High Cholesterol

[teldee]

The Pharmacist at my GP practice rang me 2 days ago, to tell me my recent blood test results indicated high cholesterol.

He asked whether I ate a lot of fatty food, and said I must reduce this latest result.

I am going to ask him if I should try Statins, although they seem to cause muscle cramps in some people ?

In previous tests my own doctor said they are within the limmits.

I have low body weight, about 7 stone, and am due to speak with a Dietician to try and put on more weight and muscle. This seems to be a dichotomy, with one person asking me not to eat fat, and the other trying to help me put it on!!

[Hidden]

Hello that’s certainly a confusing conundrum!

Would it be possible for your GP and dietician to collaborate and work together on this? Seems like they need to work as a team to best help you from all health angles.

Will the pharmacist be reporting outcome to GP as only they can answer statin question for you.

Wish you best with getting joined up help!

[Hidden]

If your total cholesterol and 'bad cholesterol' levels are not too much above the recommended limits it is entirely possible to get them back down by life style changes such as diet and exercise, rather than by taking statins. But the only drawback to life style changes is that they are for life not a few weeks until the enthusiasm dies off. Anyway I suggest you first find out what your cholesterol readings are before pushing for statins, although in the end statins may be needed. And the BHF has plenty of ideas for a heart friendly diet, the cornerstone of which is the so called 'mediterranean diet', which recommends reducing saturated fat, so look it up.

More on cholesterol limits here

nhs.uk/conditions/high-chol...

[Hrty]

My cardiologist said high cholesterol is only part of the equation and there are other factors that can lead to heart problems - high BP, diabetes, family history, etc. It's possible to improve things with diet but you have to keep at it. I resisted statins for 2 years before having an NSTEMI last November. Now on 8 meds a day, almost wish I'd taken the statin when offered 🙂. Best of luck

[Hidden in reply to Hrty]

I took statins for nearly 20 years for a natural cholesterol level of over 9 but still had an NSTEMI five years ago. In my case the damage was done way before I started to take statins. Nonetheless statins appear to have stopped further deterioration as recent angiograms have shown and if I hadn't taken statins at all I would very likely not be here. So taking statins won't undo something that has been happening over a long period of your lifetime, but will go a long way to reducing ongoing heart disease risk.

[andrew290171 in reply to Hrty]

Totally I have never had high cholesterol but I have got angina and needed a stent. The cardiologist said it's due to a very bad family history. He said 50% of cause of heart disease is genetic

[Hare123]

My husband was a very healthy weight and very active and until his heart attack we didn’t know he had high cholesterol. He was advised that with his weight and exercise it was a hereditary issue that his body does not produce enough of the good cholesterol to counter balance the bad. he was advised that even if he was a vegan athlete his cholesterol would not be normal without statins. I guess it depends on how high your reading is, and whether it’s just an overall reading or showing ldl/hdl, but I would definitely be having a conversation with your gp to decide best course of action

[Dadtoalad23]

Sound to me like he’s suggesting first plan of action is diet. This is a great suggestion before starting a statin. If he’s suggesting this then I’m assuming your total cholesterol is around 6. If your ldl is high and your HDL is low and your TRIGS are high then it’s not just fatty foods it’s sugars to be aware of.

Basically if you have no family history of heart disease diet change sounds like a good plan. Low body weight is an issue though when I changed my diet and cut out sugar and saturated fats and increased fibre I lost a stone and a half.

So yeah it’s tricky one. I’m on atrovastin for about 5 weeks so far and seem to ok in tolerating it but have blood tests next week.

Good luck.

[lavenderpot]

I have tried every statin and had problems with muscle pain. Appreciate everyone responds differently to medication but maybe weight is a factor as I am 7st 2lbs. If Dr recommends medication route ask about Ezetimibe which is prescribe when statins are an issue.