Bad Cholesterol
 

Got blood work back today and my Dr is freaking out at my numbers

Total over 400

LDL over 300

I have been on strict low carb for 16 months, eating less than 10 g carbs a day, usually less than 5.

My numbers were close to half before LC

I don't smoke or drink

Won't and can't take Statins

Any suggestions on what I can do?

Dr acts like he doesn't know what a particle test is

Won't check thyroid other than TSH and T4

I am very frustrated

What are your HDL cholesterol and TG concentrations?

Change the doctor. Find someone who knows what's going on

HDL is 54
Trigs are 122

I expected trigs to be lower and HDL to be higher. Really bummed out about my numbers.

It is disappointing when we try to do the right thing and then are not sure whether we are. Maybe you could use one of the independent labs that does the more sophisticated testing that would give you more information. All the best to you, Kathy

While you are losing weight, it is very common to have your cholesterol numbers go up. And I'm sure you are very much in ketosis and losing weight quickly with that stringent a diet! Dr. Davis explains this better:

http://www.wheatbellyblog.com/2012/...sterol-went-up/

Good for you for resisting statins. I also suggest trying an independent lab if you want to check other values. Lipids can fluctuate from day to day also.

Do you have a history of early heart disease in your family? If not, then you probably have nothing to worry about.

Nicekitty is correct that lipids fluctuate. Also, labs make mistakes. I'd ask for a retest before making any changes to what you are doing (if you are even thinking about that).

Yes. Ask for a retest.

And, possibly, a doctor who's more knowledgeable.

I decided to cut back on some of the fat and re-test in 3 to 6 months and am going to a different doc than the one I just saw, although the group of docs I am assigned to seem very similar.

If I go somewhere else my insurance doesn't cover it unless I am given a referral, so I will give it time, re-check and if I have to pay for tests I need that my doc won't do, I will consider paying myself.

There's no early heart disease in my family and I don't show any signs. I suggested a CT scan and he didn't go for it or for anything I suggested.

They won't go past checking TSH or T4 on my thyroid even though I have symptoms of thyroid issues. He says any thyroid issues would show up with abnormal TSH and mine is normal.

Yeah, I'd definitely not worry about the cholesterol. You might try going to an ND for thyroid testing to get your Free T3 checked. It might cost 100-300 bucks to get proper treatment through an ND, providing you have to pay out-of-pocket.

I am pretty much in the same boat as you. I posted my numbers on THIS PAGE of my journal (post 760). My LDL and TC went through the roof eating a very low carb diet and my doctor was pretty alarmed about it. Even though many have said that I have nothing to worry about eating this way, I am still concerned about it. My uncle died of a heart attack at age 61 - so I do have a history of CVD in my family. I'm trying to figure out how I can still eat the way I need to eat (LCHF) and yet still get those cholesterol numbers down -- if for no other reason than to get my doctor to stop thinking statins. I won't do statins, either.

I did a lot of searching on this subject and I did find one source of information where someone with the same issue managed to do something about it. She did an initial blog about it HERE and then a follow-up blog regarding her progress several months later at THIS link. These articles are a good read. Her arguments for taking action made sense to me and as I said, she did manage to make her cholesterol numbers change for the better (if there is such a thing) with a few diet tweaks.

I applied a few of those tweaks to my diet a few months ago. I have cut back on the saturated fat just a bit, I eat more fatty fish, I use more olive oil, and I eat more fiber (flax, cocoa & chia seeds). But I am still eating a very low carb/ketogenic diet. I will be going in for my next cholesterol test tomorrow. I'll be interested to see if my dietary changes have made any difference. I'll post the results to my journal when I have them.

I did get one particularly bad LDL cholesterol report and it was when I was trying to push ketosis very hard. I had been using a lot of coconut oil.

If I were to redo a test, I'd eat some extra avocado (lowers cholesterol) and try to limit fat the 3 days before the test. So that my doctor wouldn't panic.

There is a separate Cholesterol and Heart health sub-forum here, read back through some threads for advice to others with high LDL. Exercise helps raise HDL and some other natural methods in previous threads. Many new articles with reasons not to take statins as well.
http://forum.lowcarber.org/forumdisplay.php?f=48

According to Cholesterol Clarity, a book I recommend, a Trig/HDL ratio of 1 is optimal, but yours are still quite good. You can re-do a basic lipid panel or get the NMR on your own through DirectLabs (this month's specials at $19 and $99 respectively) or other similar direct-to-consumer labs.