Found out I have very high cholesterol

[SpanishFly]

I did one of these private postal blood tests, and the results came back that I have very high cholesterol plus high(ish) ALT levels.
Cholesterol is 7.6
Ratio is 6.5:1
Alt is 59. All other liver results are in the green.

The slightly worrying thing is that it's been highish for a while, and I have been taking a daily cholesterol lowering drink, yet it's now off the scale 😕

Any advice/info/words of support?

I will phone the GP today, but I'm not sure how easy that will be, since I'm working and the GP is not currently easy to get hold of.

What dosage are you on? It is probably too low

Following as dh has just found out he has high cholesterol

I would see your GP and take it from there. It could be down to diet, it could be genetic - you can't know any of that without bloodtests and so on.

What you can do is review your diet, look at the amount of takeaways, processed foods, pastries, sugary stuff, refined cereals, dairy fats, and go for lots of fresh veg, cooked from scratch and that sort of thing, because that will be good whatever the doctor ends up thinking you should do. Also, if you don't exercise regularly, then you should start.

(My cholesterol is such that I'd be pleased if it were as low as 7.6... and it's been like that since Iwas in my 20s.)

My DH, who is built like a whippet and has been vegetarian for 30 years, discovered he had high cholesterol when he had his 40 years old check. His was 14!
They wanted to put him on statins, he refused and managed to get it down to 7 through diet alone.

We switched from dairy milk to oat milk and he changed from butter to vegan spread, cut down on cheese, biscuits and crisps. He got a nutribullet and made drinks containing oat milk and chia seeds among other stuff.

Oats really are the answer. There is a lot of bad science out there but oats actively reduce your cholesterol levels. He didn’t use any of the cholesterol reducing products, just a few simple changes.
He wasn’t over weight and his diet was ok before hand so it was a case of actively reducing his cholesterol level rather than cutting it out.

Thanks so much for the answers. I have a very sedentary life, and moreso since lockdown, so will definitely start going on some brisk walks to get the heart working better.

I've messaged both my parents to ask if they have high cholesterol too, and changed my groceries delivery to Benecol spread instead of butter.

My diet is not bad. We cook most things from scratch, but have the odd pork pie/chicken Kiev type of thing, and a takeaway every week or 2 weeks. We cut right back on drink a month ago, but as a result I've eaten some chocolate pretty much every night... 😖
So I'll look to cut that back too. Hopefully I don't need to cut everything out all at once 🙈 Although I'll do that if need be.

Have any of you/DHs tried eg plant sterols, to avoid statins?

ps I love porridge so that will be a daily thing from now on too. Is skimmed milk OK?

No plant sterols at all, mainly cutting back on the crap and animal fats.
Try oat milk, it’s the biggest change DH made and I believe it made a difference. Look up the effect of oats on cholesterol.

thanks so much - will google oats and cholesterol later - I've never tried it, but given that I only really have milk in cereal (I have black tea and sachets of Nescafe cappuccino), then I prob wouldn't notice if I change to oat milk

@SpanishFly we make porridge with oat milk and it’s lovely. Mix in some dried or fresh fruit too - best of luck!

Thanks so much.
I am quite delighted that porridge is to be encouraged. I could eat it 10 times a week 😋

Mine is much higher than that (thanks Ma!) but I didn't like statins so just going with the head in the sand approach. I don't think diet makes much difference (which the GP also says) although I see above someone actually got results with that. My GP is not worried about it as long as my blood pressure is ok (its low so fine)

Porridge is very good - also reduce stress and increase exercise.

My GP is not worried about it as long as my blood pressure is ok

Yes, mine started getting a bit more concerned once my BP was raised. (I changed managers, and it's now normal to low.) Also, I don't smoke or drink and am not on hormonal contraception - I infer from some comments he's going to care more once my periods stop (48, but still regular.) So I think other risk factors play their part, too.

Thing is with statins they don’t just lower cholesterol they stabilise plaque in blood vessels too and are used post heart attacks.
Don’t understand the head in the sand approach surely if there’s an issue it’s important to deal with it. If it’s genetic - as in my case - I’m quite happy knowing it’s now well controlled.

"been taking a daily cholesterol lowering drink"

er... what is that? Something with statins in it, maybe? I suspect little else makes reliable difference.

@EBearhug what is the added risk once periods stop? I'm menopausal so that comment jumped out at me.

A daily cholesterol drink - I use the asda version of Benecol.

I've just started on statins after mine came back at 7.1 up from 5 last year, only change is I had my gallbladder out last year which the doctor thinks is linked. Luckily had no side effects from the statins. Ive also changes my diet, fitness etc.

DH got his level down without any of those cholesterol lowering products.

what is the added risk once periods stop?

Erm, can't really remember (helpful).

I think it's something to do with oestrogen levels - doesn't our risk of heart attack go up after menopause? Google probably knows.

Has your thyroid been tested? Higher cholesterol often goes hand in hand with thyroid abnormalities.

After menopause oestrogen decreases. Oestrogen seems to boost HDL (the so called "good cholesterol"), but once our oestrogen levels starts to decrease so do HDL levels. LDL ("bad cholesterol") and total cholesterol levels are then more likely to rise. So basically the menopause isn't great and after that point it's even more important to monitor your cholesterol.

[quote SpanishFly]@EBearhug what is the added risk once periods stop? I'm menopausal so that comment jumped out at me.

A daily cholesterol drink - I use the asda version of Benecol.[/quote]
Estrogen relaxes the blood vessels and so can help prevent heart attacks / strokes. Increasing soy (via good quality tofu and milk only) and oat intake can help counteract some of this.

There is good evidence that changing diet does have an effect - whether it is enough is not known but if you seriously change your diet, then do another cholesterol test in say 3-6 months then you will know if it made a difference or not.

I had a bit high cholesterol and I’ve stopped much dairy fat - that is a real culprit, so less hard cheese, or any cheese, less full fat milk, ice cream, no butter at all, and less meat fat like burgers or mince etc.

Then up the oats! You are so lucky liking porridge, I practically have to force it down, however there are oat biscuits and oat milk - so you can have them too. Legumes - more beans, lentils and vegetables all service to lower the cholesterol, as well as seeds. Porridge is ok I think with skimmed milk.

A friend of mine was warned about his cholesterol by his doctor - I don’t know the levels - and he decided to go vegan. This was from being an omnivore, not even vegetarian. Cholesterol level is normal now without any medication.

I was being flippant with the head in the sand comment sorry. I had side effects with the statins. I am already post menopausal but he doesn't test me anymore so clearly he is not concerned. If they ever come out and say statins are good (and not followed by headlines of statins are bad for you) I may reconsider. If you google it lots of doctors don't think statins make any significant difference to your chances of having heart problems ... I can't remember the stats .. maybe save 1 in 1000 or something. I take enough prescription drugs already thanks.