New test numbers - need advice

[Jingles]

Just got my test results back and there are some really great numbers ... and some not so good. My last results were from 2/2/07.

Triglycerides went from 149 to 78 :D

Cholesterol, Total stayed the same 206

HDL went from 40 to 41 (a little improvement)

LDL went from 136 to 149 :eek: oops!

Chol/HDLC ratio went from 5.15 to 5.02 (that's good, right?)

and my A1c went from 7.7 to 5.8 (hurray!!!) Ah, but still on meds. Wonder how low it'll have to go before she takes me off.

So, I know when I go in on Wednesday the doctor is going to insist on putting me on some cholesterol lowering drug. Besides refusing to do so, is there anything I can tell him?

I just talked to my internist and she's happy and is willing to wait another 2 months to make any suggestions about statins. She did warn me that the cardiologist (my appointment on Wed.) will give me a lecture.

Any advice? Suggestions on getting LDL to drop? Do I need to lower my carb level even more? My weight loss has really slowed, but I "think" it's from needing to excercise more and watch that I don't go WAY overboard on my protein (raising calories too much).

[snapdragon]

Hi Jingles, maybe just pre-empt the lecture from the cardiologist and say look how I improved my Triglicerides and my overall ratio, now please test my blood to find out if I have fluffy LDL or hard sticky LDL. I don't remember the name of the test but it's a blood draw and I'm sure one of our more experienced members can tell you what it's called! :D Also, just tell them how you are making positive lifestyle changes and need more time. If you refuse to be drawn into an in depth discussion on your "Methods" you can probably get through without too much hassle. Good luck!

[Gaelen]

Just got my test results back and there are some really great numbers ... and some not so good. My last results were from 2/2/07.
Triglycerides went from 149 to 78 :D
Cholesterol, Total stayed the same 206
HDL went from 40 to 41 (a little improvement)
LDL went from 136 to 149 :eek: oops!
Chol/HDLC ratio went from 5.15 to 5.02 (that's good, right?)
and my A1c went from 7.7 to 5.8 (hurray!!!) Ah, but still on meds. Wonder how low it'll have to go before she takes me off.

So, I know when I go in on Wednesday the doctor is going to insist on putting me on some cholesterol lowering drug. Besides refusing to do so, is there anything I can tell him? I just talked to my internist and she's happy and is willing to wait another 2 months to make any suggestions about statins. She did warn me that the cardiologist (my appointment on Wed.) will give me a lecture.

Any advice? Suggestions on getting LDL to drop? Do I need to lower my carb level even more? My weight loss has really slowed, but I "think" it's from needing to excercise more and watch that I don't go WAY overboard on my protein (raising calories too much).

You don't need to lower your carb level more...if you're actually hitting > 30g/day, your carb intake is likely NOT the issue.

You DO need to exercise, at least move more, every day. Exercise really does help with getting your HDL up. Take the stairs, park farther out from the entrances to work/supermarkets/malls, actually walk at speed for 30 minutes (or two 15-min stretches) every day.

You could get the blood test to differentiate types of LDL--and that may be something you want to do--but you also might want to make a case for giving lifestyle changes the chance ot work. You are only looking at results over a 12 week period and significant improvement in lowering LDL and raising HDL can take longer than that...as long as a year, depending on your body.

I'd emphasize the improvements you've made and use them as an example of the unfulfilled potential that only time can bring to fruition. ;)

[gitfiddle]

Jingles, my doctor has me taking lecithin to lower cholesterol. He said three to five tablespoons a day so I put two or three in my morning shake and call it good. It did bring my numbers down to normal.

Your 5.8 is excellent! You can take that number to the bank! :)

[Jingles]

maybe just pre-empt the lecture from the cardiologist and say look how I improved my Triglicerides and my overall ratio, now please test my blood to find out if I have fluffy LDL or hard sticky LDL. Also, just tell them how you are making positive lifestyle changes and need more time.

Great comments. Thanks. I'll see if I can head him off, right after he lectures me on my BP being too high (I swear! It's rarely over 120/70 at home!! really!).

You don't need to lower your carb level more...if you're actually hitting > 30g/day, your carb intake is likely NOT the issue.

You DO need to exercise ...

You could get the blood test to differentiate types of LDL--and that may be something you want to do--but you also might want to make a case for giving lifestyle changes the chance ot work.

I'd emphasize the improvements you've made and use them as an example of the unfulfilled potential that only time can bring to fruition. ;)

I'm glad you said that carbs probably aren't my problem. Seems like every time I lower them too much, I get palpatations. I try to keep them right at 30. However, I'm more than sure that lately carb creeping has occured. I need to journal every meal, and measure more carefully.

I will excercise more. I already do park far away, take stairs if it's a floor or two (more than that and my knees complain very loudly). I am more active than I have been, but there's a LOT more room for improvement.

Jingles, my doctor has me taking lecithin to lower cholesterol. He said three to five tablespoons a day so I put two or three in my morning shake and call it good. It did bring my numbers down to normal.

Your 5.8 is excellent! You can take that number to the bank! :)

What is lecithin? Is it a prescription?

I'm pretty happy about the 5.8 too. It feels really good to be able to back up my home testing with facts. I still have days where I get results that are pretty high (158 2 hours after dinner), and fasting numbers that rise and I haven't eaten anything (but I've wanted to!).

Like all of you said, it's still really early in this life change. It's only been 3 months. I'm still learning what makes my BS go up; BP go up -- oooh! found out that getting upset at the kids or DH is NOT a good thing right before testing times! WOW! :rolleyes: And also what makes them come back down.

Is there a "technical" name for the fluffy vs. sticky LDL test anyone? This office does do a more in depth test, but they charge more (don't care actually) and they only do them on Thursday. This will have to wait until summer when I'm off.

I will keep at it.

[dvdmon]

Jingles, you shouldn't be displeased at all. Thing is that Triglicerides are the only thing that reliably go down very quickly after starting to lc. It can take 9-18 months for other numbers to improve for some. It really depends on the person, but just because you haven't seen results with LDL or HDL in 2-3 months means very little. As Gaelen rightly points out, HDL imroves somewhat with added exercise, and you could also get some more distinguishing tests to tell you more about your cholesterol. LDL from a regular lipid profile really doesn't tell you that much. Much better predictors of CVD risk include C-Reative Protein, Homocystene, and LDL Subtype Patterns. I urge you to read about this stuff in Protein Power Lifeplan if you haven't already. There are also a couple of books out there debunking much of what standard medicine would have you think about the significance of cholesterol in predicting CVD risk, but I would start with PPLP...

Oh, regarding your questions, Lecethin is not prescription. You can get it at health food stores or even a Wholefoods. It comes in these little granules made from soy that have a slightly nutty taste. I used defrost frozen berries and then mix them with this stuff, which would thicken the substance. Lecethin is used as an emulsifier in a lot of food products.

The technical name for the LDL Subtype test is called something like "gradient gel electrophoresis." There are a couple of labs at least which do this and the various other bio-markers that expand on the plain Lipid Profile. One is the Berkely Heart Lab, but I can't recall right now what the other is. Ask your doc about getting these tests and if he scoffs, then find someone who will give them to you. It's better to see the whole picture and get more information and if your doc wants to dictate all this by spoonfeeding you only what he wants, well...

[Gaelen]

Jingles...if you have issues with 'white coat syndrome' -- higher BP in the doc's office than at home -- then take your home BP monitor to the docs. Have them 'calibrate' it to be sure it's working correctly by taking your pressure first with your cuff, then with theirs. And if your cuff has a memory feature, you can use it to show your doc what your more typical resting BP is.

[James L]

Here's a link to the Berkeley Heart Lab Web site:

http://www.bhlinc.com/bhltech.shtml

where you can click on several links for articles on advanced lipid tests, LDL subtypes, etc.

[Jingles]

Thanks James. :)

Some of that will take a few more brain cells than I have active at the moment to understand. I'll print it out tomorrow and have a better look at it.

Thanks for the replies everyone. I saw my doctor today and was able to put him off another 2 months (he didn't get a copy of the newest test results though). He wants to do an in-house lipid test and says it's more comprehensive than what I just had. That'll be great. He still insists that being diabetic (even with a1c below 6) means that my cholesterol won't come down.

He took my word about my BP levels (yeah!). Asked him about supplements and his only concern was that I don't take anything that has a stimulant in it (he says some supplements do). I have a fast heart rate that my meds have brought down from over 100 to around 80. Still not where he wants it, but it's better. I got the impression that he feels I'll be on these meds for a long time.

I'm going to do my best to prove him wrong. :D

[georgex5]

On page 107 of PP is are two charts of mortality vs chloresterol. As chloresterol falls from 300 down to 180, deaths from heart disease increase. In the second chart, as chloresterol falls from about 200, deaths from all causes increase. A sort of plateau exists from 220 to 180, where deaths from all causes is low.

So, super low chloresterol is not all that great.

[maxlharris]

On page 107 of PP is are two charts of mortality vs chloresterol. As chloresterol falls from 300 down to 180, deaths from heart disease increase. In the second chart, as chloresterol falls from about 200, deaths from all causes increase. A sort of plateau exists from 220 to 180, where deaths from all causes is low.

So, super low chloresterol is not all that great.

Whoa, whoa whoa. I think this is a typo.

As total cholesterol goes from 300 to 220, total mortality FALLS, and a large segment of those deaths are from heart disease. As you get below 180 or 160, you see total mortality go up, from things other than ticker problems. I think the plateau, as recommended by the Eadeses, is 160-220. But you should focus on ratios more than total.

[Ammy]

Hmmm....
Well, when I started PP, my cholesterol was 185...after a couple months it dropped to 105...(almost too low)
It has leveled out around 120...

Does this mean I may be at risk, or does it mean I'm in a category of "cholesterol not an issue"??

[maxlharris]

So, the numbers is the numbers. You're doomed (insert 12 smileys here).

My thought is that folks have different natural levels, and it goes up and down in a range. If you have a low range, then being low isn't a problem. If you are high, you are high. I wouldn't worry about it. It seems pretty voodoo to me.

Meanwhile, I would be very happy with my wife's numbers: LDL 90, HDL 90, Trig 60. Of course, she'd kill for my BP numbers (can, when off meds, go like 105/75 with a HR of 50, with my BP raising med, I do 115-129/75-82 with HR of 55-65)

[Ammy]

Yeah, mine look about the same...

at last checkup:
CHOLESTEROL 125
TRIGLYCERIDE 41
HDL 47
LDL 70
GLUCOSE 93
AMYLASE 20 (supposedly low)
BP 118/70


Is there any research as to Amylase and the LC diets?? I know it has to do with how carbs are broken down in the body, but when my Dr said mine was low I asked what that meant. His only response was:
...either your body stopped making it because you're not eating a lot of carbs, or you never did make very much and thats why carbs are a problem for you...
But he admitted (sort of) that he didn't really know/understand why it was low. Hmmm...maybe I should ask Dr Mike?

[BeccainSC]

Amy check out this site, it might have a bit of information for you.

http://www.labtestsonline.org/understanding/analytes/amylase/glance.html

I've never had my tested (that I'm aware of) so I can't offer input. I found that site when looking up some of the stuff from my lab work back in November and bookmarked it.

Hope it helps.

'becca

[Ammy]

Thanks Becca, mostly they talked about HIGH Amylase, but they had a link to 'ask a question' so I did. I'll let you know if/when they respond.

Thanks for the link!

[Ammy]

Got an answer already...or sort of...
Hello Amy

Thank you for using the ASCLS Consumer Website. Amylase is an enzyme
found in high concentration in the cells of the pancreas. When there is
pancreatic cell damage, the enzyme leaks into the blood and blood levels
will rise. Low levels of amylase are considered to be clinically
insignificant.

I did send a question to Dr Mike yesterday to ask if there has been any research done looking at Amylase and LC dieting. I mean, if Amylase's purpose is to breakdown carbs, doesn't it seem to be something to at least look at?

Maybe I'm crazy...