Hi all, i am new here although have been looking at all the posts on the forum and do have my own opinions on the diet/heart - cholesterol/CVC . I had my general NHS check up at 47 years old, and my GP referred me to the lipid clinic, as he thought I had elevated levels of cholesterol (his words). After a LOT of pressure and having to talk directly to the practice manager I managed finally to access my lipid panel results and they were as follows: 7.7mmol/L Serum Cholesterol : 2.1 tryglyceride: 1.07 HDL: 5.67 LDL total ration: 7.2.
I have now just come back from my first appointment at the Lipid Clinic and to be honest feel battered, intimidated and angry. After having my blood pressure taken I was essentially steamrollered and lectured that I most likely have FH and I am going to go on statins, as if I don't I will most likely die from CVD in the next 10 years, I had a likely chance of more than 50% of developing a heart disease before 65 and must start taking 80mg atorvastatin straight away. I was told my lifestyle was tantamount to a death sentence (although I don't drink or haven't smoked for 5 years and walk about 2 miles a day minimum). I did try to bring into the equation that perhaps first, under what I understand to be informed consent that I should know about any potential side effects and whether perhaps it's worth looking at some lifestyle changes. the consultant looked at me with dismay and literally said, "Oh, you are one of THOSE DOUBTERS, well, let me tell you, you wont live long enough without what we recommend to see about doubt."
What i'd really like to know is a) should I be so worried about my levels (and yes I am not so convinced with the cholesterol/CVD argument and b) has anyone else experienced this sort of behaviour at a lipid clinic - steamrollered, no recourse to lifestyle changes/test for FH etc. - should I walk and seek alternatives ? I really do not want to be on statins for the rest of my life.....thanks everyone and any input really appreciated
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JonnyEly
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Take it easy and relax, stress can give you a lot of problems.
NHS doctors needs education on how to handle situations, it happened to me five years ago. You should have been tarted better. There was another post earlier, in that it talked about statin as primary and secondary in the print out. Have a look at the blood test in that print out.
Life style change and regular exercise can help to control blood numbers.
You need to watch out for hidden and free sugar in all food and drinks that goes into your mouth. What were your blood test at 47 and how long ago, when you compare what is the difference?
There has been a lot of articles in the news papers on healthy eating.
Start on your life style change soon and go for blood test in six months time.
Hi both, Many thanks for the comprehensive and very useful info and advice. My results that I have are as follows, taken 2 months ago (still waiting for the lipid clinic results - another 2 weeks at least) :
Hba1c: 45 mmol
Serum creatine kinase 167U/L (ref: 40.0-320)
Serum Urea level 7.2mmol (ref:2.5-7.8)
Serum totl 25-hydroxy Vitamin D 31.1nmol/l (ref 30-50 inadequate in some people)
Only c 20% of blood cholesterol comes from diet, the rest is produced by your body under stress. Do as sandybrown states. I used 10mg per day of Atorvastatin and not 20 as advised. Cholesterol came down dramatically. But many experts say focus on sugar. If that is OK, then all the better.
In general your bloodwork indicates that your body is experiencing a great deal of internal inflammation. Elevated cholesterol is your body's response to try and repair the damage that is being caused.
Your triglycerides, ALT (alinine aminotransferase), and urea are dangerously high. This implies a diet high in any or all of:
- sugar
- processed foods
- simple/refined carbohydrates
It is also possible that you are under a great deal of stress.
Your HbA1C value does not make sense, it should be expressed as a percentage not as mmol. Is 45 a typo or should it be 4.5%? Please review and re-post if necessary.
Without immediate dietary and lifestyle change, you're on track for a major health crisis.
You should adopt the Mediterranean Diet and eliminate sugars/processed foods and simple/refined carbohydrates from your diet. Get a Mediterranean Diet cookbook to get yourself started.
It is best to eat a whole foods, plant-based (less animal protein) diet and begin a daily regimen of walking for at least 20 minutes, gradually working your way up to 60 minutes.
Hiya, many thanks for the input, it is very very much appreciated. I've had a look at all the videos and have been gradually, for a number of years moving towards a more Mediterranean diet, but have just in the last week or so started to completely cut out sugars and processed foods and I hope this will make a major difference, as well as bumping up my exercise regime of walking vigorously (don't like gyms or cycling or other types of excercise but love walking) to up to 30 minutes a day for now then to 60 minutes. Stress isn't too bad as I have a relativelly stress free work (I am self-employed as a jeweller). Just had some more test results in from the Lipid CLinic and they read as follows: tryglcerdide 1.65 (dropped from 2.10 in last test) - range 0.3-1.8; LDL 6.51 ; Cholesterol/HDL ratio 8.0; Non-HDL Cholesterol: 7.26 albumin 45g/L (range: 35-50 g/L); Alkaline Phosphatase 75 (range: 30-130 U/L); Alkaline Transaminase 55 (range 7-40U/L)
I'm glad to see your blood metrics improving. The elevated cholesterol is an inflammatory indicator. Keep moving in the direction you've started and focus on avoiding sugar (this includes artificial sweeteners) and processed foods at all cost.
Your liver produces all of the cholesterol you require when your body is repairing tissue. However, there's another biological process that repairs tissue - collagen synthesis. In order for your body to synthesize collagen, you need a continuous and high level of vitamin C. The more collagen production, the less cholesterol production.
As a start, take a 1,000 mg tablet of vitamin C with each meal.
The best and most bioavailable form of vitamin C is liposomal vitamin C.
Here's the science behind vitamin C and cholesterol.
Thanks again Sos007, mcc appreciated all your input. I'm busy looking at lifestyle improvements and once again your input is invaluable. Have an appointment with my GP this week and will stress that i am not interested in taking statins, preferring to implement lifestyle;e changes and suggest another set of lipid profile tests are done in 3 months time to see if they are effective (which I am sure they will be!).
Hi I’m just new here . I was on Lipitor for 18 years and 2 months ago my dr took me off them , cold turkey . Since being of them my aches and pains have def stopped. My reading was 5.9 . My mother had high Col and my oldest sister , it’s hireditary . But my brother and sister will not get tested . .
I do suffer from bad anxiety and panic attacks and wonder if it’s the right thing at times , but yes I think so . Will have a blood test in May after being off them for 3 months . My dr said that I’m not high at all .
I'm sorry that your doctor treated you that way. I recently say my doctor (in the U.S.) about my concerns with atorvastatin, which I stopped taking a month ago due to severe muscle pain in my thighs, lower back, and tailbone. I feel significantly better, saw a nutritionist, and am working hard to improve my diet and exercise routine. When I saw my doctor, I came prepared with an open mind. I also brought two peer-reviewed medical articles about side affects related to statin.
Her response when I asked if she wanted to see copies of two peer-reviewed articles: "No, I don't need to see that. I keep up with all the latest lit." But then proceeded to completely debunk information I've researched. (I used to be a medical editor, so I'm no dummy.)
She finally agreed that -- since I'm feeling better and am working hard on my diet and exercise -- it's ok to stay off the atorvastatin and recheck my numbers at my next blood text in 2 months. In the meantime, I'll keep researching. I respect my doctor, but sometimes medical recommendations and training lags behind the latest studies on drug effectiveness and side affects.
HIya MKEMom, your story sounds not dissimilar to mine, I'm impressed with your approach and steadfastness and level-headedness! I'm going to have the same approach when i see my GP who wants to go over my bloods this week. Thanks for the input (and apologies in lateness in replying!)
Thanks. I've identified some other doctors in my area that seem to be more integrative-focused for second opinions. Assuming my lipid panels and weight loss are significantly better at my May 2019 visit, I'm curious to see if my current doctor asks how I did it. If she doesn't ask and simply says, "Well, keep doing whatever you're doing and we'll keep monitoring your LDL," then that's my clue: I'm outta here. She really doesn't want to know the details.
This actually happened several years ago when I successfully reduced my LDL through better nutrition and losing weight. When my numbers went significantly lower, all she said was "Great." She didn't bother to ask any more detail. Needless to say, I fell off that healthy wagon...but that's another story.
I also suspect that the healthcare system for which they work is pushing them to prescribe these medicines and disregard any type of intervention that could interfere with more tests, procedures, and referrals....which make them more and more money!
I have a physician relative (in the U.S.). Each year she gets a bonus between $40,000-$60,000+ based on how many new patients she gets per year (or better stated: brings into the healthcare system practice). And this is on top of her salary. CRAZY! That explains why she's always eager to get more patients. But then I wonder, how much time can you allocate to patient care if you keep getting busier and busier? Or, for that matter, to keeping up-to-date with the latest medical research?
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lipid clinic
high cholesterol and have a statin intolerance. What to do?
FH?
