Increasing Cholesterol Levels

[fedupoffeelingtired]

I'm not looking for medical advice, I have a question regarding cholesterol levels.

At the point I had my HA my cholesterol was 5.4. I was put on 80mg atorvastatin and it dropped to 3.2. My cholesterol level has been creeping up for the last 3 years. I exercise and have a healthy diet - lots of fruit/veg/water/lean meat. I don't do takeaways/high fat foods/cakes and biscuits. I'm not a user of coconut milk/full fat dairy produce. I never have been. I actually prefer veggie options to meat. There is a family history of heart disease going back a few generations.

I did query the fact my cholesterol level seemed to be going up and the response was "its nothing to worry about, it could mean you had a high fat meal before your test." (?) My recent test showed it was 4.3 and my GP queried if I was actually taking the statin, which I have religiously, so she has referred me to see if I need intensive treatment.

I just wondered if anyone else has experienced this, did you have treatment?

Thank you for reading

[happyrosie1]

ummmmm. Why does doc think you need “intensive “treatment, whatever that is? Has your level got really worrying?

[fedupoffeelingtired in reply to happyrosie1]

Is 4.3 worrying? I guess there is concern as I’m taking the statin and it is going up slowly

[Blearyeyed]

I have Familial Hypercholesterolemia.It's actually one of the most common genetic conditions nobody is aware of.

People with FH don't metabolise and remove cholesterol well.

You can be fit , exercise and eat a perfect diet and your cholesterol still keeps creeping up and up.

If you have FH , it's good to get it diagnosed because you can't reduce your cholesterol by using just diet , or diet and statins alone.

You often need to add in another treatment like Ezetimibe and Bee more strict with cholesterol and fats in foods than other people.

Believe it or not , it's estimated that 1 in 250 people in the UK have FH , but only 8% are officially diagnosed or have it written on their chart. Sometimes doctors will have added it to you notes but they don't mention it. They just start you on the other medications. It can be a common but less known factor in increasing your risk of heart problems or strokes.

Having FH can make managing cholesterol more difficult until you get the treatment. Afterwards just taking those medications make your risks similar to the general population.

It can be a condition in families without them knowing it. Often if you are diagnosed with FH at an early age or also have a heart attack or heart problem doctors will suggest you family get genetic testing.

This isn't a scary thing , and it's not totally necessary, it's just good to know if you have it and then you can make sure everyone in your family thinks about their diet more and they start getting cholesterol tests at a younger age ( 30-40) so they can be put on statins or treatment earlier if they need it, reducing their chances of having health issues caused by high cholesterol.

So when you get your next cholesterol test , make sure you drink enough water beforehand and have a fasting test in the morning ( no food after 10pm the night before) . Then you can let your doctor know it was definitely fasted if they wonder if that could be causing the higher result.

Also ask your GP if they considering whether you have Familial Hypercholesterolemia and treating you for that , and if it is being added to your notes.

You may want to change the brand of Statin you are on too.

Atorvastatin at a higher dose overtime can cause some side effects , it can also be less effective than other statins.

I take Rosuvastatin, it is more tolerated and effective according to people's reports.

Take care , Bee

[fedupoffeelingtired]

my mum had the test for FH last year which was negative. She was told there was no need for her children to be tested.

Also I have never been told to fast for the cholesterol test perhaps i will query that

[happyrosie1]

4.3 is normal. I wonder if your HDL and LDL and triglycerides are somehow out of kilter. We always used to have our cholesterol tests fasting, but from about six years ago it wasn’t fasting.