Cholesterol

I've been taking a statin since 2004 for my cholesterol. It lowered my number in about a month with very little side effects (I was nauseated for the first few days). My number really dipped after I got in better shape and dropped weight, but I still need the statin due to my genetic makeup.

You should talk to your doctor and follow the recommendations.

Red Yeast Rice pills took care of my chronically high cholesterol. Over the counter and no side effects. Talk to your doctor about them. My doctor didn't have a problem. Been taking them almost ten years now.

my bad cholesterol was always way too high and my good cholesterol was always way too low.

i started doing intense cardio. after a couple years i cut my bad cholesterol in half and more than doubled my good cholesterol.

now my cholesterol is right where it should be as is all my other blood work, and i'm 50 lbs. lighter.

I started eating 1/2 avocado every day and also taking Citrus Bergamot (1tablet a day) . Lowered my LDL 40 points in three months. Total went from 244 to 204. All a reduction in LDL. My HDL have always been good.

pogiguy05 wrote: »

Has anyone ever been told they produce to much cholesterol? I have been testing since 2009 and my last test was the highest it has ever been. I am thinking some people have hyper active thyroids and other issues, then maybe my body just produces to much cholesterol. i am not eating that poorly that it should just keep going up.

No I am not taking any statins as I do not wish to suffer from the side effects I hear so much about. To say the least i am frustrated.

It is quite likely your body is producing too much cholesterol. Dietary cholesterol has little impact on LDL levels but what you eat might might improve HDL levels (the ratio is important). Losing weight down to your goal level may well improve your "bad" cholesterol level enough that your medical provider won't try to talk you in to a statin drug. What can help improve HDL ("good") cholesterol levels includes exercise, consuming "healthy" fats in your diet (oily fish, olive oil, e.g.) in place of transfats and saturated fats, & moderate drinking (no more than 2 drinks daily for men, 1 drink daily for women).

Even doing all of that, your cholesterol levels may be high and if so, I advise getting a risk assessment to help you determine risks/benefits of a statin drug. I have been on them in the past and had a hard time with them, and did some research to find that some classes of statins are more prone to negative side effect profiles than others. My LDL is still somewhat high but I have no additional risk factors and so am not considering resuming statins at this time.

pogiguy05 wrote: »

Thanks for all the responses and my levels are 283 with Bad being 209 and good being 52. I have lost some weight and I kind of fell off the exercise wagon again.

I dont know of any family history of high cholesterol unfortunately. As for heart decease I dont know of any in my family either. The biggest thing genetically is the big C Cancer.

I know I need to get my butt back to the healthy exercise again, but I am one of them people who stumbles alot.

This is the highest measurement I have seen in the past 9 years. usually it is around 240 with bad being 170/80 and good being low like 40.

If like what some have said it is not caused by intake then what is causing my body to jack me up........

Depends on what you mean by "some" weight. You may not have lost enough to see results in terms of your cholesterol.

Exercise is also really, really beneficial for lowering cholesterol. Weight loss alone may not be enough for you without exercise.

I was able to get off medication for my cholesterol and triglycerides, but that happened after I had lost about 50 pounds (halfway to my goal) and was doing regular cardio several times a week.

pogiguy05 wrote: »

Thanks for all the responses and my levels are 283 with Bad being 209 and good being 52. I have lost some weight and I kind of fell off the exercise wagon again.

I dont know of any family history of high cholesterol unfortunately. As for heart decease I dont know of any in my family either. The biggest thing genetically is the big C Cancer.

I know I need to get my butt back to the healthy exercise again, but I am one of them people who stumbles alot.

This is the highest measurement I have seen in the past 9 years. usually it is around 240 with bad being 170/80 and good being low like 40.

If like what some have said it is not caused by intake then what is causing my body to jack me up........

sounds like you need to get your butt exercising.

i think if you do that everything will correct itself, and it will dramatically reduce the risk of the big C too.

i recommend at least 300 minutes per week until you get to a good fitness level, then 150 minutes per week to maintain that level.

the ball is in your court now.

I'll say the same thing I talk about--my roommate as I'll call Vicki. Vicki was 22, 5'4" and 120 lbs and into French sauces. Her doctor told her cholesterol was 260. She could believe it and asked how much cholesterol was. My cholesterol was 156 (5'8" and 185 lbs) and there it stayed 20 years (and holding!). It's hereditary.

Vicki took to walking two mile a day, working out, and eating fruits and vegetables. I mean she lost about 5 lbs, but it did make cholesterol seemed to go down 200. But she couldn't eat cheese and butter like she had been

flipflop4499 wrote: »

ccrdragon wrote: »

raindawg wrote: »

Red Yeast Rice pills took care of my chronically high cholesterol. Over the counter and no side effects. Talk to your doctor about them. My doctor didn't have a problem. Been taking them almost ten years now.

Red yeast rice is simply a natural statin...

Yes, very true. It may be better tolerated than statins, but there haven't been trials to validate this. Red yeast rice and statins both inhibit HMG-CoA Reductase - a step in the cholesterol production pathway. CoQ10 is made in this same pathway. Therefore, both statins and red yeast rice can lower CoQ10 levels. Consider supplementing with CoQ10 if you take either of these!

FWIW (N=1) - The muscle pain side effect was worse for me with red yeast rice than with some of the prescribed statins. So ones mileage can vary

Mine was hereditary and diet didn't change it much (high 200's). I opted for statins. No side effects for me (YMMV). Not everyone suffers from side effects.