Cholesterol advice

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Good afternoon lovely mumsnetters. Help.

I had a blood test recently to check for arthritis. The test has come back fine, however they have flagged up that I have high cholesterol. I've had a bit of a conflab with the GP as she told me I need to go on statins and I've refused.

Im 5ft 8, just over 10stone, I exercise daily, I rarely drink alcohol, pretty low stress levels due to anti anxiety meds, my diet is pretty good and my total Cholesterol is 6.1.

2 Years ago when it was just under 6 I was scared by the GP telling me I needed to reduce it but was then told by one of the lead GP's at the practice not to worry. Now they're scaring me again. I told the GP today that and she said its all changed....again. I told her its not coincidence that lower fat diets over the years coincide with the higher prevalence of Dementia, to which she poo pooed. Yes, I know she's the professional.

I've been told that higher cholesterol can be caused by inflamatory markers which would coincide with the inflammtion in my joints from the start of arthritis. (GP confirmed this from a recent Xray of my knee).

Can anyone help as Im at my wits end. I try everything to stay healthy.

My tola Cholesterol is 6.1
HDL 1.6
Serum try something 1.0
Serum HDL ratio 3.8
LDL Cholesterol 4.0
Non HDL 4.5

Any advice greatfully received before I volunteer myself to the knackers yard!

How old are you?
Why don't you want to take statins?
The GP will have done a qrisk assessment which works out your risk of a cardiac event, do you know what that was?
They are a very effective way of reducing cholestrol.

Hi Wery

I'm 53. Pretty healthy generally for my age. Don't carry excess weight, dont smoke, however I do take anto anxiery meds ans UCL have reported that this can increse your risk of developing high levers of HDL Cholesterol.

I don't want to take it due to the risks. I already feel sick every day and already have IBS, I have a number of digestive issues and dont want to make them worse. These issues are one of the resons I take anti anxiety meds as its so debilitating. Plus i already struggle with sleep issues.

The GP didnt take any of my other meds into account. All she said was 'you need to take statins!'. I told her I wanted to do a bit of my own research before diving in.

I would like to try and lower it myself but I honestly don't know what I could do that would be beneficial.

I'm 6.6 and also not taking statins for now. A few years ago I changed my diet and it did drop to 5 but it's slowly gone up as I've got older. I'm 51 and was told it's quite common to start going up now. I have gone on HRT though as apparently that is protective for the heart

I've got very similar levels to yours, I'm a bit older (57) and know that your levels do go up with menopause. I don't smoke, don't drink, have had a healthy vegetarian diet for years and years that , run about 20 miles a week and lift heavy weights 2 or 3 times a week.

I'm reluctant to go on statins too even though I have levels that suggest I should. There are too many tales of people developing muscle problems that stop them exercising and then they go into a rapid decline and have a miserable life. And even the comon side effects listed on the NHS website sound grim:

• headache
• dizziness
• feeling sick
• feeling unusually tired or physically weak
• digestive system problems, such as constipation, diarrhoea, indigestion or farting
• muscle pain
• sleep problems
• low blood platelet count

I have similar levels to you (6.8). I'm 45 and have an active healthy lifestyle. My qrisk is the lowest it can be (1%) and so I have been told to try to manage with diet and lifestyle for a year!! I literally have no idea how my diet and lifestyle can be improved so I'm waiting for the inevitable statins. Mine is likely familial hypercholestimia Honestly though statins have relatively low levels of side effects and work wonders. I'd rather have them than drop dead of a heart attack prematurely

Exactly the same 52 and was so shocked to find out that I had high cholesterol and triglycerides.

I don’t smoke or drink, exercised all my life, lift weights, run, don’t drive but walk everywhere, healthy weight, don’t eat meat but follow a Mediterranean diet with lots of pulses, fish, veg and low saturated fat - I couldn’t see how I could improve my diet so I started the statins (no side effects at all) whilst waiting for my lipid clinic appointment to come through. Incidentally, they contacted my GP last week to request that my thyroid be tested too as hypothyroidism can raise your cholesterol.

I’m 59 ….mines over 6 , up from 4….caused by a medication I take….over 6 is high….it needs to come down….I am going all out to try and reduce by diet….I will have my bloods repeated in 6 months then decide upon my options…..so last every breakfast…..salmon / mackerel 3 times a week…..no alcohol….brown bread/pasta and rice…..pulses ….benecol spread and cholesterol reducing drink every day ( with plant sterols) …..the dietician said these drinks don’t work for everyone, but when they do they can has a make a massive difference to lowering cholesterol……they cost 2.70 for 8 from Aldi so worth trying imo

Similar levels here and I take statins with no side effects whatsoever. Take it from someone who had a stroke that the statins are better than the alternative.

Thanks for all of your comments. I too wonder how I can improve my diet. I'm calling the surgery in the morning to speak to one of the partners to see if I can do anything diet wise for a few months to see if that lowers it, and also what the effects from my current meds will be on my cholesterol levels.

@Kitkat1523 thank you, im going to stop by and get some of those drinks in the morning. Willing to do anything. x

The NHS and BHF advice is decades out of date. Try getting an LDL subsfractions test on the NHS to see what your LDL is really like. You have no chance. You could get one done privately.

Basically large LDL particles are now considered healthy, only small LDL particles are potentially problematic - especially if an ex-smoker - as the smoking damages the arterial lining and that allows plaque to form (plaque contains small LDL particle remnants but not large LDL particles).

The best marker for cardio risk is now known to be Triglycerides/HDL : needs to be less than 2, but the lower the better.

The best heart healthy diet is a low carb version of the mediterranean diet (less grains more fish/meat). Trust someone who had a heart attack 5 years ago and has obsessed about cardiac science and diet ever since.

Statins are not bad per se, the best thing about them is that they reduce arterial inflammation, the cholesterol lowering is by the by really. I take them (maximum dose) and no side effects. My FIL though had awful leg/muscle pain from statins - I suggest you try them and see.

If you want to understand the science try to find the videos on youtube with Thomas Dayspring.

Get a dieticians referral from your gp….I had a telephone a
ppontment with a dietician 8 days after I was referred

By personal choice I declined statins when total chol was 6.2. In fact I've had high chol for years and years and was always advised to go the statin route. I had no risks for it, similar to many others, no smoking, not overweight, etc. etc.

I am 66 now, and was in hospital for cardiac monitoring due to being diagnosed with Atrial Fibrillation. One of the tests was a Coronary Artery CT Calcium Scan. To everyone's surprise the score was Zero. So despite high chol over many years I had no plaque build up at all. Just shows you!

I've no need to take statins now. I am not sure how easy it is to get such a scan on NHS, but the scans do seem to confirm whether or not there is a plaque build up which makes the decision to take (or not take) statins a bit easier.

@halava that's really interesting, thank you. I had a scan last year as I've got a leaky mitral valve and they didn't flag anything up then. Ill ask the doc tomorrow to clarify.

I have high total cholesterol (6.1) and I'm 43. I am overweight.

My good cholesterol is really high (2) and my LDL is a bit high (3.7) but my HDL ratio is 3.5 and I've read it's that that's important. It needs to be below 5. From what I've read the ratio is what should be relied on? Not sure if that's true.

It's extremely difficult to make much of a reduction in cholesterol by diet alone.
I think there is a lot of rumour around side effects but little evidence. There was a study done which found the same "side effects" were reported by those on placebo as those on statins.
I take a low dose because although my cholesterol is low my qrisk is high. It's a very small thing that may or may not reduce my risk of a stroke.
I've had zero side effects.

Wishing you well. It's possible that the scan you had might not have been specific for calcium, but no harm asking!

Just to say I was in the same position- high cholesterol but normal weight, non smoker, teetotal gym bunny. No amount of eating super healthy food made any difference.

Bit the bullet and started on Statins six months ago - absolutely no side effects for me.

@GoogleWhacking they can do a blood test to look for familial hypercholesterolaemia. It also runs in my family but I don't have it

Same. Long term exerciser, normal weight and Mediterranean diet. Began statins 2 months ago - no side effects so far.
I have heard that 70% of cholesterol is produced by the liver and only 30% is diet related. Diet can make a difference for some people but not everyone.

I'm surprised with a leaky mitral valve you aren't already on statins.

DH has been on statins since his mid 30s owing to his heart valve and a valve replacement. No side effects at all.

Your ratio is 3.8, is that right OP

It should be below 4 for optimum health so that looks good to me

On the other hand, someone like you who has a good diet and exercises and isnt overweight, there isnt a lot you can do yourself to improve, so to protect yourself you cant do it by diet and exercise alone, hence the need for meds if you want to reduce your overall cholesterol

Ask her about the ratio and whether she is taking that into account

My ratio is still higher than I would like but it has come down from 6!!

My overall cholesterol remains at 6 despite huge weight loss and my ratio improving. Im trying to get my ratio below 4

I take statins with no side effects. I think the side effects are a bit of a myth.

Statins aren’t always particularly effective for women. They’ve got fantastic marketing though so get prescribed like candy. Have a look at diet that actually lowers (rather than doesn’t increase) cholesterol- add fibre, oats, legumes. Red rice supplement was good for me.