Triglycerides not coming down fast enough ?

[Jack]

Started at 355, went on a low fat, high fiber diet (at Dr.'s recommendation) and 6 weeks later they were thru the roof at 520.

Discovered Power Protein Plan and after 6 weeks, the Triglyceride number was down to 278. This is still way to high.

Are my expectations too high also? Dr. is suggesting meds, but I don't want them and will try this as long as possible. Is there a point at which I must take the meds. If so, when ?

BTW, disappointingly, my HDL went down from 27 to 25 during this time frame. I recorded 35 before starting the low fat, high fiber diet.

[artsdesireincanada]

oh gosh, my first typing was lost.
My doctor told me that triglycerides are caused by carbs, wheat flour, potatoes corn, and stuff. And booze. But I don't drink at all. He put me on drugs, and I didn't care for the side effects at all. Stopped taking them. I figured if they ahve such bad side effects they are not doing my body any good.
but don't give up. this stuff didn't suddenly appear in your body. Your numbers will come down I am sure. I don't know how long, because I am new too. But I also found some vitamens that are really good. (for diabetics and they have some for cholestrol and stuff) https://www.realfoodnutrients.com I am taking the diabetic stuff and it is working like a charm. Actually their website is where I learned of the PP book. I felt terrific from the time I started taking the vits, so the cholestrol ones may be really good too!

[Jack]

Thanks for the encouragement. Really want to avoid the drugs. Have not considered supplements other than CO Q 10 I take.
Again, thanks.

[laughingW]

Discovered Power Protein Plan and after 6 weeks, the Triglyceride number was down to 278. This is still way to high.

Are my expectations too high also? Dr. is suggesting meds, but I don't want them and will try this as long as possible. Is there a point at which I must take the meds. If so, when ?

What are you eating? That improvement is great in 6 weeks but tris still a little higher than I'd expect, as you say.

[Jack]

Pretty much strictly Phase 1 all the way for six weeks. Couple of off nights with wine, but not bad.

[Mitra]

I don't know what the average response time is for triglycerides, but in Life Without Bread, Lutz and Allen say that, "The levels of triglycerides in 118 patients in Dr Lutz's practice dropped by an average of more than 50% after only three months on a low carbohydrate diet." They also mention that the older the individual, the less rapid the decrease, although all the patients did show a significant reduction in triglycerides.

It sounds as if it's worth persevering, and testing again after a few more weeks. If your triglycerides stop going down and are still higher than you'd like, that might be the point at which you could consider whether you need to look again at the meds.

Good luck, and keep us posted.

[nrobles]

My triglycerides wrer over 1000 before I started PP. One month later they were 158!! Unfortunately I had a popcorn addiction and they crept up until I finally "broke" the addiction cold turkey. Metabolism is really sensitive to "wrong" foods. I thought I could get away with this "innocent" addition but I learned that I need to be really strict if I want to keep off meds. I'm working on caffeine now.

[maxlharris]

Started at 355, went on a low fat, high fiber diet (at Dr.'s recommendation) and 6 weeks later they were thru the roof at 520.

Discovered Power Protein Plan and after 6 weeks, the Triglyceride number was down to 278. This is still way to high.

Are my expectations too high also? Dr. is suggesting meds, but I don't want them and will try this as long as possible. Is there a point at which I must take the meds. If so, when ?

BTW, disappointingly, my HDL went down from 27 to 25 during this time frame. I recorded 35 before starting the low fat, high fiber diet.
Triglycerides tend to move quickly, but I think it's too soon to worry about it. Let's see. You went from 520 to 278. That's 46% in 6 weeks. Generally speaking, that would be considered fast.

On the HDL, 2 points is probably within the margin of error. What else are you doing to move that number? I should note that the HDL and LDL tend to be slower moving. So, I wouldn't worry too much about it yet. Give it another 6-12 weeks.

[Jack]

Thanks,
Regarding HDL, I have been working out 4 days/week min for over a year. Have recently upped my resistance training and lowered cardio slightly. Workouts are about 50 min long. Feel good and am loosing weight, but the metabolism is slower at 58 yrs.
Will stick with plan, as I find it relatively easy.

Agree that the improvement in trygs is dramatic, just not down to a safe ratio for the HDL/Tryglyceride counts per PPP Book.

[Jack]

Thanks Mitra,
I will continue PP for the rest of my life. Diabetes in family history everywhere. When I read about the control of insulin production and side effects, I was sold.
HDL/Trygs ratio is a big concern also. I am 58, so that is a good point regarding age. Continued weight loss should help also.

[nrobles]

Try adding niacin (nicotinic acid) supplements to your daily regimen. It can help lower triglycerides. Watch for the "flushing" effect.

[Frank Hagan]

I'm 53, and started PP to lower triglycerides (trig). I had tried taking tricor, a trig lowering drug, but I had an allergic reaction to it. As far as I know that's the only prescription drug there is for lowering trig.

My doctor had suggested niacin, which sometimes works at 1500mg per day. Depending on your genetic make up, you may have flushing with niacin, but the OTC brand SloNiacin is relatively inexpensive and moderates it a bit for me. In PP, Drs' Eades mention that taking an aspirin 30 minutes before taking the niacin sometimes helps, and it does for me.

I started the low carb diet as described in PP on March 11, 2009, and added fish oil two weeks later (had constipation). I added 3200mg of fish oil per day, getting 1600mg of EPA (I use Carlson's Finest Lemon Flavored which doesn't have a lot of fishy taste ... two teaspoons give you 3200mg.)

It was about 8 weeks later, on April 29, that I got the results back; trig were down to 106 from 344. HDL edged up from 20 to 29, well below the target of 40 I'm looking for. Total chol edged up from 136 to 160.

Give it another 6 weeks. And you might try adding the fish oil to your diet regimne to see if that helps.

Overall my doctor is pleased. I asked which of the three ... niacin, fish oil, or low carb ... was most responsible for lowering the trig levels, and he said probably all three. He is concerned about the amount of animal fat in "Atkins style diets" (I'm thinking of giving him a copy of PP so he quits mentioning Atkins). He's a great doctor, and is at least being open minded and more than willing to let me "take control" in my health care.

Side benefits: I'm also losing weight, with about 30 pounds gone to date (that's only half the weight I need to lose, and I suspect the first half is the fastest). I'm off Prilosec, a drug I had taken for about ten years, for gurd. I persistent bleeding from hemmorroids (sorry, TMI, I know), but that has stopped (had a colonoscopy earlier in the year to make sure it wasn't something more serious).

Negatives: I seem to have a higher sensitivity to allergans. I had to quit taking Twin Labs Dual Tabs mega vitamins (one of the brands mentioned in PP) ... I have persistent congestion when I take them, and I think it might be a soy binder in them. I have a hive-rash reaction to certain soy-based products that pre-dated the PP diet ... can't eat Costco hot dogs, for instance ... but it seems to be a bit more sensitive now.