Optician has suggested high cholesterol 😞

[Ilikeviognier]

I went for an eye Check yesterday and my optician has shocked me by suggesting I get my cholesterol checked as I have a few white spots around my eyes. I’ve looked it up and they are called xanthelasma - I think ive had them for several years so I’m pretty concerned now - I never thought anything of them.

I’m only 42- I weight less than 7 and a half stone, don’t smoke. Sure my diet could be amended but I don’t eat a load of fatty food or rubbish. I’m pretty active as I have small kids and I walk a lot. I didn’t think I would be a candidate for high cholesterol 😢.

I’ll get it checked but How worried should I be here?

Family history - one parent had a stroke and the other one a TIA but they were both lifelong heavy smokers. Father died of a ruptured aneurysm age 71. One Grandparent with angina.

Bump for any opinions

You're getting it tested, which I think is worried enough.

Xanthelasma is not exactly white spots, more yellowish bumps. Is it just milia that you have?

Tbh I’m not completely sure. Optician suggested they are xanthelasma but I need to get it checked by GP I guess. Thanks for replying x

You might be fine but it’s worth checking. You can have high cholesterol because of your genes rather than your lifestyle. It’s very simple to have it checked and statins are very effective at managing it if diet and lifestyle changes don’t help. The danger is in having high cholesterol and not knowing about it.

Don’t statins have terrible side effects though? Thanks for replying x

Just to say that even if it is high cholesterol, medication can really help.

DH is the slimmest, fittest person I know (runs marathons) and eats very healthy but was found to have high cholesterol - he was told to get a test when his v healthy dad had an unexpected heart attack at 55. I think in his case it's a genetic thing.

He has to have regular cholesterol tests at the drs which is v reassuring too.

Oh and DH has no side effects from the statins. He does have reviews with the GP every so often.

I'm just so pleased they tested him so he found out.

Thankyou - that’s really useful. I’d be stupid to ignore it so I won’t of course. Naively though I didn’t think I would be a candidate due to my weight etc but I see that it isn’t so simple.

All drugs have possible side effects - if you read the list on leaflet in the packet of most prescribed drugs you’ll find all sorts. That doesn’t mean you would experience any. If you were unlucky and feel sick or dizzy (possible side effects listed on just about every medication) then you’d stop taking them and go back to the doctor. Statins are very widely used so they’re taken by millions of people every day who don’t suffer any side effects.

All this is a bit cart before the horse though. First you need a cholesterol test. Then, if the result is high, you can look at what to do about it.

My dad was told this by an optician years ago and got his cholesterol tested - it was sky high even though he had a healthy lifestyle.
It was found out to be due to familial hypercholesterolaemia, a genetic cause of high cholesterol that has nothing to do with diet or lifestyle choices. We were all tested too and my cholesterol was 11 point something, with no other signs or symptoms.
I've taken statins ever since and my levels are normal now.
With this sort of high cholesterol, dietary changes don't make any real difference to your cholesterol levels, you need statins. I've not had any side effects from taking them, my dad did to start with so they changed him to a different type and he's been fine since.

That’s great - thanks! Can they actually test for the family version of it? My parents are both dead unfortunately and I doubt they ever got tested. They were chain smokers though.

My Dad has it too. He’s always been very fit and I think he was shocked by how high his cholesterol was when he had a routine health check. He’s been on statins for years and he’s fine. His mother probably had it and she had years of heart problems and died at 72. He’s older than that and still fit and healthy because of the statins.

They can test for the genetic cause. When my Dad found out about his levels I went to my GP and had a standard cholesterol test (mine was surprisingly good). If it had been high I would’ve been referred for more testing.

S

Sugar effects cholesterol. It's not true it's all fatty foods.

I have high cholesterol to the point the optician picked it up. Mine is genetic and even though it came back at 8.4 my risk was only 1% as fit, active, non-smoker, high "good" cholesterol etc etc

I then incidentally had a stroke (sticky blood) so I am currently on the highest dose of Atorvastatin despite only weighing 8.5 stone. Anyway haven't noticed any side effects and level has dropped to 3.6 in 2 months.

Cholesterol in women rises as they become peri-menopausal then menopausal, all those female hormones keep it lower. Going on HRT is an option to look at as well.

Named changed, just to share my experience, I have had very high cholesterol off the scale bad, my doctor put me on statins, must admit I was not keen at all to take them.

Took them for just over a week, never again I really suffered and one thing was nosebleeds which I have never had in my life. So I stopped taking them and looked at alternatives.

My high reading is hereditary nothing to do with my diet etc (Doctor agreed with this) so I lost some weight, cut down on a lot of fats, started taking omega fish oils and plant tablets and as this happened during the first lockdown I used a company called Thriva to do private testing each 3 months. Finger prick then send it off through the post, results usually within 48 hours with a detailed diagnosis from a doctor.

First test was horrendous really high, 2nd test much improved, and on it went, last test my cholesterol has drastically dropped, still some improvement to go but I have done this without statins which I will never take again. There are other ways to reduce cholesterol without statins.

But go to the doctors first then take it from there.

Thankyou everyone - that’s helpful although I’m pretty scared after hearing your experience with a stroke Randommess - I have small children!

It is my sticky blood that caused the stroke. I have had every vascular and heart check going to ascertain that my high cholesterol hasn't caused any issues to date. It's because I had the stroke that they now want my cholesterol lower which seems a bit strange as it wasn't the cause but as I've not got side affects from the statins I'm not going to argue.