could olaparib raise LDL cholesterol?

[Goodgirl98]

I took my master medical couple weeks back and the only blemish (apart from known blood work readings) is my cholesterol is high.

My good cholesterol is in good range while the LDL bad cholesterol is in the upper end of the "high" range at 175.22. There is only a very high range after this.

i last took my lipid profile a year and 3 months back when my LDL was 112; just slightly higher than the reference good range.

i am a vegetarian on a typical rice/roti diet with lots of vegetables and fruits, and oatmeal cereal for breakfast. Tea with milk once a day. Only coconut sugar that too minimal. Good oils and home cooked meals only. Fairly active with running and aerobic based workouts minimum 3 times a day but average will be 4/week. I do have a sweet tooth but I was sugar free for 8 months during active treatment but I do have a small candy almost everyday post meals.

i am honestly baffled how the ldl went so high. While I am adjusting my diet further to reduce carbs and move to millets/more plant based food, I wonder if olaparib can cause it. I checked with my oncologist after the test, he thought hard and said gf will come back. Don't see any online literature calling it out. Hence just checking with you ladies to close this, since it is nagging me why I got cholesterol. No known family history.

[Goodgirl98]

also to add, my oncologist gave me a option if I wanted medication or wanted to try with diet/exercise adjustment. Since he reassured me it is not critical I have to use meds just yet, I opted for the latter. But in 3 months, I have to get it checked again.

[Doggies221]

the same situation w high ldl after the prior year ldl being within range occurred after surgical menopause (no maintenance drugs so it’s not your parp). The surgical menopause caused the usually normal thyroid to malfunction into hypothyroidism. Then the ldl shot up. I think after taking ovaries out, the endocrine system goes into shock, the body is not designed to run well with hormonal organs out of it. So there’s metabolic disregulation, resulting in hyperlipidemia. Of course, none of the doctors tell us that before taking organs out right? You should test your Free T4 and TSH to see if those have changed after taking ovaries out. Basically, no estrogen in body and hypothyroidism can cause hyperlipidemia (high ldl). Let me know if I’m right after you do the thyroid tests. I don’t think you can do much more in diet and exercise than what you’re doing now. If hypothyroidism, then taking thyroid hormone might fix the situation or some estrogen - I know everyone’s freaking out about estrogen but they’re not freaking out about a heart attack that might result from no estrogen and hyperlipidemia🙁. Good luck!

[Goodgirl98 in reply to Doggies221]

Wow, I never would have thought from that angle! Thankfully, thyroid profile was part of my master medical. My tsh slightly over , about 0.2 units above reference range, so i thought it was minimal hence doctors did not comment on it . Does this make an impact? Please let me know your thoughts and I will also check with my GP.

Thyroid readings

[Doggies221 in reply to Goodgirl98]

Hi! If TSH is over normal, even minimally, that means you’re hypothyroid and the high ldl would be a very expected result from hypothyroidism. I think to reduce the ldl, we need to take levothyroxine (some extra thyroid hormone which is ok to take w cancer). In addition to high ldl, if you google hypothyroidism you’ll see it causes weight gain, fatigue, memory issues. So the combo of hypothyroidism (which occurred likely as a result of taking ovaries out although docs don’t tell us that) in combination w lack of the other hormones that the ovaries produce, in my opinion, causes metabolic disbalance. I’m dealing w these issues now and prior to the surgery my weight and bloodwork were perfect. After the surgery, thyroid went awry, bloodwork went sideways, hyperlipidemia developed and I eat only fruits and veggies and run 3 miles a day, take no meds and have been same lean weight for decades. That’s how I know hyperlipidemia and weight gain (in addition to other dysfunctions) are from the surgery - the consequences of which is the best kept secret and no one cares to talk about w patients. Hope this info helps you!

[Trickysite]

I am now 3 months after finishing my 2 year course of Olaparib and about 5 months ago I got, for the first time, a cholesterol reading of 6 (not an expert on readings). I had been indulging myself on high fat cakes, ice cream, chocolate etc., during the Olaparib, which I would not normally eat in such qunatity! My GP wanted to put me on a drug to bring it down but I said I wanted to try a low fat diet before taking drug. So, 2 months off Olaparib and 4 months after starting my low fat diet, my reading had come down to 5. Gp said no need to go on to drug.

I did wonder if there was a connection between chol. reading and Olaparib.... Don't know the answer to this. Emma

[Goodgirl98 in reply to Trickysite]

I didn't understand your readings; possibly our countries report the units differently. My report shows in a higher range like 100 and 200s (less than 200mg/dL for total cholesterol reading is supposed to be good). But glad that you got it under control without medication. That is amazing!

[Trickysite in reply to Goodgirl98]

Please look on the British Heart Foundation website for guidance on foods to eat and foods to avoid in order to lower cholesterol. Coconut is very high fat. Eat dates instead of candy. Eat whole wheat pasta, whole wheat rice. Whole wheat flour. The very lowest fat milk you can find. 0% fat yoghurts. Cholesterol lowering margarine (it says on the packet if it is cholesterol lowering. Etc.etc.

[Goodgirl98 in reply to Trickysite]

Thank you, I will check it out. For now, I am keeping an eye on trans fat. I had moved to whole grains and flours years back (prior to the diagnosis), so the only dialing back I can do is on portion size, giving up dairy and the occasional treats also. Chocolate is my weakness, I have to admit. I eat a small piece of dark c every day!