My GP and cholesterol levels

science
#1

Hi. I live in South Australia and have been doing keto for a few weeks and had a cholesterol blood test.
Results were LDL 6.1 HDL 1.7 Triglycerides 0.8
My GP was very concerned that with those results I have a high CVD risk and gave me a statin to start which made me feel nauseous so I stopped it ( I wasn’t really keen to take it anyway). I mentioned to her about having a test with a breakdown of the type of LDL but she wasn’t interested in ordering that as she said only Endocrinologists do.
I have been continuing on keto and walking daily but am still concerned that my cholesterol results are worrying.
Does anyone know of a doctor/ place in Adelaide where I can have a more detailed cholesterol test done? Or any other advice?

#2

Here is a link to Low Carb Down Under’s guide - https://lowcarbdownunder.com.au/resources/lchf-practitioners/ Not sure how up to date it is but there appears to be a few in Adelaide.

Edit to add - these are GPs (not endos) from the look of it but they may be able to help you.

(Trudy) #3

No help from me. I am in South Australia also, had my bloods taken at commencement of Keto in March and will redo next year. I do wonder what the results will be and how to respond if LDL is elevated.

#4

Thank you

(Ethan) #5

Tell your doctor she is an idiot. Lipidologists are the ones who are most interested in a cholesterol breakdown (nmr-I).

(Bacon is a many-splendoured thing) #6

Your ratio of triglycerides to HDL is 0.47, which is fantastic. Tell her to get up to date with the latest research. Tell her also that if she wants to assess your real risk for CVD, she should order a CAC.

You might also suggest that she should watch “The Widowmaker,” a movie about the CAC measurement, or this presentation by David Diamond:

#7

Thank you

#8

Good move on stopping the statin, don’t expect doctors to understand what you’re doing… or what THEIR doing when it comes to this stuff. It’s not easy to find functional medicine docs that are in the know with this stuff. Ya, your LDL is a little high, which doesn’t mean a whole lot as you already know. You’ve just started keto a couple week ago and have had a burst of dietary fat and no doubt some weight loss, of course your cholesterol will reflect that. I’d wait until your adapted and possibly not loosing a lot of weight before you get a particle breakdown, it’s going to be artificially high for a while.