Hello, I have been a long time lurker of this forum and finally decided to put in an appearance, have wanted to for a long time but I get so involved in reading the messages I never took the time to actually post anything until now! I am a type 2 diabetic of several years, 56 yr old female, around 200 lbs, have lost about 30 lbs recently by strict lowcarbing. Have improved my BS readings although I am working on getting them even lower. Last A1c was 5.7, I take Metformin 500mg 2X daily, my doc suggested I try 3 X daily or even up it to 1000 mg 2 X daily. I will work with that but right now I have a question regarding my cholesterol numbers. I just got back my latest lab results.... my Total Cholesterol is 120, HDL 40, Trig 48, LDL 70. Chol/HDLC Ratio is 3.0 I have always followed the thought of not worrying too much about high Cholesterol, I am taking 40 mg nightly of Simvanstatin, mainly because I let my dr convince me it was needed. WHOA! Total level of 120? Am I correct in believing Cholesterol numbers can be TOO low? What advice would everyone here have for me. I am thinking get off the statins and get my numbers up, am I on the right track? Honestly, I read and research until I am dizzy.......it gets overwhelming. Asking for your thoughts on this to help me figure it out! Thanks to everyone, this is such a great forum.

Well, you couldn't pay me to take a statin. First off, it does nothing for women of any age, other than very scary side-effects. They're only helpful in men over the age of 65 that have had a heart attack. They have to treat 250 people for one person to have a benefit.

I wouldn't risk my muscles, memory, or god knows what else, for that.

Yes, there is a higher rate of death from all cause with people with low cholesterol.

Believe me I will be talking to my dr about my Lab results and I do not think I will be continuing the statins any longer. Actually we went round and round about this awhile back and I let her convince me it was the right thing to do. I will have to look more for information about such a low total Cholesterol number, I am also thinking that is NOT such a good thing. I will be interested to see what the dr thinks about it though. I about fell over when I seen it, I was expecting much higher numbers. Anyway, thanks so much for the reply Nancy. I have read lots of your messages and you are certaintly one of the most helpful and knowledgeable folks here! Thanks again.

There is some really good research out there that too low of number can increase your risk of ALZ. As NancyLC said--statins in women over the age of 50 have showed no evidence of improvement of cardiovascular risks and the ONLY group of women who showed decrease in risk were women less than 50 years of age who had already had a cardiovascular event.

Peruse this section of the forum--many, many threads on this topic.

Progress not perfection.

Lisa

Thank you Lisa. I will do more reading on this for sure. Info regarding high numbers is readily found, I have not seen as much about low numbers. I appreciate the reply from both Nancy and you. My dr is out of town for a few more days, I got the results in the mail, and like I said, just about fell over! Never did I think my total number would be 120! I was not happy. My first thoughts were...post this to the Active LC List. SOMEONE will verify my hunch this is not so good. On another note I may have a different situation soon to come up regarding my great neice who is 8 yrs. I have custody of her (and also her 10 yr old brother and 15 yr old sister) Her Clolesterol has run high, very high for a child. Total 301, Triglycerides are 66, HDL is 43, and LDL is 245. We are just about to have her blood work redone and see if there is any change. If not we will be referred to a specialist. I am quite nervous about all this. I have spent most of my time researching diabetes and LC eating. Never really gave much thought to Cholesterol levels.I am so grateful for this forum. If I can't find what I am looking for I know someone will point me in the right direction! I have much to learn!

Read this on cholesterol from Wicipeda. And this. (my bolding - note it says "indicator" not "a cause of") Later in that page you find things like AND, is found here.

Cholesterol is essential. Somehow cholesterol has become synonomous to " danger, danger Will Robinson"!!! I would wager that your vitamin D levels are also extremely low because it takes healthy cholesterol levels to process vitamin D. Cholesterol will rise naturally when vitamin D is included to your dietary regimen.

I am pre-diabetic. I am 53 years old and I manage my glucose successfully with my low carb diet, vitamin D and magnesium. All of these factors work hand in hand. Personally, I believe that insulin resistance and cholesterol levels can be well managed by the low carb diet with emphasis on vitamin D, magnesium and the other nutrients that work with them.

That is wonderful that you take care of your neice. Is she also low(er) carb? A lower carb diet would help her, too. Best wishes for all of you.

Back again. :-) I was not sure whether I should start a new thread or continue on this one? I am new at posting messages to any forum so I am not quite sure of the proper ettiquite? I won't be offended if someone would like to point out I should have started a new thread. :-) Actually I think I will put out a plea on the diabetes section too, I will be happy to hear any and all advice. Since I mentioned my neice in this thread I wanted to follow up with her recent labs. She is 8 yrs old. History of elevated Chol and strong family history of high chol AND diabetes (both type 1 and type 2) Her labs last week:

Chol 240
HDL 31
Trig 122
LDL 185

Chol/HDL 7.7

glucose 91
HBA1c 5.8
eAG 120
Insulin, fasting 4.9 (Ref Range 1.9-23.0)

I am her aunt, well, great aunt actually......as I mentioned earlier she lives with me along with a brother and sister. Other 2 have no issues with their labs, everything looks good. These children all have different fathers though so we do have different genetics that come into play. Looks like Lexi got a double whammy. :-( Chol and diabetes looming in the future unless we can get a handle on it now. Or am I stressing for nothing? I deal with these issues myself (reason I have been coming to this forum for years) but I am 56 yrs. I eat LC and take Metformin, my recent HBA1c was 5.7....hers is 5.8......I am worried. Her dr and I tallked about diet and the fact this child will have to watch her intake and type of food the rest of her life. We did NOT get into the actual lowcarb, high fat type of diet that I follow. I am unsure if this type of eating is correct for an 8 yr old? I have tons of questions, any help would be appreciated at this point! Good books pertaining to kids and their diet? Am I right that with her lab results she should be considered pre diabetic? I will try to get my questions onto the Dr Berstein/diabetic section soon in case anyone there misses this here. Thank you in advance for information and suggestions.

algts, I did read your message above where you say a low carb diet would help my neice. I guess I am asking HOW low carb for a child? I have to be quite strict with mine and I include plenty of butter, cream, mayo, etc. Any different guidelines for kids? I would think so......but what are they? I know cookies, cake, ice cream, potatoes, pasta, bread etc etc are NOT in anyones best interest. Still.....protein, veggies and fats cannot be the only thing for a kid to eat? I do not eat fruits or grains myself. I don't want her eating things that spike her bs but I can't help being uneasy not letting her have some of these things that are SOPPOSE to be healthy? Very confusing.

Not sure if cholesterol can be too low but I suspect that is the case. I would definitely toss the statin drugs. At the moment you are treating a disease you don't have. Kinda like putting a cast on a healthy leg and getting in a wheelchair "just because". Or taking chemo because you have some "risk factor". Cholesterol is necessary for a fully functioning body.
be well
Art