NancyH
04-14-2009, 09:42 PM
I'm 61, normal weight, no other health problems other than pernicious anemia(B12 def) and a bit of arthritis. I exercise 5 times a week doing strength and aerobics. I had my lipid panel done last week and my neurologist wants me to take a "statin" to lower my cholesterol. I don't think I need to because I could probably lower it with getting off this carmel machiatto drink I have everyday from Starbucks even if it is non fat milk!
My panel read
LDL 183 under 100 is ideal
HDL 67 above 60 is ideal
Trig 66 below 150 is ideal
Total Cholesterol is 262
my heart disease risk is 2.8 if I remember correctly.
I don't see these numbers as being all that bad and need drugs when I may be able to pull it off with more diet change.
I think he is over reacting or else I'm in denial! I would hate to take a statin just because one number is a bit high, while the other numbers are excellent really. Am I in denial?
My panel read
LDL 183 under 100 is ideal
HDL 67 above 60 is ideal
Trig 66 below 150 is ideal
Total Cholesterol is 262
my heart disease risk is 2.8 if I remember correctly.
I don't see these numbers as being all that bad and need drugs when I may be able to pull it off with more diet change.
I think he is over reacting or else I'm in denial! I would hate to take a statin just because one number is a bit high, while the other numbers are excellent really. Am I in denial?
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tjlhb
04-15-2009, 02:35 AM
By the usual standards, your numbers look ok except that the LDL (and total) is on the high side (especially if you have other risk factors for heart disease).
Does your diet contain any trans-fats from hydrogenated oils, or significant amounts of saturated fats (common in fat from red meat, dairy fat, and coconut and palm oil)? If so, try avoiding them and using unsaturated fats (mostly from fish and plant sources, other than those listed previously) instead.
Although it is unlikely if you are normal weight and do muscle building strength exercises (how much exercise do you do 5 times per week?), if your body composition includes too high a body fat percentage, that can adversely affect your LDL levels. (Normal weight people sometimes have an unhealthily high body fat percentage, particularly if they do not exercise.)
On the other hand, some people are genetically unlucky and may not be able to reach optimal blood cholesterol numbers even with the best diet and exercise habits. However, even in this case, good diet and exercise habits may make the difference between taking small doses of medication versus taking larger doses at added expense and risk of side effects.
Does your diet contain any trans-fats from hydrogenated oils, or significant amounts of saturated fats (common in fat from red meat, dairy fat, and coconut and palm oil)? If so, try avoiding them and using unsaturated fats (mostly from fish and plant sources, other than those listed previously) instead.
Although it is unlikely if you are normal weight and do muscle building strength exercises (how much exercise do you do 5 times per week?), if your body composition includes too high a body fat percentage, that can adversely affect your LDL levels. (Normal weight people sometimes have an unhealthily high body fat percentage, particularly if they do not exercise.)
On the other hand, some people are genetically unlucky and may not be able to reach optimal blood cholesterol numbers even with the best diet and exercise habits. However, even in this case, good diet and exercise habits may make the difference between taking small doses of medication versus taking larger doses at added expense and risk of side effects.
92261
04-15-2009, 04:41 PM
Please consider using niacin to control your cholesterol. It's common to have higher LDL as you get older. Statins are nasty. They cause muscle pain and more and are really not good for you - period. Do some research on this before you take the plunge so you won't regret it. I have high LDL also and found out that it increases during menopause. Exercise is good for it too, which you are already doing. Cholesterol is also good for the brain and neurons. Investigate red yeast rice also. It is a statin but it is all natural. This can also cause muscle problems but at least it's all natural. Increase your omega 3 fats and take fish oil to help out. Increasing fiber can help also.
The doctors are only trying to accomodate the pharmaceutical companies, not you. Do some research and don't let them control you. YOU control YOU.
Good luck
The doctors are only trying to accomodate the pharmaceutical companies, not you. Do some research and don't let them control you. YOU control YOU.
Good luck
rudiraven
04-15-2009, 05:07 PM
I agree.......don't take any statins. They will cause you more trouble than you could imagine. Just watch your diet and cut out Starbucks everyday :D. Your HDL is great. Studies have shown that statins aren't effective for women anyway. Doctors don't take the time to research these meds. They just believe whatever the pharma rep tells them. Take care.
NancyH
04-15-2009, 11:29 PM
Thank you all, you pretty much summed up what I thought also! My noticed last year in Dec 08 I had it done and the LDL was 191 then and since it has come down to 183 I've recently went vegetarian, maybe flexatarian is a better description since I do eat fish a lot the last few months. I only have my Starbucks once a day instead of several as I have been doing. My HDL was 62 in Dec and now it is 67 and my trig stayed the same. So I will tell my Dr that I will continue bringing down the LDL with diet and natural remedies and recheck me in another 4 months to see how I did, then we'll talk statins! Another one of my big "bad" foods is I switched from margarine to real butter in Jan, I love butter now that I discovered it again and it's nothing for me to put on so much it runs off the toast, I know that is bad. Yesterday I fought using butter for anything, don't like vegan butter spreads. I will grin and bear it for now because if I can continue to bring it down by some little changes I will do anything to avoid the statins. I will look into the niacins and natural statins if this doesn't work. Thanks again all of you have been helpful! Oh at the gym I had my BMI checked back in Jan, it was 20.1, in the normal range for my height and weight, 5'4, 120lbs.
tjlhb
04-16-2009, 02:10 AM
Butter is bad for your LDL levels due to high saturated fat content, but most margarine is as bad or worse for your LDL levels due to trans-fats from hydrogenated oils (those without often have coconut or palm oil, which is high in saturated fat). Tub margarines are usually not as bad as stick margarines, since the fat does not need to be as saturated (or hydrogenated) to make them.
Try substituting peanut butter (without added hydrogenated oils or sugars), almond butter, or sunflower seed butter instead of butter or margarine. These have good (unsaturated) fats that may help lower your LDL levels. There is also a trendy thing in some restaurants to offer olive oil as a dip for bread, instead of butter. If you must spread butter on your bread, try whipped butter, since it can be spread more easily so that you have to use less of it to put it on your bread.
BMI (body mass index) does not tell you your body fat percentage, since it is just a formula based on weight and height ( BMI = (weight in kg) / ((height in meters)^2) ). Body weight (and BMI) is like total cholesterol in this sense -- your body weight does not tell you how much is muscle versus fat, just as total cholesterol does not tell you how much is HDL versus LDL. A very rough, but easily measured, proxy for body fat is waist size at navel level; less than half your height is generally considered desirable.
(Or did you really mean "body fat percentage" when you typed "BMI"?)
Try substituting peanut butter (without added hydrogenated oils or sugars), almond butter, or sunflower seed butter instead of butter or margarine. These have good (unsaturated) fats that may help lower your LDL levels. There is also a trendy thing in some restaurants to offer olive oil as a dip for bread, instead of butter. If you must spread butter on your bread, try whipped butter, since it can be spread more easily so that you have to use less of it to put it on your bread.
BMI (body mass index) does not tell you your body fat percentage, since it is just a formula based on weight and height ( BMI = (weight in kg) / ((height in meters)^2) ). Body weight (and BMI) is like total cholesterol in this sense -- your body weight does not tell you how much is muscle versus fat, just as total cholesterol does not tell you how much is HDL versus LDL. A very rough, but easily measured, proxy for body fat is waist size at navel level; less than half your height is generally considered desirable.
(Or did you really mean "body fat percentage" when you typed "BMI"?)
NancyH
04-17-2009, 12:30 AM
No I did mean BMI! I guess I'll measure that area and see what I come up with, thanks I'll put sunflower butter on my bread minus the butter from now on!
jenj770
04-17-2009, 07:32 AM
I'll put sunflower butter on my bread minus the butter from now on!
Ghee is also great. It is clarified butter. I often make it myself because it is very easy to do.
Ghee is also great. It is clarified butter. I often make it myself because it is very easy to do.
Gooney
04-17-2009, 08:46 PM
Look, lets be honest. Nobody knows if you need statins or not. Also, most of the bad cholesterol is manufactured by your liver, not what you eat. Enjoy your butter. It virtually goes right through you. Cholesterol build up matters if you have small arteries. If you have large arteries, a bad build up won't even block them. So take your chances, with or without statins. My LDL was over 300. I tried 10 mg of Lipitor and after a few months my muscles totally locked up and my legs were numb. My mind was usually blank during that era. I figured out it was the statin and recovered in a couple of months although Im not sure about my mind. I think it used to be better. I avoided statins for five years. My new doctor pointed out there are synthetic and nonsynthetic statins, and was going to try a non since Lipitor is a synthetic. Instead we tried the weakest synthetic, Lescol, and the 80 mg "XL" has been working fine with no pain for three years. LDL about 87 recently, from about 325. Others I have spoken to have switched to Lipitor since their first choice bothered them. So do you try it or not? Statins seem to have other health benefits if they dont kill you, so I don't mind being on them now. I think your numbers are fine without them, but I'm not a doctor. I also don't know how narrow your arteries are. Do you? Feel lucky?
NancyH
04-17-2009, 10:49 PM
Gooney you must be a Clint Eastwood fan to. well, I do feel lucky at this time, but I don't know how narrow my arteries are or how I would even find that out. I'm small boned, average weight, but as for my arteries I haven't a clue!
Gooney
04-19-2009, 04:38 PM
Yeah, bad baby boomer with leftover Eastwood. I should be "Dirty Gooney". I tried diet, red yeast rice, niacin (both kinds). When ya got it, ya got it! My mother has always had it. My 89 year old mother, that is! Her [former] 85 year old boyfriend, perfect weight, body mass etc., walked two miles each day had to have bypass. I'm doing the statin fantasy now instead of the god fantasy. All I know is that when I, as a baby boomer, go, I want to go F-A-S-T. Not gonna be warehoused with drool!
AnnD
04-19-2009, 04:55 PM
I am with you...You can lower it yourself with some changes in diet. Statins are fine however very few people can take them because of the awful side effects. I think some doctors just order it just because it is there but the statins are truly a very harsh medicine and your numbers just aren't all that bad.
Fizzickle
04-19-2009, 08:57 PM
I've taken statins (Lipitor 40 mg followed by Vytorin 10/80) for a number of years without noticeable side effects. I have coronary artery disease that resulted in a severe heart attack 35 years ago. I wouldn't think of trying to change that medication.
My wife last week had what is described as a "mild" heart attack. The cardiologist has put her on simvastaten 40 mg. Unless she has real problems with it, I applaud their decision.
My wife last week had what is described as a "mild" heart attack. The cardiologist has put her on simvastaten 40 mg. Unless she has real problems with it, I applaud their decision.
NancyH
04-20-2009, 01:43 AM
My husband has had 3 heart attacks, and a quadruple bypass and a mild stroke so he should be on Lipitor. They put him on it after the bypass which was in 2000 and he hasn't had an MI since then, prior to that it was every 5yrs or so. I think they should have put him on it after the 1st attack. He doesn't have bad cholesterol but most of the men in his family were dead before they reached 55 except for his dad who died with his 12th heart attack at 82, yes 12! That side of the family just has that gene. My hubby is 64 and going strong like he never ever had one so he really is lucky! He's had no side effects from the statin. Me on the other hand get side effects from drinking coffee so I tread taking anything. Ok I'll try all the stuff out there and then some before I take the big bad statin!
Jephy
05-11-2009, 01:08 PM
The only physicians recommending statins (Lipitor et al) are the ones that have been bribed by the pharmaceutical industry in the form of freebies, meals, etc. The rest of us docs are not so moved. I've discussed these drugs with so many doctors!......and most of them who have given careful thought to statins give them a thumbs down.
Studies' exaggerations and manipulations are well-documented as are the 'professors' who se names appear on them. Read these two references before you start taking statins for a mild elevation of a single lab test: Do Cholesterol Drugs Do Any Good?-BusinessWeek January 17, 2008. Drug Companies & Doctors: A story of Corruption---in the New York Times Book Review Jan 15, 2009
Studies' exaggerations and manipulations are well-documented as are the 'professors' who se names appear on them. Read these two references before you start taking statins for a mild elevation of a single lab test: Do Cholesterol Drugs Do Any Good?-BusinessWeek January 17, 2008. Drug Companies & Doctors: A story of Corruption---in the New York Times Book Review Jan 15, 2009
NancyH
05-12-2009, 12:19 AM
Thanks all , taking in all the info! My Doc says I can try the niacin and see how that works since my level isn't all that bad so I will.
jenj770
05-12-2009, 01:21 PM
Thanks all , taking in all the info! My Doc says I can try the niacin and see how that works since my level isn't all that bad so I will.
If you take Flush Niacin, which I think is the best for elevating HDL, make sure you start VERY SLOW with low dosage and slowly build to higher amounts. I would get a 100 or 150 tab and break it into quarters to start - 1 quarter a day.
If you take Flush Niacin, which I think is the best for elevating HDL, make sure you start VERY SLOW with low dosage and slowly build to higher amounts. I would get a 100 or 150 tab and break it into quarters to start - 1 quarter a day.
NancyH
05-15-2009, 01:25 AM
Found that out the hard way. Thought I was going through menopause for a while there.