Raised Cholestorol

DH was prescribed statins, the lowest dose possible. They gave him nightmares and the continual 'trots' until he worried about even leaving the house. The GP was not very helpful and, as DH tends to be non-confrontational he just stopped taking them and hasn't for years.

His GP doesn't realise because DH still collects the pills with his monthly prescription and once a year has a cholesterol test which shows his cholesterol is only marginally above average, so marginal the GP feels no need to increase his dose.

I have suggested to DH that he should come clean let the GP know he isn't taking them and stop wasting the NHS money spent on them, But having had problems once or twice before with GPs, his instinct is to take the easy way out and just avoid the issue.

PS not all saturated fat is unhealthy.

My cholesterol was slightly raised last time I had a blood test. I queried this with my GP and she said not a problem. The cholesterol reading was total cholesterol ie ‘good’ cholesterol, ‘bad’ cholesterol and triglycerides. Apparently my ‘good’ cholesterol was nice and high and that had pushed the reading up.

Good post, NanTheWiser. I've recently been told my cholesterol levels are too high at 5.7 so I'm cutting out cheese, taking plant sterols as a supplement and also using Benecol spread instead of butter.

Well so far, having started looking very carefully at saturated fat content in various foods and swapping to healthier versions ...and otherwise continuing with my normal fairly healthy diet and exercise routine ...I have lost half a stone!! I call that a result ...although I have no idea whether my cholestorol is reducing yet!! Still, there must be something about saturated fat because I'm still eating the same amount of rapeseed and olive oils etc!!

Thanks all. I told my Dr I would prefer not to take statins and would look at any necessary dietary changes! Go back in 3 months to see if has had any effect. I agree re too quick to medicate!

I should have added I totally agree with Nanthewiser s post and do too think pharmaceuticals have a great reasons for saying we all need them !

Madgran I just wouldn’t worry so much My Mums cholesterol was always raised throughout her life although she had a fantastic low fat, no salt, no sugar diet (her life choice for years) she lived to the age of 90 and apart from Alzheimer’s and arthritis she was so healthy
Both myself and my daughter have been told we have borderline cholesterol and asked if we would go on statins We have both refused and when our life style, of exercise diet, weight, and low alcohol, non smoking was taken into consideration it was a 2% chance of a cardiac problem

Whilst I think statins can be most helpful for someone who smokes, drinks, is overweight has a poor diet no exercise or a family history of cardiac problems I do not agree that everyone should be on them as a first port of call

There is enormous controversy over the use of statins and the perceived dangers of high cholesterol.
Cholesterol is in fact, the repair mechanism produced by the liver to repair damage in blood vessels, so is an essential to our health. I'm not sure how the NICE level of 5 came about - I do remember reading that it was a rather arbitrary figure.
There is evidence that for older women, a higher level is actually beneficial:
www.virginiahopkinstestkits.com/statinswomen.html

and: www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3303886/

Really, unless you have already had a cardiovascular event, statins are a waste of time.

Additionally, statins have side effects which you may not wish to risk: Diabetes, cataracts, muscle pain and worse. These side effects have been played down, but affect more people than has been reported. I was put on Simvastatin at the age of 60 (10 years ago) as my Chol. was 6.4. Within a day or two I hade excruciating muscle pain, and a stomach that felt like lead, so came off them pretty quick, and told my GP I wouldn't take them. He suggested a different brand, but I refused, and was then told to control by diet. In fact, dietary cholesterol makes very little difference to your body's output, so cutting back on good fats will have minimal effect.
articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2016/02/10/5-reasons-why-you-should-not-take-statins.aspx
And statins are big business - most studies done on cholesterol are funded by the major Pharmaceutical companies and are therefore very biased. I believe GPs are paid to prescribe them, adding to the controversy.
Although not diabetic, I frequently read the Diabetes forum, whose members are very well informed and knowledgeable: www.diabetes.co.uk/
and it's interesting to note that for those who choose to control their blood glucose by eating Low Carb and HIGH fat, often find their Chol. levels improve. And it's well-known that Inuits who eat a diet almost exclusively of high fat blubber have low cholesterol.
So do your research, and make your own mind up whether you want to be taking a medication for life, that may do more harm than good.

A disclaimer: I am not medically trained and have no axe to grind, but I do feel quite strongly about mass medication which in my opinion is unnecessary.

...And I still have "high" cholesterol!

The Dr was very clear that the LDL was too high and the ratio of HDL to total was not right.
I have been told to analyse my diet, look at saturated fat proportions and avoid saturated fat as much as possible and come back for another test in 3 months!

It has been interesting analysing saturated fat - some surprises!

My total cholesterol is high as well as my LDL ( the bad one) but my ratio of HDL to total is fine and apparently that's the one to worry about. You need to have all of these measured in order to decide whether it's a problem. ie Total, HDL, LDL and ratio ( also tri-glycerides I think). There is absolutely nothing I can do to reduce mine as my diet is very healthy, I'm pretty slim, keep fit, don't smoke and keep to alcohol rec limits. Also as Grannyknot - low chance of stroke or whatever they measure. My doc just said some people's liver functions differently and not to worry - but come back and have it re-measured in two years. I'm 64. I guess it might have been different if I'd been a fat couch potato on 20 fags a day No medication was even hinted at....

Thanks for all the advice. My worry is that I have no idea how else I could change my very healthy pescatarian (vege and fish!) diet; occasionally eat home made cakes; exercise through cycling and fast walking. And yet my cholestorol is up! I'm going to try the Ubiquinil I think.

giulia, I have some kefir grains (bought online for about £5) which I use to make probiotic because I am on very strong anti biotics for at least 18 months. I had not heard of it reducing cholesterol. That's interesting because I had a dreadful reaction to statins which IMO are evil.

kefir in milk or water form has been proved to reduce cholesterol and is so beneficial in many ways. Look it up and also ask your doctor. It can't do you any harm.

Mr C has controlled his via slightly adjusting diet and adding plant sterols plus omegas via supplements as he hates fish. Again the initial risk level was very low, 2-3% increased risk. The GP said with those results he wouldn't push statins (although the nurse had advised differently) and of course statins do not guarantee a risk free future. Mr C decided to try a year of change and wait and see. We've both increased our overall exercise level and the last blood test showed a reduction and no cause for concern. I think for anyone with a raised level it's worth a proper chat with a doctor before making an individual decision.

My "bad" cholesterol was slightly higher than it should be. The GP did a heart disease risk assessment with all the other factors with me, worked out that I have a 6% chance of heart disease in my 80s. Between us we decided I'd take my chances and he sent me on my way with advice to "go easy on the pastries and up your exercise". I've done both and at last check up nothing was said about my cholesterol so it must now be fine.

Mine's higher than it should be too - 5.8, HDL 1.9, LDL 3.5, triglicerides 0.9 - and I've started taking, on advice from the nurse and the GP, Benecol plant stenols daily. I always include plenty of brightly coloured veg in my diet - 5 a day isn't really enough though.
Oats are meant to be good too and avoiding processed foods and carbs like cakes, biscuits and the like. Common sense really but for some people it can take longer than with others. As midgey says, exercise helps loads - I hate exercise but I go to the gym twice weekly now and do a 30/40 min very brisk walk on the treadmill. It's a start!

A friend of mine has done this very satisfactorily. She refused statins and researched what to eat, I think the result was lots of fish (especially oily) and vegetables, oats for breakfast, Benecol products, Oatley milk substitute, nuts and fruit especially apples and pears. She stopped eating bread, biscuits, cakes, pizza, butter, milk and any processed foods.
She said initially it was hard work but she lost weight and her cholesterol levels returned to normal. I think it took about three months. She's very pleased.

Exercise helps promote good cholesterol, even walking just a little helps.

Due to an under active thyroid I had raised cholesterol. I couldn't reduce it with diet alone. I take 40mg of Simvastatin from the Doctor with no side effects and now I have a much reduced cholesterol.

he takes the 200Madgran77

Article in Daily Mail this week (I know not everyone's cup of tea!) Apparently porridge daily is good. I've taken oat bran daily with yogurt/cereal for several years and my level was fine when tested a year ago. DH is on statins but he's sceptical about what he terms 'fads' so won't do the oat thing.

paddyann does your husband take 100, 200 or 300 gms Ubiquinol per day?

Thanks for helpful replies so far. I have a pretty healthy diet already, I don't eat meat, do eat fish and vegetarian, loads of vegetables and fruit, limited homemade cakes. But I have been surprised by the amounts of saturated fat in certain things I eat when I started looking ...butter, cheese etc. Have been looking at lower fat varieties of those. I'm going to look into the Ubiquinol .. Sounds interesting! Thanks. If anyone else has experiences or suggestions, would be gratefully received

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