I know its been addressed before, but my results just came in, and the doc wants me on medication. For the rest of my life. I need arguments/ideas against. (I also need someone to explain the ratios, etc. to me so I can understand them.)
My total number hasn’t changed since I was in my 20’s. (now 39)
Cholesterol, total: 254
HDL cholesterol: 77
VLDL Cholesterol: 20
LDL Cholesterol: 157
non-HDL cholesterol: 177
The only risk factor is family history, on my mother’s side. On my father’s side, everyone has lived into their 90s.
Like everyone else, I exercise alot, eat well 80% of the time.
I have high LDL and high HDL. In Canada we use mmol/L. LDL was 3.5 and LDL was 1.69 on my last test. We talked about the meds route with my doc. I have heart disease on both side of my family but my grandparents all lived into their 80’s/90’s on zero meds. So the tradeoff is dying of a heart attack, or going on meds at the age of 40 and perhaps die earlier of a messed up liver from the meds. As such, given the family history of living long and dying of strokes/heart disease, I am resigning myself to dying that way at some point (we all have to die, so may as well accept it and make the best of our time on earth).
In the mean time, I am racing almost as fast as ever at age 40 so I am not really worring about a heart attack…maybe I should be, but I am not :-). I am pretty good about my diet, which is low in sat fat, I take Omega 3 daily by grinding flax seed into cereal, I eat complex carbs as much as possible. I rarely eat red meat, and go with lean chicken breast or fish. The main thing is to keep the stress down, which sometimes is almost impossible with work, but you gotta earn $$$ to do the other things we love
First thing: why have you not asked your physican these questions?
The normal eat well and exercise route to lower cholesterol will not likely help an avid triathlete, so … the omega 3 route, niacin, etc. is at least worth a try if you have not already.
Problem with the drugs in triathletes: they can cause muscle breakdown and soreness. This can be mild, to debilitating and severe. If enough muscle breakdown occurs, the kidneys will not be happy trying to deal with all the byproducts … Since many triathletes are often very sore after a hard workout, you may not notice these things. Also, need to check liver function studies on a regular basis.
Taking statin drugs to lower cholesterol is based on numerous studies to show the risk vs. benefit ratio is good for the people in that study. I doubt one person was a triathlete. Bottom line - with no hx of heart disease, only 39 years old, tough call. Definitely listen to some (like Dev - nice post BTW), but please talk with your physican about this. May decide not too and just be extra vigilant about future check-ups, etc.
i have very similar case and numbers to Dev above - however my HDL was 4.2 (i think) now down near 3.8 - some family history of heart disease - reasonable diet - 5 ironmans and training for my 6th etc etc. My major issue is stress - high pressure job. I started on Ezetrol about 2 yrs ago and it controlled my numbers well with zero side effects. I have worked really hard on my diet for the last 3 months and dropped 8 pounds…and stopped the meds. Tested last week and get the results next week…hoping they are good.
Assuming your blood pressure is normal and you don’t smoke, your short-term risk (10 years) of having a coronary event is 2% according to the new guidelines for cholesterol management.
The most important component is the LDL, which should probably be less than 130 for you. Your HDL is great (evident that you exercise frequently). Your doctor is almost obligated to advise you to start therapy. You might get less than 130 if you bump the 80% to 90-95%, depending on how much red meat, fast food, processed junk food you eat.
I personally have taken cholesterol meds (statins) since I was 20, and haven’t noticed a difference in performance. Although, I’m now 29, and entering my 3rd triathlon season, and was on meds before starting triathlon training. There are definitely muscle related adverse effects in a small percentage of people, and you’re doctor should test for the serious kind. Another alternative to statins (lipitor, zocor, crestor, etc) is zetia, which blocks the absorption of cholesterol in the gut. Zetia won’t lower your cholesterol or LDL as much as a statin and hasn’t been proven to prevent coronary events, like statins. However, it might get you to your goal cholesterol and LDL. Plus, without having potential muscle-related side effects.
Personally, I haven’t had any problems with zocor or lipitor. When I stated at 20 years old, my cholesterol was 297 and LDL was 193. Your numbers don’t force you to go to statins, and you have options (no meds, improve eating, statins, and/or zetia).
I also have inherited high cholesterol. I’ve been on Lipitor for at least 6 years and have had no ill effects regarding my triathlon training/competing. I too, was very frustrated as I was active and ate well. However the medication works…
Lots of good replies but remember - it’s not necessarily for life. If the numbers go down (by better diet / omega3’s, luck, medication, whatever), you can taper off / completely stop the medication.
I am 46 years old and have been involved in every kind of sport since I was in middle school and high cholesterol levels since I was 25.I was never overweight and was always fit altough I was not watching my diet as much as I do right now.I decided not to have any blood tests done 2 years ago.
Never in my life I was below 210 total cholesterol and never used any kind of statin drugs.My family has a history of very high cholesterol on my fathers side and all my fathers aunts lived up to their 80’s with numbers like 300’s and my father is a very healthy 75 year old with 250 cholesterol and never used statins.
What I am trying to say is Cholesterol by itself especially the genetic kind that you acquire from your family is not a very high risk factor unless combined with High Blood Pressure,Diabetes or any other risk factor such as family history of heart disease,smoking and such.
Remember the day when anything below 200 level was considered normal…now they pulled the target numbers to 180??? did u ever think why???why is all the commercials about statins on the tv???where is this money coming from???what is the relationship between doctors and drug companies???
As an athlete I would never use any kind of statin or any other drug unless I am absolutely have to in a life or death situation.Once you start using them there is no turning back and side effects can be very serious.
My own measure of health is how I perform and feel in real life not some drug company declaring levels that puts %50 of the people living in this country in the high cholesterol bracket.
I’ve been there. The doc said to go on statins. I refused. He said I’d never get the numbers down. In three months I went from 242 to 190. Got as low as the high 170s. The answer was quite simple. I started reading labels. If it had any cholesterol or saturated fat, I didn’t eat it … period. I learned what I could eat and what I couldn’t.
In the process I dropped 11 pounds in a flash and I was just flat flying on the bike after that.
You can’t get away with eating well 80% of the time. The amount of damage that can be done with that other 20% is quite a lot.
This past Fall I backslid a bit when the season ended. My cholestrol shot right back to exactly 242. Proof that you must be ever-vigilant! I’m back on the diet again and the weight’s coming down. Blood work will be in another few weeks to see where we are.
Don’t believe anyone who says you can’t do it with diet and exercise. If you’re only eating right 80% of the time, you can fix your cholestrol problem with some willpower.
I took my total cholesterol from 242 to 180 in 6 weeks with 1500mg of “no flush” niacin per day and slight improvement of already good diet. There is substantial variation from person to person with this treatment but some of us are very strong responders. Its pretty cheap to try. We will test liver enzymes every 6 months initially but this is a pretty low dose.
Been on statins many years, Lipitor since it came out. I’m soon to be 49. Father died at 41 of an MI. High BP on both sides of the family. Everything was fine until last fall when the liver enzymes shot-up to 3-4x normal. I may have not helped myself when I was drinking a six-pac over several of the baseball and WS weekends. Took 6 weeks off the meds, restarted at 1/2 dose for 6 weeks, no alcohol. Repeat test was this am. We shall see.
I am 3 years younger and have almost the exact same numbers, maybe a tad worse (LdL 180-200) with slightly high BP (150/90 on bad days, 130/75 on good days).
I am still in denial: The only thing I have done is eat better (more veggies and fiber, less sodium and sat. fat less than 20 g / day) and take fish oil. Might as well be snake oil as it doesn’t change my numbers and neither does oatmeal or anything really.
I’m just not ready for the “juice:” Anything that pregnant women shouldn’t even touch I want to stay away from.
One more number: Cardio CRP. Mine is like .2 which claims I have no risk for cardiovascular disease. But the cholestrol numbers and high BP say otherwsie.
Remember, all this exercise makes all our hearts and arteries a lot strong. But I don’t know if that makes any difference.
43 years old and been on statins for over 10 years with no adverse affects (knock on wood). Lots of heart disease on my mothers side (3 uncles died from it and Mom has had a heart attack after bypass surgery) so why take the risk?
I totally agree. I am a label reading freak. I never realized how much sat fat, processed carbs and cholesterol there is in your dietary intake. Have a look at your garden variety energy/protein bar. If you are taking one a day, you might be taking in up to 7 g of sat fat from one of those alone! YIKES.
Its crazy: ANYTHING that can be cooked in less than 10 minutes has about 100% of your daily sodium. So, theoretically, if you eat processed foods won’t have a problem with hyponatremia (sp?)
I’m not sure why you are so intent upon talking your doctor out of the medication. I’ve been taking Questran regularly for almost twenty years, ever since my cholesterol had risen to around 300 in the late 1980s (not sure what the ratios were back then). My father had had his first heart attack around age 50; although that was no doubt partly the result of lifestyle factors, the genetic propensity was clearly there. I’m now age 57. Although my current total cholesterol of 202 is technically considered borderline, my current HDL / LDL ratio is excellent (HDL 87, LDL 95, VLDL 20). Furthermore, I was told by an electrocardiologist last year that my heart is in exceptionally good condition.
Obviously, I don’t know how much of the improvement to attribute to the drug and how much to attribute to good diet and/or triathlon training. I can tell you, however, that taking the drug has not interfered in any way with my lifestyle; at worst, it’s a minor annoyance. I’ve done all of my triathlons and all of my running PRs during the years I’ve been taking it.
