Got my cholesterol down fast!

[AmBlue]

I was recently diagnosed for the first time with very high cholesterol (total=261, LDL=177), and I have some family history of heart disease. I lost one of my parents and a grandparent to CHF. So, naturally, my PCP wanted to put me on a statin. I personally know someone who was crippled for life by a statin, so I refused the statin and committed to diet and lifestle changes for 90 days.

I immediately started back on the treadmill 5 days a week doing walk/jog intervals, and following Dr Joel Fuhrman's Nutritarian program. It's mostly vegetarian, but I do eat fish or lean poultry once or twice a week. I also am supplementing with garlic, bergamot, omega-3 and plant sterols in addition to my multi-vitamin.

So... long story short, I had a reason to have bloodwork again just 9 days after I started the program and my cholesterol has dropped drastically! My total cholesterol is now normal at 198 (63 pt drop). My LDL is down to 133 (44 pt drop). I never dreamed these changes would take effect so quickly and dramatically, but my doctor is astounded and so am I. I just wanted to share in case this can help anyone else here dealing with high cholesterol.

[no_hypocrisy]

1. Congratulations!

My cardiologist and endocrinologist both have insisted that I take statins due to my age (67) and I have a 75% blockage in my left carotid artery. No time to wait to change.

My cholesterol too has greatly reduced.

Good luck to you!

[AmBlue]

3. Thanks and back atcha!

I understand.. glad you are able to tolerate the statin and your #s are down. I am 65 and this is some scary stuff!!

[no_hypocrisy]

8. Yeah, my cardiologist read me The Riot Act in a nice way.

I had choices still versus "get your affairs in order".

I just want vitality, if not longevity, in my medical travels.

[AmBlue]

20. I got the same from my PCP

Now I can't wait to go back and see her, but she had the audacity to go out on maternity leave!! So I guess I have to wait.

[Doodley]

2. Congrats! Great to see such quick results! Assuming you keep it up, you just extended your life!

[AmBlue]

4. Thank you!

I am just amazed that doctors all just immediately go to prescribing statins when there is a healthy way to manage it with diet/lifestyle. I could not be happier with how quickly I was able to get it down.

[MotownPgh]

9. In the dr.'s defense, 60 % of Americans

are overweight and would rather take a pill than make lifestyle changes. Same Americans that demand an antibiotic for the flu.

[AmBlue]

11. Agree

But for those of us willing to make the changes, it's certainly worth a try. Even folks already on serious meds have had remarkable results if they are willing to make lifestyle changes: https://www.drfuhrman.com/success-stories

For those unwilling to change or whose genetics don't respond to food/diet/exercise, well, there's only meds.

[TommieMommy]

5. Excellent 👍 congratulations

[AmBlue]

12. Thanks!

I'm pretty stoked. 😄

[Shermann]

6. Impressive result

My total/LDL numbers two years ago were 260/170, very close to yours. They'd been around the same range but rising slightly for many years. My doctor gave me one last chance last year to employ diet and exercise. I was already near an ideal weight and exercised 45 minutes per day, but I cut out red meat entirely for a year. It only lowered to 258/165 and on the statins I went. I finally got my lab results back and am down to 153/70.

As I understand it, high cholesterol can be hereditary and not all forms of it will respond to diet and exercise. So, I'm unlucky in that regard, but appear to be lucky in terms of being able to control it with medication without any adverse reactions.

I'm frightened of medications after a few bad experiences but no longer research side-effects ahead of time. I'll just end up doom-scrolling and psyching myself out. So, I just take the plunge. If something starts going wrong, I'll do some research and contact my doctor then. There are good medications available that work. Different doses are prescribed and I'm actually on a low dose.

[AmBlue]

16. You're very lucky

...that you can tolerate the statins and have your cholesterol under control now. Congratulations!!

I hear you about the side effects and how you can talk yourself out of meds before ever trying them. In my case, my dr (accidentally) freaked me out by letting me know that if I was the rare case of someone who has a severe reaction on statins, the damage to muscle tissue could be permanent after just one dose. This is exactly what happened to my friend. So I feel super lucky that my genetics are responding to exercise and a nutrient-dense plant-based diet.

[SheltieLover]

7. WOW! Congrats!

[AmBlue]

15. Thank you!!!!

[in2herbs]

10. High cholesterol is also related to stress. I fear the med establishment is not considering the stress Trump

has on us and relates it only to life style, diet, and genetics.

[AmBlue]

17. No doubt

...TSF is a societal menace that has put our entire nation through the wringer. It is impossible to quantify the detrimental impact he has had on all of us. I know he certainly stresses me out!

[Warpy]

13. My dad's cholesterol spiked enough in his 80s that his doc prescrobed Lipitor

He called me one night, unusual for him, and said he'd been feeling a little weak and one thumb wouldn't work. So I told him to stop taking the Lipitor and call his doc for a quick appointment, they were going to need to check his blood for a serious reaction to the Lipitor. I said if the appointment couldn't be a quick one, to start eating whole grain oats in the morning I mentioned oatmeal and the various forms of Cheerios that were so sugared up they could be eaten out of hand as snacks.

Next phone call mentioning his cholesterol, he said the doc was thrilled with how well he was doing on the Lipitor. I asked if he was still taking it. He said nope, he was feeling his Cheerios.

When he died at 89, I found YEARS of uncashed Lipitor prescriptions on the kitchen counter, along with boxes of various flavors of Cheerios and one lonely box of oatmeal.

Not all people react the way my dad did, but if you want to knock that total cholesterol down even more, consider whole oats in the morning. Other whole grains will help, but whole oats are the best.

[AmBlue]

14. You are exactly right!

Good on you for suggesting it!! I've switched to steel-cut oats with walnuts, berries, ground flax or chia, and a splash of almond milk. I've read that oats has this almost magical effect of absorbing cholesterol and then of course normal digestion takes it from there. It also tastes great with a little cinnamon and vanilla.

[Warpy]

18. For people who don't like weet stuff in the morning and crave protein, there's goetta

Basically, it's cooked steel cut oats, ground meat, onions, black pepper, and any herbs or spices one cares to add. My grandmother formed hers in tin cans, but since cans can't be opened at the bottom any more (boo, hiss), loaf pans will work just as well. Once cooled, it cn be sliced and fried in a very small amount of oil or grease, iwth or without a fried egg on top.

It's a little like haggis without the gastric component. It's remarkably good for how simple it can be. If you can't say the "o" with an umlaut, you can get away with pronouncing it "GUT-ah." You can find it on diner menus in Ohio, Indiana and part of Illinois, wherever people from the Franco-German border settled.

[pansypoo53219]

19. cholesterol side effect. was doing 'bean' soups. learned tea good. super tea 2 times a day. 3 bags. i prefer weak tea.

add fruit. grapefruit my fav.