home cholesterol tests

[locomo]

hi,

i'm curious what the consensus is about home cholesterol tests (http://cholesteroltestkits.com)? If you are monitoring your cholesterol levels are these home test kits a reasonable alternative to making frequent trips into a doctor?

thanks!

[Gabriel Guzman]

The only useful information that one could take from the strips test is HDL and triglycerides as Total and LDL-cholesterol are meaningless. Total cholesterol does not mean much unless we have an accurate measurement of LDL and since the LDL value from the strips is calculated, rather than directly measured, then the information is of little value as well. Even if the LDL values were directly measured, the information would not mean much unless we know what type of LDL particles are being detected.

Also, we would not be measuring cholesterol, say, every week but more in the range of every 5-6 weeks. Any idea on how expensive these strips are? Just curious.

[davea42]

I've been looking at the CardioChek home unit. Aside from the inconsistent user feedback it looks like it returns all the necessary information.
I just checked my last two Dr. Office fasting cholesterol results, and the LDL is exactly Total - HDL - Trig/5. Maybe they're using the same methodology?