Help me change my diet......please?

[katymac]

Apparently I have high (very high) cholesterol and I need (maybe) to change my diet dramatically.

I am very worried about this as I have many food dislikes, borderline intolerances and IBS

I don't have a clue how to change my diet (which is currently carefully balanced to maintain few IBS symptoms)

Please help me

porridge for breakfast and more exercise sorted my dh

How disappointing for you. Did the doctor mention cholesterol-lowering drugs at all? Any idea what you are going to discuss with the nurse? At least you can take your food diary along. How high is your cholesterol?

Could you tolerate a bran or oat-based cereal for breakfast? Also, more soluble fibre might help (e.g. beans, pulses).

Losing weight and exersising more also helped my dh (but with his blood sugar levels which were very high, cholesterol levels were only a little too high and these did come down too, just have crept up again lately hence the benecol).

I believe in some cases there is little that can be done by modifying the diet and the only way to reduce cholesterol is by taking drugs such as statins. I knew someone at uni who had familial hypercholesterolaemia and was on statins (she was in her early 20s).

Can't up my bran by much (I've been experimenting with the homemade bread adding a spoonful of brown flour and seeing about 2 tablespoons is my limit)

Eat tonnes of beans (at least 3 times a week) and if I get out of balance I eat more. I can tolerate barley in a soup or stew but only once a week or so

He was so insulting he said "go on a diet for 6 weeks give up and eat normally for 6 weeks and we'll check your cholesterol again"
I said "after changing my diet for 4 yrs to loose weight - I think I can manage 12 weeks"
He said "well It's human nature to fail - when you come back we'll try the tablets"

Very positive huh? My Auntie says to try porridge with water - but I'm worried about the fibre

Well I went to see the nurse and basically I'm stuffed. After spending years (like about 10) building up my diet slowly so that my IBS wasn't affected - I am now going to have to reduce it all again

Apparently my risk of heart disease is about 2% over the next 10 yrs - but as i don't know what my risk would be if I didn't have cholesterol - that didn't help much

I got upset and the nurse just didn't understand the impact changing my diet would have on my life - she seemed to think I was fussing and that it would be easy

and on top of everything - it seems like the side affects for the statins and other drugs will all be muscle or bowel related (the two bits that are aldready bust, so to speak)

What a waste of time and what an awful prospect