Cholesterol General Chat

[Dylan]

Been having a few pains across my chest and pins and needles in my thighs. So went to the docs, been checked out with a heart monitor, blood test etc.

My cholesterol is high 7

Now to lower my cholesterol I have to change my lifestyle

Well, I have never smoked. Drink very little alcohol, eat fresh veg and potatoes with skins on nearly every day.

Don't have fried food, our fish or chicken is oven cooked.

I am now eating porridge for breakfast, tuna butties for dinner than a healthy tea. Snacking on fruit. I did use to like a little pack of cheddar or crisps

Trying my best to start riding my bike again.

My main question is how easy is it to get your cholesterol down by just eating and exercising. I don't really want to start taking pills.

 

[Gromit]

What did your doctor advise?

 

[Dylan]

What did your doctor advise?

Waiting for a phone call either tomorrow or Tuesday from the clinic nurse. A note on my notes said I might need statins

 

[Max Taxable]

I assume your A1C is fine? Below 6?

There are a few issues which can cause high LDL cholesterol. Hypothyroidism is one of them. Diabetes is another.

I have been on Atorvastatin for five years. 80mg.

 

[Crabtree]

The Doctor put me on Lipitor and told me to change my diet and start exercising in Oct 2020. my LDL was 4.37

I asked if I could just try the the dieting and exercise bit without the Lipitor and he said no.

He said he wanted to see a 50% reduction in 6 months. After 6 months I had it down to 1.5 through diet change, exercise and Lipitor.

The exercise is very important to get your blood flowing.

If you have the chance to try to lower it without drugs, go for it but I would probably do what he suggests.

For what it's worth, I think that statins are very common and very safe. I shit myself when he first said I had to take them but after some research I realized there was no need to be worried,

 

[Dylan]

I assume your A1C is fine? Below 6?

Yes, A1C is fine, it is 5.1

 

[Boot Cleaner]

Try losing a little more weight, for some people the body produces it and it doesn't matter what you do diet-wise, try it though for a couple of months then get it checked again and see

 

[Deleted member 63]

I am in the funny position of having a low total cholestrol but my ratios are off. And statins don't really help with that per my doc. So, I do what I can to try to raise my HDL through diet and such. Being diabetic, per an earlier post, is a problem, too. I am maintaining fairly good control of my glucose, though (A1C < 7 on quarterly checks, which is the target here).

 

[Tom]

I am now eating porridge for breakfast, tuna butties for dinner than a healthy tea. Snacking on fruit. I did use to like a little pack of cheddar or crisps

I see you are eating porridge every morning. I remember seeing something on tv saying it is amazing for reducing cholesterol.