Holy Cholesterol

[gassy]

Got my numbers back and it's not good. I'm 36, 5'10" and 150 lbs., yet my bad C is 302. My good is 75. 302 is obviously way to high. I walk 3-5 miles a day--gotta start running I guess. I don't eat a lot of junk. My dad has Hi-C. My doc gave me 4-6 mos. to see what happens--after that, drugs. I'll take anything from advice to good recipes...gotta get my number down. I'm basically eating salads and fruit now--I'm a bit freaked.
Thanks,
Christian.

[coloradoporsche]

I am in the 300s, too.

Dietary cholesterol is meaningless at this point. You won't make a dent in that number by reducing your intake of cholesterol. Reduce the fat intake, and your body (liver) will produce less cholesterol. Add more fiber, and that will help, too.

But, IMO, unless you become a vegan marathon runner, you aren't going to make it. Whatever you do, you need to keep doing it for the rest of your life.

Statins work really well. With Lipitor and a slightly improved diet, I am just under 200.

Good luck.

[Dennis Kalma]

I have numbers so high the doctor said....and I quote " why aren't you dead yet?". Nice guy.

Anyway, I lost weight, changed my diet considerably, work out 3 times per week, pretty well reduced the fat intake....difference was as close to zero as damn is to swearing.

Anyway, did a bunch of reading on it, and from what I can tell, while for some folks with a number of heart related issues, high cholesterol is a problem, remember it is only one risk factor...not a guarantee of heart attack tomorrow afternoon.

In my case, I have done runs with all the various statins, they make a difference but they also attack my joints...got to the point with lipitor such that I couldn't make it down the stairs in the morning....would rather have the heart attack and go Home actually.

So here is the way I rate it. I am 50, have a resting heart rate of about 53 bpm, work out 3x per week, yoga once per week, average blood pressure, do not smoke, have a waist measurement smaller than my hips and have no (as in none) family history of heart attacks. All grand parents/parents made it into their 70's or 80's as did virtually all the inlaws.

Figure my risk is moderate, and so what the heck, I was not planning on living forever anyway.

I am now on Ezetrol...seems to be better joint wise, but has precious little effect on the cholesterol levels.

The risk factor, by the way, takes you from something like 1 death per 100,000 with average cholesterol to 1.6 deaths per 100,000 (if someone has the unbiassed numbers....feel free to update my misunderstandings). So it is a 60% greater risk, but still not like it goes to 35 deaths per 100,000.....

Anyway, your mileage may vary. Make your peace with your maker, leave your family in fair shape should you depart this vale of tears early and have fun with your Porsche in the meantime....

Dennis

[on-ramp]

i was at 293 about 3 months ago.
doctor gave me 6 months of diet & exercise to see if it improves.

i also saw a nutritionist and learned quite a bit of what NOT to eat.

basically, stay away from sat. and trans fat. eat lots of whole grains, 6 servings of fruits/vegetables a day, and exercise for 30 mins. 4X a week.

[alf]

Lipitor

Pre Lipitor, pre diet 278
Pre Lipitor and diet for 3 months 270
After 3 weeks of Lipitor and no diet 170

Doc says "Alf, you are going to live forever, eat whatever you want"
Me "Could I have that advance prescription of Viagra now?"

[Nathans_Dad]

Good luck. I will say it is unlikely you will get your numbers down to acceptable levels with diet and exercise alone. Even if I assume you meant your total cholesterol was 300, that's still quite high. If your LDL was 300, your total cholesterol was likely in the 400s, which would be extremely high.

Either way I fear you have a statin in your future.

[Hugh R]

Like Alf, went from 300 or so to about 140, the doc said I'm on the high end of benefit of Lipitor, something like 65%. 5' 10" weight about 180, could lose 10 lbs. but a 35" waist. Should probably give up beer, but then again, I could also shoot myself.

[Don Plumley]

I'm actively testing the French Paradox with red wine. Hmmm, think I'll have another glass right now...

[Evans, Marv]

I'm on the same page as coloradoporsche and Dennis. Mine tested out at 282 in my early 30's when I first had it tested. Tried the diet thing, exercise (I did that anyway), Niacin, and Mevacor.
Diet doesn't do sh!!t. Not that I'm saying you should switch to a high fat diet. I took the Mevacor for over 2 years with no change whatsoever except for up. I finally asked my doctor if he would continue if he were me, and he said he would stop since it wasn't helping & affected my liver.
Fast forward 30 years and it's 320. My current doc says to try Lovastatin (Mevacor) again with a slightly higher dose. This time it seems to work as I'm down to 209 last time I was checked. I was also told once, by a doctor, some people have high cholesterol which can't be lowered, and they live long (normal) lives. Hang in there.

[Zero10]

That is pretty high. I mean not like you will die tomorrow high, but definately should do something about it. A couple years ago I was diagnosed as having high cholesterol and high blood pressure.
My resting blood pressure was 150-170/100-120, and my cholesterol (I forget the exact numbers) was about 270 and 41 or something like that.
I made a lot of important life changes, and although I still don't really exercise I have changed my diet up big time. When I was diagnosed I was 244lbs (I'm 6'0"), now I am down to 190 and I'm hoping to hit 170-175 soon.
Last time i checked my blood pressure it was 128/85, and my last cholesterol test showed my bad at 160 and my good at 90 (I think). Either way my doctor said that things were now just fine and I should live much longer for it.
Looking back it is amazing the crap I would eat. I seriously ate at mcdonalds 3 times a day 2-3 days a week, ate big bags of chips (the 300g bags) every time I watched a movie, and usually followed them up with big bags of skittles, I would always grab those cheap bags of licorice from wal-mart by the dozens, etc. Switching to eating healthy has saved me a ton of money and hopefully given me a few more years to enjoy that money, although I am still at very high risk for heart disease and heart attacks, but that is all my family's fault

I forgot to mention, the first time I was diagnosed with high blood pressure they put me on medication right away (I was 16), and all it did was make me sick to my stomach and EXTREMELY dizzy every time I stood up, I blacked out a few times too, awful stuff really. Needless to say they took me off it after 2 months...

If diet and exercise aren't enough to bring your cholesterol down then you should get on medication for it right away. Although depending on how bad your diet is it could be enough.

Just remember, stay under 15-20g of fat a day, keep trans fats as low as possible (0 is good), every time you eat something fatty or sugary eat something with lots of fiber in it with it (i.e. celery with your supper, carrots with lunch, something like that), and try to keep around 2000 calories per day (less if you want to lose weight).
Another thing that made a big difference for me was to start taking vitamins. Apparently my diet didn't provide me with enough, because about half-way through my diet I started taking vitamins in the morning (1 multi vitamin, 2 calcium, 2 vitamin c, 1 omega 3-6-9) my rate of weight loss doubled and my blood pressure came down significantly.

[tabs]

I had a 260 total C reading, but I had 3 fried eggs, hash browns, toast, bacon and coffee right before I went in and had it tested. Oh and BBQ ribs the night before...I smoke fine cigars, drink fine whiskey, eat rich foods and do NO excercsie.

[HardDrive]

Why do I have a suspicion that this will one of those things that we find out 20 years from now is meaningless when predicting mortality?

[artplumber]

Diet and exercise are important, not just to put a dent in the chol number, but to reduce risk even with that high chol. If you become a pure vegan, you can probably get 20% reduction, so obviously, just looking at your LDL that's not enough. OTOH, your HDL is quite high and at least partially protective.

[Milu]

Drink red wine. Good quality red wine is better.

[Bill Verburg]

Originally posted by Don Plumley
I'm actively testing the French Paradox with red wine. Hmmm, think I'll have another glass right now...

I like that course of action

[gassy]

quote:
Originally posted by Don Plumley
I'm actively testing the French Paradox with red wine. Hmmm, think I'll have another glass right now...
I like that course of action

I think I'll start there!
Christian.

[azasadny]

My cholesterol is 310 and I eat almost no fat at all. I eat a healthy diet, exercise (6'1" and 185lbs, 34in waist) and do not smoke and drink 1-2 drinks per month. I have a family history of high cholesterol and high blood pressure. I'm taking Welchol to reduce the cholesterol level and I go back to the Dr in a few weeks for a follow-up blood test to see if it's working. Welchol doesn't work in the liver, it works in the gut and rids the body of bile acids, which cholesterol is converted into to digest food. Since the body realizes the bile acid is too low, it converts more cholesterol to bile acids, thus removing cholesterol from the body. Anyone else have exerience with Welchol?

[MichiganMat]

Please take Lipitor responsibly. Side effects may include bleeding from the eyes, bleeding from the ears, bleeding from the fingers, bleeding from the elbow, and bleeding from the face. Most side effects were mild or moderate. See your doctor for more information to see if Lipitor is right for you!

[notfarnow]

Originally posted by Nathans_Dad
Good luck. I will say it is unlikely you will get your numbers down to acceptable levels with diet and exercise alone.

Funny, that's pretty much exactly what my doctor told me. My ldl was ~240 when I was 25, and 2 years ago was up ~280. My doctor wanted me to go right to lipitor, considering my family history of cholesterol and heart attacks.

Thing is, we also have a family history of bad diet and not enough exercise, so I wanted to take a kick at it.

Major change in diet (easy, cuz Mrs Notfarnow is a vegetarian), and started exercising. I hated the gym, so I started taking the stairs at work twice a day. I'm on the 19th floor, so it's a pretty intensive workout.

When I got tested 5 months ago, I was ~ 180ldl. Sweet! Plus, I dropped 25lbs and I feel better than I have in years.

YMMV, but drastic changes in diet & exercise sure helped me. If I had gone on Lipitor, I guarantee I'd be 200lbs and my blood pressure would be high.

[JavaBrewer]

When I reached 35 my C went to 300. I was on Lipitor until last year which lowered it to 210 but my joints couldn't take it anymore. Every time I stood up or bent down I would groan like an old dude. I'm now on Niaspan and will get the numbers run again next week.

I'm 5'11" 200 lbs. I exercise (run/mtn bike) 3x a week and lift free weights 3x week. Yes I could stand to lose 15 lbs but I've been saying that for years now...

I just ordered a *good* multi and fish oil supplement and hope that will help too.