Suddenly have high cholesterol

[HighCholesterolHorror]

I had a shock this week because I have a long term health issue where I have regular blood tests.

The clinic gave me a cholesterol test as well (without asking or telling me which seems a bit odd).

I was then sent a text out of the blue telling me I have high cholesterol and need to try to reduce it through diet. Has anyone been through this and have any advice on what changes worked for them?

@IMustDoMoreExercise it felt brutal tbh rather than efficient. I’m flagged as a carer on the GP database and I’m anxious and have been on the verge of a breakdown this year. I would have liked to hear this from someone who could answer my questions. It was sent just before the surgery closed and didn’t tell me the actual test result just “high”, which felt really scary.

Also @IMustDoMoreExercise surely if I was really obese or had high blood pressure I would be at greater risk, but the lack of follow up means I don’t even know what my bp is. I know my bmi and that’s right at the top of normal. I’m in the ‘green’ zone but only just.

Make whatever changes will help to make sure you're taking your daily levo dose. For me it was moving my tablets from the bathroom cabinet to my bedside table so I could take them before I even get out of bed (and could get distracted by other things). Add a pack of the cholesterol reducing yogurt drinks to to your weekly shopping list. I really doubt it's anything to worry about at this stage. Easily done, and easily fixed.

@Kitkat1523 I’m almost 50 and I really appreciate your advice. I will be working on diet.

@DogInATent thank you. This is a really sensible and reassuring way to see it.

I have always been really active but another factor could be an injury that meant I've had to half my usual amount of exercise.

My cholesterol was a bit elevated which they weren't happy about as I also have heart issues. I've improved it with dietary changes (more oats, oily fish) as my good cholesterol was too low and also using the plant sterol spread.
You can get additional cholesterol checks done at a pharmacy after a few months to see how you're getting on.

@Bamboozled5 that is brilliant that you’ve improved it! With oats did you do porridge in the morning?

Yes, they should have told you the level or at least asked you to phone the surgery for the results rather than just saying it was high.

But I think that if it was very high then they would have seen you as but I agree that they should have given more detail or none at all.

Oh Im ok :)

But seriously the nurse admits to me that my "high" readings - 5.1 last month - non fasting - are due to what I drink and hypertension and the letters sent out are generated because I have ticked the boxes and are catch alls. When we sat and chatted shes more then happy to not prescribe because apart for the amount of alcohol, theres sod all wrong with me. I have a healthy BMI, my waist is smaller then boobs and hips. I walk marathons and park runs. I easily do 15k steps in a day. Neither side of the family have had heart problems, theres a familial history of hypertension but that's being controlled by medication and has been since my teens.She too couldnt tell me what was high because they no longer do fasting levels. So no way am I going on statins until there is proof that Ive the "bad" cholesterol

Im old school, I cook from scratch, I eat a lot of fish , eggs, lean proteins, more veg then you can shake a stick at, keep the bread and cake to a minimum and preferably Homemade . Processed food in this house tends to be stuff like baked beans, tomato ketchup and gravy granules, else its made at home from proper ingredients - yes I make mayo and hummus and all that stuff, Ham is sliced off a boiled gammon, bacon I try to get the clean stuff or use turkey rashers ( processed but less animal fats)

Long story short, if you know you are eating healthily and cleanly, exercising regularly , you have a healthy BMI and you don't have any other risk factors, I wouldn't be too worried . But Im not a doctor and Im not offering medical advice

Don’t worry too much about your BMI if it’s under 25 ….mine is 20.2 and my cholesterol is still higher than yours …..defo ask for you BP to be checked…..there’s no follow up for high cholesterol at my gp either….you gotta do all the asking yourself….. I get mine checked every 6 months…. It’s always fine….but good to keep on top of it

I would be made up if mine was 5 …..our surgery start telling you it’s high from 6 onwards

Was diagnosed with high cholesterol in October and it’s a real shock. I have and under active thyroid too and that means my body isn’t that great at dealing with cholesterol.

i have brought it back down to normal range by totally overhauling my diet. No red meat, no butter, v v little cheese. Eating more salmon and oily fish, avocado, nuts, daily bowl of overnight oats. Drastic reduction of cakes/pastries/chocolate. Also drink a daily cholesterol lowering yoghurt drink, there’s a good podcast on these in the BBC “sliced bread” series - they do work, and the cheap Aldi ones are just as effective as the branded ones.

Ladies just want to thank you one and all. I feel so much less scared now I’ve got my head round it a bit. I’m going to start with ten things I can do really easily from next week.

1. Take my Levothyroxine every day without fail

2. Stop missing meals when things kick off with the little ones (can be very hard because of the disabilities involved) and try to prioritise eating at least something for every meal. Missing meals is leading to bad snacking with crisps etc

3. Add a portion of oily fish to my diet every week

4. Buy whole grain bread at bakery and always have some in the freezer so I can eat a healthy sandwich rather than being tempted by other things for lunch (we’ve been buying brown bread but the make we’ve been getting is not nice any more)

5. Take packed lunch to work to avoid bad lunch choices

6. Eat fruit every morning and after dinner and always have some veg with lunch. I’m very rarely getting to 5 a day

7. Try to cut down red meat and eat more lean meat - chicken breast baked in foil etc with chicken salad

8. Try to eat less cheese

9. Overall eat more fish - at least one portion white fish per week

10. Stop drinking Diet Coke. I only started this about 6 months ago and because I was so sleep deprived. It seems this can lead to raised cholesterol (who knew?!)

Thats something else, there just doesn't seem to be any consistency

Im on another forum for the other 50s and some are saying theirs in between 6 & 7 and still they are not getting pressurised into taking statins . Obviously I don't know what else is going on in their medical history but it doesn't seems to be consistent across trusts/HA's

Ive just checked back - changing my diet brought my total cholesterol down from 7.9 to 5. GP said she’d give me a sticker she was so pleased. Aged 51 at the time, menopausal, underactive thyroid. Also lost 2 stone which was a bonus.

You can do this, and if it stays stubbornly high, statins are very effective.

@Misthios thank you! That’s very reassuring and I’m not surprised GP wanted to sticker you.

I’m also thinking maybe menopause is playing a part here. I have started having a few peri symptoms and just read cholesterol can rise somewhat with menopause. Reading this now! www.health.harvard.edu/womens-health/take-control-of-rising-cholesterol-at-menopause

Mine has been high for some time and didn’t respond to levothyroxine treatment, healthy diet and loads of daily exercise (which I’ve done for years). I even tried psyllium husk and eating probiotics such as making my own kimchi, drinking kefir etc. But it kept rising and reached nearly 7. I am not particularly overweight and have always been around a size 12.

The GP did more blood tests for Lipoprotein (a) which you have to pay for as it’s quite a new test. LP(a) makes the LDL cholesterol stickier and potentially more fatal. It is also genetic. It came back with very elevated levels so I was immediately put onto statins to get the LDL cholesterol down and therefore the overall risk. I also had a calcium score done and fortunately that was zero.

No side effects from the statins so far and the LDL is finally coming down. So sometimes there are scenarios in which statins may be appropriate and I feel satisfied I tried everything. My mother also went on statin type medication at my age and is a healthy almost 90!

Yes I do a sort of overnight oats with berries and grapefruit.

@WalkingaroundJardine really glad to hear your LDL is now coming down.

Yup, it's a perfect storm of menopause and dodgy thyroid.

I am not a porridge fan but do like overnight oats. I make mine with fat free natural yoghurt, some berries (usually blueberries or rasps, don't like it with strawberries), some sultanas, raisins, dried cranberries, dates or whatever I have in the cupboard, dessert spoon of chia seeds, honey to sweeten. when i'm about to eat it, I slice in a banana. It's inexpensive and tasty, I often buy whatever fruit is in the reduced at the supermarket to make it with, if you're smooshing up berries to mix with oats and yoghurt doesn't matter if they're a wee bit bashed, does it?

I also started intermittent fasting about the same time as trying to drop cholesterol as I was never really a breakfast person anyway. So I usually have my oats about midday. Or on days I'm not having oats, i'll have something like a toasted bagel with an egg (eggs are fine for cholesterol), and a sliced avocado. If you're a crisps sort of person, I recommend the little rice crackers which are much lower fat and just as tasty.

I’ve just realised another factor. I have other medical history that means I take a prescribed Vit D supplement daily. I’m supposed to take this before bed. I have been falling asleep with exhaustion fully dressed in the early evening the last 6 months once kids are in bed and often missing out this tablet. Having googled it looks like Vit D deficiency can also raise cholesterol.

So this is going to be the 11th first initial step

11. Take my Vit D prescription daily as soon as I go upstairs before I sit/lie down for “a second” that turns into sleeping until 4 am

I’m just going to post a one week update for myself to look back at since I’ve now been seriously trying to cut the cholesterol for a week.

I’ve done well at taking my meds, increased fruit and veg intake, no alcohol, soft drinks or crisps. Tried to up water and have eaten no red meat at home.

I’ve found it harder when things have cropped up where it’s socially expected to eat things that aren’t on my list of ideal. Eg a retirement meal where set menu had been ordered which included beef and deep fried prawns. Also a picnic where the host only provided (delicious) ham sandwiches.

I’ve cut cheese down, ate more fish - one white fish meal sandwich far and a salad with salmon.

More or less not skipped meals but have not managed to find time to make the packed lunch for work.

So far I’ve lost about 0.5kg