Cholesterol worries

[Josie78]

My Dr's receptionist said the Dr has no need to see me,. The result of my cholesterol blood test is 6.5, and has been the same for a number of years. Should I pursue this with my Dr?

[Penel]

Your cholesterol test is only one factor to be considered. If your weight and blood pressure are fine, and you have no history of heart problems, then that may be the reason that the doctor does not need to see you. If you are a post -menopausal woman, cholesterol levels will go up naturally.

But if you have any concerns, insist that you want an appointment.

[Josie78]

Thank you I will look into the recommended book.

I didn't know our cholesterol goes up with age, thanks for your reply

[jointpain]

I have the cholesterol of a 150 year old!! and I am only 98!!!

JOKE Seriously, do not worry so long as you are fine and happy. My numbers were around 8.5 for years, after becoming GF for other reasons it is about 6.3 with a ratio of 5:1 bad:good

[OliasOfSunhillow]

These are not the most important numbers for you to have at hand, what are your

1. Triglycerides

2. CRP

3 APOa

4 APOb

5 Homocysteine

6 LDL particle count and size

Your doctor will probably tell you that these are not important, what he means is that we cannot afford to offer them. If you are happy to assess your health based on the equivelant of your inside leg measurement then stick with the simplistic number he offers but my advice would be to dig deeper and really find out if your cholesterol levels mean anything

[sandybrown in reply to OliasOfSunhillow]

Is 1-6 testing available in NHS?

[OliasOfSunhillow in reply to sandybrown]

At my doctors you can get 1 and 2 but not the rest. I use Blue Horizon for the rest

[BryanDobson]

Aside from the questions above it all depends on family history of heart disease for me. If there is no history of heart disease in your family then I wouldn't worry as long as others say your weight is normal, general health is good. A healthy level is 4 and UK average is 5. Depending on your current diet you could potentially reach more acceptable levels with changes to diet/ exercise

[sandybrown in reply to BryanDobson]

It is imperative that the three numbers for blood cholesterol, blood glucose and blood pressure are checked regally. Food intake control and regular exercise will also help towards good health.

[OliasOfSunhillow]

For those of you who have not read his book this presentation by Dr Esselstyn will point you in the right direction. The solution is in your diet

youtube.com/watch?v=U1varII...(Not working as expected?)

[OliasOfSunhillow in reply to OliasOfSunhillow]

The above explains amongst other things why your HDL levels tells you nothing about their efflux capacity. In other words more HDL does not translate to more LDL shifted out of your arteries. How the HDL is working is more important. Another reason why these simplistic numbers serve only the drug companies

[sandybrown in reply to OliasOfSunhillow]

Thank you for this video link, very well spent of my time of 79 minutes.

Moving to plant based food intake!

No oil, no fish, no few other food!

New word learned "Nitric Oxide"

[OliasOfSunhillow in reply to sandybrown]

Hi Bala, glad you enjoyed it. What also makes this guy and his message credible is that he is not selling anything. No vitamin supplements that he suggests and happens to market on a web site.

[bobski1]

ask the receptionist where she got her medical qualifications first as she is doing the doctors job for him. in other words just tell her to F off as you want to see your doctor ,not some bloody lacky who didn`t go to med school . and don`t take any hassle from her ,it`s your right to see your doc if you need medical advice if you are concerned .

[sandybrown]

Make an appointment to see your doctor and ask for a printout of your blood test and full explanation all the numbers. Good luck.