I just got my blood test result back yesterday and my Doctor is alarm with my cholesterol result. It is very high, she insist that I have to take the medication and she said, in my case, the medication is the only way to lower the cholesterol since my diet is not helping.
Total Cholesterol - 9.04
LDL - 6.73
HDL - 1.71
triglyceride - 1.31
I know this level is way too high, I have no choice but to take the medication. Hopefully, after 3 months, if cholesterol level drop, I can stop the medication.
I started the LC WOE since Sept 2001. I was hoping that it will help to reduce my cholesterol level as it was always high. However, the result wasn't too encouraging. I like this WOE so I don't want to stop. I actually find that I am eating much more healthy in this WOE. I am not sure what
could cause this rise in my cholesterol. I have been very good the last few months, keep to my limit of carb intake. Drink more than 80oz of water, take the recommended vitamins. The only exception is I don't exercise.
Well, starting today, I will do my exercise, cut down my fat intake, eat less eggs. Hopefully, I will get better result after 3 months.

hi mjl,

I understand your worry, and the cholesterol-lowering medications aren't the greatest thing either, often they only bring a minimal reduction in cholesterol levels ... although some of the newer ones are better at reducing triglycerides which is a good thing.

Don't be too hasty to cut back on fats. Especially don't completely eliminate foods that contain cholesterol such as egg yolks, animal fats and dairy products. Here's why -- our liver makes most of the cholesterol that our bodies need every day ... 80%. The other 20% must come from the food we eat. If we don't eat any cholesterol in our food, then the liver has to work harder to produce the extra cholesterol ... and this extra cholesterol is usually of the bad LDL type.

If you wish to cut back a little on these foods, that's ok. What you might consider doing is eating MORE of the healthy monounsaturated fats .. such as olive oil and olives, raw nuts and seeds and avocados (watch the carbs) Mono's will help to raise the good HDL cholesterol, which is very protective. YOu HDL of 1.71 is good, even closer to 2 would be better.

Your triglycerides of 1.31 are fine. There are lots of studies that show that high triglycerides are the bigger indicator of heart disease risk than having a high cholesterol level.

You might be interested to read some messages posted here by a man who had heart surgery, and even afterward, despite the lowfat diet and the medications, his cholesterol stayed over 9. He went on Atkins and OFF the medication ... followed the diet exactly, no cheating .. and brought his cholesterol down to 6 in 4 months' time. You can read it here.

I hope this will be helpful for you, and you're able to get off the medications as soon as possible.

Doreen

Hi MJL

I understand what you are talking about when you mention high cholesterol because I have it as well and I am on 5mg of Lipitor. ( I use to be on 10)

When I realized that I had high cholesterol I beat myself up about it and felt that I failed. Come to find out this is something that is not necessarily under your control. What I mean by that is that it is genetic and I could have eaten grass for a week and it still would not change. Dont be hard on yourself and do what the doc recommends. I hope this helps.

By the way my cholesterol is under control my bad went down and my good went up.

Thanks for the encouraging respond, I had went thru a lot of posts in this site and found them very informative. The information I gather from this site help me tremendously. I knew I didnot make the wrong decision in going LC. I am sure If
I didnot switch to this WOE, my cholesterol level will be worst. I asked my doctor for my last test result take 2 years back and compare to my current result, I found that my HDL has improved from 0.8 to 1.71 and triglyceride dropped from
2.3 to 1.31. This prove LC do works for me.

WOW CONGRATS on the improvement. I don't go back to the doctor for 3 more months and I hope mine improve that much. Your victory is very motivating and will help us stay the course. Thanks for sharing.

Susan