Cholesterol panel results

Running_and_Coffee · July 2018

Thanks to all who commented on my post on Friday in which I panicked over my huge cholesterol level increase this year vs. last year. The additional info is below.

Would love any insights! I've been trying to focus on fats like avocado and nuts vs. cheese/meats in the past few days and it's definitely making my carb levels climb, but not sure that's a bad thing as I still feel satiated and am not going above my caloric limit.

tcunbeliever · July 2018

Has your weight been stable for at least 6 months? Losing weight will interfere with accurate test results.

Running_and_Coffee · July 2018

tcunbeliever wrote: »

Has your weight been stable for at least 6 months? Losing weight will interfere with accurate test results.

No, I lost 12 lbs about 3 months ago and an additional 3 over the last 3 months. Is that significant enough to impact results?

WholeFoods4Lyfe · July 2018

Honestly, if that were me, I wouldn't be very concerned about that number just yet. Your HDL and Trigs look great, and the LDL could be caused by a number of factors, the biggest one being your ongoing weight loss. Like I said in your other post, your Ratio is great. What you could do if it would help to set your mind at ease is to ask your doctor to order a LDL Particle Test (I think that is what it is called) which shows the breakdown and the size of the LDL Particles. With the LDL, it's the size of the particle that matters, and really only the smaller particles are worrisome as they have an easier time getting in to the arteries, the larger, puffier particles are less concerning. Or, you could also do nothing, and wait to have an LDL Panel done again after your weight has been stable for about 6 months. I would probably wait it out myself.

tcunbeliever · July 2018

Yes, any amount of fat loss will mess up the test. The test cannot accurately distinguish between fat your body has broken down for use as fuel, and actual cholesterol manufactured by your liver.

I happen to think the whole "cholesterol should be low" is a scam, but you have to do whatever you think is right for you and your health.

The test is not accurate until your weight is stable for about 6 months, so I wouldn't worry too much about it unless it remains high after that variable is removed from the scenario. It it very normal for cholesterol test numbers to be super high during weight loss.

cstehansen · July 2018

I don’t have all my numbers handy, but I remember about where they were. Fortunately I did research before hand so I wasn’t surprised and rode the wave. When I started low carb, my total was just under 200 with LDL of 110 and HDL in the 40’s.

My LDL and HDL both shot up initially with HDL going into the 70’s and LDL getting near 200.

About 18 months to 2 years in, my HDL was still upper 70’s, but LDL was back down to 119.

I don’t have my trig number at the start, but the doc said they were “too high.” Now, they are consistently between 45 & 65.

All that to say, initial spike is common. However, long term, even if the numbers are a little higher, the ratios (trig to HDL, HDL to total, etc.). Are almost always better. All the research on PubMed indicates these ratios are far more predictive of health than total or LDL numbers.

Sunny_Bunny_ · July 2018

These numbers look awesome to me.
Only ones I care about are that HDL is high and trigs are low.

tammyfranks2 · July 2018

HDL
40.00 - 60.00 mg/dL
6/6/17 12/17 3/18 6/18
33.00 26.00 33.00 42.00

Cholesterol, total
50 - 200 mg/dL
6/17 12/17 3/18 6/18
167 129 114 130

6/17 12/17 3/18 6/18

HDL Cholesterol 5.06 4.96 3.45 3.10
LDL, calculated
0.0 - 130.0
6/17 12/17 3/18 6/18
117.0 80.4 62.0 76.2

Triglyceride
30 - 150 mg/dl
6/17 12/17 3/18 6/18
85 113 95 59

VLDL
0 - 40
6/17 12/17 3/18 6/18
17 22 19 11

can ya tell what my numbers are ?? sorry I tried to copy and paste it all . but my numbers are so good ....A1c is 6.1 as well that is after 6 months of low carb/ keto and I still weigh 426 so things are good i think , but if someone sees something wrong please say ...ok

Running_and_Coffee · July 2018

Thanks for all the insights! My doc wants me to retest in 4 months, which should be stable by then for me re: fat loss (have been aiming to maintain). I think I lost a lot of FAT even though the pounds weren't crazy high given my appearance (visible muscles, yay!) so maybe that was enough to impact the test. Still...probably not going to have Brie every day anymore, lol.

Sunny_Bunny_ · July 2018

tammyfranks2 wrote: »

HDL
40.00 - 60.00 mg/dL
6/6/17 12/17 3/18 6/18
33.00 26.00 33.00 42.00

Cholesterol, total
50 - 200 mg/dL
6/17 12/17 3/18 6/18
167 129 114 130

6/17 12/17 3/18 6/18

HDL Cholesterol 5.06 4.96 3.45 3.10
LDL, calculated
0.0 - 130.0
6/17 12/17 3/18 6/18
117.0 80.4 62.0 76.2

Triglyceride
30 - 150 mg/dl
6/17 12/17 3/18 6/18
85 113 95 59

VLDL
0 - 40
6/17 12/17 3/18 6/18
17 22 19 11

can ya tell what my numbers are ?? sorry I tried to copy and paste it all . but my numbers are so good ....A1c is 6.1 as well that is after 6 months of low carb/ keto and I still weigh 426 so things are good i think , but if someone sees something wrong please say ...ok

It’s hard to read the numbers. The alignment makes it confusing.
Have you lost any weight since going keto?
You say it’s been 6 months and A1c is 6.1? What was it before? Is it getting better at all? I’m kind of surprised it’s not lower but I don’t know where you started so that matters a lot. Also, are you taking or were you taking any diabetes meds? And have you been consistent with keto?
What kind of macros are you following? Do you track what you eat?

nvmomketo · July 2018

Running_and_Coffee wrote: »

Thanks for all the insights! My doc wants me to retest in 4 months, which should be stable by then for me re: fat loss (have been aiming to maintain). I think I lost a lot of FAT even though the pounds weren't crazy high given my appearance (visible muscles, yay!) so maybe that was enough to impact the test. Still...probably not going to have Brie every day anymore, lol.

Fat does not generally negatively affect triglycerides or HDL. Carbs, especially refined carbs' have more of an impact there. Your HDL and triglycerides look great. Cutting fat could affect that.

LDL does not link to CVD. Unless you know your LDL particle size, and it is small and dense, I honestly wouldn't worry about it.

Read Cholesterol Clarity or Cholesterol Myth or the Great Cholesterol Con. They all agree that LDL is not a helpful test, nor is total cholesterol.

Dave Feldman's work is interesting too. And relevant.

Try not to worry about it.

tammyfranks2 · July 2018

[/quote]
It’s hard to read the numbers. The alignment makes it confusing.
Have you lost any weight since going keto?
You say it’s been 6 months and A1c is 6.1? What was it before? Is it getting better at all? I’m kind of surprised it’s not lower but I don’t know where you started so that matters a lot. Also, are you taking or were you taking any diabetes meds? And have you been consistent with keto?
What kind of macros are you following? Do you track what you eat?[/quote]

my A1c was 9.2 I have lost 50 pounds yes i am on metformin but i have stopped taken lantus all together . I have been doing low carb kind of slash keto .... so no not consistently , but now i am also doing IF . yes i track every thing i eat , my macros are
fats 70 protein 25 and carbs 5 .

sorry i know it's not lined up I tried to fix it and couldn't .

PaulaKro · July 2018

tammyfranks2 wrote: »

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6/17 . . . . 12/17 . . . . 3/18 . . . . 6/18
HDL (40.00 - 60.00 mg/dL) . . . . . . . . . . . .33.00. . . . . 26.00. . . .33.00. . . . 42.00
Cholesterol (total 50 - 200 mg/dL) . . . . . . .167 . . . . . .129 . . . . . .114 . . . . . 130
HDL Cholesterol . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5.06 . . . . . 4.96 . . . . . 3.45 . . . . 3.10
LDL calculated (0.0 - 130.0). . . . . . . . . . . . 117.0 . . . . . 80.4 . . . . 62.0 . . . . 76.2
Triglyceride (30 - 150 mg/dl) . . . . . . . . . . . . 85 . . . . . . . 113 . . . . . 95 . . . . . . 59
VLDL (0 - 40 ). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17 . . . . . . . . 22 . . . . . 19 . . . . . . . . 11

@Sunny_Bunny_ @tammyfranks2 does this help?