Cholesterol

[rosarugosa]

My total cholesterol is high at 222, but all the underlying numbers are good, so I'm, not worried and my MD says he isn't either. This doesn't really make any sense to me, but as a famous philosopher said "What Me Worry?"
Total - 222
LDL - 123
Triglycerides - 65
HDL - 86
Ratio - 2.6

[Yppej]

Do you exercise a lot?

I walk 20 minutes several times per week and do yardwork.

My mother was on Lipitor but able to get off it by modifying her diet.

Today I didn't have any coffee at work as that tempts me to have half and half.

I am not worried about gaming tests. It's a free country and no one can force me to take a medicine I don't want to.

[frugal-one]

Thanks to pharmaceutical companies advertising and drug pushing.....I have become quite cynical about the need for all these chemical “fixes”. Is here any evidence that all these pills are making us healthier?

I was told by my doctor that I needed to take statins to lower my cholesterol. I asked this same question. What percentage of people are actually helped by statins. She sent me to the pharmacy and it was researched. I was told one study was found that 20% of people were helped and not had an "incident" and one study was found where 10% less people died. Not sure if I am wording this correctly. I did post this elsewhere on this forum but cannot locate the post now. It should be noted that the main problem with statins is that they deteriorate the muscles in your legs, some of the other side effects cancer, diabetes and cataracts. Other places I have checked say less than 1% of people are helped by statins. Either way .. the risk outweighs the reward IMO.

[Tammy]

It's a risk benefit analysis that has to be individualized to each person. My husband's cholesterol was over 400, so obviously the benefit is greater than the risk in his case .

[Rogar]

The first time my cholesterol was reported as borderline high, the office just called with the results and said, the doctor says to go on a low cholesterol diet. Now that some of diet science says dietary cholesterol doesn't necessarily translate to blood cholesterol levels I got a variety of answers from what ever reliable sources I could find. Then there's beneficial omega 3's, oatmeal, and my favorite, 1-2 alcoholic beverages per day. I know a guy who read a book that claimed high cholesterol was not even that big a health indicator. Personal opinion is that I think there is that medicine seems to rely mostly on diet and not enough on exercise and maintaining a proper weight. And some is just unavoidable genetics.

I guess my point is that it's not an exact science.

[Tybee]

The first time my cholesterol was reported as borderline high, the office just called with the results and said, the doctor says to go on a low cholesterol diet. Now that some of diet science says dietary cholesterol doesn't necessarily translate to blood cholesterol levels I got a variety of answers from what ever reliable sources I could find. Then there's beneficial omega 3's, oatmeal, and my favorite, 1-2 alcoholic beverages per day. I know a guy who read a book that claimed high cholesterol was not even that big a health indicator. Personal opinion is that I think there is that medicine seems to rely mostly on diet and not enough on exercise and maintaining a proper weight. And some is just unavoidable genetics.

I guess my point is that it's not an exact science.

I have high cholesterol after menopause--was nice and low before and if I started drinking 1-2 alcoholic drinks a day I would be an alcoholic really quickly. So that would present other, more challenging health problems.
Have not agreed to take statins either.
My mom has had high cholesterol since menopause and is now 91, so screw it, is my attitude.

[Williamsmith]

Just saw the doctor yesterday. Not worried about my cholesterol levels. The side effects of statins are muscle pain, increase risk of type 2 diabetes, neurological and liver complications. I hope I don’t ever have to make that decision. I’m thinking hell no.

[Teacher Terry]

My friend's grandma had cholesterol of 350 most of her adult life and was fine until she died around 90. They also have a serious impact on your memory. Statins are just a money maker for RX companies. Too bad many doctors have bought into this. If they were ever prescribed I would not fill them.

[JaneV2.0]

I've done my research, and I think they're snake oil. I'm amazed and appalled at how over-medicated people are. Good old capitalism, I guess. Advertising and coercion. We're not as free as we'd like to think.

[SteveinMN]

Back from seeing the doctor on Wednesday. I don't have cholesterol test results yet, but nothing else seemed amiss and my A1c came in at 5.8. No discussion of statins or metformin.

I did tell the doctor that my low-carb/high fat way of eating included a fair amount of saturated fat (though not as much as I'm "supposed" to be eating; I've lost 10 pounds since June). So I was a little concerned that the standard lipid panel might come back high; if it does, we've agreed to do a "pattern A/pattern B" test. I'll update this thread once I see the cholesterol test results.