My Cholesterol is 400 !
 

Well, not really . . . but it's still too high (289) after repeated testings. I tried to modify my diet and excercise more but it didn't make any difference. I'm not in great shape, but not so bad either. The Dr. gave me a 10 minute speech about how I didn't eat myself into this condition, it's genetic, Jim Fixx (famous marathon runner) had high cholesterol and dropped dead before statins were invented, my "house was on fire," ect. etc. So, it's Liptor land for me - 20mg/day. I have insurance but it's still $40/month. No side effects so far but it's only been a week.

Any one else on a statin? I hope it gets things under control. I don't know what else to do except turn vegan, anorexic or quit my high-stress job and run 5 miles a day - and from what I hear those people can have high cholesterol too!
:Oh crap

Sorry to hear about the cholesterol issue, but $40 a month isn't too bad to manage your genetic condition. Good luck!

No immediate family members have the problem Closest I could find was my paternal grandfather. He reportedly had high cholesterol but was super skinny. That was back in the day when they only knew the total number.

Strange . . .

I too have the same problem - My cholesterol was 290-something no matter how much I watched my diet or excercised...it runs in my family. After taking lipitor for 45 days, it dropped down to 159 and no side effects :thumbsup

Dr. said I would have it to take it for life...which sucks...

better deal with that!

how old are you? if you do not mind me asking.

damn that needs some serious attention. what did your doc advised you to do ?

Did you bother reading the thread..tard

it's really sad to hear about your health problem.. do you have children..better check on them too if sez it's genetic..

sucks not to be able to eat all those nasty & the goodlooking mouthwatering food...I hope everything works good for you..

it sucks when you develop/learn of these types of issues. the good part is we have decent medications now a days so some of this stuff is controllable.

Oh my, that's one serious cholesterol problem man. I never thought that even athletic people are also vulnerable to this health problem. Take care.

Of course the doctor told you that you will have to take it for life. That way the Big Pharm companies saty in business, and the sales reps keep bringing him airline tickets to exotic places.

40 mg/day of Lipitor + added TriCor. Went through bypass in October of last year.

the average lifespan of an American is now over 80 years of age. how'd that happen? magic?

$40 a month is cheap, the drug cost more in the states without insurance.

congrats

I wouldn't bother fighting God's will.

Oh crap! I just set something down on top of my keyboard and I think I accidentally inserted an image in this post. Sorry if it is not appropriate for the topic. What are the odds?








[IMG]http://www.***************/images/bacon.jpg[/IMG]

are you trying to kill her/him?

I have no family history of cholesterol...and mine is moderately high.

I have changed my eating habits by giving up all trans fats and high fat meats
and I have increased my fiber intake.....and good carbs..

I'll be retested in six months to see...I do not want to take meds...I've looked at how I ate and while my choices were fairly healthy, now fat is only 14% of my dietary intake and it's fat that is contained within things like oatmeal and brown rice, stuff like that.

So, we'll see in five months .....good luck to you...

I don't think so, the Japanese are the longest living people and they live seventy odd years (could be 79 but still below 80)

On the other hand in South Africa the coffin makers can hardly cope with the demand, but I guess poor, uneducated people + the most stupid woman on the planet as a health minister would be a recipe for disaster in every 3rd World country

I'm on the way to visit my mother in the hospital right now as a matter of fact. She had surgery today to unblock an artery in her neck. The doc said it was gritty like sand and almost completely close. The put in a shunt and she will be fine... LUCKILY.

If you don't take care of these things, a stroke or even worse can be right around the corner.

Well if my choices were to be vegan or be dead, then vegan it is!

I would advice you to lose weight if youhahaha8217;re overweight, stop smoking, start exercising, lower the saturated fat in your diet by substituting unsaturated fat. If you need help to do this, contact a registered dietitian. You have to increase the amounts of soluble fiber in your diet with foods like oats, beans or fruits, reduce alcohol consumption and monitor your cholesterol levels. Talk to your doctor about how often to have your cholesterol level checked.

For more information regarding your cholesterol problem, here's the link.

http://www.healthsquare.com/highcholesterol.htm

Last year I was first diagnosed with about the same numbers. I lost some weight, changed my diet, joined a gym, took all the supplements which supposedly lower cholesterol. Result: my bad cholesterol (LDL) went down a whopping 40 points and my good (HDL) went up around 5. Big whoop, my LDL needed to go down around 140 points!

I put it off for a while, but am finally giving in to the notion that I can't control it enough on my own to make a signficant difference.

I feel for you man. I was recently tested and my cholesterol is at around 250 so I'm on a diet as a result. No pills though. Hopefully it will stay that way. I stuck to the diet for the first month or so, but since then I have found it very hard to say no to a big juicy banquet burger. Withdrawal symptoms I guess....

Was 310 until 15 years ago when I started meds; got down to the 240 area; took Zocor and lowed it to 220 but had to switch to Lipitor due to muscle pains. Now take 40Mg of Lipitor and am at 170 total, with a HDL (the good kind) of 63; all along, I've watched food selections, did jogging/brisk-walking, and tried to practice common sense; I now eat more liberally, including eggs on weekends (but eggbeaters mixed with tomatoes and low-fat cheese weekdays), chocolate, etc. Turning 66 in a week or two, but feel great. BP is generally in the area of 122/78, with a resting heart rate of 62.

Dave
Old Fogey who Loves his Job

Mine used to be over 200..then got put on Lipitor..which has worked like a charm. My total now is **111**..which is pretty incredible.

I was on Lipitor back in 2004 for a few months. The key is to make some diet modifications.

I'm the complete opposite, I'm fat and eat pretty unhealthy foods. My doc was suprised when my cholesterol was below average. lol.
Tough shit. Not to trying to meake you to feel you bad or anything, you can always take comfort in the fact that I'm probably larger and uglier than you.

What diet modifications have worked for you? There's so much conflicting information. They say dietary cholesterol only makes up 20-30% max of the total blood cholesterol. The remainder is made by your liver - much of which is in response to the overcomsumption of simple carbs. So, diet affect cholesterol different ways. I know many people who have lowered cholesterol drastically by low carbing. But even if your careful, low-carbing involves a moderate digestion of higher cholesterol foods. :helpme

In my case, my diet at the time included red and fatty cuts of meat. So basically the change was to lean meat (white meat like some chicken portions (no skin), some types of fish, no shrimp, no red meat, etc). I subsequently went on to a vegetarian diet and minimized dairy/egg portions as well. Going veg at first, I have to admit, is tough. But thank goodness for Indian and Thai cuisine. There are many Indian and Thai recipes that turn otherwise bland veg meals into tasty and enjoyable treats. You can also look into TVP and other meat substitutes. Here in the Philippines there's a vegan (almost...they have 1 recipe with egg I believe) restaurant that has tons of pseudo meat that, in my opinion at least, tastes as good or even better than the original.

Bottomline, like with any lifestyle change, the beginning is tough. The key is to turn the modifications into a habit. I wish you the best, bro. It may be hard but you're doing this for your life and for your loved ones so hang in there.:thumbsup

Agreed. And, the diet modifications have to exclude transfats, like butter and margarine. Lean meat and less of it. More fiber, etc.

I don't expect to have to go on meds and I think the genetic thing is a little overplayed by the medical community. Not that it isn't real. There are hereditary and familial relationships....I just don't think it's quite as prevalent as people are led to believe. Let's face it. It behooves the pharmaceutical companies to get people on these meds, since compliancy on nutritional discipline is at an all time low. The same reasoning applies to the medical community. It is a business, after all.

I am afraid to go and check my Cholesterol... I eat too much unhealthy stuff! :(

how old are you?