[bettymm]

Hi

About 2 years ago I had a routine blood test that revealed I had High Cholesterol, the total number was high 6.1 , the HDL (good) was ok, right on what it should be , but the LDL (bad) was double what it should be.

I was TTC at the time so couldnt start on medication, but I have been watching my diet and exercising. I recently got back into running, run 2-3 ks/day.

The dr. was alarmed how high it was considering im not overweight, vegetarian, eat healthily etc. It runs in my family. Im 32 years old.

Anyway, last week had the test again and the numbers havnt budged

Am feeling really down about the whole thing. The doctor was very direct in saying im a ticking time bomb for a heart attack or stroke and wants me to start lipidor straight away to bring it down. Have an appointment with a dietician for Friday as well. Though I already eat quite well, only whole grains, low fat dairy, hardly any sugar, no salt etc. Am going to have to wean my 14 month old as well as you cant breastfeed while taking statins. Im glad to have made it this far but im sad about this as well, feels like the choice to let DD self wean (as her older sister did) has been taken out of my hands. I know its worth it as better to lower the risk of me dropping dead, but still

I guess Im just after experiences with people successfully being able to bring down their cholesterol and what helped?

TIA

Edited to add: Also: Interested in hearing peoples experiences with Statins..did they help? Side effects? thanks

This post has been edited by bettymm: 25/02/2013, 04:12 PM

[blenheim]

We also have familial high cholesterol and unfortunately, there's not much you can do about it - it's like trying to prevent epilepsy (if it were genetic) - statins are the best choice. Just think of it more about being here for your children - and you can still make a positive contribution with a healthy lifestyle (sounds like you're doing all you can which is great).

[somila]

Have you tried eating "cholesterol lowering" foods - like Pulse margarine and Heart Smart milk? Sounds like it's something you may not be able to avoid taking medication for, so you might just need to go with the Lipitor.

[MARsmum]

I am in a similar situation to you.

I have high cholesterol, am a similar age, vegetarian, not overweight and eat a healthy diet. Unfortunately, it is a hereditry condition and not diet related.

I am very uncomfortable with taking medication and have done a bit of research. There is a growing movement of medical practitioners condeming the use of statins and, in fact, the whole concept that genetically high cholesterol is in fact a cause of heart disease. This information made sense to me so I have made the informed choice not to take medication. One author who writes a lot about it is Christine Cronau. Here is a link to her information: http://christinecronau.com/food-myths-bust...gh-cholesterol/.

Have a read! It may not ring true for you, however, I thought you may find this information useful before you commence taking any medication.

Good luck an I hope this helps!

[bettymm]

thanks for your responses

MARsmum: thanks for the info and the link. I had a read through but I cant see the relevance for Familial High Cholesterol? She writes about the benefits of animal fats and the importance that cholesterol plays in the body, which is all true, for the healthy specimen with no cholesterol issues but in individuals such as myself ( and yourself perhaps) our levels of bad cholesterol are dangerously high and that certainly leads to stroke or heart disease? i havnt seen any research that suggests treatment with Statins isnt the best course of treatment to dramatically reduce cholesterol levels in patients with FAMILIAL HYPERCHOLESTEROLAEMIA ? (sorry for the caps! i copy and pasted as I can never get the spelling right)

Am really interested to see such research if its out there!

cheers

This post has been edited by bettymm: 25/02/2013, 06:31 PM

[MARsmum]

Sorry if I linked you to the wrong information ~ I just quickly copied and pasted her link as a reference point.

I did my research about a year ago and just remembered her name as one of my starting points.

I initially became interested in cholesteral levels after I gave up consuming sugar. David Gillespie the author of 'Sweet Poison' talks a lot about cholesterol and the role of genes, diet and drugs. He is very scathing about the use of statins and basically says that it is a multi-million dollar drug industry that feeds the use of such pharmaceuticals that are unnecessary.

I know a lot of this is quite controversial however it made sense to me! I will have a look into it and provide you with some further (more appropriate) links!

[bettymm]

Thanks MARsmum, I am interested to see the links if you get a chence

[AMPSyd]

My parents are/were both on meds for high cholesterol (Mum passed with a heart attack at 62). My levels a few years ago were 6.9. The Dr gave me an appt with a dietitian and an exercise specialist (both under a medicare plan as I also have high blood pressure). He said if they didn't start coming down in 6 weeks I was to start meds.

The dietitian said exercise is very important. I started with Heart Smart milk, almonds, watched my carbs and lost weight (10 kilos). Beans are also very good.

My levels started coming down. I am now at 4.4 (took 2 weeks ago).

But I still need meds for high blood pressure - despite all these changes it just won't budge without meds.

Edited to correct - I have Dairy Farmers "Heart Active" milk (comes in a greenish 1 litre container). Also fish is good (or Omega 3 fish oil supplements - I am naughty here - I don't take them). If you have bread - Burgen heart one is good but don't have too much bread - carbs must be limited to one serve a day (though cards in cereal is fine). I also started with Kelloggs Guardian cereal (recommended by the dietitian). I now have a Sanitarium one.

This post has been edited by AMPSyd: 26/02/2013, 06:34 AM