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Fasting Cholesterol Test Info required please

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VanessaK

Active Member
Relationship to Diabetes
Type 1
Hi guys,

I need some info please I went for a fasting cholesterol test last Thurday and I called the doctors surgery this morning for the result. The receptionist told me it came back abnormal ?! so I had to make an appointment with a GP to discuss....
Now what I need to know before that appointment from you lovely knowledgable people is this:
What HDL and LDL should I be aiming for as a diabetic...
I am age 34 so if they offer statins I say no because of child bearing age etc is this correct...? also the GP is not a diabetic specialist.
I just want to make sure that I have the correct information that I need before I have that appointment so that they dont lead me down the wrong path.. I may be overthinking this but as this is a GP surgery not a specialist diabetes clinic I want to make sure that I get it right 😱
Thanks in advance just panicking as thought all the excerise that I had done for my recent half marathan may have helped in this area doh !
 
Hi Vanessa, the recommendations for someone with diabetes are:

Total cholesterol: 4.0 or less
LDL: 2.0 or less.

Mine is usually around 4.5 total, with LDL of around 1.7. I'm not on statins.

Hope this helps! 🙂 Let us know what happens. 'Abnormal' could mean anything, so probably worrying you unnecessarily.
 
Thanks for the reply Northerner, lets see whats abnormal about me tomorrow then lol 😉
 
i am abnormal because: my total chol is 5.1 my hdl is 1.62 my ldl is 3.2 and my tri are 0.7 can totally see the problem :( what has upset me is he went straight in talking about the statins! I said could i try diet first and see a dietician as i do have a weakness for pud! He said ok but what confused me further was he said even if i get that ldl down to good level then it wont matter as i will still have to go onto statins as they are more to help in prevention of cardio vascular diease. So as it stands i dont smoke anymore i hardly drink i have done more excercise in the last nine months for the half marathan, and if i look into my diet stripe that down even more and get good chol i am still looking at statins eh :( today diabetes just sucks ... But it could be worse just at this moment it does
 
I think I am going to have a similar conversation with my GP next week! I am prediabetic, my total chol is 5.2, my HDL is 1.34, my LDL 3.2. The receptionist has already told me there is a ? regarding statins note on my file. Like you, I too want to try and control my cholesterol with diet and exercise, or at least try to, first. There is no history of heart disease or stroke in my family, but I am 50. :( Katie
 
My wife went for a cholesterol test last week. Today she was told her reading was an abnormal 5.6 should be 5.0 so given a diet sheet. My wife is slender compared to the nurse who gave her the diet advise sheet. It is written that 5.2 and below is desirable.
 
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Thanks katie and austin i said i would do a food diary again like i had to do when i was first diagnosed check on my fats and carbs again. Will also add more excercise in with my runs and yoga and take it from there ?! Katie in my family i also have no history of heart diease or stroke ....will look into this statins more and this cardio angle so hope to be more clued in when i see the doc and dietician. Good luck for your appointment katie 🙂
 
VanessaK, YOU are in control of your diabetes - not a doctor who is more concerned with complying with the latest `new` advice from their pay masters! Statins may well be good for you (look up the studies for them on the internet and draw your own conclusions), but it is your body that is taking the gamble!
Interesting development re. statins in todays papers, nevertheless, research them all the same.
 
VanessaK said:
Thanks katie and austin i said i would do a food diary again like i had to do when i was first diagnosed check on my fats and carbs again. Will also add more excercise in with my runs and yoga and take it from there ?! Katie in my family i also have no history of heart diease or stroke ....will look into this statins more and this cardio angle so hope to be more clued in when i see the doc and dietician. Good luck for your appointment katie 🙂
Click to expand...

Thank you, you too Vanessa! Keep me posted! 🙂 Katie
 
Thanks John you are quite correct and research for me is key,think i was just feeling a bit sorry for myself so will crack on and see if I can get that figure down! Cheers 🙂
 
Was there something in the papers or on the TV recently that statins are turning out to not be the wonder drug everyone thought they were? Don't think I am imagining it.

Personally, I am happy on statins as I was put on them after years of controlling my cholesterol via diet and then my body just took over and my efforts were not enough. I had cholesterol problems for 15-20 years before I became diabetic so I am not on statins because I am diabetic. I don't think anyone should automatically be put on any drug. It should be after discussion and after a period of you trying to control it by diet or exercise or weight loss or whatever is needed.

If you have no other heart related problems such as family history, hypertension etc then insist on trying to control the levels yourself. I would expect you to be tested every 3 months and personally I always made my blood test a fasting one so one result could relate to the previous result.
 
Yes Marg you are right. There is a lot in the press currently about statins, stating that they are not necessarily the wonder drug they claim to be and that doctors are being pressured into prescribing them to patients falling into certain risk categories. Last week, the Glasgow Herald quoted that up to 40% of patients prescribed statins saw no benefit in taking them. From personal experience, my husband started taking statins about 18 months ago (his father had a stroke in his early 60s) but has had to stop due to adverse side effects. In his case I can see the benefit in taking them and he will probably try another type to see if he can avoid side effects. For me, however, I would like to try diet and exercise to reduce my cholesterol, resorting to them only if I fail to reduce my cholesterol myself. Katie
 
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