Cholesterol levels

[Chrissydoll]

Morning hope everyone is well wot would people think If they got told their cholesterol levels were above average being on 80.mg atorvastatin? My overall level is 5.2 appt is that even good? I got told this yes at surgery albeit from a receptionist who read it from my notes. 🙈Bit unsure wot to make of this tnh

[Hidden]

I'm not surevwhat a " good" reading is? I was on 80mg of atorvastatin and I was quite unwell with it, suffering painful constipation. I was reduced to 40mg. I think it makes a difference what you eat too. I've completely overhauled my lifestyle since my HA 11 weeks ago. Stopped smoking and drinking and eating a healthier diet . My reading recently was 4.1 so my gp was pleased with that.

[Chappychap]

Here's a good article from the British Heart Foundation (who sponsor this forum)

bhf.org.uk/informationsuppo...

You can see that the overall cholesterol target is to be at or below 4.0mmol/L.

However, many authorities focus more on the LDL level, (LDL is the bad cholesterol as opposed to HDL which is the "good" variety). For LDL the BHF recommends being at or below 2.0mmol/L.

If you don't have the full cholesterol results from your blood tests you can easily get them from your GP. Indeed if you have an online prescription facility with your GP you may well find that you can access your medical records on-line.

One final point, statins are good at reducing cholesterol, plus they also deliver two very useful additional benefits in that they reduce inflammation and stabilise plaque making heart attacks less likely. However, you can reduce cholesterol still further with diet and weight loss.

Good luck!

[Curlyman83]

I was placed on 80mg of atarvostatin in Feb after cholesterol readings of 6.6. Cholesterol plummeted to 2.6 shortly after but my liver went haywire...had no external side effects but my liver couldn’t cope. I came off statins whilst my liver recovered and ate the ‘cleanest’ diet possible (literally, if it wasn’t green, it wasn’t going in my mouth). Four weeks later, my cholesterol was 6.2. Some people are simply predisposed to high cholesterol. I’m now on Enzetimibe which is an alternative to a statin...my cholesterol is coming down and my liver is doing well.

Im surprised that you’ve been placed on such a high dosage given your levels are only slightly above the threshold...but what do I know....I’m not a doctor

[Chrissydoll in reply to Curlyman83]

Hi thanks for sharing that I ve actually been On 80mg since my ha in 2019 and says I m likely to be staying on it I seem. To tolerate it ok Although I know. some people dont But that was my last bloods were it was 5.2

[Curlyman83 in reply to Chrissydoll]

5.2 isn’t too high at all. It’s obviously above the threshold (which I think is 4.5) - I’d be pretty happy with that.