Cholesterol reading of 15

[dw1304]

Has anyone ever had a reading like this? I've been tested and retested and it appears to be an accurate reading. I take 80mg of Atorvostatin per day and it briefly went down to about 5 but is now creeping up again and my last reading was 8.5. None of the doctors I have spoken to know where to go next beyond referring me to a lipids consultant. Has anyone else had anything similar?

[Hidden]

Yes. Some 30 years ago my reading was 13. I was put on Questran (remember) and then various treatments in cluding fibrates and I am now on 20mg Atorvastatin per day. My figure is now 4.

[dw1304 in reply to Hidden]

Thanks for replying. Did they tell you it was genetic or give jany other reason it was so high and did you dramatically change your diet?

[Hidden in reply to dw1304]

Yes, it's inherited (Type 3 Hyperlipidaemia) and I changed my diet to low fat and low carbs.

[dw1304 in reply to Hidden]

Do you know of other people who have this ad it seems quite rare?

[sandybrown]

What has changed between the two readings? Are you still in the same dosage of medication, any side effect?

Take the offer of going to you consultant, write down all your questions and answers. If you are not on a life style change, may be you can start for going to regular exercise and food and drinks intake control. Human body produces 80 % of cholesterol and the other 20% is form what goes into our mouth. You can ask your lipid consultant this question why? is you body is demanding to produce a lot of cholesterol.

How is your general health with this high cholesterol?

[dw1304 in reply to sandybrown]

Nothing's changed. I'm still taking 80mg of atorvastatin and no other medication has changed. My general health is good although I do take citalopram.

[sandybrown in reply to dw1304]

Please Google (citalopram + cholesterol) and see the results!, did not want to do copy and paste.

[sos007 Ambassador]

Yes, some people have familial hypercholesterolemia - an inherited trait.

With the limited amount of information you have provided, the only comment I can make is that it is important to understand that medications cannot resolve or mitigate these issues without significant lifestyle modifications.

Without knowing your vitals, it is important to get weight under control by losing body fat. The best way to do this is by striving to reduce the consumption of free sugars (white sugar, honey, agave etc...) as well as simple carbohydrates such as white flour products - white bread, white pizza dough, white pasta, in addition to white rice and potatoes. You can replace with whole grain equivalent products as well as brown rice and sweet potatoes. Ideally replace these with vegetables instead like salads (olive oil, balsamic or lemon dressing only) as well as spinach, peppers and other multi-coloured vegetables. Avacados are known to help reduce cholesterol.

Alcohol is converted to sugar in the body, so consumption of alcohol should be greatly reduced, ideally to no more than 1 glass of red wine per day. Red wine provides cardio-protective benefits so if you're going to drink, it is best to drink red wine over other alcoholic beverages.

Fruit juices should be avoided. Fruits are fine as they have fiber which slows down the digestion process. The best fruits are apples, oranges and berries (all berries, but blueberries are best).

Fried foods are also bad as the cause oxidation of the oil which is damaging to your arteries. This includes potato chips.

Air-popped popcorn or prepared in olive oil is fine.

Of course, you know this also means avoiding desserts.

If you are committed to getting healthy there will have to be sacrifices, there's no magic pill.

One last thing - exercise. A brisk 30 minute walk per day is a simple activity most people can do. Ideally have two of these walks per day.

Good luck.

Check out my posts for more information: healthunlocked.com/user/sos007

[AlexandriaUK]

Hi I'm a little confused, is it 8.5 or 15 as you have put in the title, then you say last test was 8.5.

[dw1304 in reply to AlexandriaUK]

I think i said it was 15 for several tests then went down to about 5 and is now creeping back up again so far has onky reached 8.5 but it seems likely it will continue to increase.

[AlexandriaUK]

Hi not that I can see but its possible you had a previous post that said that, is your diet good, last year mine was 8.2 and I started 10mg of atorvastatin and it came down quite fast to 5.2 but I was and still try to be really careful of what I eat and know from Dr that its not possible to keep it down with only meds, no matter how much you take if your diet is wrong then so will your cholesterol.

I'm not saying you are eating the wrong food but just that its not uncommon for people to do that.

Because yours is hereditary then you need to be seen by a specialist in this field.

My friend in Lincolnshire has a level of 17 and hers is FC and a good male friend his hovers in double figures and he's also diabetic and can't take statins or anything else.

[dw1304 in reply to AlexandriaUK]

Hi. It's not hereditary as no-one else in my family has it. I try to be careful with my diet but the doctor actually said that you could eat pies all day every day and still not have a level that high - apparently It's genetic. I'm awaiting an appointment with the lipid consultant as It's out of the Doctor's realm of experience but was just wanting to know if anyone had had similar experiences.

[AlexandriaUK in reply to dw1304]

Familial hypercholesterolemia is a genetic mutation of chromosome 19, its not nescassary for a member of your immediate family to have high cholesterol but if he has told you its genetic then that's what's causing the high numbers, also I hate to go against your GPs comments about pies because 90% of people if they absorb to much saturated fat there cholesterol will rise, some more than others of course.

A healthy diet is the only way to lower it with the help of medications if its really high like yours.

I hope you see someone to help you soon

[dw1304]

Hi. Thank you. These tests have all been done and been found to be within normal range.

[dw1304]

I'm awaiting consultants review for a more detailed analysis. Slow process though.

[sandybrown]

Some medication can or may bring on cholesterol level to a high number.

The medication side effect do describe this.

I god GP will look at the medical history, medicine records, and can explain this.

Cholesterol in double figure is not uncommon!!!

[Hidden]

couple of years

[Hidden]

by controlling diet and portions

[Hidden]

Well I was over 13 stone then which obviously contributed to my T2 which I now don't have anymore and I'm down to just over 11 stone now.

[sandybrown in reply to Hidden]

Hi Hansi,

Have questions. your T2, do you for for HbA1C blood tests and what are the numbers? If you say I don't have T2 any more, what make you make this comment and have you stopped any medication?

The reason for my questions, five years ago my GP practice nurse said I can confirm you are diabetic and you need to go on medication! I refused medication, went on life style change, food and drinks intake control, regular exercise, lost a little weight.

I go for yearly eye check and twice a year blood check for HbA1C, according to my GP the blood test numbers are under control!

[Hidden in reply to sandybrown]

When I was diagnosed with t2 my hbaic was 61. I didn't have medication only diet controlled and it's now 47

[sandybrown in reply to Hidden]

Thank you for your response, I hope with my life style change and regular exercise I can keep HbA1C under control.

[Hidden in reply to sandybrown]

I wasn't taking medication. It was only diet and portion control and lost a stone in weight.