Should I be afraid, very afraid?

Fin1965
Fin1965 Posts: 19 Member
edited November 2015 in Social Groups
-Colesterol Ttal ............ 299.00 mg
-Colesterol-HDL ............ 99.30mg
-Colesterol-LDL ............ 189mg
-Triglicéridos ..........58.30mg
Just had blood test results, have been low carb for about 3 months with say two cheat periods. If I continue this woe will the levels go down? Would love to hear anyone's experience with very high numbers like this and thank you for any response or advice.

Replies

  • GaleHawkins
    GaleHawkins Posts: 8,159 Member
    edited November 2015
    Wow. We all wish we had a perfect lipid panel like that . Do you have test results from years past?

    Welcome to MFP forums.
  • norcogrrl
    norcogrrl Posts: 129 Member
    edited November 2015
    I've never actually had a lipid panel run. I don't know which one of you is correct, are the numbers high or perfect?

    What should one expect from lipid panel results? I'm planning to have mine run in the new year.
  • Fin1965
    Fin1965 Posts: 19 Member
    Is it perfect???? Seriously, are those figures ok then, I haven't a clue, but the doctor showed me the print out and underlined them saying they were dangerously high. I've tried to look stuff up on the net but the medical speak is hard to understand. Any light you can shed on this, I'd be very interested and thank you.
  • nvmomketo
    nvmomketo Posts: 12,019 Member
    edited November 2015
    Looks fine to me.

    The one with the greatest risk factor is triglycelrides, so you want that one low - which usually happens when you cut carbs. I think less than 150 is good. Yours is great.

    Your LDL is 189, but they didn't do a breakdown of that. Is it the healthier, fluffier pattern B often found in a LCHF diet, or the smaller, dense pattern A which is associated with some CAD risk? Yours is considered high but is it high in the good LDL? if so, great! :)

    HDL over 60 is considered to be protective. Yours is very good.

    Total cholesterol is fairly useless IMO. It is just HDL + LDL.

    Looks good to me. If you are worried about the LDL, you could always ask for more info your LDL make-up. For me, a woman for whom low cholesterol is now thought to be associated with other health problems, I would be very happy with that. :)
  • GaleHawkins
    GaleHawkins Posts: 8,159 Member
    edited November 2015
    Fin1965 wrote: »
    Is it perfect???? Seriously, are those figures ok then, I haven't a clue, but the doctor showed me the print out and underlined them saying they were dangerously high. I've tried to look stuff up on the net but the medical speak is hard to understand. Any light you can shed on this, I'd be very interested and thank you.

    @Fin1965 they are awesome numbers. Cholesterol would be called high by some but now research indicates that number is basically without meaning in determine heart health risks

    Research does show Triglycerides/HDL needs to be 2 or LESS. 58/99=.59 and .59 is much less than even 1 much less 2. :)

    ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2664115/
    CONCLUSIONS
    Although some lipid variables were associated with the extent of coronary disease, the ratio of triglycerides to HDL-cholesterol showed the strongest association with extent.

    dietheartnews.com/2013/06/triglycerides-not-cholesterol-is-the-bona-fide-risk-factor-for-coronary-heart-disease/

    A clip from the above link.
    When your doctor is visiting you about your blood work, she normally will immediately zero in on your total cholesterol (TC). If it’s over 200 mg/dl, your doctor will likely recommend a statin cholesterol-lowering drug. If you decline, expect repeated attempts to educate you about the danger of ‘high cholesterol.’

    In these circumstances, it’s best to change the subject to Fasting Glucose, Triglycerides, and HDL. As was known as early as the 1950s, total cholesterol is a poor, unreliable predictor of risk of heart disease.

    Instead, have your doctor focus on the following four numbers:

    Lipid Goal______________________

    Fasting Glucose (FG) about 87 or lower
    Triglycerides (TG) below 100
    HDL over 60 for men; over 70 for women
    Ratio of TG:HDL 1 = low risk; 2 = increased risk; 4 = high risk

    *** This is more my take on current research.

    If you look at your LDL/HDL Ratio – Below 3.5:1 being safe you have 189/99=1.9 which is way below 3.5. Many doctors will start pushing statin drugs if total cholesterol. Check out their side effect even if they were needed.

    Sadly we are on our own and I was recently verbally stressed at a clinic because I would not buy into the old vs newer lipid research.

    Best of luck.
  • Fin1965
    Fin1965 Posts: 19 Member
    Thank you for the info. I'm afraid I'm not very sure what all the numbers and names of everything mean, sorry if I appear thick, I'm open to new research even though I don't particularly have a good understanding of it and very much want to continue this woe. I feel quite comfortable with low carb, mentally I feel more calm and the highs and lows of nagging hunger are better managed now. I also feel my lower back isn't so inflamed, had an op for herniated disc a while ago which used to nag me from time to time, this seems improved. I'm afraid I don't understand the fluffier bit you refer to and think I'd better try and get my head around these terms but I'm glad that I haven't had a squillion posts warning me I'm about to suffer a heart attack at any moment. Thank you very much for the links, I'll have a read of those now.
  • KarlaYP
    KarlaYP Posts: 4,439 Member
    Please read the book , "Cholesterol Clarity". Is an awesome resource for the layperson to understand the numbers associated with a lipid panel. Do ignore the total. Focus on the triglycerides, hdl and ldl. Yours are awesome!
  • baconslave
    baconslave Posts: 7,008 Member
    Fin1965 wrote: »
    Thank you for the info. I'm afraid I'm not very sure what all the numbers and names of everything mean, sorry if I appear thick, I'm open to new research even though I don't particularly have a good understanding of it and very much want to continue this woe. I feel quite comfortable with low carb, mentally I feel more calm and the highs and lows of nagging hunger are better managed now. I also feel my lower back isn't so inflamed, had an op for herniated disc a while ago which used to nag me from time to time, this seems improved. I'm afraid I don't understand the fluffier bit you refer to and think I'd better try and get my head around these terms but I'm glad that I haven't had a squillion posts warning me I'm about to suffer a heart attack at any moment. Thank you very much for the links, I'll have a read of those now.

    You don't at all appear thick. We aren't born knowing these things. There's so many numbers and health things we just have to learn about. You've found the right place for advice and to have your inquiries directed to the right info.
  • GaleHawkins
    GaleHawkins Posts: 8,159 Member
    baconslave wrote: »
    Fin1965 wrote: »
    Thank you for the info. I'm afraid I'm not very sure what all the numbers and names of everything mean, sorry if I appear thick, I'm open to new research even though I don't particularly have a good understanding of it and very much want to continue this woe. I feel quite comfortable with low carb, mentally I feel more calm and the highs and lows of nagging hunger are better managed now. I also feel my lower back isn't so inflamed, had an op for herniated disc a while ago which used to nag me from time to time, this seems improved. I'm afraid I don't understand the fluffier bit you refer to and think I'd better try and get my head around these terms but I'm glad that I haven't had a squillion posts warning me I'm about to suffer a heart attack at any moment. Thank you very much for the links, I'll have a read of those now.

    You don't at all appear thick. We aren't born knowing these things. There's so many numbers and health things we just have to learn about. You've found the right place for advice and to have your inquiries directed to the right info.

    @Fin1965 I totally agree with baconslave. Over the last 18 months I have put 400-500 hours into researching many things keto related and how it and other actions can be preventative against many health issues including cancer. In my case once I left the grain and sugar sources my health stopped declining and started improving quickly. Keto Clarity by Jimmy Moore with Eric C. Westman, MD is the book that helped me the most to understand this subject greatly.

    Medical research can be hard to read. Try just reading the intro, Conclusions, Summaries and discussion. If you will just read the sentences that are in more or less plain English you will start to pick up main points. In 1986 I earned an OD degree and have been reading research medical research papers since 1976 when I figured out I have Ankylosing Spondylitis so I forget what it was like 40 years ago when I first started researching.

    Some research is more or less pure BS to sell more products and services but after enough reading one's BS detector does turn ON. :)

    Keep in mind on keto or anytime one is losing weight the Cholesterol levels can go sky high for a while but normally return to a lower number in the end.

    If one's Triglycerides/HDL ratios are superb like yours the cholesterol is almost all ways the larger fluffy type so to speak that do not seem to carry any added health risks. Personally I do not fight with doctors that much but was clear I was not going to take statins based on my test results when losing weight.

    In the end these calls are left up to each person. I had to say even with my educational back ground they shook me until I did more research and read Keto Clarity. A year from now you will be helping others grasp medical info if you just keep reading. It is sad some healthcare professions are practicing off 40 year old research rather than 10-20 year old research. Keep asking questions because many of us are or have been where you are today and they will help point you to the research so you can better understand what is going on with your own health.

    You are off to a good start.
  • nvmomketo
    nvmomketo Posts: 12,019 Member
    Not thick at all. :) They keep changing cholesterol guidelines every few years anyways. ;)

    The Cholesterol Myth and The Great Cholesterol Con are also really good books to read on cholesterol.

    Peter Attia MD has a series of very informative blogs - they were almost too informative for me. LOL http://eatingacademy.com/nutrition/the-straight-dope-on-cholesterol-part-i
  • GaleHawkins
    GaleHawkins Posts: 8,159 Member
    @Fin1965 there are a couple videos 30 minutes long from Australia on the subject.

    https://youtube.com/watch?v=f2utdjA5Qu0

    https://youtube.com/watch?v=X6AkgoY3KEs
  • totaloblivia
    totaloblivia Posts: 1,164 Member
    Karlottap wrote: »
    Please read the book , "Cholesterol Clarity". Is an awesome resource for the layperson to understand the numbers associated with a lipid panel. Do ignore the total. Focus on the triglycerides, hdl and ldl. Yours are awesome!

    Yes - I agree with this. I found that a really helpful book.

  • Fin1965
    Fin1965 Posts: 19 Member
    Well, thank you to everyone, I must say I was really a bit scared as the numbers by the side of my print out said what the perimeters should be in females and I overshot the limit by miles and then when the doc underlined them in red pen, I came out of his office thinking I would keel over any minute. There's an awful lot everyone has kindly suggested I read, and I will. I really feel very well on this woe. The only other concern is that my iron is terribly low and I have to continue with iron tablets as I don't seem to be able to hold on to any iron at all. If any one has the time, could you let me know or or direct me to any info about this woe in terms of benefits with inflammation? I don't mean to use his forum as a personal advice line, but I have gained a lot of useful info and links from everybody here so far. Thank you very much.
  • GaleHawkins
    GaleHawkins Posts: 8,159 Member
    @Fin1965 some of us on this WOE have seen better absorption by the gut as it heals so that may help with your iron over time. Keep reading and you will know more about what is best for your body than anyone else as to the best WOE for you.