"THREAD OF THE WEEK" cholesterol....

[RationalBeing]

Man this post is scaring me to ****. I got my cholesterol checked last summer and it was like 160. I weighed around 210lbs and was defined as "obese" according to BMI.

I now weigh 158lbs but I eat a ton of meat. My blood pressure is 115/68. I'm only 23 but this is a scary thread. If my blood pressure is fine, and I exercise daily, can my cholesterol still be high and posing a health threat I can't detect?

Anyone know if theres a "cheap way" to get cholesterol checked, or do I definitely have to go through a lab with a doctor?

[RationalBeing]

Ok, I went to walgreens and for $18 I got a kit for cholesterol.

I did both tests and they both read within 1 "mark"

So my over all cholesterol is:

125 to 132

Well, that puts my mind at ease.

So here are the vitals:

Total lost: 48lbs
Starting Cholesterol: ~160
Ending Cholesterol: 125 to 132
Blood Pressure: 114 / 72
Heart Rate: In the 50's

Exercise 5 days a week. I eat a lot of chicken breast... beef probably 3 days a week. About 6 or 7 eggs a week, not a ton of butter.

[kimmee13]

That's what I've decided to do, cut back on the higher fat stuff like beef and pork and stick more to poultry. Never used butter or cheese that much anyway, so will stear clear of that too, then get it checked again in 6 months like she wanted me too and go from there. It HAS to go down, I don't understand how it couldn't then (no history of heart disease or high cholesterol in my family).

[mattkins]

There are 2 types of fiber soluble and insoluble. One of them binds to cholesterol and flushes it out of your system. I can't remember which one though.

I too would advise against the statins. Like skank said. Bad cholesterol is not a disease it's a statistical indicator. You don't die of bad cholesterol, you die of a heart attack. Our society is plagued by over-prescription of drugs that treat symptoms. Take prozac because your depressed. No! How about finding out what in your life is making you depressed and finding a way to fix it? Anyway....

My LDL went up too a year after doing Atkins. But so did my HDL. So much so that my overall profile improved. So I'm not too worried about it. I don't see how loosing bodyfat would ever be a bad thing, unless you get way, way down to like 3% or something. But who here among us is in danger of that? LOL!

[ScotsCats]

Glad I found this thread. Lots of good advice. DH today was called by his doc and his BP is not good at 160/90. Cholesterol at 256; Trig at 296; LDL 141, forgot to ask about HDL. Problem I'm going to have with him is he only weighs 144 at 5'7" so weight is obviously not an issue. Gotta get those levels down. Tonight will be his last red meat for a while. Fact is both his parents had heart problems: mother had triple bypass twife; father had his first heart attack at age 46. We're going to try the Lipitor until I can get him to cut out the cigs and booze. Maybe I'll check out maintenance for him. Think that might help?

Wish me (and him) well. It's going to be a tough fight. Just needed to get in off my chest so we can start to deal with it.

[timthenavyguy]

is there a way for me to check my cholesteral by myself without going to a doctor

[thinsgreat]

Update--- It has been a couple months since last i posted--- i spent the summer cutting back on red meats, working out and taking new supplements, via my nutritionist. Well, the news is not good-- my ldl is up to 240--- rose 34 points since May-- tris and hdl remained the same. Have a meeting set up with Dr to discuss statins....

[2big4mysize]

Looks like you are one of us geneticly predisposed to high LDL folks.

it aint the red meats it is the saturated fats in your Atkins plan. There are several lean cuts of red meat the AHA recommends as heart healthy. How low did you take your sat fats?

What supplements did you add?

skank er Shawnee had some good results with adding creatine to his. he got a 5% lowering of his LDL from just that change in his plan

[silview]

Yeah, I know how it goes, because I experience it all the time, but try not to get so caught up with data results you see on the devise. Keep going what you were doing. If this persits, ask doctor or specialist for advice.

[daione]

Wow! that is encouraging. My doctor wants to put me on medicine so bad. i told him that i don't want to. i told him that I want to bring it down naturally. I told him that I am doing the atkins, he is okay with that but he said that I can not have the fried food and fat. tell me more of what you ate ... thanks for sharring.

Originally Posted by RationalBeing

Ok, I went to walgreens and for $18 I got a kit for cholesterol.

I did both tests and they both read within 1 "mark"

So my over all cholesterol is:

125 to 132

Well, that puts my mind at ease.

So here are the vitals:

Total lost: 48lbs
Starting Cholesterol: ~160
Ending Cholesterol: 125 to 132
Blood Pressure: 114 / 72
Heart Rate: In the 50's

Exercise 5 days a week. I eat a lot of chicken breast... beef probably 3 days a week. About 6 or 7 eggs a week, not a ton of butter.