Recent bloodwork - cholesterol results

Violet_Flux

I just got results back from bloodwork on Monday. About 6 months ago I was worried about my cholesterol results. A few numbers still seem high, but overall it looks better to me now than it did 6 months ago. (FWIW I have been low-carb since August 2016. Unfortunately I do not have 'starting' bloodwork to compare against.)

2017-Oct-30
Total: 6.14 mmol/L
HDL: 2.01 mmol/L
LDL: 3.84 mmol/L
Trig: 0.64 mmol/L

2017-May-02
Total: 6.05 mmol/L
HDL: 1.42 mmol/L
LDL: 4.13 mmol/L
Trig: 1.09 mmol/L

So my total cholesterol has gone up a teeny amount, my LDL has dropped a bit but is still 'high'. My HDL is up about 35% and my Triglycerides are down about 35%.

From what I understand, the total and LDL numbers are no longer the ones we should be looking at anyways? It's the ratios, and my ratios are pretty good I think?

CARoberts73

I'm curious to see what people have to say about this. My cholesterol is terrible (genetics) and that's one thing that has held me back from going full on keto over the years.

retirehappy

It is a big battle to get HDLs higher and triglycerides lowered. So you are making good progress.

This WOE has my HDL the highest it has been since I started tracking over 20 years ago. And the trigs are lower as well. She mentioned the total and LDLs were higher, I pointed out I am over 20 lbs. lighter than I was at my last blood draw. She countered that should make my total lower. I told her about the way LDLs circulate in the blood during weight loss periods. She agreed that makes sense. Then we started a convo about me getting the NMR test to see if I had good or bad LDLs. She agreed to order it for me in Jan. since I will be mostly maintaining, not losing during the next 3 months. Insurance doesn't cover it, but I feel a strong need to know exactly what is going on in my own body and I have a funds in my retirement package from my former employer that will reimburse the expense if it is dr. ordered.

KnitOrMiss

Once your trigs are below a certain point (I know in mg/dl it's 100 mg/dl -- so after looking it up, it says that about a 56.7 mmol/L - which is BELOW THAT POINT), the standard calculations for LDL and total cholesterol are less accurate.

For heart risk, it is the no more than 2:1 of trigs:HDL. Trigs x 2 = 1.28. HDL is 2.01, so your risk there is lowered from previous. There are several heart risk calculators that will calculate your risk, etc.

cstehansen

I believe in looking at the medical research instead of the conventional wisdom/standard of care which is more politically driven than science driven. On that note, here are a few studies that show that what we are taught/told by our doctors does not match reality:

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3750440/ - key quote from the results is, "All-cause mortality was lower in the groups with TC or LDL-C above the recommended levels."

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2664115/ - key take away here is that the better predictor is triglyceride to HDL ratio, which for you has gotten much better.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19263395 - low cholesterol is associated with cognitive disorders. This makes sense because 25% of all cholesterol is in your brain even though, for most of us, our brain at about 3 lbs (1.3 kg). Cholesterol is vital for cognition, so low cholesterol leads to low cognitive function.

If you prefer to watch a video where cholesterol and statins are discussed in an easy to understand way, I would recommend this one:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uc1XsO3mxX8

ladipoet

Prior to going full on Keto, I NEVER had good cholesterol numbers in my entire life. Now, mind you, even with going Keto, it took my body FOUR (4) YEARS to finally get there (I eliminated a huge amount of weight - 167 pounds (basically another person) - and it takes the body a LOT of time to get rid of all the excess cholesterol that is dumped back into your blood stream when you eliminate a huge amount of weight), but get there it/I did. I've attached my numbers for the past 4 years here for you. I'll let them speak for themselves.

FIT_Goat

Steph_Maks wrote: »

I just got results back from bloodwork on Monday. About 6 months ago I was worried about my cholesterol results. A few numbers still seem high, but overall it looks better to me now than it did 6 months ago. (FWIW I have been low-carb since August 2016. Unfortunately I do not have 'starting' bloodwork to compare against.)

2017-Oct-30
Total: 6.14 mmol/L (237 mg/dL)
HDL: 2.01 mmol/L (78 mg/dL)
LDL: 3.84 mmol/L (148 mg/dL)
Trig: 0.64 mmol/L (57 mg/dL)

2017-May-02
Total: 6.05 mmol/L (324 mg/dL)
HDL: 1.42 mmol/L (55 mg/dL)
LDL: 4.13 mmol/L (160 mg/dL)
Trig: 1.09 mmol/L (94 m/dL)

So my total cholesterol has gone up a teeny amount, my LDL has dropped a bit but is still 'high'. My HDL is up about 35% and my Triglycerides are down about 35%.

From what I understand, the total and LDL numbers are no longer the ones we should be looking at anyways? It's the ratios, and my ratios are pretty good I think?

I added the mg/dL units in bold, for those who normally see these numbers like that.

Nothing here concerns me. Things look good. Slightly better than the original numbers, but even those weren't too horrible.

Sunny_Bunny_

Looks awesome!

nvmomketo

I'd say that deserves a big CONGRATULATIONS! Those numbers are really quite good! Amazing considering that you are still losing weight and that cholesterol usually remains "less good" until your weight has stabilized for about 6 months.

Very nice.

Violet_Flux

Thanks everyone for the feedback & comments!

My biggest concern is that the doc will try and push statins or something like that. As long as the numbers are moving in the right direction though, I figure it's a good thing. And I do still have another 40lbs or so to lose, though that's definitely slowing right down lately. Sigh.