Cholesterol What Should It Be?

[Barsel]

I've been told I have high cholesterol 7.8 and I might need statins. When I told a friend of mine, she asked, 'What is your HDL and LDL? ' and I told her, I have no idea but the nurse did also mention 5.6 so I'm wondering if this is one of them.Does this sound like it might be right and which one would it be? More to the point, what should it be? Many thanks x

[Sqad]

What is normal , what is not, will i live longer if my cholesterol is normal.......?

I have no idea, but i will give you the normal values in the UK.

Normal total cholesterol.........less than 6 or 6.5 mmols/L
Normal LDL ( bad stuff, more likely to give you heart attacks....so they say!) less than 4mmol/L
Normal HDL ( good stuff so they say)..above 1.5mm/L......fabulous.

The 5.6 would seem to be the result of your LDL (the bad stuff)

You will be offered statins i would presume.

[janbee]

Barsel, 3+ years ago, my cholesterol was 8 and I immediately gave up both butter and cheese (which I LOVED), joined a gym and 3 months later it was 3.2. Every year since then, when tested, it's remained 3.2 -3.5.
Good luck Barsel.
Always listen to sqad's advice.
xx

[Sqad]

janbee

\\\Always listen to sqad's advice.\\\

Steady on........now and again maybe......but not ALWAYS.....;-)

[janbee]

lol sqad :-)

[Barsel]

Thanks to you both. I have asked if I can get this down by diet and the nurse has given me a diet sheet of foods to eat/go careful/and avoid. I've been given 3 months and i think I can do it as like you janbee I love butter, cheese, cream in fact all the good tasting stuff :-) but I can be strict and I will because I don't want tablets if i can avoid them. Sqad, now you have given me the values, I have something to aim for.Thanks again to you both. xx

[theshedman]

Hi, hope you don't mind me butting in on this thread, my cholesterol used to be 11.9 but after doctor put me on statins it came down to around 6 but doctor had to lower statin after a few years from 80mg to 40 mg due to terrible calf pains so now gone up to 6.3 but pains have got better. He has now got me to have another blood test as he says my Triglycerides are at 9 which he says is very high. Any one know about these things as I thought cholesterol was that and just that. Thanks.

[Sqad]

theshedman....the metabolism of fats, cholesterol and heart disease is all a bit of a "muddle"....for me anyway and i would bet most of the medical profession.

Cannot i give you the "idiot's guide" to this problem....no disrespect as i consider myself to be in that category.

3 main groups.

a) LDL (low density lipoprotein)............the "bad stuff" linked to heart disease (so they say)

b) HDL ( high density lipoprotein)....the good stuff...can't get enough of it, safeguards you against heart disease....so they say)

c) Triglycerides.......the medical profession has no idea whether they are good or bad for you re. heart disease.......take your pick of opinions.

How are the above three related to cholesterol and if cholesterol is related to heart disease..........again........probably........at the moment.

The above is MY take on the situation and not necessarily the main line medical take.

[Peter Pedant]

I think your advice is mainstream Sqad

which is basically - if your lipids are wonky the doctors will advise statins.
[ and also life style changes see janbee - dietary changes, and exercise as well ]

[DTCwordfan]

Barsel, it's a good opportunity to replace butter and cheese with red wine.....

cut back on other fats too if you can and that would allow you to have the occasional treat of cheese. Porridge is also good as a soaker-upper and does your bowels no harm either. 2 to 3 oz of porridge a day could lower you by a full point....

[Sqad]

DTC...see what i mean...............

There is now a body of medical opinion that would doubt your words:.............fats are not the killers........carbohydrates are.

Red wine?........yeah! right.

[Peter Pedant]

.

yup dietary fibre can smooth out absorption of these things
also smooths out glucose absorption

First shown by a medical student in the mid seventies - the poor fellow ended up doing 50 000 blood glucose estimations ( not on one person )

big surprise at the time - that one food could affect the ansorption of another

[Peter Pedant]

Sqad - have another slurp

The D in DTC doesnt stand for Doctor.... I think he was joshing.
The red wine bit is one glass a day innit ?

[DTCwordfan]

Depends how big the glass is, Peter!

https://s3.amazonaws.com/images1.vat19.com/covers/large/bottle-of-wine-glass.jpg

[Sqad]

I drink red wine because i like it........nothing to do with my health.

[theshedman]

Hi, thanks for the answers. As many of the family have had heart trouble and high cholesterol , doctor said at the time that no diet would help bring my cholesterol down to a level considered safe that is why he put me on statins. I have been on them for many years now but this is the first time he has mentioned Triglycerides. I just thought it would be all in the same category as the cholesterol but it seems not. When ordered blood test he mentioned a bolt on tablet to go along side statin so will just have to wait and see what the result of this new test shows.

[Sqad]

theshedman...yes, with that history that you give and your body's acceptance of statins I would agree with your GP.

\\\\a bolt on tablet to go along side statin\\\

That may be a drug called Ezetrol, which is not a statin but blocks fat absorption.

[theshedman]

Ok, thanks for that Sqad. Get the results in couple of weeks will let you know what he says.

[Sqad]

Thanks...will be interested.^^^