I would like to run some information past you all, and request your opinion.
I'll try to be brief. Some of you know I have been doing the lchf diet since March. I have had 2 blood tests in that time. The other relevant info is that I stopped the statin (with gp permission) and reduced metformin, didn't stop altogether, from March.
You may also remember I have been worrying about non alcoholic fatty liver (NAFLD) as my gamma gt levels have been very high since Dec 2014 (or before, that measurement was only started at that time. ) I'm not even sure that gamma gt is all about NAFLD, but it was the only marker in all the liver tests which came back high, and it prompted my gp to send me for a confirmatory liver scan. I was inclined at the time to blame the statin, first symvastatin, then atorvastatin for the high reading. Gp wasn't in agreement. Said it was my diabetes.
(Still trying to be brief)
Latest test results, after 5 months dieting. Everything normal, including HbA1c down to 45 from high of 59 last year.
Vast majority of daily bg readings 5.8 to 6.4 these days, consistently.
The biggest and best result is a HUGE drop from 254 (May) down to 67 (Aug) for gamma gt!! (Normal range : 6.0 - 42.0, so still a way to go.) Yippee! I must have been doing something right.
Not to mention a superb drop in weight of 7 k.
However. My lipids - cholesterol, LDL and non-HDL/Cholesterol level have gone slightly above normal. A worrying trend. My gp wants to have a chat, next week. I know what he thinks, - it says so on the report,
"cholesterol worse since stopping statin. "
My dilemma now is, I don't want to go back on the statin. I am no longer convinced that it is automatically 'good' for me. I've been reading a lot about it lately. My gp will not be happy.
What does anyone else think? Any experiences?
Thanks for reading, Jan
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jan-ran
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THese levels are higher tha in May. : LDL 1.3 up to 3.6. Total cholesterol. 4.0 up to 5.7 and non HDL / cholesterol 2.3 up to 4.2. I am encouraged that you think like I do, - maybe I don't need a statin. Can you think what might have caused these results? Other than lack of statin, of course.
No. No matter what diet I did before diabetes cholesterol always high. Even when I saw a nutritionist because my ears were ringing years ago. My cholesterol would not go down
With regard to statins Jan dig around Malcolm Kendrick blog or get his book 'The Great Cholesterol Con'. You'll find he emphatically states that women, and I stress women, get no value whatsoever from taking statins. Graveline concurs:
Don't be bullied by a GP whose knowledge of diet and statins is less than yours - it's your body Jan. You know by now that cholesterol is utterly vital and that's why old ladies in nursing homes up to the eyeballs in statins are going ga ga - dementia is increasingly being called T3 diabetes.
I have a visit with my doctor on Monday to get a medical certificate for my microlight flying, but I'm going to tackle him over T2, diabetes, obesity etc - I hope to arrange something over a coffee to really get the point over.
By the way, LDL particles do go up on LCHF, but they will be large fluffy and harmless.
Thanks for your reply Mike. I am indeed doing some digging. Like you I am hoping to persuade my gp to at least listen to my ideas. I don't know him at all as he is new, but all reports are favorable. My first line of defense is that my lipid levels are flexible at the moment because I am still losing weight. To balance my glee at this discovery, I did the QRISK2 thing (from the NICE site) and learned that I have an almost 50% risk of heart attack or stroke within the next 10 years. Gutted. But I have got atrial fibrillation and diabetes which hugely ratchets up the score. You can't win 'em all 😟 Fly high Mike ..... microlightly of course!
QRISK2 thing (from the NICE site) and learned that I have an almost 50% risk of heart attack.
You can go along those lines Jan and depress yourself but if you really do the numbers, we all have a 100% risk of heart attack at some time. I discard the numbers when when my mother (just died 94) had a heart like a trip hammer and utterly refused to have anything to do with newspeak heart healthy fats, as indeed I have. How anyone can say that anything butter plastered tastes better than something plastic from a plastic tub is beyond me. I digress, I'm preaching to the converted.
You might have AF, and maybe that's something that can't be mitigated, but be assured you are doing the very best you can to ameliorate or repair underlying conditions; that's something unlikely on a regime of medication.
I don't know if you exercise Jan, but a great motivator is doing a bit of movement. For me a bike and 5 miles a day. Simple walking did the same but took a little longer, and bikes are more fun.
When well, I line dance three times a week, I have a recumbent exercise bike and have just started hula hooping ! I m struggling with an arthritic hip but mostly ignore that. Good advice Mike, thanks.
To continue......I spoke to my gp today. It didn't go exactly as planned. He is definitely FOR statins and made no bones about it. But was a bit stunned at the dramatic gamma gt drop. No answer to that. However, we had a cordial conversation, and he said he is not going to make me do anything I don't agree with. So I asked for another blood test in 3 months time, still no statins, and hopefully by then my weight will have stabilised. I'm praying for some really good results then, to which end I am going to try to reduce my cholesterol levels on my own. Perhaps a little bit less 'high fat' as per the LCHF diet. What do you think?
Have type 2 diabetes. I have always had high cholesterol. Even with loosing a lot of weight my cholesterol went up around 300. I take atorvastatin. It keeps it below 100. Have been on it a year and 4 months. Liver and kidney always test good
Could you pls let me know what 'Trace of blood' in Urine POCT test means.
By the way, I am a 65 year old male.
When I did my LIPID last time (some time in March 2016) it showed up high TC and Triglyceride of 214.
I am working on controlling the bad numbers as much as I can.
However, during my re-visit to Endocronologist last week, she did a KEYTONE POCT and that showed up some Traces of Blood.
She wanted to do the next LIPID again after 2 or 3 months, giving me some more time to balance and adjust my sugar levels.
(I had several travels -unavoidable- during May, June and July which prevented me from working on my LCHF / BS - no excuse though)
Also, I found it hard to manage LCHF while travelling, due to several reasons. No alcohol though.
I am back in my home town now and started working on LCHF with all seriousness. But feel very week due to less intake.
When you can, could you pls let me know if 'Trace of Blood' in POCT indicates signs of big concerns to be prepared. My wife is more worried than me.
Thank you sir.
I have captured the results output for your info.
ComponentYour ValueStandard Range
POC Specific Gravity 1.015 1.005-1.030
POC pH, Urine 6.0 5.0-8.0
POC Leukocyte Esterase, UrineNegative Negative
POC Nitrites, UrineNegative Negative
POC Protein, UrineNegative Negative
POC Glucose, Urine3+Negative
POC Ketone, UrineNegative Negative
POC Urobilinogen, Urien0.2 mg/dL0.2-1.0 mg/dL
POC Bilirubin, UrineNegative Negative
POC Blood, UrineTrace Negative
(Please note that the last part in each sentence is the 'standard range' which is underlined and the middle part is the actual result of POCT - due to some reason the alignment could not be reproduced exactly. Pardon me)
Thanks Mike. I am making notes. I have a telephone consult with my gp on Wed. He may even agree with me, I don't know what he s like yet! Will post later. Jan
I appreciate your advice Anup. But I don't think I would be popular if I started telling my gp what tests I wanted (I'm on the National Health Service, which is free at the point of need in our country. In other words I do not pay for private medical treatments). However, I am intrigued to know these measures. I have never heard of VAP profile, or apoB, lp(a) or hsCRP values. We don't get the luxury of telling our doctors what to do!! I am sure that if my cholesterol levels don't come into line with my gp's requirements, I will indeed go back on a statin, simply because he wants me to, and he has the 'science' to back it up. Besides, I think my atrial fibrillation puts me at greater risk of a heart event which I, and he, would be anxious to avoid. I'm really a people pleaser and have never argued with a doctor , well, rarely, in my life. I am relying on the lchf diet and my own common sense to help me get my cholesterol nearer to what he wants. BTW, when I mentioned LCHF diet, he said, "for diabetes? don't you mean high carbohydrate?" I was stunned into silence for a minute, and hardly knew what to say next. But I muddled through! I remember despairing at that point, and wondering if I was ever going to find some common ground.Thank goodness my diabetes nurse has come round to seeing at least part of what I'm doing is a good thing. I still have great respect for my doctor, he is a kind and knowledgeable man, just in need of a bit of educating! I will do my best.
Thank you all for your comments, and I will keep you posted. Janet.
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