Hi
husband had bloods done yesterday and platelets were 750. The nurse said his cholesterol is showing as high at 6.2. We are soo worried now. As he is already at risk with ET and now this. His diet is good and only cheat meals at the weekend. He walks about 4 miles 4 days a week. Doesn’t smoke or drink. Anyone with advice would be greatly appreciated. His mother has high cholesterol.
I have had ET for 20 years and my cholesterol was slightly raised at that time as well, so I started a low dose statin and have been on it ever since. That keeps my cholesterol in normal range, which is sensible in order to eliminate another risk alongside ET.
Unfortunately high cholesterol can be hereditary and while it’s good to eat a healthy diet and exercise to try and control it, that may not be enough. My father had high cholesterol and I found diet alone wasn’t enough, so the statin was needed too.
most expert haems don’t necessarily treat platelets under one million unless there are other risks or symptoms, so platelets at 750 itself is not necessarily a risk.
Cholesterol at 6.2 may also not be such a risk, do you know what the HDL, LDL and triglycerides are. I have PV my platelets pre Rux were mix 600’s and went to 750 , none of my haems batted an eyelid. I know veteran patients with platelets around one million, their expert haems we’re fine with it. My cholesterol is over 6 , I asked an expert Haem about it and his answer was well it was much better than his. No expert Haem was concerned about my cholesterol, mind you my good cholesterol ie HDL is high and triglycerides low. Some functional docs are of the view high cholesterol within reason is not an issue in itself. You can Google around that, Dr Mercola has good info on it somewhere. Some haems like very low cholesterol, when I was diag 13 years ago my Haem at that time said my cholesterol at 5 was too high and would like to see it down to 2 or 3, I now know this is complete nonsense. We need cholesterol to make hormones for example. Statins will lower cholesterol but like all drugs have downsides. Personally I avoid them. The problem is doctors rarely see or treat the whole person. They do their bit and don’t always see the rest of you. A Haem nurse is correct in saying you cholesterol is above their range and ditto with platelets, if they give you enough medicine it will lower platelets and cholesterol, they can say they have done their part of the job, but is that the best thing for the person overall bearing in mind all drugs have down sides, that’s for you to research and decide. I am not a doctor and these are only my views based on what I have learned over the years having seen many experts. What I have written is just for you to think about, I do not have seen your partners other labs or med history so it’s not medical advice just my view based on the info you supplied.
I forgot to add that the reason for explaining all that is that I dont think you need to be so worried for now.
I suggest that if your doctor wants to put it him on a statin ask for the lowest starting dose. That worked for me and I am still on that dose.
ET related fatigue
Thoughts on cholesterol/statins
Ruxolitinib & raised cholesterol 
high count?
