Wellness

[SeaMaiden]

Everything looks good...

surprising though that my LDL is a bit high,,,,  my cholestrol.... is 222 and LDL is 130 and triglycerides are108. 

I eat a very low fat diet   no red meat ever..... many days no meat at all only good fats plant based... no junk food at all.. very clean diet.

I guess that with age there are just somethings that start to break down and it is not something I am doing.  I am so health concious yet some things are out of my control..

My goal will be to work on this until my next yearly exam   adding some  natual supplements such as Bergamot  extract... and uping my exercise some... and see if I have gotten it down naturally before doing statins.  He said that was fine. 

 As I write this... DH is enjoying some potato chips dipped in sour cream... He could care less... I asked him how he could eat that with a clear mind... he said

IT TASTES GOOD. 

[Sweetbay magnolia]

Congrats, @SeaMaiden .  Is this a departure from previous cholesterol readings?

[Puppy Lips]

Potato chips are good for the soul!

[itsmagic]

I’ve come to the same conclusion that with age some parts don’t work like they used to even though I stick to a very healthy diet and also rarely eat meat.   My doctor tried me on a couple of statins but they didn’t agree with me. So a few months ago he put me on a cholesterol lowering non-statin drug which he commented that he himself takes. It agrees with me and is lowering my cholesterol (but not as much as a statin) but my doctor recently died of a heart attack so now I’m thinking why am I taking this - it didn’t work for him.  Trying to stay healthy can be very discouraging when you get old! 🤔

[chessylady]

I also recently had blood work and my cholesterol and triclycerides were very high. I took statins for years but started getting side effects and went off them. Now my doctor has again recommended them so I agreed. She has prescribed generic Crestor which she said had fewer side effects. I am also planning to clean up my diet. My whole family has cholesterol issues so there is a genetic tendency. I think since I survived the pandemic, I am acknowledging my age and the need to be more aggresive with my health. I also have controlled high blood pressure.

[SeaMaiden]

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@Sweetbay magnolia wrote:

Congrats, @SeaMaiden .  Is this a departure from previous cholesterol readings?

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@Sweetbay magnolia    my last blood work was in 2017... and yes my results were better in previous tests..   nothing much has changed in my lifestyle  or diet over those  four years...

[gizmogal]

Whatever regimen you will use to try to get your cholesterol regulated, may I suggest you don't wait a whole year to find out if it's working in any successful way. Try getting that blood test in 6 months or even quarterly.

If your efforts are working, you'll see some numbers change as desired. But if you have values that are not in the right direction, you want to know so you can take new steps or talk it over with your doctor or other practitioner.

Waiting a year to find out your cholesterol levels have not improved wastes a year you could have protected your health more effectively. With or without drugs, establishing a new regimen requires a better way to track efforts than once a year.

Even when people first take statins they get tested again in about 3 months to examine efficacy. Since you choose to work on this in a naturopathic manner, you should be equally scientific and test again at a shorter interval than one year.  You will have less of a timely way to know if your methods are successful.  

Go back again before the end of the year and look over the new values. It's not just the numbers, it's the trend that has meaning, too.

[SeaMaiden]

@gizmogal     Great advise!  I will ask Dr about having another panel done on cholesterol in 4 to six months.  Thank you for the good advise.

[Big Joanie]

I eat all the red meat I want and my cholesterol is 130 ..I have read

sugar can effect it as well .....

[Kachina624]

Much of your cholesterol reading is determined by heredity.  You can eat roots and berries for a year and it may not change a bit.  That's why people take statins.  Mine went from 240 to 112 with statins.