Hey there,

So, I have never - until this week had my cholesterol tested, and it's never been an issue in my family either.

My doctor decided that since I'm now 40 I should have it done - well, the results for my cholesterol was 9.---? I had a whack of blood word done, and nothing else was off - nada / nothing / zero!

He was has sent me back for re-tests as he said it **could** have been a tainted sample, but that it was a result that would require medication.

I've done a bit of reading - albeit briefly about how various results are inconclusive or at best don't paint an accurate picture, but I am at a loss.

I am hovering at about 145-148lbs, I'm pretty active, have no other health issues, not on ANY medication, gave up smoking recently, gave up booze 15 months ago, and I follow a LC diet for the most part. I walk alot, ski through the winter, and cycle through the summer. Do not get pain anywhere in my chest and apart from a dodgy spine and generally weak ligaments, I'm healthy....

Worried - so appreciate some advice. Doc on vacation now till April so I won't know the results till then anyway, so I'm trying not to panic.

Thank you!!!!

Until I see some new evidence, I'm never planning to take statins. If I get a high cholesterol reading, I'm going to request an artery scan of some sort to prove there's heart disease / blockage.

http://www.ralphgolanmd.com/prevent...and_strokes.htm

Cholesterol is an indicator at best, and LDL calculations are notoriously high on low carb due to particle type. I think the VAP test would be the one to request.

Interesting. I've been sent for them to be re-done. He didn't way which (LDL/HDL) was high or if it was the overall reading.

I obvioulsy fasted, but eating low carb / high fat up till 12 hours in advance is perhaps going to show.

I will do more research / reading on it in the next few weeks.

Thanks
PG!

When one of my friends found out I was on Atkins, she told me doing Atkins years ago was the first time she had high cholesterol. I haven't worried too much myself but should get tested I suppose.

I've got loads of articles and studies about cholesterol, statins and so on in my signature. Check them out.

Also, if you are actively losing weight, there can be temporary increases in some cholesterol values from the fat you are losing. Dr. Westman suggests not testing until weight stable for a few months.

Also, a guy named Jimmy Moore, whose brother died of heart disease, has very high LDL cholesterol. He's just had his second heart scan and it shows ZERO calcifications, which means basically the LDL is doing nothing.

http://forum.lowcarber.org/showpost...0&postcount=244

Thanks guys,

I am kind of unconcerned but thrown by all this. I've all my life thought I'd be told after one of these tests I was dying of cancer or something, heart disease never factored.

What I've noticed too is my mind is playing games with me, and I'm giving myself the excuse to eat crap again and not stick to LC, even though I've been successful and happy on LC. I've also come off all my meds - codiene especially, because of this diet, I've stopped smoking and drinking, and am pretty much the healthiest I've been in a very long time. It's made me cross at myself and the test.

I am going to have a word with myself, smarten up and keep on the LC path until I'm told it's really a life / death situation - and explore options with my doctor and explain my diet, and the fact that I've kicked 3 addictions in the last little while and I don't want to go down the wrong road again. I hope he is open minded about all this. If not I guess I'm free to choose another doctor.

I will continue to research, the scanning of arteries sounds interesting, but what other tests are there which will differentiate the clogging cholesterol type and the one that doesn't?

Again - appreciate in advance all the help and support in this, and also the encouragement not to be discouraged from this way of eating which has helped me so much.

PG!

There isn't any sort of blood test that'll tell you that. Well, it is thought that having Pattern A particles (VAP or NMR test) is good. Having high HDL is good, having low triglycerides is good. We simply don't know when/if having high LDL with everything else looking good is an issue. It doesn't seem to be the case with low carbers.

I tend to thing the carbs (sugars) cause the LDL to oxidize and that is when you run into issues.

Is this your first cholesterol test? If it was, I wonder what your levels might have been before low-carbing?

I only say that because I had a cholesterol test last May, before low carbing and my triglycerides were 3.something and at my last test, in February they had dropped to something like 1.3 which amounted to over halving. My total cholesterol had dropped and the good cholesterol had gone up.

I'm no expert on this, I was quite worried about the test last month having read that levels can rise with low carb and my cancer specialist had told me the medication I am on can cause cholesterol to rise. She'd seen the results but didn't mention them, she was happy and amazed to see I'd lost 6kg since my last visit as the medication also causes weight gain.

My point is, low carb does seem to work for me, I've lost weight and my levels have improved contrary to all expectations given the med I am on. Could you not have a chat with your doctor, ask for a print out of your results and maybe agree to test again in 3 or 6 months and see what the levels are then? If he has a baseline from this test he will have something to compare against rather than medicating on the basis of a first (if it is a first) test.

Thank you Nancy LC and Miminum My,

This is my first ever Cholesterol test and at the age of 40 maybe I should have had one done years ago. He just told me a figure of 9.somthing. He didn't indicate what exactly and was rushed, and I was shocked.......

I'd been LC'ing in earnest beforehand for about 2 months, and lost about 7-10lbs. Basically I lost what I gained at Christmas back in England eating off plan. Prior to that I had at least 6 months, and about 10 years ago I'd had 3 years, so I'm no stranger to LC. I said the reduction in pain and improvement of so many other things were more important to me that the weight loss, but I've also lost a bit too which is nice.

I think I'll stick with what I'm doing - eating LC, and feeling good and hope that I have a doctor who is willing to work with me on this.

Thanks again -
PG!