Cholesterol

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oats with oat milk and honey....apple too. Big fan of porridge and oats but also like Bircher (Swiss muesli) with yogurt :shy:
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Dave7

Legendary Member
Location
Cheshire
A guy at the golf club said to me "these statins are great, I can eat as many cakes and crisps as I want"
Crazy attitude to me
 

ColinJ

Puzzle game procrastinator!
A guy at the golf club said to me "these statins are great, I can eat as many cakes and crisps as I want"
Crazy attitude to me
I have seen it with anticoagulation... I nearly died from bloodclots and ended up on meds for life. I took that as a BIG wake up call, gave up booze, lost over 25 kg (4 stone) in weight, made sure to up the exercise, and improved my diet. Others I know looked on the drugs as a way to enable them to remain fag-smoking, booze-swilling, junk food-eating couch potatoes... :wacko:
 

PaulSB

Legendary Member
So yesterday I had my annual day of checks on my dodgy heart. No news on that so far, but my blood tests showed that I have quite high cholesterol - I'm a 7 when I should be a 5 or below.

I'm a vegetarian/sometimes pescatarian who exercises at least 5 times/week. However I eat a load of dairy - whole milk, butter, cheese, yoghurt, coconut milk - and have very little resistance to cakes. I suspect that's what's to blame.

I'm determined to manage this through food and diet rather than take medication. I've done some research and have started my campaign this morning. But does anyone else have any experience of managing/lowering cholesterol through diet?

I had a heart attack and was stented in 2014. It was discovered only because I didn't feel well and decided a visit to A&E would be a good idea. Heart attacks do not necessarily feel the way we might imagine, there doesn't need to be any dramatic chest clutching. All I felt was a complete lack of energy and my speed dropped from +/-15mph to around 7!!! I understand it is more difficult to detect heart attacks in women than men as the symptoms are far from obvious.

The attack was due to a blockage caused by cholesterol. When my stent was fitted I lay on the operating theatre, fully conscious, I watched on a large overhead monitor as a microscopic "brush" was used to push through the blockage and all the vessels below immediately filled with blood. It's an unpleasant experience.

Some years previously I had a single cholesterol test which showed 6.7. During my rehabilitation I was given to understand if the 6.7 had been treated the heart attack probably would not have occurred. It was also stated the level was probably ignored because I am very fit and ride 4/5 times a week. It was also made plain I'm genetically disposed to high cholesterol and diet changes will never be enough to control this.

After my heart attack I was determined to alter my diet to eliminate all the foods which carry a cholesterol threat. I can assure you it is extremely difficult. You love dairy? Your daily intake of cheese should be one piece no larger than a matchbox. I don't argue one shouldn't do this nor that statins give carte blanch to eat as you wish. My point is only as someone who has been seriously ill I know how tough diet control for cholesterol can be.

I've taken Atorvastatin 80mg for 6 years with no side effects. I can't imagine risking a second heart attack through not taking the medication and attempting to control cholesterol through diet.

During my rehabilitation I realised I'd had the symptoms of a heart problem for 10-15 years. This was the tiniest of twinges in my chest which felt like a minute electric shock. These continued for a short period after my stenting. For years I'd dismissed this as tiny muscular twinges.

The rehabilitation staff made clear most men are unaware of the warning signs. Yet we are generally aware of the indicators for prostate issues. It's a question of education.

Drugs aren't handed out for no reason.
 
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I discovered that I am on 80 mg Atorvastatin. I've been on Statins for 15 years now since my heart attack.
The heart attack that put me in hospital was mild compared to the one I had a few years previously . I thought it was just indigestion. It was nothing compared to the previous one which I also thought was indigestion .
I was lucky as the cardiologist had said that a blocked artery had been replaced by a blood vessel which had taken over so no damage to the heart .
What I am under observation for is an enlarged aorta. I went in yesterday for a scan and will hear from the cardiologist later today .
 
OP
OP
Cathryn

Cathryn

Legendary Member
I discovered that I am on 80 mg Atorvastatin. I've been on Statins for 15 years now since my heart attack.
The heart attack that put me in hospital was mild compared to the one I had a few years previously . I thought it was just indigestion. It was nothing compared to the previous one which I also thought was indigestion .
I was lucky as the cardiologist had said that a blocked artery had been replaced by a blood vessel which had taken over so no damage to the heart .
What I am under observation for is an enlarged aorta. I went in yesterday for a scan and will hear from the cardiologist later today .
I have an enlarged aorta too (although it’s genetic). Woohoo! Aorta twins!
 

Gunk

Guru
Location
Oxford
I've been on a low dose of atoravastatin 20mg for 18 months. My cholesterol dropped to 5 quickly, and even though I often forget my tablet, it's still 5 (recent blood test)

Exactly the same for me, looks like mine was inherited from my father, my BMI is normal, I’m active and eat a varied diet. Cholesterol is a bit of a lottery
 

PaulSB

Legendary Member
I discovered that I am on 80 mg Atorvastatin. I've been on Statins for 15 years now since my heart attack.
The heart attack that put me in hospital was mild compared to the one I had a few years previously . I thought it was just indigestion. It was nothing compared to the previous one which I also thought was indigestion .
I was lucky as the cardiologist had said that a blocked artery had been replaced by a blood vessel which had taken over so no damage to the heart .
What I am under observation for is an enlarged aorta. I went in yesterday for a scan and will hear from the cardiologist later today .

Exactly the same for me. The body had already done all it could to fix the problem.
 

nickyboy

Norven Mankey
A guy at the golf club said to me "these statins are great, I can eat as many cakes and crisps as I want"
Crazy attitude to me
I kinda get it, but perhaps not to the extent of eating whatever you want as that impacts on your weight.

One of the benefits to me of statins is that I eat cake, cheese, chocolate as much as I want. I limit intake so as to not get fat, bit I don't worry about the impact on my cholesterol
 

JhnBssll

Veteran
Location
Suffolk
I'm another Atorvastatin user, 20mg does me just fine 🙂 I can't remember my numbers but they were all over the place. I had been pretty seriously ill with multiple organ failure which was contributing to it but high lipids runs in the family. I tried bringing it down with diet for several months but it had almost no effect so I was advised to start taking statins. I've had no problems at all and am quite happy to pop the little pill every evening for the foreseeable 😊
 
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