or are you pre-diabetic? (It would help if you complete your profile settings to include the type of diabetes, treatment and medication details. If you use the app, you will need to log in to the website on your browser to do this. Doing this means we can all see these details, and your diabetes status will show under your avatar.

Magnesium Oil spray can help with tiredness. Most of us in the UK are deficient in Magnesium. The oil spray is better for absorption than tablet supplements. It can also help with sleep. Blood tests for magnesium deficiency don't really work because it is absorbed into the cells from the blood stream very quickly. However, you can ask for B12 and Vit D blood tests at the same time as your next HbA1c, and getting a full lipid panel requires the nurse or GP to order them. The blood technician can't do this. You need to see or speak to either the nurse or the GP.

As for cheese and eggs. Cutting these out will not help raise your HDL. I eat 2 or 3 eggs a day, sometimes 4. I also eat cheese. They are healthy fats along with other dairy products. For clarity, I also eat a lot of bacon!

 

[Alineden]

Do you mean you have never seen a nurse or GP about your diabetes?. I am assuming you are T2 or are you pre-diabetic? (It would help if you complete your profile settings to include the type of diabetes, treatment and medication details. If you use the app, you will need to log in to the website on your browser to do this. Doing this means we can all see these details, and your diabetes status will show under your avatar.

Magnesium Oil spray can help with tiredness. Most of us in the UK are deficient in Magnesium. The oil spray is better for absorption than tablet supplements. It can also help with sleep. Blood tests for magnesium deficiency don't really work because it is absorbed into the cells from the blood stream very quickly. However, you can ask for B12 and Vit D blood tests at the same time as your next HbA1c, and getting a full lipid panel requires the nurse or GP to order them. The blood technician can't do this. You need to see or speak to either the nurse or the GP.

As for cheese and eggs. Cutting these out will not help raise your HDL. I eat 2 or 3 eggs a day, sometimes 4. I also eat cheese. They are healthy fats along with other dairy products. For clarity, I also eat a lot of bacon!

I had a medication review blood sample taken last August. My blood pressure was taken at the same time and it was high. Probably due to running around trying to get things done as we were going on holiday right after my appointment. Anyway the girl that took my blood insisted I made an appointment for when I got back from holiday to check my BP again. When I went for this appointment my BP was never mentioned but the woman I saw informed me that I was type 2 diabetic with a HbA1c of 84. She had a prescription for me presumably off a doctor for Metformin. Off I went with my prescription and the words of wisdom to cut back on sugar but not cut it out completely. It makes me laugh now thinking about that.

At that point I knew nothing about diabetes so I started to do my own research. I went on a DESMOND course and found this forum. The Desmond course just confirmed what I had already learned about diabetes but the dietary advice was bizarre and definitely out of date.

I've had 3 monthly HbA1c checks since and my figures steadily dropped to 40.

I had a few queries about statins plus I wanted to try the slow release metformin so I rang the surgery and asked to see someone for a diabetes review. That's when I got an appointment which should have been on Monday only they cancelled it. It would have been my first appointment with a dedicated diabetes advisor.

 

[Bluetit1802]

That's when I got an appointment which should have been on Monday only they cancelled it. It would have been my first appointment with a dedicated diabetes advisor.

Then I suggest you make another appointment, and if no nurse is available, ask to see or speak to a doctor.

 

[Alineden]

Then I suggest you make another appointment, and if no nurse is available, ask to see or speak to a doctor.

Yes I will. I'll go and try to update my profile now.

 

[Bluetit1802]

Yes I will. I'll go and try to update my profile now.

Have you tried yet? It hasn't shown up if you have.

 

[Alineden]

Have you tried yet? It hasn't shown up if you have.

I keep getting an error. I'll keep trying.

 

[Alineden]

I keep getting an error. I'll keep trying.

Like this

 

[Bluetit1802]

Are you using the app or your web browser? You can't access those profile settings with the app. You have to use the website from a browser. Then hover over your user name (top right of the page) and click "personal details". Then scroll down till you see Type of diabetes, treatment type, and medication.

 

[Alineden]

Are you using the app or your web browser? You can't access those profile settings with the app. You have to use the website from a browser. Then hover over your user name (top right of the page) and click "personal details". Then scroll down till you see Type of diabetes, treatment type, and medication.

Web browser. It's doing this when I try to do the treatment bit...

 

[Bluetit1802]

I will tag some mods to see if they can help
@DCUKMod @Brunneria

 

[Alineden]

I will tag some mods to see if they can help
@DCUKMod @Brunneria

Thanks

 

[DCUKMod]

Web browser. It's doing this when I try to do the treatment bit...View attachment 33489

Alineden, could you turn your phone to landscape, do another screenshot and post that? I can't quite see where you are working.

 

[DCUKMod]

Web browser. It's doing this when I try to do the treatment bit...View attachment 33489

Please go to this link and try to make your adjustments: https://www.diabetes.co.uk/forum/account/personal-details

 

[Alineden]

Please go to this link and try to make your adjustments: https://www.diabetes.co.uk/forum/account/personal-details

Thanks. I think that has worked. The only thing I couldn't do was change the avatar.

 

[DCUKMod]

Thanks. I think that has worked. The only thing I couldn't do was change the avatar.

If you use the same link, then have a look at the image below, and note the highlighted text:

Does that help?