Hi,
Since I found out my cholesterol was 7.4 I have been on a weight loss plan (exercise too) and have lost 5 kilos in 1 month .. I was around 93 and am now 88 kilos. Dr said to re-test next month as my test was done a month ago ... is this enough time to see a drop (if any) ? im tempted to do the test sooner but I want to wait a bit longer.
Also, any home cholesterol testing kits I can buy? and are they accurate?
The home test kits are not that accurate and I believe they only give you a total cholesterol number and that is not much use. My gp told me that cholesterol tests show what's been happening in the body over the previous few weeks. So its quite possible you'll see a difference but if I were you I'd wait another month to see the full benefits. Do you have a breakdown of your previous blood test?
Yes Cholesterol 7.4
LDL 5.3
HDL 1.0
TRyglycerides 2.3
previous test done in october last year (2014)
Chol 6.7
LDL 4.9
HDL 1.0
Tryglicerides 1.7
Ive gained weight between those two tests and had been eating a lot of junk food and was generally unhealthy. In 2012 my cholesterol was 5.3 this was when i weighted 75 kilos so I know I can do it with diet and exercise.
Hi, as far as I've understood always any changes in cholesterol should be checked only after three monthes. Another thing... congratulations with your weight loss. That's great, well done! I've lost quite some, too, and... I was interested whether you'd see it in the cholesterol. NO. I've lost about 15% of my original weight and do sport quite some now, about 4-5 times a week for about an hour, but no change in cholesterol. So, it might happen to you, too. Don't get frustrated about that. You've lost quite some weight and that will be healthy in every way. That's much more important than a bit lower or highter cholesterol. You do need your cholesterol badly. Every single cell of your body needs it, including your heart and especially brains. Try to eat really healthy and exercise regularly and read about the fact how important cholesterol is for lots of bodyfunctions! Good luck!
Thanks for your reply but in my case my levels were higher 10 years ago than they were in 2012 before losing weight so it's obvious my diet was making it go up and accordingly what I eat will make it go down I'm avoiding statins at any cost ... Today I met a very overweight lady who's cholesterol was 3.6 because she takes statins but her diabetes was getting worse and she did not look healthy at all so what's the point of having low cholesterol when you still eat bad foods and not exercise and have other issues that are probably a side effect of statins (diabetes)
I agree with you there. Does the slight possibility of statins preventing chd make up for all the side effects? In my opinion no! Saying that, I am taking them. Started about 9 weeks ago. I had refused them for two years previously but after losing 36lbs and taking up exercise it continued to climb. GP thinks it's possibly FH because lifestyle changes didn't lower my levels. That 'possible FH' is the only reason I'm taking them because I'm only just 33 and he kind of put the fear of God into me. However I've been researching and am shortly going to cut sugar out of my diet which will hopefully have a positive effect. I want to get off these things but don't know if I have FH or not. Very frustrating. Well done on your hard work.
Hi
I'm interested to know what your cholesterol levels were at their highest ? I'm from Australia so the system we use is different to USA for example mine is 7.4 here ...good for you for losing so much weight 👍healthy eating and exercise are always better than medication but in your case you are young so like you said it could be FH
I also like to mention that I follow the Blood Group diet it's not a fad diet it actually makes a lot of sense .. The author dr dadamo jas published a book on blood grouping and cardiovascular disease so you might want to check it out 
Cholesterol testing, simple home test kit gives you a guide line. Chemist cholesterol test again gives you a guide line because they use very basic machines. Pat lab hospital tests are very accurate. Blood can be taken any time for cholesterol tests.
Life style change, food intake control and regular exercise can reduce cholesterol.
The body produce 80% cholesterol, this is because of the demand in human body functions. Food we eat gives another 25% of body cholesterol.
Information given above on cholesterol and bod weight you can make a graph, I have done this to get a better understanding.
Just to see what is happening to your cholesterol you can do a chemist test!
Ok update today I went to a chemist and did a cholesterol test using their machine ...the result was the word Lo the chemist says it means it's under 5 ...could I really have brought down my cholesterol from 7.4 to under 5 in just 4 weeks of diet and exercise? I'm hoping it's accurate but it's a good indication anyway ,,, I'll get a normal blood test done at a jab next month to check
Good that your cholesterol has come down so much in just 4 weeks - that's impressive.
Its good that the diet and exercise has helped bring it down so much! That gives me some hope.
What kind of diet and exercise do you do to achieve that?
Lol thanks but I'm not quite sure if the machine was accurate ... I've been following the blood group diet dadamo.com he really makes sense I've basically stuck to eating fish 3 times a week lamb 3 times a week low fat cheese skim milk unlimited salad vegetables multigrain toast 6 eggs a week and 3 fruits a day and I'm taking CoQ10 this supplement has helped decrease my appetite and blood pressure too
I am not sure of your chemist test machine, in Berkshire, Lloyds chemist, Asda chemist and Sainsbury's chemist machines al give three proper number reading, total cholesterol ,ration and another (LDL or HDL) not sure.
If this chemist is using a low or high machine may be very old.
May be wait fir this " I'll get a normal blood test done at a jab next month to check"
Which part of UK do you live?
Take a look at this:
dailymail.co.uk/health/arti...
one example:
Rating: 6/10
Mail order: 01865 763140; oxfordscreening.co.uk
Free walk-in test at John Bell & Croyden, 50-54 Wigmore St, London W1
Peter's results: Total cholesterol 5.3 mmol/L (slightly high)
HDL: 1.07 mmol/L (normal)
Risk factor: 4.95 (low)
Verdict: "A walk-in pharmacy test can be useful screening providing the staff are properly trained, and ask questions about family history, alcohol consumption and so on, which the home kits did not mention. Peter was not given any further advice.
"The risk factor comes up similar to the GP's, although the total cholesterol here is lower. Some pharmacies have tests that also give an LDL reading.
"This type of service is usually free and more convenient than an appointment at the GP."
Rating: 8/10
Here there is a risk factor given also cholesterol numbers.!
I'm in australia
My experience home kits are no good. My GP said wait 6 months but I insisted after 9 weeks. He was shocked if gone from 6.3 to 3.1 total on nothing but a whole food plant based diet. Good luck
Nearly 50% reduction!, would it be possible to give some example of plant based diet?
Have a look at Dr Caldwell Esselstyn and Dean Ornish work. There are accompanying cook books on Amazon which are really good and make transition easier. My only compromise is healthy fish once or twice a week....other than that I try to stick to it. In contrast to a previous comment I have never felt healthier or had more energy or needed less sleep! The reduced cholesterol is really just a bi product. Mix it with exercise and good sleep and it's a recipe for longevity and disease prevention without the need to feed the pharmaceutical industry more pounds. The only supplement recommended when going plant based or vegan(ish) is B12. Available for all good health stores. Good luck.
People talk about supplement CQ10 with statin medication to boost energy. since your cholesterol has come down by 50%, apart from B12, do you take any other supplement
Thanks for your reply. Will look at these books.
I take a Mega B complex, vitamin D3 and CoQ10 in the morning and vitamin E and magnesium in the evening ... I tried fish oil it gave me very bad acid reflux so I stopped it. I might try flaxseed oil instead ... What is your blood group Bala?
No other supps....all the nutrients required are in plants and whole food grains. It's cheaper too, your bones will ache less, you'll remove any IBS symptoms....the list is endless. Good luck.
plant based didnt work for me .. I felt exhausted the whole time ... I eat lean lamb three times a week, and fish on other days plus salads and fruits and low fat dairy
We human all are different therefore the mechanisms are different!!
Keep on with what your are doing till your GP blood test.
well done on your weight loss. It's a significant amount so if your high cholesterol is made worse by your weight, you should see a drop.
Hi Baus,
If you have high cholesterol your GP should do a test for you. Home test and chemist's tests aren't really reliable.
Update I went into another chemist and tested again they used a different machine and my reading was also "Lo" like yesterday so I'm pretty happy about it. Will get a full blood test done next month to check the hdl LDL and triglycerides components too
Taking Coq10 150 mg a day is helping decrease my appetite , reduce cravings and allow me to exercise longer with no post exercise fatigue and it's also helped stabilise my blood sugar levels and lose weight so it's a great supplement to take it works well with statins to combat the side effects and a bonus is good skin too
What is a CoQ10?
Very good question.
Two answers from the Internet:
CoQ10 and “energy”
Coenzyme Q10 (also known as ubiquinone) is a relatively small molecule. It cooperates with cytochrome enzymes (big proteins) to synthesize a molecule called ATP. This is a chemical form of energy that can be used to do work, such as making a muscle fibre contract.The word “energy ” here is used in the sense that a physicist would use it. It is measured in joules or in calories. The meaning of the word ‘energy‘ is described nicely in the Wikipedia entry. For example, when an electric current passes through a resistor (like a kettle) the electrical energy is converted to heat energy, and the energy used is potential difference (volts) X current (amps) X time. In other words energy is power (in watts) times time. So another unit for energy is kilowatt-hours (one kilowatt-hour is about 3.6 megajoules).Energy in this sense has nothing whatsoever to do with the everyday use of ‘energy’ to indicate your vitality, or how lively you feel.Furthermore there is not the slightest empirical reason to think that CoQ10 makes you feel more lively
CoQ10 and the supplement business
There is nothing new in this big push by Boots. CoQ10 has been a staple of supplement business for a long time now. All sorts of medical claims have been made for it. Everything from migraine, to Parkinson’s disease to cancer has been raised as possible benefits of the magic drug, oops, I mean ‘supplement’. This is quite improper of course, since it is being sold as a food not as a medicine, but it is standard practice among supplement hucksters, and so far they have been allowed to get away with it.What’s interesting though is that until Boots PR machine swung into action, one thing that hadn’t been claimed much is that it made you feel more lively. That’s one they just invented.
CoQ10 and the press.
It’s standard technique to get free advertising by hoping that journalists will dash off an article on the basis of a press release, with the hope that they will be in too much hurry to check the spin. Too often it works.The Daily Mail has big coverage of the press release, under the title “Can a 60p pill from the chemist really add years to your life?“. This was written by Anna Hodgekiss and it’s not bad. It starts with a nice note of scepticism
OK thanks. So it is a non-prescription dietary supplement rather than a medicine prescribed for a particular purpose?
So in this context what is it being taken for ? does it help reduce cholesterol?
You'll find it in the vitamins section at the chemist ... There's a lot info on it if you google it
I am afraid I am not a doctor to answer your question. Please consult your GP!
I lost 3 stone a few years back my cholestral was still high so I took 10mg atvorstatin lowered it from 8 to 4 in 8 weeks
OK, your cholesterol has down by 50%, the question is what else is statin doing to your body?
It's only 10mg tablet atorvastatin
YES! Two months is enough time to see a drop in Cholesterol numbers. On Sept 27th, I had my annual physical. My TC was 248 (LDL 151, HDL 82, Tri 77). My doc told me to get my cholesterol down and she would retest me in 3 months.
Well, for me the challenge was ON!
I decided to first STOP drinking shelf-stable coffee creamer in my daily coffee. I instead elected fresh creamer without preservatives and those that required refrigeration. I also decreased the number of cups of coffee to just once a week.
Then I ADDED to my diet both a FIBER supplement (Metamucil) and MILLED FLAX SEEDS. I drank it mixed with water - two cups a day with 1.5 tsp of FIBER & FLAX each time, in the morning and at night!
I also CUT out fried foods (chicken, French fries, burgers, etc.) and stopped eating cheese (so no pizza nor mac & cheese).
And, I DECREASED my portion sizes and the frequency of when I ate sweets (like having 1 cookie, or a half a scoop of ice cream.
I drank MUCH MORE water and several cups of Green Tea a day.
Finally, I INTRODUCED more whole grains to my diet (oatmeal, barley, bran, etc.).
I also starting eating lentils, olive oil, avocado, and turmeric/cumin.
The result?
On Dec 10th (really just 2.5 months later) I was retested. My TC cholesterol decreased by 34 points down to 214 (LDL 136, HDL 67, Tri 57).
This new way of eating (for me) is a life goal and I plan to keep it up until I am under 200 TC and 99 LDL. Then I will work to maintain it.
Good Luck! You CAN and SHOULD do this. Taking statin medicine is no way to go.
Did your doctor offer you a risk analysis test? May be you can ask your doctor.
No, I was no offered a risk analysis test. What is that?
She was so impressed with my motivation and results of the decrease after just 2.5 months and the 34 points deduction in my TC (15 of them on the LDL) that she said we will retest in 6-8 months. No further tests or recommendations (other than keep doing what I am doing).
In the UK, doctors use different type of risk analysing, (Qrisk or JBS3 and many more). A doctor can input a number of parameters and a result come out giving a number, this number indicator how healthy your ( x in 100). x is the varying factor depending up on your health and blood test numbers.
You can have a look for JBS3 on the Internet, I helped the GP who developed this towards testing.
I've been following this thread with interest, because 5 years ago my cholesterol was very high, and I too vowed to do whatever it took to stay off statins. For a year, I followed a "low carb" diet and focused on "healthy" protein-rich food like fish and chicken. Although I did everything right and I lost 30 pounds, my cholesterol went up!
Finally, I listened to a friend who had gone the other way with a Whole Foods Plant-Based diet, and who was (and still is) very healthy for her age. I did it all at once (I had after all promised myself that I'd do whatever it took) and after losing only another 10 pounds, a year later, my lipids were looking great I've never looked back.
It does matter HOW you lose the weight. Here's a video based on many scientific studies that explain the whole thing more: youtu.be/wFIEUjh0jpI
Hi, i'm very new to this!!
i had a heart attack over 2 months ago and i really don't know how to cope. still getting funny pains, NEED HELP 
Lipid panel says I reduced cholesterol from 320 to 171 in 6 weeks. Is that even possible?
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