Cholesterol

RE: Cholesterol

Hi, Blue Water,

Welcome to HealthyPages forums,,, have fun and be informed!!! As for statins, I have been taking them for the last 4 years and they are amongst the most benign of medicines. I do not have the leaflet that comes with them, but they are one of the 'wonder drugs' to which many people owe their lives.

As you know there are two forms of Cholesterol, large molecule and small molecule. Strangely enough it is the small molecule sort that tends to build up on the linings of arteries.

Cholesterol is mainly produced during the night and you will be told to take one tablet last thing. I am afraid there IS no substitute for a statin to lower the Cholesterol level once your body chemistry has decided to start over producing it and the various foods and suplements advertised as 'lowering' the levels, are merely playing with the problem. The adavntages of Simvastatin, far outway any possible disadvantages.

BTW, we like all new members to introduce them selves in our new members section.

Leo

RE: Cholesterol

is it a normal thing to be given tablets.... My count was taken late november and result was 10.5.. after being told off quite harshly by my doctor and told.. I would the one in 5 who would die!!!.. to alter my diet.. I eat reasonably sensibile and not a cakey/biscuit person with the sugar...

and then told to repeat test in 3 months... many of my colleagues were a tad surprised by not being given anything to reduce it... is this normal...:eek:

many thanks

RE: Cholesterol

I have high cholestrol too. Mine was 9.8 last time it was checked. Its due to be checked again the end of this month.
My specialist wanted me to loose weight before even thinking about putting me on pills. I was about 4 stone over my recommended weight at the time. I am losing weight now and must be about 3 stone over.
I have to eat a low fat diet due to other problems as well, so what I eat isnt the problem. I dont drink alcohol and I dont smoke.
My doctor said some people have this natural ability to over produce cholestrol both good and bad and this could be whats happening to me.
My biggest problem right now is that I have moved out of the area and will be registering with a new doctor soon and so everything starts again and heaven knows what will happen next!!

RE: Cholesterol

Eating garlic is wonderful for cholesterol, so I would include a lot of garlic in your diet.

Love and light
Rosi X

RE: Cholesterol

Hi Rosi
Well I'm okay because my partner does all the cooking and absolutely loves to use garlic!
I finally have a doctor sorted and I saw the nurse today who took my bloods for this month.

RE: Cholesterol

Hi Mandanafan

Sounds as if you are well on the way to sorting your probs. But thought you might be interested in a little background info on cholesterol. However feel free to ignore if you are already aware.

First line of action by your GP on finding high cholesterol will depend on a number of factors. It is quite possible to have a high cholesterol level and yet still have a low cardiovascular risk because of an absence of certain risk factors. There are national guidelines to help your GP calculate any possible risk and factors include smoking, alcohol, diet, obesity, diabetes, high blood pressure, exercise, and family history.
It is very common to be given advice on the lifestyle issues before putting you onto medication.
The cholesterol level in the blood does to some extent depend on what you eat but is mainly dependent on how your liver produces cholesterol. Simply put there are 2 types of cholesterol, good-happy HDL and bad-lousy LDL.
HDL protects and LDL contributes to disease of arteries.
So the aim is to raise the HDL and lower the LDL.

The good news is that there are positive steps you can take to do this.
Regular cardiovascular exercise (that gets you warm, and slightly out of breath), moderate intake of alcohol (2 units day) has been proven to raise HDL (happy) levels and LDL (lousy) can be lowered by diet and medication and giving up smoking.
I work in cardiac rehab and know from experience that this approach definitely works. I have seen cholesterol levels drop considerably and have to say I believe it is the exercise that really makes the difference.

Hope this helps and humble apologies if I have banged on too much.[8D]

Love and Light
jenny

RE: Cholesterol

Thanks so much for the advice 🙂
Luckily I have never smoked, I dont drink (well the occasional glass of wine with dinner sometimes)... however I am overweight. I weigh 13st 8 and I am just over 5ft 1. But I am on a strict diet... no fat, only have chicken and fish, mostly with salads. I have pasta and rice. Also adding more fibre to the diet.
Also my father died of heart disease at the age of 55 but he was an heavy drinker and smoker.
I suffer from low thyroid too... but have been taking pills for that since oct 2003.
So quite a lot going on, plus I suffered last week from severe chest pains and was rushed to hospital, they are going to be doing further tests to check for any heart problems but were begining to suspect gallstones...
Anyway, I shall take on your advice and make sure I keep up the glass of wine with dinner! And to exercise more. (we have an execise bike which i use every day)
Thanks again.

RE: Cholesterol

just to put cholesterol in perspective - we all have it, and the range of levels is distributed throughout the population rather like height. it is just one risk factor for heart attacks and strokes, and if all the others are ok, then even a very high level is not a big risk.....it is worse to have mildly raised blood pressure, weight, stress levels, lack of exercise, mild smoker - as when all combined the total risk can be very significant.

approx 75% of the level is genetically determined, and only 25% is related to the diet you choose. therefore, even with strict dietary measures, it is only possible to reduce total cholesterol by around 1 to 1.5 mmol/L. As mentioned, the ratio between the two different fractions within the total level is relevant - but less amenable to change.

statins are effective, but can irritate the liver, so blood tests to monitor that are usual. In addition to strict low fat diet ( I use the Familial Hypercholesterolaemia Society diet sheet ) as an alternative to statin use, I would recommend seeing a herbalist. herbal treatment can be excellent, and the only problem is having to pay for it at present - although herbal Medicine is likely to follow osteopathy and chiropractic into mainstream medicine quite soon. [sm=dance.gif]

with love & light - Doq xx

RE: Cholesterol

Thanks Doq for your valuable input and for putting things into perspective.
I have to agree that it is very difficult for clients to get their levels down with diet alone but hadnt realised the margin was so small.
I am very interested to learn more about herbal treatment would you expand more on this please?

Love and Light
jenny

RE: Cholesterol

Well due to a strict no fat at all routine - my colestrol is now 7.6 - so quite abit lower than 9.8 eh! Phew...
However, my bad colestrol is still 6.5 and before it was 6.6, so not much change there. My doctor is sending me to a specialist anyway.
Thanks for all the great advice.