HealthUnlocked will undergo site maintenance on 8th April 2025 from 11:30AM (BST) / 6:30AM (EDT) for a few hours. We aim to restore the full service as soon as possible. Learn more
Had blood test today at local Pharmacy. Result 7.4 - six months ago it was 5.6. Told to see Nurse or GP.
My GP has always said not necessary to know cholesterol levels and does not include this in my usual blood tests. Have managed to reduce Preds to 8mg. Don`t wish to take any more medication, any other way of reducing cholesterol? Would be grateful for advice.
Theoretically it is possible to reduce cholesterol with dietary measures. However - whatever some doctors claim, it is next to impossible unless you had a dreadful diet since most of the cholesterol in your blood is produced by the liver. It is essential for the body to function and is the precursor of many hormones including vit D.
But the primary point for us is that pred makes the liver make more cholesterol - so raises the blood levels. Which is probably why your GP says it is immaterial. Do you have the individual numbers? I have a high total cholesterol - but I have a particularly high HDL level and that obviously raises the total level.
As far as I know HDL was 2.59 and glucose 4.3. Am I getting in a twist unnecessarily?
Suppose it depends on whether your GP suddenly does care. Your total to HDL ratio is a very respectable 2.85 - ideal is below 2, good below 5 but no doubt there will be people who dispute its value.
I suspect I am about to face the discussion again - I refuse to take statins. One week once 5 years ago was more than enough!
Thank you PMRpro think I will leave it until I see my GP next week. Have quite a lot I want to discuss with her as have had to wait five weeks for appt - hope 10 mins will be enough!
Your sensible (and otherwise) posts are always received with gratitude.
bbc.co.uk/programmes/articl...
I'm being a bit dense - his adapted portfolio diet says 2-3g phytosterols - it that what is in the almonds plus oats or is it adding something else? If so - what? Yogs/margarine?
I can't see where I could include 75g oats - have to start eating breakfast again and making porridge!
I think you'd need to watch the program. It's probably available but I can't view non-Canadian content unless it's been put on YouTube or some platform other than the BBC. I'm afraid I don't really remember the details, my cholesterol has always been low.
I can't see BBC stuff either except live.
So even being in the EU didn't open up the airwaves?
No - it's national copyright or something. We do watch UK TV via FilmOn but we now have to pay and even with it certain things just don't happen. We do record stuff and watch it at a sensible time rather than up to midnight but we are very limited as to how much we can have stored.
For some unknown reason BT my broadband provider has me living in Dublin, Eire, so I am told I have to pay. Trying to talk to BT is enough to stress anyone out, all the computer brains are onto it though. BT even have the name of the street I supposedly live in.
You couldn't make it up could you? Italian Telecom is the end too - I'm sure fibreoptic broadband through them would be cheaper (the old version was cr*p) but it is now through our bank. If there is a problem I don't have to get on the phone and beg for a German-speaker as is my right any more. I catch the "free" public transport to town and speak to a real person! The bank in the village will send him a message but he is the IT nerd for it all. Magic!
It means these added phytosterol dairy products. Yogs, milk, spread. Might consider yogs if I can find plain. Spread? What's that I don't eat enough butter to make it worth it! And I am very fussy about what milk I buy...
I only buy organic milk these days. The difference in the flavour is remarkable.
Ours is "Hay milk" - guaranteed from small mountain farms with not more than 20 cows and fed entirely on fresh grass or hay all year round. Near enough organic and you can taste the herbs in the summer!
You know there's a difference in the animals' diet when you are eating food raised more traditionally, like organic or free range. I could tell from the improvement in the eggs when the hens were let out this year! Unfortunately our local organic milk company was bought by a larger firm, then closed down, so our organic milk is now coming from Quebec. But it tastes so much better than standard milk there's no comparison.
If your doctor says it is not necessary to know cholestoral levels why would they want you to take more medication? If you stick to a good diet which we all should I would have thought you should be fine. Apparently statins for women over 65 do not have any affect compared to those on placebo. In a lot of the research done by the drug companies they tend to use men!
Really? My GP wants to put me on statins because my cholesterol has suddenly gone up (I started a new biologic in July), but I'm very reluctant. If I can tell her they won't have any effect (I'm 72) she can think again! Where did you see the info?
medicalnewstoday.com/articl...
It is for PRIMARY protection - i.e. for patients who have not yet had a cardiovascular event (stroke or heart attack). If you have had one - then there is a place for statins.
That is true. I am reading Too Many Pills by John le Fanu. Worth a read. We take one tablet then fourteen more to counteract the side effects!
I don't THINK I take anything for side effects - except calcium and vit D.
I don’t either, but a lot of people do it seems. They believe in their doctor. Le Fanu is quite cunning he writes a piece in the Daily Telegraph each week and asks for people’s questions, then uses the results in his books. In fact you could probably write a pretty frightening book just based on this discussion board. Some of the stories are horrific.
You can say that again!
LupusUk is even worse. Discussion with someone today who had low immunoglobulin (I think) results and the doctor said it was a lab error. Six times - said the same. Other results were seriously out - doctors ignored them as errors. One told her one set were fine, another doctor said she must go to her doctor as they were so bad. You couldn't make it up! Eventually they admitted to her (after stiff letters from rheumy and immunologist with all the abnormal results in red) that they hadn't really understood them.
So I explained that labs are run by clinical scientists, consultant grades in their own fields. They check and report all results and flag up any that need to be flagged up. They assume that if someone requested a test they know what they mean and if they don't they should call and ask. She says she'll tell her doctors! 
This was in the Telegraph today. I assume the BMJ will have an article in it this week. I do not get my copy until tomorrow though. The age seems to be 75 in this study but there are several where it is lower for women. As PMRPro says it only refers to people who have not had cardiovascular problems.
“TAKING statins over the age of 75 may not reduce the risk of heart disease or stroke, according to a study.
Analysis of pensioners with an average age of 77 found no benefit among those who were generally healthy.
Published in the British Medical Journal, the study concludes that the results “do not support the widespread use of statins in old and very old populations”.
I'll take being old at 66 then
Good. I'm going to try diet first - I always did like porridge for breakfast! I have such weakened leg muscles after years on stetoids that I'll try anything rather than statins.
My cholesterol which was previously stable with a healthy ratio, has also raised with taking pred. My GP said that we need to see what the levels are with pred out of the picture.
Statins - I have refused them too
statinnation.net/statin-nat...
You could read the Great Cholestoral Con by Malcolm Kendrick who appeared in one of the videos. It is not just big Pharma that is pushing statins but also doctors are being encouraged to give them to patients by government etc. Merck who first introduced statins had a chairman who said that drug companies could make a lot more money by selling to the well as well as the sick. The result being that the well became patients and the already sick started to be ignored. The same has been done with hypertensive drugs. I notice in the video that they mention the benchmark for normal (cholestoral, blood pressure, glucose...) is being reduced down and down, so slowly more and more of us need drugs although we may be perfectly fit and healthy.
Few goodies in the Grauniad article today too:
theguardian.com/society/201...
Brilliant, thanks. So James Goldacre was right, what a waste of resources. What a rubbish questionnaire. Apparently there are quite a few tests that GPs fill in data and it comes up with a result and probably take drugs. It seems for some no one actually knows how the calculation is done, particularly the GPs. I know depression is one, created by a drug company.
Hi Cholesterol 
High cholesterol and links to medication 
very high cholesterol 
Cholesterol, pred and PMR?
