Total cholesterol 6.76..should i take statins

[Palpakerz]

My ldl is the main reason my total cholesterol is high.. should i take statins? I attached my blood chem below..thank you for your inputs.. is it safe to avoid statins at my condition?

[sandybrown]

Could you please ask your GP for a JBS3 or QRISK analysis and full explanation.

A life style change and regular exercise can help to reduce blood numbers. Watching out for free and hidden sugar in food and drinks can help.

Did the GP practice do a fasting blood glucose and a HbA1C blood test?

As an interest uric acid test was done, do you have gout symptoms?

[Bet117 in reply to sandybrown]

I agree, Sandy,

[Hidden]

Too much emphasis is placed on "normal" cholesterol levels when there is no normal level. There is an Ideal level but then there are ethnic groups around the world who function well on either high or low cholesterol levels. If you are concerned about your cholesterol level diet and lifestyle changes can alter the level. I have been functioning a 9.8 for well over 30 years and no ill effects from it despite the dire warnings from the medical fraternity. Not one of them has been able to find a problem caused by my extreme cholesterol levels. It pretty much comes down to what you want to do about your levels. I am T2 diabetic and sugar free and that hasn't altered my cholesterol levels at all. I have eaten correctly and exercised to extremes with no change. But when I went from the off the shelf prepared and packaged foods to natural and fresh foods this year, my cholesterol level suddenly dropped to a "high"of 6.4. The lowest it has ever been recorded, in my life. Interestingly when my Dr years ago wanted me to get my cholesterol up to qualify for "free" medication it wouldn't budge.It will be interesting to see what I record next blood tests for cholesterol levels.

[Madowl]

Hi. My total cholesterol is 6.7 my HDL is about 4 and Ldl approx 2. I was 'threatened' with statins if it didn't go down, and I didnt like the attitude of the health centre staff at all. So I decided to read up and self educate. I recommend you read the 'Great Cholesterol Con' by Dr Malcolm Kendrick and 'Statin Nation' by the same author who is a practicing GP. Both books were an eye opener indeed and I no longer worry about my cholesterol level, and when I told my GP some of my findings he backtracked. In summary there is no normal TC and 15 years ago 6.5 was considered safe, so just eat healthy, with a few treats, and take about 2 hours exercise a week, you'll be fine. Hope this helps.

[Bet117]

Hi Palpakerz,

I agree with Sandy Brown about discussing your cholesterol as well as all of your labs with the ordering physician.

Your GP is your team captain and should be your first line of communication as he/ she is the one who is tending to your overall health needs and knows you best.

Bear in mind that we are all different and what may work for one person, may not be suitable or best for another.

I would review all labs and check off areas of concern or question; any test that flags high or low from the ranges next to the ranges listed by the laboratory.

Additionally, make a list of questions; particularly regarding taking a statin and why, is there an alternate method of lowering cholesterol, what foods should be avoided.

Make an appointment with your GP and have a frank chat about all of your concerns. Take notes in a small notebook and ask questions.

This will serve as reference when you leave the office and a baseline for your next tests.

We are happy to share and support, but it's the responsibility of the doctor to explain labs.

Reach back as we will be waiting to hear how the appointment went.

Stay Positive!

Bet

[Hidden]

sdLDL (small dense LDL) is a big problem when it comes to heart disease. Unfortunately the standard lipid panel we get in the UK doesn't tell us anything about what proportion of our LDL is sdLDL. Those tests are expensive.

Fortunately, there is evidence that the sdLDL level tends to correlate with another figure, which is your Trig/HDL ratio. Your Trig/HDL ratio comes out at 1.04.

Ideally, this ratio should be be 0.87 or below according to docsopinion.com/2014/07/17/...

(Note, when googling for more information about this, that the numbers are different when looking at US measurements)

The good news is that you can do a lot to improve these figures by raising your HDL and lowering your trigs yourself without medication.

HDL can be improved by regular exercise, whereas trigs are typically a measure of your sugars intake (added sugars, fruit juices and sweet fruits, refined carbohydrates, potatoes, alcohol).

I'm no expert, and don't take this as medical advice. Speak things through with your GP and decide what is your best way forward.

[sandybrown in reply to Hidden]

Hello,

You can read about remnant cholesterol in the link below:

"Remnant cholesterol

How to calculate it from the standard lipid panel:

Remnant cholesterol = Total cholesterol – HDL – LDL

What is it?

Remnant cholesterol is all cholesterol not carried in HDL and LDL. [17]

What non-HDL-C level should you aim for?"

agelessforever.net/anti-agi...

[Hidden in reply to sandybrown]

This is a great article as it eliminates LDL from the equation. It's not widely known, but on standard lipid panels, HDL and trigs are measured but LDL is calculated based upon a number of assumptions which may not be applicable to everyone. The remnant cholesterol calculation leaves us with just the numbers that were directly measured - which in my book is far more useful. One word of caution is again to make the correct allowances in converting between US and UK measurements.

[sandybrown in reply to Hidden]

Thank you.

I worked with a GP, when he was trying to do Internet testing for JBS2. I learned a lot on blood glucose testing , cholesterol testing and unit of measurement is different part of the world. I have HbA1C and total about the UK units. I went on life style change, lost weight and managing the blood numbers. So far no medication, only time will tell, at the moment trying to control uric acid!!!

[sos007 Ambassador]

Since nobody on this forum is a doctor, that question cannot be responsibly be answered by this group.Here's an interesting discussion on elevated cholesterol and the role and efficacy of statin treatment: youtu.be/sY48qLl9ZzE(Not working as expected?)

I personally stopped taking statins after changing my diet and lifestyle 5 years ago following a triple bypass. I have a pinned post to the right side or bottom of this page, titled 'How I conquered heart disease and what I learned in the process', I encourage you to read it.

All of my blood biomarkers have normalized due to the dietary and lifestyle changes that I made and have maintained since 2016.

From your bloodwork, the most important metric is triglycerides. This is fat in your blood that is caused from excess consumption of simple carbohydrates, such as sugar and its equivalents, as well as white rice, white potatoes, white flour products. Other simple carbs include fruit juices, breakfast cereals, soft-drinks, and beer.

Lowering triglycerides will lower LDL-C, there's a direct link.

I would encourage you to get a Mediterranean Diet cookbook and to follow it as a dietary guide to cooking.

I would also encourage you to watch these 2 videos as well:

youtu.be/RsFYee4li-w(Not working as expected?)

youtu.be/f3iOlRUQkrw(Not working as expected?)

Good luck.