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Cholesterol levels

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Sebstar

Sebstar

Well-Known Member
Relationship to Diabetes
Type 2
Just been for my review today and my cholesterol level was up from 5 to 5.6. I have to make an appointment with Dr to discuss increasing statins. Is 5.6 very high? I would
be interested in what others cholesterol levels are.
 
Mine was 5.6 the time before last, 4.8 last time. However, my consultant says that my HDL is very good so doesn't push me to take statins. Do you know what your HDL/LDL split is like? I know they like total chol to be 4.0 or below for diabetics, and 5.0 or below for non-diabetics. Personally, I'm not too worried. 🙂
 
No I don't know what the split is it totally confuses me tbh😱 Are you on statins at all or do you manage it by diet? The nurse told me to cut down on saturate fats which I don't think I eat a lot of apart from cheese which I love, really don't feel like giving it up🙄
 
Current thinking is that it's carbs, not fat in the diet that causes the body to manufacture 'bad' cholesterol, though most in the medical profession still trot out the advice you've been given. Were you advised to reduce the total carbohydrates in your diet when you were diagnosed? Have you managed it?
 
Sebstar said:
No I don't know what the split is it totally confuses me tbh😱 Are you on statins at all or do you manage it by diet? The nurse told me to cut down on saturate fats which I don't think I eat a lot of apart from cheese which I love, really don't feel like giving it up🙄
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I was on statins originally but got side-effects. I also wasn't keen on taking them when they drove my cholesterol level down to 2.3. Cholesterol is actually essential to life, as it is needed fr every cell in the body. I think that you are actually better off if you can reduce your carb intake rather than being too concerned about fat, and also regular exercise can really help to boodt the 'good' HDL cholesterol. Most cholesterol is naturally produced by the liver, rather than from what you eat - statins work by stopping the liver from creating so much, so they are powerful drugs. As long as my cholesterol is somewhere between 4 and 6 and with good HDL then I'm happy without the statins. I also love cheese! 🙂
 
My hb1Ac is good it was 5.8. I don't count carbs but am careful with them and test my blood glucose regularly. I don't really want to up my stations. I actually tested my level on my home cholesterol machine this morning and it was 4.4 but I don't really know how accurate it is. Will try doing more exercise see if that brings it down. Thanks for the replies.
 
Sebstar said:
My hb1Ac is good it was 5.8. I don't count carbs but am careful with them and test my blood glucose regularly. I don't really want to up my stations. I actually tested my level on my home cholesterol machine this morning and it was 4.4 but I don't really know how accurate it is. Will try doing more exercise see if that brings it down. Thanks for the replies.
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What statin dose are you currently on?
 
I worry about this a lot. My cholesterol level is 9.4 with HDL of 2.9.

I cannot take statins because they clash strongly with other, life essential meds which cannot be changed. My GP contacted the head pharmacist at the hospital to seek advice. It came back that if I can't take Simvastatin, I can't take any. So I started on the Simvastatin and the side effects were truly dreadful. Even my GP and the registrar at the Endocrinology department of the hospital agreed and took me off them. I now take Fibrazate which the doctor prescribed which apparently might help.

I also take Omega 3 fish oil and niacin. I eat organic jumbo oats for brekkie (known to help with cholesterol and which don't, thankfully, spike me at all). I eat at least one fresh red grapefruit a day (studies found it to be beneficial), and I try to eat as little saturated fat as possible. This is easy because I am veggie. I eat flax seeds, and take a psyllium drink every day. (Both also are supposed to help).

Nonetheless I still worry a great deal. I am seeing my endo next month (just before Christmas) and am planning on raising the subject with her. The latest thinking was that I have the Familial High Cholesterol thing - which would explain a great deal. It is my bad luck that I can't take statins to help with it.
 
That is a very unlucky combination Coffeepot :( I would also suspect the familial connection given the high levels. I hope that you can find some way to tackle it and bring levels down to more acceptable levels. I'm surprised to hear that they did not try other statins, as I know simvastatin is usually given first as it is the cheapest - others can come without side-effects for some people, so I would ask your endo about the possibility.

Do you get much in the way of regular exercise? As I mentioned earlier, my consultant believes this helps me attain a good HDL/LDL split. I suppose one of the advantages of having diabetes is that you get regular checks on such things and any problems are picked up early.

My problem with taking statins was that my levels were acceptable and for me the potential gains were insufficient.
 
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The problem is that whilst there are other statins, there are none that don't clash severely with my epilepsy meds and since I am very well controlled now I am scared stiff of changing. It's been years since I had full seizures, and I'm frightened of them.

I have an exercise bike. I will confess I haven't been its best friend but I'm making an effort. I walk the dogs at weekends but in all honesty - it's the exercise I need. I'll try harder!

I have a book coming from Amazon called "The 8 week Cholesterol Cure". The reviews are ecstatic and all say that it worked for the various reviewers. I figure it's worth a go.

My GP won't do a lipid profile in with my HbA1C. She just gets a total cholesterol. I went to Lloyds last week for a test where they could tell me my total cholesterol and the HDL (but not the LDL since it isn't a venous test). I'm going to ask the endo if I could have a proper test that shows my HDL/LDL/trig split. I had asked the surgery diabetes nurse to enquire if I could have a proper cholesterol test with my last HbA1C and the doctor apparently said "What good would that do her?" and refused.
 
Given your situation Coffeepot, I really don't see why they would refuse the full lipid profile - hope your endo will see the logic of getting the full picture! Good luck with the bike! Why not set yourself a target, like cycling to Paris (virtually!)? 🙂
 
Coffeepot have you tried taking plant sterol tablets?

Northerner I am on Simvaststin and have been on that since I was diagnosed four and a half years ago. I am still diet and exercise but think I will have to up the exercise!
 
Sebstar said:
Coffeepot have you tried taking plant sterol tablets?

Northerner I am on Simvaststin and have been on that since I was diagnosed four and a half years ago. I am still diet and exercise but think I will have to up the exercise!
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Interesting that you are on 20mg then - I thought that they always tried to get you up to the full effective dose of 40mg as soon as they could :confused:

Exercise is good! Find something you enjoy, set an achievable target and work towards it 🙂
 
Ah, the plant sterols! Yep - I tried them for two months and got suicidally (literally) depressed. We found out afterwards that it's a known possible side effect. Anyway, I came off them and on to mild anti depressants for a while.

Sometimes it feels like every possible avenue to decent cholesterol levels is being blocked by my body! It's frustrating and worrying.

I'm going to have to get my lazy self off the sofa and onto the damn bike. Trouble is I'm that tired when I get home from work (sedentary job, naturally!) that going and exercising seems like a form of torture! But I'm beginning to think I'm going to have to learn to love it :(
 
CoffeePot said:
I'm going to have to get my lazy self off the sofa and onto the damn bike. Trouble is I'm that tired when I get home from work (sedentary job, naturally!) that going and exercising seems like a form of torture! But I'm beginning to think I'm going to have to learn to love it :(
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What about exercising before going to work? I always prefer to exercise early in the day as it helps wake me up and invigorates me - it can actually give you more energy to face the day! 🙂
 
I didn't know that Northerner I thought everyone started at 20mg. Am going to try and walk more and if the weather is bad back to the trusty treadmill which has been redundant for quite a while!😱

Coffeepot you really do seem to have tried everything good luck with your book from Amazon🙂
 
Northerner said:
What about exercising before going to work? I always prefer to exercise early in the day as it helps wake me up and invigorates me - it can actually give you more energy to face the day! 🙂
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I read those words. Were they in English? 😱:D


I wouldn't mind doing that at weekends but I think what I might do is put the exercise bike in the bedroom instead of the spare room. That way I can turn the telly round and stick a DVD on to pass the time. I have many music gigs I like watching. And which my husband doesn't like. This could work well!
 
CoffeePot said:
I read those words. Were they in English? 😱:D


I wouldn't mind doing that at weekends but I think what I might do is put the exercise bike in the bedroom instead of the spare room. That way I can turn the telly round and stick a DVD on to pass the time. I have many music gigs I like watching. And which my husband doesn't like. This could work well!
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That's a good idea 🙂 What I do is put a DVD on and cover up the display on the bike (if yours has one). Then I will cycle as I watch a set number of videos - when they are over I will see how far I have gone. The next time I might try and watch an extra video, and so on 🙂
 
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