Abnormally low cholesterol

[aliciaflorrick]

I had blood test for my gynae this week and apparently this has come back with abnormally low cholesterol so she's told me get myself for a doctor's appointment quickly. I'm surprised my cholesterol was low and in fact was expecting to be told to change my diet to lower my cholesterol considering, I live on cheese, cadburys and caffeine.

Does anyone know why abnormally low cholesterol is a problem? Everyone I know is being told to lower their cholesterol so I would have thought that it was a good thing.

As an aside, I'm quite tired all the time (but single mum, work full time, house renovations, large garden, so hardly surprising) thinning hair and getting a moustache, which is why I went to the gynae because I thought I was heading toward menopause.

Is it anything I should worry about?

Without knowing the exact figures of your cholesterol results (and what type of test you had), I can't say whether this is really a cause for concern. However, my husband (who eats quite a lot of cream and cheese) has consistently low cholesterol which his GP is perfectly happy with. As I understand it, the danger of heart disease is increased if your "bad" (LDL) cholesterol is high especially when compared to your "good" (HDL) cholesterol. Certainly, I've never heard of any health problems associated with low LDL. If your gynae is concerned though, I suppose you could ask your GP to check you over.

this might help, although I am sure if you're otherwise reasonably healthy it's not going to be anything too awful?

I am not aware of abnormally low cholesterol! A Japanese person I know has a level of about 2, which is OK.

Maybe it is a particular type. They sometimes test LDL, HDL and triglycerides, and it is better if the HDL is higher than the other two.

If you find out, do come back and tell us. It would be interesting to know why!

I am going to Google what the bad cholesterol is actually used for, as obviously is there for a reason for the body to produce it.

My niece has 7 but because she has a low BP and excellent cardio vascular system, the docs say that is fine for her.

I have not heard of anybody been told their's is too low, but the body produces its own supply of cholesterol for a good reason, and has to do with repairing cells and protecting them.

My overall reading was 1.96 so just less than 2. I went to the doctor but because I'm fit and healthy, don't smoke and don't even drink that often he seemed okay with it. So I came home and celebrated with a full English!

Good for you. Don't forget the chocolate cream cakes you can endulge in with no worries

OP, it is a bit of a worry - and very hard to get info on as the entire world is obsessed with lowering their cholesterol!

The problem is when you have low overall cholesterol - cholesterol is needed to make a variety of essential hormones such as oestrogen, progesterone and cortisol and is used in digestion of food, so its lack is an indicator of another problem - possibly gastric or liver. BUT it fluctuates depending on what you ate before. You may just need to be retested. Make sure you flag up the hair problems with your GP when you say about the test results, though, just to make sure they investigate, as it could be related.