Hello, Im a 25yo male and in '05, i had a lipid panel done and my numbers were

TC 203
HDL 36
LDL 87
Triglycerides 495
Glucose 92

I was floored by the triglycerides! Being young and stupid, i just sort of ignored it and so did my doctor. I have a new doc now and had the same test last week, his asst called today and said my cholesterol and triglycerides were high. I dont have the numbers yet, but im assuming its fairly close to last years test.

Im somewhat confused by this. Im 6' 205 lbs. Overweight, but not by a whole lot. I eat fairly well, balanced diet with no fast food, no fried food, rarely eat red meat. But i get no exercise. I had heart surgery a year ago and since then have been afraid to exert myself.

Im worried that a diet change isnt going to make much difference since I feel that my diet is already fairly on track. I know that exercise would help, and i plan on talking about that with my doc.. Has anyone else had triglycerides this high, and if so, have you been able to lower them?

495 just seems insane to me. :confused: Ive been having a lot of problems with fatigue, dizziness, and chest pain for the past few months, and no one can figure out what it is. I cant help but wonder if my numbers are some type of red flag.

Also,


Is Flax Seed Oil an acceptable sub for fish oil for omega-3's?

No it's not.
Flax and Canola are excellent sources of ALA (alpha-lenolenic acid,) the PLANT sourced Omega-3 oil, but the fish oils are the only source of DHA and EPA, the heavier Omega-3 oils.
The ALA can be converted by the body to DHA and EPA but to only a small degree.

I think you should take both...supplement fish oil (or eat a lot of fish,) and use Canola generously in cooking and salads.

You don't mention carbohydrates in your diet. The best way to lower triglycerides is to cut the amount of sugar and starches you eat--and alcohol as well if in any large amount.

got the recent numbers over the phone today... things have gotten worse...


TC 249
HDL 31
LDL Unable to read
TG 614

Discouraging, to say the least. I have an apt tomorrow to go over with doctor.

Last year my doctor did a lipid panel on me and my triglycerides were 852! I just about freaked. He put me on a drug called Gemfribrozil and it brought the TG number down to 104 in just six weeks. I've been on it ever since and it's kept my trigycerides down. The drug is easily tolerated by most people. I've had no problems with it. Ask your doctor about taking it.

Good Luck!;)

Even though you're young, I'd be concerned about that low HDL too. As Lenin said, the best way to control triglycerides without medication is to lose weight, exercise, and lower (or preferably come as close as possible to eliminating) alcohol and the "white stuff" (i.e. flour and sugar) in your diet.

Doing that should also help raise your HDL (which needs to be at least 40, preferably higher), though there is some evidence that a glass of red wine each day might help increase HDL (didn't work for me).

ksalger,

As cehawk mentioned, there are drugs that specifically target triglycerides.
You will invariably need to be put on at least one med in light of your past heart surgery.
What specifically was the surgery for, clogged coronary arteries?

An extremely high triglyceride level coupled with low HDL is called Metabolic syndrome or Syndrome X and it is HIGHLY correlated with heart disease...and diabetes and overweight, especially with abdominal fat. It REALLY is a dangerous situation for anyone with heart problems.

IF your doctor wants to try a statin, I think Vytorin be a good first place to start.

Your doctor in 2005 was incompetent in ignoring these horrible numbers. In addition, unless they did a directly measured LDL (unlikely), they don't add up properly.

kslager,

Let me put in my 2 cents. You said you eat well, but maybe you just eat too much. If so, maybe you can try to cut down your calorie intake. Also, I think starting exercise is a must, as long as your doctor approves. Walking a half hour a day would be a good start. If you cut back on calories and start exercise, maybe you can lose 10 lbs and then re-check your results.

smith

heart surgery was an ablation for an electrical problem, PSVT. not for clogging. I saw the doc this morning and put me on Crestor, 5mg to start out and build up to 20mg in about a week. He also gave me a referal for physical therapy to start an exercise program under observation, since I still have heart palps and strange arrhythmias, which are the reason that I don't exercise in the first place.

I don't eat large quantities, and like I said before, i eat fairly well, they think its hereditary, i guess I just got dealt a bad deck. I hope that the exercise will help because I'm not thrilled about being on a cholesterol medication at 25.

Thanks for all of your help.

Add a daily magnesium supplement...they often work wonders with irregular heart rhythms.

The Crestor should work wonders with your LDL and Triglycerides...I hope they boost your HDL.