High cholesterol

H

Houlahound

Joined
Aug 2, 2017
Messages
3,121
Blood work indicated high cholesterol, to be specific the low end of the high range.

Doc said diet will make very little difference as it is mostly genetic.

Anyone.on medication or test for high cholesterol, what are you doing about it?
 
Houlahound said:
Blood work indicated high cholesterol, to be specific the low end of the high range.

Doc said diet will make very little difference as it is mostly genetic.

Anyone.on medication or test for high cholesterol, what are you doing about it?
Click to expand...

I've always had high (at the low end) cholesterol.

Been taking a statin daily for it for years. Caused an initial drop from a very high level when I 1st started taking it but, while varies a bit year by year, it has been pretty constant over the years ever since.

Family has a history of heart disease and, because of that, I've also been taking low dose aspirin (81mg) daily for years.

No doc has ever told me not to even though current medical "wisdom" is that taking low dose aspirin isn't necessary unless you've already have heart disease but they don't say whether taking it may or may not help to prevent a heart attack w/o any prior evidence of heart disease.

They also say taking low dose aspirin can cause bleeding in the GI tract and/or brain but, if you have heart disease they still say you should take it anyway.

Seems to me that even if you don't have any heart disease "yet," it still would be advisable if you have a famly history of it nonetheless which is why I still take it. My doctor has never told me to stop doing this.

As they say, consult your physician about what you should take (if anything) in your situation.

BTW, I exercise (rowing) daily 1 hr/day, 5days a week. I also keep track of everything I eat, mainly for cal control. I eat a fairly balanced diet with lots of fuit & veggies and seafood but I still eat processed meats and red meat (not every day). Nothing is going to make me give up eating meat.

If I die because of that, so be it. 🤷‍♂️
 
Last edited:
Pravastatin 40MG one tablet by mouth every night at bedtime.

I had the benefit of my wife's experience. Her internist told her that diet would make very little difference as it is mostly genetic. She thought that exercise and natural remedies would be better for her than statin drugs. After repeating this conversation three times in two years, he said they would discuss it again after her heart attack. I took her to the closest ER for her heart attack. She said she was about to have one but I had better walk the dog first. The dog was unusually cooperative that day and I drove my wife to the closest hospital ER where she had her heart attack.

She was lucky: 80% blockage in two valves, corrected with three stents. No bypass, no open heart surgery. When she recovered enough she went to cardiac rehab, which I recommend to anyone who can get it. We went to the same hospital gym and I kept an eye on her. She did her usual workout twice a week, under trained supervision. They took her blood pressure and EKG before her workout and 15 minutes into it.
 
Last edited:
sgt1372 said:
current medical "wisdom" is that taking low dose aspirin isn't necessary unless you've already have heart disease but they don't say whether taking it may or may not help to prevent a heart attack w/o any prior evidence of heart disease.

They also say taking low dose aspirin can cause bleeding in the GI tract and/or brain but, if you have heart disease they still say you should take it anyway.

Seems to me that even if you don't have any heart disease "yet," it still would be advisable if you have a famly history of it nonetheless which is why I still take it. My doctor has never told me to stop doing this.
Click to expand...
Low dose aspirin can cause bleeding in the GI track and/or brain and other places too. I had hematospermia. That's when you ejaculate blood, something I had seen in a horror movie (Succubus) but not in the flesh so to speak. After having myself checked for other possible causes, I stopped taking low dose aspirin and I'm glad the U.S. medical establishment has finally caught up with me. It was a bloody mess and did nothing for my morale. But if I'd had a heart attack, they would probably want me to go on squirting barbecue sauce.
 
Mine is at the high end of high. When I first found out how high it was, I spent a year dieting and exercising, and managed to lower it by a whole 7 points, to the high end of high. I've been taking Atorvistatin for several years now. It seems to be keeping it low enough to keep the doctors from having a heart attack when they see it.
 
Piso Mojado said:
Low dose aspirin can cause bleeding in the GI track and/or brain and other places too. I had hematospermia. That's when you ejaculate blood, something I had seen in a horror movie (Succubus) but not in the flesh so to speak. After having myself checked for other possible causes, I stopped taking low dose aspirin and I'm glad the U.S. medical establishment has finally caught up with me. It was a bloody mess and did nothing for my morale. But if I'd had a heart attack, they would probably want me to go on squirting barbecue sauce.
Click to expand...

Sorry to hear that.

No bleeding problems for me since I started taking low does aspirin. When I get cut, the bleeding stops and the wound heals normally. And, I'm not bleeding out of any available orifices. So, apparently nothing for me to worry about (yet).

Just had a colonoscopy (fun!) and no blood in my gift pkgs. So, no problem there either.

Of course, if I start peeing (or shooting) blood, the 1st thing I'll think of is the baby aspirin but, then again, I'm pretty sure that there will a much more serious problem underlying such symptoms and I'll head straight to the doctor for a thorough examination.
 
Last edited:
I'm on Atorvastatin & 1000mgs of Omega 3's for it. I been trying to watch my diet. I get plenty of exercise at work on the roof.
 
Carnivore Diet for me.
Eggs, Red Meat, salt and Butter basically. For the last 2 - 2 1/2 years keto 3 years'ish prior

Diet and Exercise are the combo though, with cutting out junk food.
Blood pressure last Dr. Visit last week 117/74... 5 years ago it was always high.
Im in order and feel great.

Good luck. find what works for you! :)
 
Houlahound said:
Blood work indicated high cholesterol, to be specific the low end of the high range.

Doc said diet will make very little difference as it is mostly genetic.

Anyone.on medication or test for high cholesterol, what are you doing about it?
Click to expand...
Get a new doc if they literally said diet will make very little difference. I have extremely bad genetics with cholesterol and heart disease, yes I’ve been tested genetically and I’m at much higher risk than most, and nothing dropped my numbers more than changing my diet and losing weight (I had terrible side effects from a statin but I did get a drop in my numbers that was somewhat meaningful). With that said, there are probably 1,000 or more disclaimers with this subject because there are so many factors that go into your cholesterol numbers. You actually need to be more focused on the number of bad cholesterol particles circulating through your system rather than your cholesterol volume because the there is good cholesterol and bad cholesterol. The number of “bad” particles circulating in your systems has been proven to be a much more accurate indicator of true risk versus the standard cholesterol volume test which measure cholesterol volume in a crude antiquated method. 1 out 2 people that have a heart attack or stroke have “normal bad LDL cholesterol” using the old school standard cholesterol test. The standard cholesterol test has been around for over 50 years and has probably been one of the biggest failures in modern medicine. There are several blood tests that can measure your good and bad cholesterol more accurately. I believe the Cleveland Clinic and Mayo Clinic may still use the NMR LipoProfile which actually gives a count of the numbers of bad particles, a quick way to remember good cholesterol from bad cholesterol is that there is exactly 1 ApolipoproteinB attached to every “bad” or “sticky” cholesterol, once you know your ApoB number you have a much better understanding of what your actual risk is and a much better way to measure it moving forward if you need to drop this number. Many clinical papers have been published around this topic. There’s a number of other companies/labs out there that will go beyond the standard cholesterol test.

Almost everyone has a serious false sense of security because they have “normal” LDL cholesterol(from a standard cholesterol test) but they are still a coin flip for having a heart attack or stroke.

There was an big argument for over the past 15-20 years that if you had enough good cholesterol (HDL) than this will protect you more against heart attack and stroke because it removes the bad cholesterol from your system, this is a gross over simplification of this process and argument but it’s still one of the root arguments lately. Unfortunately, high number of good HDL still hasn’t been proven(to my knowledge) to reduce overall risk. Many will argue with me on this point and that’s ok with me. I’m a proponent of good HDL, I just don’t know if it’s been proven yet.

You need to find a top 10% doctor that is above average(yes, there are average and even below average doctors just like average and below average knife makers, mechanics, surgeons, lawyers, etc.) and is using diagnostic tools that are far superior than the diagnostics tools used 50 years ago.
 
Last edited:
I also need to address the “there’s nothing you can do about it, it’s your genetics” notion. I agree and disagree. I had a doctor look at me about 15 years ago and flat out tell me it didn’t matter what I did, I was going to look like and end up like my parents. Fuck that guy, he was right as long as I remained complacent, undisciplined, lazy, and continued to make excuses but when I decided to change my life, his little BS comment no longer applied!!! My Father has been 40-60 pounds overweight his entire adult life and until 3 years ago I was 30-40 overweight and looked very similar to him and my cholesterol was very similar, so this is where I agree that genetics do play a MAJOR role in your life and outcomes but there a significant things you can do to fight or overcome genetics. 2 years ago I decided that I was no longer going to be a POS and get my physical and mental shit together. I’ve lost 35 pounds and I’m at 8-9% body fat, 42 years old, and my cholesterol numbers are exactly where they should be to prevent heart disease.
 
Last edited:
Houlahound said:
Blood work indicated high cholesterol, to be specific the low end of the high range.

Doc said diet will make very little difference as it is mostly genetic.

Anyone.on medication or test for high cholesterol, what are you doing about it?
Click to expand...
Have you tried diet and exercise (specifically medium to high level cardio and high fiber diet)?
 
lobo9er said:
Carnivore Diet for me.
Eggs, Red Meat, salt and Butter basically. For the last 2 - 2 1/2 years keto 3 years'ish prior

Diet and Exercise are the combo though, with cutting out junk food.
Blood pressure last Dr. Visit last week 117/74... 5 years ago it was always high.
Im in order and feel great.

Good luck. find what works for you! :)
Click to expand...
117/74!!! That's like my weight over my IQ.
 
craytab said:
Have you tried diet and exercise (specifically medium to high level cardio and high fiber diet)?
Click to expand...
Cardio has been an issue pending upcoming knee surgery but most of my adult life I have had high cardio fitness well above average....in a cruel twist attaining and maintaining my high levels of cardio is what ultimately destroyed my knees which is what has led to my inability to do cardio which has probs contributed to increased weight and cholesterol.... everything sux.
 
Houlahound said:
Cardio has been an issue pending upcoming knee surgery but most of my adult life I have had high cardio fitness well above average....in a cruel twist attaining and maintaining my high levels of cardio is what ultimately destroyed my knees which is what has led to my inability to do cardio which has probs contributed to increased weight and cholesterol.... everything sux.
Click to expand...
So, no you haven't tried diet and exercise? I'd give that a real honest try before drugs. Still though, you may need to go on a low dose even with diet and exercise, but you should be eating right and staying cardiovascularly fit anyway. You can still do it even with knee issues, if you want.

There's no magic bullet to this issue. Eat right, exercise, and or use modern science.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top