I'm 36 and been put on statins for 5.7... - Cholesterol Support
I'm 36 and been put on statins for 5.7 cholesterol levels. Is really frightened me. Any positive advice to help me deal with this. Thank you
Hi Traci, thank you for replying, I did discuss about diet and because I have ibs my diet is limited so he recommended the statins but i have since read that you have to be on them for life. I know i should go on the drs advice because it will help me but a bit dubious about taking statins at my age.What sort of foods do you eat if you don't mind me asking, I don't know whether to try diet first.
Hi,
I come with questions. you need to look at the whole picture, TC, cholesterol ration ,HDL,LDL and triglyceride, BP, BMI and any other medical conditions.
Daily Mail health did a comparison on ladies in 30,40,50 and 60. Very interesting comparison!.
Please take a look. Statins, which one and dosage? What is the level your GP is looking for you to reduce?
You can look on the Internet and compare the side effects of statin and then ask your GP to try different type of statin. good luck.
Hi, Please take a look at this:
I have just been told that my Choles levels are 5.6 and doctor states that I have to go on Statins straight away. Is there no other option.
Asked by maltings4
12 Jun 2013
21 answers
Hi Emmajayne,
Your levels are only slightly up, definitely try diet and exercise before statins.
The other point is, statins should not be taken by women if they are thinking of pregnancy and you fall into the age and gender slot for this.
This "taking for life" is slightly misleading, nobody has to do anything "for life", its just that once you stop taking them , your cholesterol levels will rise again.
Morning all,
Thanks for all your advice, im looking into the articles that you suggested bigleg to try and get a more understanding of this.
Unfortunatly bala i was a bit shocked at the news so didnt get all the info i should have done, i suppose i went in a bit of a daze. thats why i came on here to try and understand it from people who are going through it. He is gonna check my levels in 2 months so i will go and talk to him then. ill try and find out the levels he wants me to be at.
I do have an underactive thyroid, also my mum and younger sister have high cholesterol and my dad has angina and high cholesterol im also slightly over weight at 11 st 7lbs and 5 ft 6inc. and dare i say it, a smoker although not anymore since yesterday so wish me luck. ;))
hi emmajayne,
Please be careful if you take the statin if you experience any thing different happening to you please stop taking them or insist on taking coq10 alongside .
I have been on and off statins for 2 years i am 48 female and have had lots of bad side effects my cholesterol was 12.1 but now 6.2 .
i will never take a statin ever again and any family members i would advise against .
Are you in good health at the moment ? note down anything different that starts to happen to you if you take them eg swelling to knees ,ankles and back,very low in oneself,tired,bones sore ,arms aching and thighs changing shape these are my side effects .
So now i intermittent fast 11am to 7pm every day eating healthy and my results are coming down good luck emmajayne
Having an underactive thyroid will affect your cholesterol levels.
Hi Aliwally, I always read your posts with interest, you seem to be so well informed. How do you know so much or do you have some medical training?
Hi emmajayne
If you are going down the diet route to help control your cholesterol levels, this article may be of some interest to you. Although a condition like FH needs a low fat diet, there is evidence that a low sugar/processed diet will help reduce cholesterol levels for many. Many low fat foods have sugar added to them to make them palatable, this makes them very unhealthy.
Good luck with getting info from your doctor.
Hello gardengnome.
Thank you for your comments. I won't give my life history, but along time ago I trained as an occupational therapist and then as a nurse for people with learning disabilities. My greatest education came when my first daughter was born with a strep infection which has caused her to be severely disabled with cerebral palsy, so I have had experience on both sides of the fence (not always easy).
In 1984 I found 2 lines in a textbook in the local library about the cause of her disability and had to write to the consultant to get an appointment to discuss what happened, a registrar had told us in the middle of the night that she would be severely disabled and then left us. Great communication, not the dark ages 1984!
When the internet revolution came, I thought it's Christmas everyday! I now have information at my fingertips. When I found out I had very high cholesterol. I did not realise the can of worms it was opening. There are so many issues, proper diagnosis, genetic testing, use of statins, the statin sceptics, pharmaceutical practices. diet, lipid hypothesis and so on.
I just read a lot about the issues and try and try to keep an open mind .It has given me a terrible headache, but ultimately it's empowering,
You are in good company Emma Jayne. So many folks are now on s takins with no side effects but I would agree with Traci that, if there is no inherited factor involved, I think your doctor should have recommended lifestyle change s first before resorting to drugs. HEART UK has many information sheets on these subjects.
Regular readers of this forum will know that, until I reached the menopause, I kept my cholesterol levels down for over ten years by eating the right foods and supplementing this with Kyolic age-dried garlic tablets that I purchased from my local Health Food Shop. In 12 months these reduced my level from 7.2 to 5.2 with no side effects. I do not say they will work for everyone but may be worth a try if the thought of statins worries you so much. (Be warned, the medical profession does not agree with me on this but I reckon that, as it is my body and my life, ultimately it is my decision.
5.7 is not really high - different doctors have wanted me on statins for years. But there is no medical evidence they protect anyone from heart attacks etc, especially over the long term. I object to taking medication to offset what is a lifestyle issue - better to deal with the cause if you can. Being quite knowledgeable about nutrition I got my cholesterol down from 6.7 to 4.6 in 6 weeks. It's simple, we are all bombarded with info telling us to eat a low fat diet, but our bodies need fat. So on a low fat diet, most of the fat your body gets is from the meat we eat, which which is full of bad fats because of modern farming methods/cattle feed etc. I cut my red meat in take down to near 0 - I introduced 2 veggie days every week, eliminated hard cheese, introduced oily fish 2 days (wild salmon/mackerel). If like me you are diabetic your liver produces cholesterol all the time so diet is less responsive. Get some exercise and weights are particularly good for diabetics - I have also reversed my diabetes to minimal for over 9 years using the same approach - treat the cause rather than the symptoms. Statins and diabetes medication should be avoided if at all possible in my view - it can be done - my doctors have all disagreed with me yet have had to concede that I am one of the only ones on their books who has proved that their philosophy of treatment is flawed by defying their advice. One of them even asked me to speak at a diabetes help group! You can easily control 5.7 cholesterol just by adjusting what you eat. Hemp seed oil is also a very good and effective way of reducing cholesterol. If I were you I would run away from statins like the plague! Especially if you're diabetic - they don't tell you this, but statins increase your blood sugar levels which is why they tell diabetics with such confidence that they will be on metaformin within 6 months...
Best fibre provider is Milled Chia Seeds.Fibre lowers cholesterol.
315g bag for 4.99 gives one tablespoon per day for 21 days. Use it in smoothies.Linwoods or Chia Bia sells it. Put it on oatmeal/porridge (18 satchets for £2 in Tescos)0 along with kiwi and banana topped with natural honey for a healthy cholesterol lowering breakfast. For dinner eat green veg with oily fish, eg. mackerel,herring or white chicken. As a snack eat chia bread with chicken salad no mayo. use benecol spread. There are benecol yogharts and cereal bars all good at lowering cholesterol. But stop smoking and exercise lightly everday eg. Brisk walks or cycling. Avoid all processed foods with saturated fats and salt. Aim.
Lower blood pressure, lower cholesterol.
Stay healthy and worry free.
