New test results -so much for diet... - High Cholesterol Message Board

auburn62 · 02-01-2004, 02:00 AM

In Dec. 2003 I had test results of:
Fasted for 8 hours before test
Cholesterol 186
Trigs 259
HDL 30
Chol/hdl ratio 6.2

Shortly afterwards, I started on a low carb diet, lost 13 lbs. Gave up white sugar, etc. I had been a really big sweet eater. Started additional fish oil supplements.

Different lab this time, if that matters.
Fated for 13 hours before test
Jan. 31, 2004 results:
Cholesterol 202
Trigs 362
HDL 32
Chol/hdl ratio 6.3

I can't exercise much because of an ADR to a drug (Levaquin) that happened in Nov. 2001. The reaction caused a lot of muscle and tendon damage, which I have never completely recovered from.
My question tho is, I thought low carbing would help my trigs, what could have made them so much higher?

Susan

zip2play · 02-01-2004, 07:33 AM

Susan,
It happens.
Not everyone gets sood cholesterol numbers with low carbbing (I didn't), but low triglycerides are almost de rigeur... you're an anomaly. I'm surprised to see your HDL's remain miserable even with fish oil supplementation.

I'm sorry you had such an awful drug reaction with Levaquin...those antibiotics are rearing back and biting with ferocity. I had similar results this summer with clindamycin.

It looks like statin time for you BUT not with muscle pain...a dilemma because the statins are not exactly a soothing balm for the muscles and you'd never know if you were feeling the statin reaction or the Levaquin when you got muscle and joint pain.
Maybe a VERY low dose statin...even 5 mg Lipitor can yield pretty good results... or else take nothing at all til you're free of the ADR pain. In the meantime you can try Atkins at an almost INDUCTION level and see if THAT will drop your triglycerides...I guarantee it WILL, but it's not fun for everybody.

I'm loathe to mention niacin but others swear by it.

CobaltBlue · 02-01-2004, 08:04 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by zip2play

I'm loathe to mention niacin but others swear by it.

Niacin will have a good effect on the HDL if one can withstand the flushing from high doses. Not being able to exercise, niacin is probably the 2nd best option because of its ability to raise HDL. Not sure if niacin alone will be able to bring down the TG--it might though? Maybe a fenofibrate like Tricor would help if you can withstand that class of med? It would most likely take your TG down substantially and give you a little benefit to your HDL?

Niacin, at high doses will drop your LDL ~15% on average, Tricor will drop it about the same, maybe a bit less of a drop here for LDL. Niacin will up your HDL ~25% while Tricor will increase it ~15%. Finally, Tricor and niacin will drop your TG, on average ~33%. Just keep in mind that these are only averages, and there are actually average ranges associated with each of these drugs. Of course, everyone responds differently.

I have been on both Tricor and Niaspan (niacin). I tolerated the Tricor well. I enjoyed the benefits of Niaspan, and didn't mind the flushing, but my liver could not withstand the high dosage of it.

ARIZONA73 · 02-01-2004, 09:47 AM

Susan,

What's rather interesting is the fact that you said you were really into eating a lot of sweets. Are you overweight? Any blood sugar abnormalities that you know of? One possibility here is that you may be producing too much insulin, a condition known as hyperinsulinism. It's actually a pre-diabetic stage which can ultimately lead to full blown diabetes. You may need a more sophisticated blood test to determine if in fact hyperinsulinism is a contributing problem. People who put out too much insulin often develop a condition known as Syndrome X, which is characteristic of abdominal obesity, hypertension, a variety of blood sugar abnormalities, high triglycerides, and low HDL cholesterol.

Don't forget, the two blood tests that you posted were only taken a month apart. It is true that a low carb diet should have a significant impact on triglycerides. Naturally, the fact that this hasn't yet happened (levels have actually gone up) leads me to believe that the problem may be due to hyperinsulinism. Maybe it is, and maybe it isn't. But it's something to take into consideration. Certainly you should refrain from eating sweets and limit your intake of carbohydrates. As zip2play said, perhaps it may take something closer to the induction phase of the Atkins diet to obtain a more desireable outcome.

JacquelineL · 02-01-2004, 12:44 PM

How many grams of carbs are you allowing in your diet? If you are following the diets in the books and eating bread, potatoes and Raisin Bran cereal, it sounds like you might be getting too many. With my diet of about 80 grams of carbs a day, my trigs dropped by half.