Fish Oil Is Working - High Cholesterol Message Board

JacquelineL · 03-23-2004, 02:00 PM

I just got my latest test results. My HDL was 41 in July, 57 in Dec, and the latest result is 69. I started fish oil six months ago. It seems to be working for me. My son who started with it at the same time--and at HDL 28-- has had no change. I wonder if the fact that he trains and runs 10 K races might have something to do with it. Perhaps his strenuous exercise has already raised it as much as possible and if he stopped running, it would drop.

My other numbers:
Total Chol 181, LDL 98, Triglycerides 72, Chol/HDL 2.6, LDL/HDL 1.4, A1C 5.5

Tschuess · 03-23-2004, 03:21 PM

Hi Jacqueline:
I've had similar success with fish oil (and presumably other supplements). My HDL was 35 and didn't seem to want to improve despite exercise and smoking cessation. Started on fish oil and 6 months later, HDL improved to 57. I'm hopeful it increases further, but given my LDL/HDL 3.2 ratio, it may not matter.
About your son. I'm afraid I can't offer any help regarding his non-response to fish oil. There are a number of knowledgeable posters on the board, and I'm sure one (or more) will respond to your question.

zip2play · 03-24-2004, 06:02 AM

Jacqueline and Tschuess,

Congratualtiions on the excellent HDL's with the fish oil. Mine did the same: 29 to 35 with Lipitor to 58 with Fish Oil and lecithin.

Jackiie,
As far as your son goes, I'm flummoxed. Is he getting a full 1000 mg DHA+EPA? If so, why not have him add a Tbsp. of lecithin a day and see what that gets him.
Common wisdom has it that heavy excercise RAISES HDL's...doubly confusing. Start using canola as his major oil for even more Omega-3's- can't hurt.
(That 28 is VERY VERY risky.) My years of unknowingly walking around with my lovely 29 was probably (prolly

) very helpful in filling my Right Coronary Artery with plaque.

JacquelineL · 03-24-2004, 12:33 PM

Zip

I believe he has taken 900mg (3 capsules-same as me) for a couple months with no change. Before that he tried 2 capsules. I will suggest lecithin to him. I do believe that the exercise has raised his HDL to where it is. My husband had an HDL of 10 the first time he was checked. With Lipitor, he has raised it to 27. I am trying to get him on fish oil too. Luckily, his tests for lipiprotein(a), homocysteine and C-reactive protein came back with good results and his chol/hdl ratio is about 5. Looks like the low HDL is genetic.

Tschuess · 03-26-2004, 07:54 AM

Hi again Jacqueline:
I'm not sure if this will help your son, but in addition to the fish oil I take daily, I also take flaxseed oil. You can purchase it in liquid or capsule form (liquid is supposed to be better). I'm taking so many supplements at this time (as well as Lipitor), it's difficult to know which of them actually helped my HDL (lots of confounds). In any event, I hope your son finds something to raise his HDLs - it does sound like he inherited a genetic predisposition towards low HDLs.