branny

Hello,
We had a screening today at work by our various insurance companies to "Know your numbers, Know your risk." Well, I was curious and so I went...the numbers I got back were down right scary!!

Age 34
My TC is 253 (or somewhere around there)
My HDL is 43
My Tri are 432
My LDL was N/A

I am about 45 lbs overweight and I'm trying to work on that (stupid injuries don't help). I don't eat a lot of bad/fried/fatty foods - I drink about 1 can of dr. pepper a day, and I do have a family history of High Cholesterol and Heart Disease. I am limited in some of my physical activities - I have 6 screws and 2 steel rods in my lower back (degenerative disc disease L4-S1 fused at age 31), and 2 screws in my knee from an ACL reconstruction in October. I didn't read the body fine print that says you only get 1 per life. I also have a mild case of Hypothyrodism (take .37mcg Levothyroxine daily), allergies (take allegra 180 daily), ADHD, and get chronic migraines seasonally (Nov - Apr).

I've done some reading online within this forum and found a product called Nialor [removed] that seems to be a nice choice - though I'm concerned about the flushing from the niacin. My grandma has been on almost every med for her cholesterol and she has terrible side effects to them all. I've tried Niacin before and it was tolerable with asprin at 500mg, but when they jumped it to 1000mg I couldn't do it - the flushing was overpowering.

I'm wondering if anyone has tried the Nialor? Has suggestions on other ways to lower cholesterol...I'm freaked out right now and looking for some help! My dr is a putz and very little help when I can get in to see him (earliest is 1-1/2 months away).

Thanks!!
Branny