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High cholesterol?

13 years ago

My cholesterol is extremely high. Have been on statins for years and can control it. Dr. took me off for four months because of muscle problem and it went sky-high. I'm not overweight and have decent diet. She says it is hereditary.

Anyone else with this proble? Any ideas?

Carol

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Comments (8)

alisande
13 years ago
Mine is certainly hereditary, but following the example of my dad, who was very strict with himself about giving up all dairy and meat fats--no cheese, grinding his own lean meat, etc.--I've been able to keep it under control with diet.

He didn't have high triglycerides, but mine go through the roof if I don't control carbs, too. I think I must have inherited that from my maternal grandmother, who died of a heart attack in her forties. High triglycerides are a big heart risk for women.
OklaMoni
13 years ago
Even with diet and exercise I could not keep mine down. Actually laughed at the nurse, when she came with the list of foods I should avoid. There was only one food on there, that I ate. I take simvatatin. It stays ok, with only 20 miligrams. Mine is heredity too.

Moni
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My understanding is that you should first consider trans fats and then consider saturated fats. Avoid both as much as you can. Unsaturated fats need only be considered if you also need to lose weight. My cholesterol isn't quite so high as yours but my HDL/LDL is all backwards even with medication. I am moving toward giving up dairy fat. It's hard because I am also diabetic and there already aren't a lot of things I can eat and I dearly love cheese but I think it's what I need to do if there is any hope of turning this thing around. I don't eat much red meat, another major source of saturated fat, and I don't eat any trans fats.
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I found out in June that my cholestrol was high, 240 total - don't know the good/bad numbers but having been told that I had some stenosis in one of the arteries, I decided to work on diet and excerise. I am on Simavastatin, generic drug for cholestrol, 10 mg a day. I started walking 45 min a day on a treadmill at ramdon settings so that the incline changes or if I don't walk I do a Senior Aerobics class (had been doing some of that before). I do one or the other 5 days a week. I also changed my diet - gave up white bread products, pastries, cookies, etc, and have lower the amount of red meat - we never eat much at a time but now we had fish at least once a week, pork, chicken and try one dinner a week without meat. Eating more veggies and cooking with olive oil mostly. Also avoiding the processed foods - like the box rice dishes, etc. Lowering the sodium - avoiding sodas and salty snacks. I only use milk on cereal but I did go from whole to 2%. - Sorry Oilpainter but skim looks like water to me. I do eat Light Yogurt once a day. I eat cereal every morning but once a week, have whatever I want that day but the cereal are whole grain, lots of fiber. I like the Whole Wheat Flats for bread- they are really good, kinda sweet tasting. When I had my checkup at the end of August my cholestrol had dropped to 140. I think she said the good was 49, would have liked it a little higher but she was really pleased. My blood pressure which was also increasing had been in the 130's - 140's was down to 102 - the second number has always been in the high 50's - low 60's. I also had lost weight, which I also needed to do. I am now pretty stable, weight wise - I don't get winded when I walk long distances like I used to. So, changing diet and excerise - which I believe was the key for me - works. I don't know how much the meds did vs the other changes but she thinks I may be able to come off the meds in Dec. when I go back. If you get the recipe book Cooking Light - it has some really great dishes in it. I also found some great ones is a magazine called Clean Living. Good luck! Oilpainter - I would love to eat Oatmeal and almonds, walnuts - found out I am allergic to them!
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For years I've had issues with joint pain and stiffness, and "gelling" especially after I've been sitting for a period of time....I was to many doctors including 2 rheumatologists...no diagnosis and only dangerous drugs like steroids seemed to help. (Celebrex in combo with my thyroid meds put me into kidney failure! Thank you very much!) So the only thing I've found that helps me is High Lignan Flax Seed Oil .... I get Barlean's. It must be bought and kept refrigerated. DH and I each take 1 Tbls per day and it really helps. The Lignan is the brown stuff in the bottle that has to be stirred up...if I don't get that, it doesn't help. If I skip it for a few days, the aches and stiffness start to return. There are "essential fatty acids" needed in the diet...essential in that our bodies can't make them from anything and they must be consumed. Flax oil and fish oil contain different kinds of fatty acids and both are important. So for best health, take both. For best health, get a balance of fats including saturated fats. Problem is, the typical American diet is very high in saturated fats and low in the others, so out of balance. I've not heard of taking omega-3 to lower cholesterol. Rather my understanding is to replace saturated fats with poly and mono unsaturated fats including omega-3s may help lower bad cholesterol as you are reducing the total intake of saturated fats. But to just add it to the same diet won't be helpful. My total cholesterol is high, but it's because my HDL is high. My triglycerides are low. All good. But my LDL is also high. But I don't know what that means as there are good LDL and bad LDL and the basic blood test doesn't separate between them. I talked to Doc about it and the next lipid panel I get will be separating those out for me so we have a better understanding of how bad my LDL really is.
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Shirley, I read your post just now while eating oat bran. LOL Usually I cook it in a bowl in the microwave, sometimes adding raisins before cooking. Sometimes I add a sprinkle of cinnamon. Occasionally I stir in some applesauce after cooking. Tonight I was eating it uncooked, mixed with wheat germ and some raisins and walnuts, and sweetened slightly with one drop of stevia. Cooked or uncooked, I eat it with soymilk. Actually, oat bran is very much on my mind right now because I have to launder a shirt and shorts that are covered with it. I fell down my porch steps this evening while holding a bowl of cooked oat bran and soymilk, and it got all over me--hair, arms, clothes. What a mess. I don't know how it happened. My DS was right there, and he doesn't know how it happened either. I'm just glad I didn't reinjure my bad knee. Anyway, I didn't get to eat any of it, so that's why I was eating it uncooked a little later.
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ruthieg__tx
13 years ago
Mine is sky high for the same reason. total cholesterol 293 good and bad also very high.....I just got back on simvastatin......I was hoping to control it with diet....but no such luck........how many times have I tried the diet thing........way too many.
Marilyn Sue McClintock
13 years ago
I was on a diet for 10 months, no animal products at all, it went up 10 points. I have been on a half dozen statins over many years and could not tolerate all the muscle pains they caused. The doctor has taken me off everything. One of the medications even caused me lots and lots of sinus drainage! I felt like I was drowning.

Sue
cwnev
13 years ago
My Dr told me to take Co Q 10 100 mg with my statin. Helps avoid the muscle pain/fatigue. So far seems to be helping. I tried red yeast rice when we first saw I needed help with cholestrol control, and I got the muscle pain. She said, I probably would with a statin too, but so far, nothing. I have RA too, and that was a worry. I have joint pain with that during flare but not muscle weakness.
User
13 years ago
My Dr put me on Fish oil & Niacin since I couldn't take lipitor. It seem to help.
oldgardener_2009
13 years ago
Mine is difficult to control even with a statin.

As far as diet, I did drop my total cholesterol 40 points by eating oatmeal, salmon and walnuts every day. But 40 points wasn't enough, doctor wasn't impressed, so he put me on a statin...but it's still too high.

I eat very little in the way of meat or animal by-products (I rarely eat meat at all, but I do eat low-fat cheese) but even so, I have high cholesterol.
kathi_mdgd
13 years ago
My DH's dr put him on coq10 and liquid fish oil.He took him off the statins because of all the muscle problems they gave him.His came down,and he didn't have to go back on statins.He lowered his triglycerides by cutting back on sweet.Boy,talk about an addiction,he could and did many times eat a whole bag of candy and or cookies,and he could eat a whole pie in less than 2 days.

Makes me angry,as he's never gained an ounce from any of it.He's 5'9" and weighs 176.Dr's can't believe what good shape he's in for his age(73) I should be so lucky!!!!
Kathi

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