Help!
Is anyone in a similar situation???? Any advice??????
I am a certified Dietary assistant and my husbands
cholesterol is driving me crazy!
For over two years I have had him on cholesterol lowering
diets and we work out at the gym 5 nights a week plus walk
and play tennis.
His total cholesterol goes up and down but has always remained
in the high risk catagory.
He has been on two drugs that helped but had to quit
because of the effect it was having on his liver. He now takes
2000mg of niaspan everynight. His last blood work showed
his total cho. at 245 (should be under 200) but his triglycerides
skyrocketed!
We eat the same food and my cho. is 145.
greentea

Green tea,

a couple of questions,

1). is your husband diabetic?
2) what is his alcohol consumption ?
3) does he smoke?

a positive answer to any of these would explain the high trigs

He is on treatment now and you could add in Folic acid .

I suggest using omega 3 oils to supplement sat fat and increase
increase fibre


Rob

Thanks Rob for the suggestions,
His Doc. told him of two products called "Reliv"
both soy based. But thats about it as far as supplements.
He eats a lot of tuna and other fish but maybe needs to
find an omega 3 supplement at health food store as well.
His alcohol is minimun. If he drinks at all it is 1 or 2 beers
during the day.
He's not diabetic but does smoke less than 1/2 a pack a day.
5 years ago his cho. counts were fine. Could the beer and
smoking just kick his counts up like that?
He gets tested again in 4 months. Doc finally said his situation
is probably hereditary and acted like thats just the way it is!
Since he's adopted we really don't know but with everything else
not working it makes sense. Still there should be something
that can be done.
greentea

persevere with the niaspan and add in folic acid .


Yes it could be hereditary but that doesnt mean he shouldnt strive to lower the trigs . Smoking and alcohol can raise the trigs , dont know about amounts but hey in todays times , most people are wanting to give up , it makes sense.

I too got a scare with my numbers .I never had raised chol but 3 months into this WOE my total chol was up and my LDL was also up but the ratios were still good and my trigs were very low .

I started taking no flush Niacin and folic acid and will recheck in 1 month . I also cut down on eggs and cream and bacon ( coz I was eating piles of this ) . Eating more fish and chicken .

Rob

Will try the folic acid. Please post your test results.
We'll be intrested to see if it helped you.
greentea

Just a thought: What is your DH's current carb consumption level? He may be eating more than his body can handle. Raised Trigs can be a sign of insulin resistance and/or carb intolerance. Has he ever had is circulating blood insulin levels checked? You don't have to be diabetic for them to be high; just insulin resistant, although insulin resistance if left unchecked will eventually lead to diabetes.

Hi Lisa,
Well he's not LC-ing thats for sure. I don't think
his isulin levels have been checked but I will call Dr. and find out. I think the only thing that he has been tested for
(monthly, then tri monthly) is the chol. and liver.
In 4 months they are supposed to run some in depth test
to determine his actual risk factor for heart attack.
Dr. told him she didn't understand why the tryglcerides jumped
so high because he has no symptoms of any kind and not
overweight. But even I know you don't have to be overweight
to have chol. problems! We will ask her about checking the
insulin levels for sure. I'm getting more help and suggestions
from this forum than his Dr. gives!
I appreciate your thoughts Lisa
Thanks
greentea