My last cholesterol test was higher. I was NOT surprised as I had not realized that he intended to take blood for ANOTHER cholesterol test. Now though, I think he has forgotten that I wasn't fasting or he didn't realize what I meant by "I had coffee with cream". I didn't mean Creamora the non-dairy creamer. I meant the good stuff. Heavy whipping cream. So, he's talking about putting me on "something" and I flat tell him NO. I've also read where the diuretic he has me on can raise your cholesterol level. As can a low thyroid, which I also believe I have, but apparently it's in normal range..

Yesterday, I did fast. I did have decaffeinated black coffee, which he said (before, when he said I needed to fast) was okay.. So, we will see.
My non fasting numbers were

235..Total cholesterol ( Range 100-199)
..51..Triglycerides (range 0 really? -149)
..75.. HDL (shows up in abnormal column! ) (40-59)
...3.1 CHOL/HDL Risk (acceptable range 0 to 4)
160...NON HDL (acceptable range 0 to 0, guess they want to see it no matter what)
150..Calculated LDL (range 80-130)

230...TC
..64...Triglycerides
..67...HDL
150...LDL

I was also put on an iron supplement and I was reading that that can increase your LDL.

So, I made a list of things to bring it down.. a little. Just so the doctor's not bugging me..

Some I should be doing anyway to lose weight.. ie my number one thing...

Daily walk
Fiber
Avoid transfats (doing this anyway)
Niacin (I take extra B vitamins anyway)
Cinnamon. I have some cinnamon tea I'll enjoy more often...

I'm going back in Dec. I'll make sure I post in here what happened...

Hi-
your HDL and Triglycerides are terrific- your LDLs could be lower. You need to give this WOl time to work. Your list sounds good- how about flax seeds (ground fresh daily) or fish oil too?
Do some research here before you go back, too.
Let us know what happens-
E

Hi! Thanks for responding...
I do take flax seed oil, but I'm a bit sporadic..

My LDL's were lower, before he put me on HBP meds.(and iron). But, to be fair, I did gain back some weight. I'm sure that doesn't help.. But we're talking 9-10 lbs..
Let me go to My Plan and get those previous results, before HBP..

Date Temp BG BP Cholest LDL HDL Tri
2006-Jun-29..........212..139....60....65

I haven't really changed my diet and my LDL has jumped 11 points. My HDL has jumped too. I was trying to eat more fat, but maybe I'm one of those fat sensitive people Dr. Atkins spoke of...

And I have been active. My horse hurt her tendon,(July 31) so I stall her at night. That translates into stall mucking. I also dump out her water (a big 10 gallon thing) and refill it. I disperse the poo in my yard. I brush her and pick her feet. It takes about an hour. But, honestly, for me it's not really very aerobic.

I managed to walk for about 10 minutes before the cat found me and was meowing and begging to go in the house.. Yes, I should ride horse, but can't because of pulled tendon!! Hers, not mine.. I do have another little horse I'm considering for my daughter, but she's rather thin right now and I feel as if I should carry her...

Don't worry about your HDL jumping. My total is over 200 because my HDL is sky high at 82. It's the "good cholesterol" and can't really be too high.

BTW, I was told that even black coffee before a cholesterol test was a no-no. It was okay for my GTT, but not for cholesterol. I was told nothing but water.

About black coffee - Interestingly, at least to me , I remember hearing years ago that in percolated/boiled coffee that there was an oil that would dramatically raise blood cholesterol and lipids. Apparently this oil is effectively/mostly filtered out in the paper filter of drip coffee makers however. Having been blessed/cursed with low blood cholesterol regardless of diet (!130 mg/dl) I never really followed up on this tidbid.

Kind regards

Yeah, french press coffee too!

You do need to fast before the test, it can really throw off your numbers.

I came to that conclusion too. ie not even drinking coffee. And it was through a Mr. Coffee, but it still gets VERY hot. [ETA: There IS an oily film on the leftover coffee when I'm cleaning out the carafe] They tell you you can take your medication, but I didn't do that. And I did have coffee the last two times. I will make sure I don't this next time. He wanted me to come back next month, but I told him I couldn't keep doing that. It'll drive my insurance up (even more). If I were considering taking something for my cholesterol, it'd be one thing, but I'm not. I don't trust them. And they actually sound counter productive. He also made the statement to me that my mom has cholesterol. I'm like, well, she smokes too, I don't. I don't know why that annoyed me. So, I have two months before another inquisition.

I'm going to try to quit coffee altogether. Wait, isn't there a siggie on someone.. Do or do not, there is no try... This is going to be hard for me. I've drank coffee since I was really little. I was a southern baby with sweet tea in my bottle...

There is nothing wrong with your lipids. Your HDL is high and your tris are low. That's all that matters. Worrying about it is more damaging than anything.

Actually, I think that is 99.9% of my problem. Worrying. I also have a tendency to feel responsible for things I don't really have any control over. (Oldest child syndrome )

Doc made the comment that my pressure was high. I'm thinking, should I tell him it's because I'm dreading the confrontation that I know is coming because I am NOT taking any more medication.. It's bad enough I let him bully me into the HBP meds..

Take your BP at home, then you can know whether it was white-coat syndrome or not.

I have really low blood pressure, when i'm not at the doctors!

Give me any blood pressure monitor at home, over my friends or anywhere where I feel relaxed and my BP will be around 100/60. Once I step into that doctors office, it goes upto around 120/80 ! lol

If you want a good reading, take it soon as you wake up.

I have one, but even with just me, the readings vary.. I do have it on both sides of my family. However, most of the people in my family are overweight. I have one uncle (of a couple) who isn't but he's got some high blood pressure. The other had polio as a child and has kidney problems. I'm not sure with him if his kidneys caused HBP or if the HBP damaged his kidneys. Probably the medication he was given as a child for polio damaged his kidneys!!

My dad has HBP, but is a somewhat chronic drinker. Beer, not wine. He also has kidney problems now.. Or was it HBP medication that damaged his kidneys? Doc seems to think he's only lived this long because of meds. But, his mom lived to be 93. I don't remember anything about her having HBP, just a touch of "sugar". Yet, she had candy all over the place.

Reading some of the links in this forum makes me wonder if my aunt, who passed at 52, was on statins. She fell a couple of times and couldn't get up. She was quite heavy too. 300+.. Probably medicated to death.

I had tried to talk to the doctor about how high HDL and low TG were not having a problem, and he just kinda poo-poo'd me. So, when he made the statement this time about how we were going to see how my next test went before "starting" something. I said. "No, I'm not starting anything. They keep taking those things off the market because they're killing people, and I don't trust them." I've known him a really long time, and I think he "thinks" he's doing the right thing. But, I'm not doing it. So, he's like, if you don't want to, we won't... Right. (Oops! I think my back is up!)