Cholesterol range

[Goodbye to beauty]

Good morning,
I hope everyone is well today?
I was wondering if anyone knew the normal range for cholesterol?
My diabetes nurse has phoned me this morning following some bloods earlier this week (for various things ) to let me know that my cholesterol is 6.6 and they would like me to start on tablets, I was wondering if this is very out of the range of normal or not?
I have started on Metformin for type two diabetes this week and will be starting with Jardiance in a few weeks , they also suspect I have a B12 deficiency ( still awaiting the results ) so possible treatment needed for that too, I would like to see if I really need the cholesterol tablets before I add another tablet to the list and if it is just over the normal range if it would be manageable by just adjusting my diet some more.

Does anyone have experience of doing this?
Obviously if it is much higher than normal range I will start the tablets .

Thanks in advance for your advice .
Enjoy your weekend!

 

[Deleted member 21371]

The levels of blood cholesterol is measured in millimoles per litre of blood (mmol/L.)

Total cholesterol levels should be 5mmol/L or less for healthy adults or 4mmol/L or less for those who are at high risk.

Low-density lipoprotein (LDL) levels should at 3mmol/L or less for healthy adults or 2mmol/L or less for those at high risk.

High-density lipoprotein (HDL) levels should be 1mmo/L or above for healthy adults.

Have at look on the NHS website

High cholesterol - Cholesterol levels

Find out what cholesterol tests measure and what a healthy cholesterol level should be.

www.nhs.uk

 

[Burylancs]

Good morning,
I hope everyone is well today?
I was wondering if anyone knew the normal range for cholesterol?
My diabetes nurse has phoned me this morning following some bloods earlier this week (for various things ) to let me know that my cholesterol is 6.6 and they would like me to start on tablets, I was wondering if this is very out of the range of normal or not?
I have started on Metformin for type two diabetes this week and will be starting with Jardiance in a few weeks , they also suspect I have a B12 deficiency ( still awaiting the results ) so possible treatment needed for that too, I would like to see if I really need the cholesterol tablets before I add another tablet to the list and if it is just over the normal range if it would be manageable by just adjusting my diet some more.

Does anyone have experience of doing this?
Obviously if it is much higher than normal range I will start the tablets .

Thanks in advance for your advice .
Enjoy your weekend!

Hunter Gatherers have cholesterol in the range of 2.25 to 2.75. And they are taken to be Humans as we should be and their chokesterol 'normal'.
As a Type 2 Diabetic you are in a race with CVD ( cardio vascular disease) and you need all the help you can get to fend it off. Edwin Biermann's researches in the 1990s showed that the incidence of cvd increased with chols over 5 but for T2s the same tipping point for the acceleration of cvd came at levels over 4. Diet can reduce chols but just by 10% so medication is very effective. Its LDL cholesterol that is the problem because it can get through the pores in the artery walls and deposit chols in the lining of the arteries. And wouldn't you just know it diabetics over produce LDL at times of raised blood glucose. The chols in the arteries start as foam cells, progress to fatty streaks, then atheromas ( bulges narrowing the arteries) and then plaques ( deposits in the arteries themselves which are prone to break off and cause heart attacks and strokes ). So yes a statin would soon knock your dodgy lipid panel into shape and get your Total Chols and LDL down to a reasonable level. There's a risk calculator called QRisk which estimates if you need medication to control Chols or not. QRisk is online . Generally if your chance of developing cvd in the next 10 years is ober 10% then a statin is recommended. It's simple preventative medication, an insurance policy.

 

[Goodbye to beauty]

Hunter Gatherers have cholesterol in the range of 2.25 to 2.75. And they are taken to be Humans as we should be and their chokesterol 'normal'.
As a Type 2 Diabetic you are in a race with CVD ( cardio vascular disease) and you need all the help you can get to fend it off. Edwin Biermann's researches in the 1990s showed that the incidence of cvd increased with chols over 5 but for T2s the same tipping point for the acceleration of cvd came at levels over 4. Diet can reduce chols but just by 10% so medication is very effective. Its LDL cholesterol that is the problem because it can get through the pores in the artery walls and deposit chols in the lining of the arteries. And wouldn't you just know it diabetics over produce LDL at times of raised blood glucose. The chols in the arteries start as foam cells, progress to fatty streaks, then atheromas ( bulges narrowing the arteries) and then plaques ( deposits in the arteries themselves which are prone to break off and cause heart attacks and strokes ). So yes a statin would soon knock your dodgy lipid panel into shape and get your Total Chols and LDL down to a reasonable level. There's a risk calculator called QRisk which estimates if you need medication to control Chols or not. QRisk is online . Generally if your chance of developing cvd in the next 10 years is ober 10% then a statin is recommended. It's simple preventative medication, an insurance policy.

Thank you for your reply , this is very informative.
I wasn’t sure what the level of risk was , but I’m thinking I may need to take the tablet.

 

[bulkbiker]

Thank you for your reply , this is very informative.
I was sure what the level of risk was , but I’m thinking I may need to take the tablet.

More up to date research has however demonstrated that the theory behind cholesterol being causative of CVD may well be flawed.

Statins will indeed impact your LDL numbers, it is however debatable whether that is a good thing or not.

Cholesterol is essential for life and if we had none we'd be dead so.... I'm happy to let my body manage my levels.

Personally I learnt a lot more about cholesterol, what it does and why messing with it may not be a good idea.

 

[Josh DUK]

To follow this up, we have more information regarding cholesterol on our website listed below:

Cholesterol and diabetes

Cholesterol is fat that is found in our blood. Sometimes it’s called lipids. When we hear this word, we think of it building up in our arteries and contributing to long-term health problems, but cholesterol isn’t just a bad guy. Healthy levels of cholesterol are vital for our cells to function...

www.diabetes.org.uk

Also please be aware everyone manages their health differently and if you make any changes, please speak to your health care team.