Sad day

(Jeanine) #1

Hi everyone. I went for blood work and dr informed me colesterol 320. LDL 250. She is very concerned and want to put me on meds. She told me to stop keto. I’m very very upset. Been ketoing since October 2018 and 50 lbs down.

(Polly) #2

You don’t have to do what your doctor advises. Please read up about ldl because there are many who do not think it relevant. The crucial ratio in assessing cardiac event risk seems to be hdl/triglycerides.

Maybe, find another doctor?

(Alec) #3

You have a choice. Your Dr works for you, not the other way round. If your Dr is concerned about you getting CVD, ask them to prescribe a CAC scan.

My Dr wanted me on a statin, I simply said no. He wasn’t surprised.

The only thing in your post that affects CVD is that you lost 50lbs. That is a HUGE win and massive health improvement. Anyone who tells you to stop doing keto does not deserve your trust because they are acting from ignorance.

(Alec) #4

Also, why does your dr want to reduce your LDL when that increases All Cause Mortality risk?

World Health Organisation data. Zoe Harcombe added the trend line. Statins and the conventional wisdom do not make sense. But the drug companies are making squillions.

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(Allie) #5

Do your own research instead of blindly following someone else’s opinion.

(Carl Keller) #6

There are zero honest studies that prove that a high LDL by itself puts you at a greater risk for coronary heart disease. In the Framingham study, a higher LDL was associated with a greater life expectancy in the older population.

Average lipids in patients hospitalized with coronary heart disease (N=136,905). 104 LDL, 161 Trigs, 39 HDL.

(John) #7

Or, you could do what I do and just take the prescribed statins. I don’t observe any side effects and it keeps my cholesterol numbers in normal levels.

(Eric - The patient needs to be patient!) #8

Also the lipid panel values can be all over the ranges depending on how you approached fasting.

12 - 14 hrs fasted. Not shorter not longer is recommended for the most accurate. Do not fast in the 3 days preceding the blood draw. Apparently IF 18/6 is okay according to Dave Feldman if you get sufficient calories and fat.

#9

Jeanine, I agree with all of the above but also want to point out that LDL numbers are usually wonky anyway while you’re losing weight. They tend to spike (and then later drop when you’ve been in maintenance for a while).
Look at some of Dave Feldman’s videos on cholesterol. They’re terrific.

#10

In addition to the links above about LDL-C as an indicator of coronary risk, I’d be interested in the other test results from the cholesterol panel. What are your trigs and HDL showing? Did you have a pre-keto test to see what direction your results are trending?

If your doctor is truly worried about the LDL and total cholesterol, you could request an NMR particle size / density test to see the type of LDL you have. LDL-C is a flawed metric at best. Looking to see if you are Pattern A or Pattern B will be helpful to decide your level of risk.

See also:

(bulkbiker) #11

Doesn’t necessarily mean there aren’t any though…

#12

One thing statins do is impair CoQ10 so are you taking a supplement for that?

(John) #13

Nope.

#14

“wonder-bread and processed turkey anyone?”

(Carl Keller) #15

Interestingly, I found this one N=39 study (among many other studies) that used the Trigs/HDL ratio to confirm LDL particle size. They found:

Seventy-five percent of the Small LDL group had TG/HDL-C ratios higher than 0.9 using mmol/L or 2.0 using mg/dL, while only 25% of the normal LDL group had ratios above the levels (p = 0.0013).

So from this we can determine that low trigs, high HDL means there’s a good chance your LDL particles are not small.

(Full Metal KETO AF) #16

Hi Jeanine, I would be interested in seeing your actual lab sheets, with just total cholesterol and LDL numbers there’s no way to know what’s really happening with your lipids. We need the HDL and triglycerides ratio and VLDL numbers too. :cowboy_hat_face:

(Marianne) #17

I just had bloodwork on May 15 - very similar results to your’s. I read a lot of stuff people posted to me here after I was bummed out like you are, and it made me feel better. Lot of people know their stuff here, as well as other renowned keto experts. I’m not going on meds - not for this. I trust that my high LDL actually balances some other stuff. Good luck.

(KCKO, KCFO) #18

Could you post your triglyceride to hdl ratio? That is far more telling about your cardiac risks.

Also, before taking a statin, get the NRM test done, to see the size of the LDLs, then a CAC scan done. If it is low, under 100 your good. Use this thread to learn more about CAC scan scores that are not optimal and how to slow, halt or even reverse the build up in this thread:

https://www.ketogenicforums.com/t/cac-scores-not-0-add-your-knowledge-here/85515

(Jeanine) #19

Triglycerides 101
LDL 250
HDL 71
Colesterol 320
Colesterol/HDL RATIO 4.5

(Jeanine) #20

Triglycerides 101
Colesterol 320
HDL 71
LDL 250
Colesterol/HDL ratio 4.5