Cholesterol Sky High after 18 months LC

[mjcel]

Hi all,
I have been low-carbing for 18 months. Lost 40 lbs and am at my goal weight. 6 months I asked my dr to go off of my statin. She said yes but, we would recheck in 6 months. The numbers came back yesterday.
TOTAL Chol = 312 - previously on meds = 205
HDL = 109 - previously on meds was 90
LDL = 189 - previously on meds was 105
TRIG = 70 - previously on meds was 49

I know she is going to want to put me back on the drugs. Do these numbers look really scary? Please help.

[ravenrose]

please read this Cholesterol - a Primer

and calculate your ratios. if you have trouble with this, someone here can help you.

what carb level are you eating now? the triglycerides are mostly a function of carb intake and they may have gone up because your carb intake has increased now you are at goal.

[mjcel]

Thanks Ravenwood - I did find the primer and read it.
IF I am mathematically doing this correctly, my total cholesterol/HDL is 1.65,
HDL/LDL is 1.734 and triclycerides/HDL is .370.
The big question for me, is my math correct.
And, if so, how do I convince my doctor that this isn't as bad as it looks

[E.W.]

You might ask for a VAP chlosterol test. If the LDL chlosterol is of the large fluffy
particle size it's not harmful. Also you might try taking some cloves or cinnamon
in capsule form that helps some people to.

[mjcel]

I a currently at the maintenance leval of LC but still am keeping my daily intake to about 40 - 50 carbs. I have been eating a LOT of meat and some of it is sausages and bacon. I will ask for the VAP test when I see my doctor but, I am afraid since I was on statin before and my numbers were good she will automatically want me to go back on it.
I thought I was doing so good on the LC by losing my weight and now these bad numbers are really disappointing.

[sandyaj56]

just got my blood work back yesterday,been doing l/c 2 1/2 months lost 18 pounds so far. my numbers are triglycerides 230 LDL 82 HDL 34 TOTAL 162 not sure if this is bad or good. the good news tho my blood sugar A1C was 5.5 and before low carb was 7.8

[AngelaL]

mjcel:

An HDL over 6 is a NEGATIVE risk factor for CHD.
What are your other risk factors?
Your ratios look great. Your Triglycerides are well under the current guidelines.

[mjcel]

Originally Posted by AngelaL

mjcel:

An HDL over 6 is a NEGATIVE risk factor for CHD.
What are your other risk factors?
Your ratios look great. Your Triglycerides are well under the current guidelines.

Hi Angela,
Excuse my ignorance but what do you mean by "an HDL over 6 is a negative risk factor for CHD"? - My HDL was 109
I don't have any risk factors that I am aware of.

[DENMW]

All I can say is that I wish someone had tried to put me on cholesterol medication years ago and maybe I wouldn't have run into the problem I did. LDL is now recommended by the AHA to be 100 or lower. If you have family history of heart disease, they want it below 70. My LDL was 138 (at 130 they generally recommend cholesterol med) I thought well that's not too bad and my HDL was high about 60 so I figured the ratio was good, baloney!!! Did I spell baloney right, LOL. I am a Spinning instructor and regularly lifted weights and did yoga twice a week. Six months ago I had unexpected emergency Open Heart Surgery and had a severe left main artery blockage. Now I am happily on cholesterol lowering medication and my LDL was down to 88 and hoping for it to be lower the next check. Just my 2 cents.

[Chelveston]

Originally Posted by DENMW

. LDL is now recommended by the AHA to be 100 or lower. If you have family history of heart disease, they want it below 70.

That's working on the outdated total cholesterol theory. Total LDL is meaningless because it's calculated. The only bit of LDL that matters is the particle size and that has to be specifically tested for.

Dr. Davis, a cardiologist, lays it all out on his blog and in his book Wheat Belly.

[mjcel]

Originally Posted by Chelveston

That's working on the outdated total cholesterol theory. Total LDL is meaningless because it's calculated. The only bit of LDL that matters is the particle size and that has to be specifically tested for.

Dr. Davis, a cardiologist, lays it all out on his blog and in his book Wheat Belly.

Thank you all for your input. I saw my Dr yesterday and she thinks as most of you do that the ratio is great. She is suggesting a Coronary Calcium Score just to be safe but, feels that no statin is required at this time.

[AngelaL]

Originally Posted by mjcel

Hi Angela,
Excuse my ignorance but what do you mean by "an HDL over 6 is a negative risk factor for CHD"? - My HDL was 109
I don't have any risk factors that I am aware of.

I'm so sorry.

First of all, I mis-typed. It's an HDL over "60" is a negative risk factor for coronary heart disease (CHD)

The target levels for LDL cholesterol that doctors look for are based on "risk factors" for heart disease.
There are some risk factors that we have no control over (age, gender, family history)
other factors we may or may not have control over (hypertension, diabetes)

then there are NEGATIVE risk factors. So, if you were a diabetic male with hypertension, you have 3 risk factors. BUT with numbers like you've got, the example diabetic male with hypertension and your cholesterol profile would be said to have only 2 risk factors, because the elevated HDL "negates" one of his positive factors.

Remember that your cholesterol number itself is a (supposed) risk factor itself, and not proof one way or another of any eventual coronary incidents.

Glad that you spoke to your doctor and she is happy with your numbers. One of the biggest problems we sometimes run into is physicians who look at the total cholesterol number ONLY and nothing else