Very High Triglicrides

[jamiedolan]

HI,

I am a 28 year old male. My triglicrides have been as high as over 1000. Taking tricor, and that has helped, but triglicrides are still several hundred.

I have been doing a higher protien diet for a few months, and am just starting to cut carbs down a lot, currently under 100 most days and working hard to get that number a lot lower.

I am wondering if it is possiable or even likely that the changes in my diet will help bring my triglicrides down to a healthy range, even thogh medicine has not been able to get it to a normal range. Is it possiable that the diet alone without meds will solve the tri problem? No one else in my family has ever had a problem with high triglicrides.

Any idea how long it might take to see a difference in the triglicrides with eating low carb high protein. (I have lost tons of weight cutting carbs down lower and eating more protein, about 90 pounds so far.)

I started taking very high dose flax and fish oil several times a week as well. I also have arthritis and possiably other autoimmune conditions, such as lupus. I feel that in many respects main stream medicine has failed me. I am really looking for other solutions as I have little to lose as this point. I know that I am going to end up dead from the tricor if I have to take that the rest of my life, there has to be a better way. Your protein program makes a lot of scense to me.

I guess I just wanted to share a little and see if I could get a little feed back on my situation. The book of yours I read was the protein power life plan.
Thanks
Jamie
:)

[Gaelen]

First of all, you are probably *not* going to end up dead from taking triclor...but high triglycerides *will* kill you.

Second, you need to slash your carbs to Phase I levels (30-40g ECC per day). Don't 'work hard to get (100g carbs) a lot lower.' Just DO it. No more starches, period, cold turkey. The first week or so will be rough. Then it will get easier.

If you have autoimmune issues, you may also have problems with wheat, gluten in general and/or dairy products. Getting rid of the wheat products on a low carb plan is relatively easy; going gluten free can be tougher. But both of those things can be getting in your way.

No one can tell you, or should tell you, that diet alone will work here. If your tri's are that high, you may need meds for quite awhile, in combination with diet and exercise, to turn things around. And yes, it could take as long as a year to turn things around. You may someday be able to taper the meds down, but you may not ever be able to walk away from them.

Please pick up a copy of Protein Power Lifeplan, either new at your local bookstore, borrowed from your local library, or order it from Amazon. Used copies are often under $3. It explains the ins and outs of dealing with and improving lipid profiles a lot better than I can in a brief post, and you really DO need to read about PP to understand how to work it.

Hope this helps; welcome in! :)

[Dodger]

My triglycerides are lower now than they were when I took Tricor. All I had to do was eliminate all carbs except for those from my vegetables. The additional saturated fats from all the meats that I eat has raised my HDL by 50%.

[bluejay111]

It is my understanding that carbohydrates raise your triglycerides. It sounds like you are on the right path. Hang in there. The change will take time.

[gitfiddle]

First of all, congratulations on the weight loss! That is quite an accomplishment in itself.

I agree with Gaelen. Stop the carbs except for non-starchy vegetables. It's inconvenient, but you can do it. That's something you can cold turkey without any bad side effects and you only prolong the agony if you play around with it. You'll feel better, too.

[LisaS]

in addition to reading PPLP, you might like to take a look at
Heart Scan Blog (http://heartscanblog.blogspot.com/) and read through some of the entries about persistant high Trigly levels and what he has found to work.
But first, cut out the grains & starches.

[jamiedolan]

First of all, you are probably *not* going to end up dead from taking triclor...but high triglycerides *will* kill you.

I should have writen something that was more clear. I am very frustrated with the cholestrol medicaitons because it seems like they cause muscle pain, espically in my calf muscles. I also have elevated liver function tests, and I suspect that it may be due to the tricor, but it is hard to tell exactly what it is from. So what do I choose, have a heart attack some day or have muscle pain and liver issues? I guess I get to choose, do I slowly watch my liver die or do I slowly watch my heart die?

Second, you need to slash your carbs to Phase I levels (30-40g ECC per day). Don't 'work hard to get (100g carbs) a lot lower.' Just DO it. No more starches, period, cold turkey. The first week or so will be rough. Then it will get easier.

If you have autoimmune issues, you may also have problems with wheat, gluten in general and/or dairy products. Getting rid of the wheat products on a low carb plan is relatively easy; going gluten free can be tougher. But both of those things can be getting in your way.

I switched to raw dairly for most everything, except, not all my cheese is raw. I have been trying not to eat grains either. Maybe I just took on too much at once trying to stop grains and trying to dump out the carbs.

No one can tell you, or should tell you, that diet alone will work here. If your tri's are that high, you may need meds for quite awhile, in combination with diet and exercise, to turn things around. And yes, it could take as long as a year to turn things around. You may someday be able to taper the meds down, but you may not ever be able to walk away from them.

The medication is deffinatly a double edge soard for me, it is starting to feel like I get to pick which organ I want to destroy liver or heart. I just had the liver tests come back a few days ago, I see my rheumytologist this week, we will discuss, it is possiable that the tests are high due to a autoimmune issue as well, but again its something that is hard for the to figure you the exact cause of. (sorry I had to vent a little about my frustration with the pills).

Please pick up a copy of Protein Power Lifeplan, either new at your local bookstore, borrowed from your local library, or order it from Amazon. Used copies are often under $3. It explains the ins and outs of dealing with and improving lipid profiles a lot better than I can in a brief post, and you really DO need to read about PP to understand how to work it.

Yes, that is the book I have, I ordered copies of your other books from the libriary. I am going to have to read the PP book again, I read it about a week and a half ago cover to cover, but I think I need to read it again to reasorb it.

Hope this helps; welcome in! :)

Yes it does. Thanks. Cutting the carbs down still feels like such a challange because I have spent my whole life eating a high carb diet. I never was very big into eating lots of meat.
For most of my life, I ate lots of pizza, breads, soda, deep fried chicken, burgers, fries, milkshakes, high carb fruits, etc.

Then several years ago, (nearly 3) I cut down my soda intake 90%+ (was drinking over 5 cans of soda nearly every day), I drank more juice, ate more ceral, are more fruit, more vegetables, etc. I went to a dietician multiple times about my diet because of the high tri's. I have tried to eat more like they told me to, lots of fruit, lots of veggies, even less meat, less cheese, juice, less eggs, more whole grains, bread, etc. -- A diet still based on mainly carbs, so it was not that hard to change.

Now, I drink very little soda, but drink my juice, I am having a horriable time getting away from juice and lemonade. I found that I can handle this minute maid canned low calorie lemonade, it has 5 calories and 2 carbs, but I read that the sweaterner in that is pretty bad for you, so I am a bit torn and don't know if I should drink that or not. I try to drink a fair amount of water, but I am soo used to drinking something sweet that I am having a horriable time getting away from it.

I'll keep reading here, and hopefully learning how others have made the switch. I will read the book again as well. Thank You for your support.

Sorry I didn't get back to you sooner, we traveled for a long weekend and I wasn't able to get online to be able to respond.

Jamie

[jamiedolan]

My triglycerides are lower now than they were when I took Tricor. All I had to do was eliminate all carbs except for those from my vegetables. The additional saturated fats from all the meats that I eat has raised my HDL by 50%.

Do you just eat normal store bought meat or do you try to eat pasture raised meats? I have read some books on omega 3 that stress the importance of getting your animal fats from pastured meats for them to have the positive impact on your cholestroal. However I remember from what I read in PP that a lot of the cholestrol is made by the liver due to the insilun issue.

Maybe it is a issue of balance?

Jamie

[jamiedolan]

First of all, congratulations on the weight loss! That is quite an accomplishment in itself.

I agree with Gaelen. Stop the carbs except for non-starchy vegetables. It's inconvenient, but you can do it. That's something you can cold turkey without any bad side effects and you only prolong the agony if you play around with it. You'll feel better, too.

How long does it take for that feeling like your going to just keel over right now if you don't get some carbs to go away or be reduced?

Every single time I get my carbs down to less than 50, (no matter how much protein and fat I eat). I just seem to feel horriable and can't seem to feel better till I get some xxx (insert the name of something with carbs in it).

I don't know why it keeps making me feel so crappy to lower the carbs, but just to give you an idea, I take fairly strong prescription pain relivers, and I have stoped thoses in the past, and I find that far far eaiser to stop taking morphine type drugs than it is to stop the carbs.

I know this has to sound like the stupidest thing in the world, I can stop taking my prescription drugs that by many standards are "addictive" without much trouble at all, but when I try to eat less sugar / carbs, I just fall apart.

I hope you don't think I am too stupid, I rather feel like a idiot that I am having this much trouble with the carb foods, and I applogize for my detailed description here, I just didn't know any better way to convey what I end up feeling like without the carbs.

I guess I sound like a pathetic "carb-addict" with no will power. Perhaps that is what the problem is....

Thanks again to everone here for your support. I am glad to be learning and I am really trying to make my health better.

Jamie

[laughingW]

Jamie, I disagree with Gitfiddle that if you stop cold turkey you won't have any side effects.

Sugar is a member of the opiate class of drugs and even though it's milder than what we know of other drugs, the deal is that your biochemistry, if you're wired that way, has been adapted to run on a lot of sugar. If you suddenly stop it, your body can't as suddenly switch everything around to run on protein, fats, and veggies. It's hormones, enzymes, neurotransmitters, a bunch of things "under the hood."

Some people can and do do the cold turkey thing. If you try that a zillion times and don't succeed, I don't think it makes you weak. All that says to me is maybe your body is on the far end of the bell curve in the way it's adapted to high sugar for so many years.

this information is from my personal experience. I believe sugar is truly an addictive drug and I "recovered" from using it with the help of a web site, radiantrecovery.com. The program over there is based on baby steps and gradualism. You put in the good food while you cut down the not-so-good, building new habits all the time and then one day, you are sugar free and have a great nutrition program.

All I'm saying- you might feel better if you ramp down instead of the sudden jump. Like, start a tick or two above intervention levels, don't have sugar in between meals, and reduce your carbs a little each week.

[gitfiddle]

Wait please, I said "bad" side effects. I didn't mean no withdrawal symptoms. Of course, everyone handles it differently. I'm a sugar addict. If I play around with it I don't let go. A little is too much. I feel lucky that I found OA when I did.

DesMaisons has a great program, though, and I have recommended her to someone very close to me who can't/won't let go of sugar and flour.

[laughingW]

Sorry Gitfiddle! I misunderstood.

partly because I think withdrawal symptoms can be really bad and also, cold turkey reinforces treating the body as donkey regardless of what it's trying to say.

Not that I have an opinion or anything, LOL

Again, sorry.

[gitfiddle]

Of course you're entitled to express your opinion, LW! That's all I did, without taking anyone else's experience into consideration. You're one person whose opinion I read whenever I come upon it. :) If I had time, I'd be taking one of those BE classes to learn more, btw. Some day, perhaps.

[gitfiddle]

I guess I sound like a pathetic "carb-addict" with no will power. Perhaps that is what the problem is....
Jamie, please believe me when I say that will power has nothing to do with it. I quit smoking years ago, I can even quit eating sugar for long periods at a time. I can't quit eating compulsively. I'm working on it, though. We're all here working on something. I'm getting better. Stay with us and grow.

[Dodger]

Do you just eat normal store bought meat or do you try to eat pasture raised meats? I have read some books on omega 3 that stress the importance of getting your animal fats from pastured meats for them to have the positive impact on your cholestroal. However I remember from what I read in PP that a lot of the cholestrol is made by the liver due to the insilun issue.

Maybe it is a issue of balance?

JamieI use regular store-bought meats. I do supplement with omega-3 fish oil capsules.