High Cholesterol :-(

Mr Bump

Mr Bump

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So after a few blood tests down the GPs as I haven't been feeling Olympic for the last few months it seems I have high cholesterol.
I have never had any long term medication in my life and over the last few years have lost weight, got a bit fitter. So I don't want to take up there offer of Statins.

All my other numbers are pretty good for 52 so i need to have a good look at the food situation and have given myself 6 months to see if we can get the numbers down a bit.

anyone else out there fighting this fight?
 
I went to doc's a couple of weeks ago , had a blood test last week , Tuesday, got a call Wednesday to say cholesterol levels in blood slightly high make an appointment for a 'chat '
Still trying to arrange, let's hope it's not serious
 
Cholesterol levels may be related to stress as much as diet. If you find yourself angry, frustrated or wound up by things then that won't help.
 
Learn to read labels in the supermarket, avoid the stuff that raises your cholesterol.

A good diet, no drinking or smoking and take exercise. It doesn't need to be strenuous, go for walks, walk instead of taking the car and such like.
 
I have been taking statins for over 15 years with issue, however I understand your concerns.
 
I have twice resolved this problem with a combination of diet and weight loss. Essentially, cut out any fatty things - cheese, butter, etc, use semi-skimmed if you don't already, reduce calorie intake and increase vegetables and fruit. Little or no red meat, white meat (chicken) ok but more fish especially oily ones like mackerel, kippers, salmon to a lesser degree.
 
lindsay said:
I have twice resolved this problem with a combination of diet and weight loss. Essentially, cut out any fatty things - cheese, butter, etc, use semi-skimmed if you don't already, reduce calorie intake and increase vegetables and fruit. Little or no red meat, white meat (chicken) ok but more fish especially oily ones like mackerel, kippers, salmon to a lesser degree.
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Yup, same thing worked for me though I would add in (for me) cutting back on the alcohol and upping my exercise too.

It's only in the last two years I have started taking long terms meds (Escitalopram and Esomeprazole) and both have made a significant difference to my quality of life. Prior to that I barely even took ibuprofen.

So I would say make some of the suggested changes and see what the result is in six months (or whenever you GP wants you back) and if it isn't working then give the statins a go if your GP thinks they are a good option FOR YOU.
 
I had high readings a few years ago and they went back to normal (weight loss, more exercise and better diet). In last six months they said I had “slightly high” readings and may benefit from statins.
i asked them for all the info and it turns out that whilst they are slightly high, the ratio of good to bad is actually quite good (alongside the other readings) and I have decided to leave it for the time being and just watch my diet. Much research shows that diet isn’t necessarily a major cause of high cholesterol.
 
Thanks to all, yep all those things are pretty much on my list.
i
Plan is a very low fat diet for a few months, to be fair most of the higher fat things i eat are luxury so not much to miss.
lots more high fibre stuff as well always been a mixed bean fan but lots more of those.
will lose about 1 stone i think and take from there.

@Steep Yes labels, absolutely, the plan is to kick the fat right down to green with the occasional amber.
Salt green only and to be honest I don't eat much suger and Fibre tons of it.
 
I was put on statins and my ankles swelled to the point that I couldn't get my motorcycle boots on. My GP switched me to a different type which cured the ankle problem but I felt stressed and nervous all the time. I would get uptight and frightened to do things which I have been doing for the last 50 years - driving for example. I downloaded the spec. sheet from the drug manufacturers website and found that it listed 26 possible side effects. I showed 19 of them. I stopped taking the pills and I am much happier. I don't know what my cholesterol levels are doing but to be honest I am more interested in enjoying life at the moment than making myself miserable for the promise of a longer future.
 
I googled 'foods that actively reduce cholesterol' or something similar when my gp hit me with the news.
For a few weeks I ate what was suggested, cut out the real bad stuff and when I was tested again she wanted to know exactly what I'd done so she could show others such was the drop in my cholesterol.
It wasn't hard to stick to, blueberries, orange juice, benecol drinks etc, hard bit was no alcohol or red meat and since then I've carried on using benecol spread and blueberries in a smoothie to keep it down.
Good luck with it!
 
What is a high level for Cholesterol? I understood that it depends on an individual and their genetic code. My wife has a Cholesterol figure of over 6 as do most of her family so the G.P.'s have concluded that is normal for her and she has not had to take any remedial action, My figure was 4.3 which should be fine so I refused to take statins which were offered a few years ago though I am treated for High BP. Two years ago, I had a mini-stroke and fully recovered almost immediately but the consultant insisted that I should now take statins. Difficult to argue so I did but side effects did occur and my G.P. halved the dose. I do eat good food but I do not plan to give up drinking wine.

Dave
 
stevewestern said:
I googled 'foods that actively reduce cholesterol' or something similar when my gp hit me with the news.
For a few weeks I ate what was suggested, cut out the real bad stuff and when I was tested again she wanted to know exactly what I'd done so she could show others such was the drop in my cholesterol.
It wasn't hard to stick to, blueberries, orange juice, benecol drinks etc, hard bit was no alcohol or red meat and since then I've carried on using benecol spread and blueberries in a smoothie to keep it down.
Good luck with it!
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google realy is your friend when it comes to reducing cholesterol for me the easy stuff to give up was the processed meats, sausages, haven't eaten much red meat for years, i enjoy the odd beef chilli but i will make the switch to turkey mince which i have had before just needs a bit more flavour pumping in. I am fully stocked up on mixed beans and wholegrain rice and a few other high fibre pulses which i will mix and match over the weeks.

I have chucked out the half bag of oven chips from the freezer and a few old pies, my first point of call is the weight loss, in the last 4 weeks i have dropped from 13st 12lb to 13st 3lb so thats going well, i will go down to about 12.5st and see how i feel as well.
 
Dave Canon said:
What is a high level for Cholesterol? I understood that it depends on an individual and their genetic code. My wife has a Cholesterol figure of over 6 as do most of her family so the G.P.'s have concluded that is normal for her and she has not had to take any remedial action, My figure was 4.3 which should be fine so I refused to take statins which were offered a few years ago though I am treated for High BP. Two years ago, I had a mini-stroke and fully recovered almost immediately but the consultant insisted that I should now take statins. Difficult to argue so I did but side effects did occur and my G.P. halved the dose. I do eat good food but I do not plan to give up drinking wine.

Dave
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i am making no real plans to give up alcohol mate as well, oddly enough all my family are riddled with HBP, diabetes and my father had stents at 64 so its not a good genetic thing for me but i want to see what following the healty food and excercise regime can do for my cholesterol in 6 months
 
IMHO a one off test is not very informative.
I've had high cholesterol for years, and my doctor looked at my diet and lifestyle and the ratio of good to bad was very high and concluded it was normal for me, just one of those people who has high numbers. My new doctor (they often change at our practice) say my level has dropped over the last 12 months and asked if I want to go on satins ?

Like a lot of these thing each doctor/practice has diffrent ideas, ours never bother with BMI at all, and don't consider you have high blood pressure until it's over 140

Having now retired early, I am finding getting enough exercise in difficult, something I will have to address.
 
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whiteflyer said:
IMHO a one off test is not very informative.
I've had high cholesterol for years, and my doctor looked at my diet and lifestyle and the ratio of good to bad was very high and concluded it was normal for me, just one of those people who has high numbers. My new doctor (they often change at our practice) say my level has dropped over the last 12 months and asked if I want to go on satins ?

Like a lot of these thing each doctor/practice has diffrent ideas, ours never bother with BMI at all, and don't consider you have high blood pressure until it's over 140

Having now retired early, I am find getting enough exercise in difficult, something I will have to address.
Click to expand...

my cholesterol was slightly high 2 years ago and just tipped over high last month for my docs test and to be honest given my diet over the last year had "slipped" i am not surprised, you are right there are a lot of interpretations but my answer is high elavated cholesterol, weight and blood preassure are mainly lifestyle something i have a lot of control over so im going to see if i can beat it all back over the next few months and see.
 
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