Cholesterol and Salt

tsazani

On Sunday I will have weighed in for four weeks of using MFP and my new eating and exercise plan. So far I love it.

I've dropped 10 lb. I've eliminated half of my HCTZ med. My blood pressure is staying nice and low. If it stays low, I'll eliminate the HCTZ completely and remain with just the Losartan. Over time maybe I can get rid of all HTN drugs altogether.

Two weeks ago I cut my Januvia in half. FBS and 2hPPBS were good so on Sunday I eliminated all the Januvia. Tomorrow thru Sunday I'm only checking FBS. If elevated, I'll go back to the 1/2 dose and keep working at it.

Two problems I'm having with my diet is cholesterol and sodium (Na+). I'm not too worried about the cholesterol. Since I'm a diabetic, I take a statin to lower my LDL to less than 80. Also, I'm on the side of "eggs are good for you". But still, the fact that I'm over everyday bugs me.

Na+ same thing. Apparently, I love foods with salt as you can see from my diary. Is it that important to stay below Na+ levels on MFP? In my case, MFP says I should be eating 2.5g of Na+ or less.

Questions and comments please!

JaceyMarieS

Type 2 here. My baseline lipid panel (January 2012) was on the higher side of the normal range and my BP was smack in the middle of the normal range. Had my BP checked during a routine visit last week and it is now in the lower normal range ( 105/55). As a result, I don't track sodium or cholesterol. I am following a low-carb plan with emphasis on healthier fats and I'm anxious to see new the new lipid numbers in August. FBG now averages 98 and 2hPPBG averages 88. I take 500 mg Metformin 2x per day. I've lost 60 pounds, but am still in the morbidly obese category.

It has been my understanding that dietary cholesterol doesn't have nearly the effect on serum cholesterol as previously thought ... hence the swing back to "eggs are good for you". i would be reluctant to add a statin due to the effect on blood glucose.

ellens292

Mr. T - Sorry, don't see your real name here, just wanted to mention that my doc wants me to do 1500mg NA or less daily. It's not much but has gotten me off 2 BP doses.
Do Statins raise glucose? I didn't know.
Doing exercise and cutting back on carbs, especially sugars I am down from 5 metformin to 2 and hope I can hold it at this or, if I can lose enough weight, try to eliminate it altogether. It really bothers my stomach and I have chronic gastritis even taking Pantoloc.
Good to discuss this people who have the same kind of issues.

poodlelaise

I consume more than the recommended amount of sodium without worrying about it. I am currently taking only the lowest dose of Lisinopril (2.5mg per day). My doctor would like to raise the dosage to protect my kidneys, but my blood pressure is already very low. (96/60 at last exam, and that was after walking in.)

I suspect it may be more taxing to your body to eat a very low level of sodium and then "fall off the wagon" once in a while, than it is eat at a consistant level that your body seems to be able to handle without retaining excessive water. But that's just an opinion.

ellens292

I wanted to get off some of the bp meds, have some kidney damage already, partly from a drug reaction I had a few years ago and tend to retain fluid a lot.
Once you get used to having less salt the food tastes OK. I use a lot of other spices to enhance the flavor. Biggest problem for me is eating out - not too many choices to keep it down to about 500 mg a meal. I do the best I can and make sure I get less the rest of the day.

chipper15173

my LDL was 64 last blood work. my new dr. just cut my lipitor in half because he doesn't want it that low. get new blood work results next week.
my BP runs 108/60 to 110/70. i was on BP meds, but, when i quit smoking and it dropped, the dizzy spells, passing out. he had to take me off them. told me he didn't want to because they protected my kidneys from the diabetes.
haven't had an A1C over 6 in 4 years. DX in june of 06.
can't wait to get the results and see if he will take me off all meds. i take victoza .6. lowest dose.

poulingail

I take Janumet for the DM2, Zetia for the cholesterol, and Diovan for the BP. I am eager to see my numbers on the blood panel in July. The doctor didn't want to see me for 6 months since my fastings dropped, the A1c dropped to 5.7, and I had lost 15 pounds with MFP.
He was kind of amazed last June (before I went on MFP) by how perfect my numbers were considering all the medical problems I have. Everything was really controlled. The only anomaly that showed up this past December was an elevated BP. That's a head scratcher since I lost weight and was eating pretty healthy. It may be that the BP is on it's own trajectory and not that related to the D. Elevated BP has been a big problem in my gene pool, including strokes and arteriosclerosis.

chipper15173

The standard medical view of someone with DM2 is that once he/she is Dx'd with DM2, that patient is a "heart attack equivalent" meaning LDL cholesterol is treated with statins until the LDL level is below 80.

Also, if your BP can take it, you should be on a very low dose of an ACEI or ARB for long term kidney protection.

my LDL was 64 last blood work. my new dr. just cut my lipitor in half because he doesn't want it that low. get new blood work results next week.
my BP runs 108/60 to 110/70. i was on BP meds, but, when i quit smoking and it dropped, the dizzy spells, passing out. he had to take me off them. told me he didn't want to because they protected my kidneys from the diabetes.
haven't had an A1C over 6 in 4 years. DX in june of 06.
can't wait to get the results and see if he will take me off all meds. i take victoza .6. lowest dose.

i was on the lowest dose. i think he cut me down to 2.5 or 5. i was cutting pills in all different ways. haha.