High cholesterol after hysterectomy

[shellbell225]

I am 49 years old and had a hysterectomy last august. prior to that my cholesterol was a little high but now it is as follows:

Total 279
Trig 151
HDL 50 LDL 211

My doctor suggested meds however I have an extreme allergy to most meds so I am scared to death to take them. I started exercising/walking 30 mins a day almost 8 weeks ago. I am also watching what I eat. Is there a correlation of me having the hysterectomy and it going up. I am beyond scared. I can't take HRT cause the reason for my hyster was cancer of the lining of the uterus. Please someone help me or just talk to me I need some advice and support.

Thank you!

[shellbell225]

Thank you so much for the info. I definitely will look into all the info you provided.

[Red_Star]

To add, 75% who suffer a heart attack have normal cholesterol levels.

"If estrogen has a prominent anti-inflammatory effect, this action may help to explain why women have a much lower risk of atherosclerosis (which begins as an inflammation of the blood vessel walls) than men until menopause," said Paresh Dandona, M.D., UB professor of medicine and head of the Division of Endocrinology in the UB School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, who is senior author on the study. "Once women hit menopause, their heart-disease risk rises to that of men.

"This is the first demonstration in vivo of estrogen's precise molecule anti-inflammatory behavior," he said.

Excerpt from "Estrogen May Lower Women's Risk of Heart Disease by Working as Damper on Inflammation, UB Study Shows" - University Of Buffalo.

[Red_Star]

I've read oestrogen affects the blood cholesterol levels and also regulates the circulation of LDL and HDL. Interesting.  According to Dr Sandra Cabot "the risk of cardiovascular disease can be reduced by 50% by taking oestrogen at or soon after the menopause".

Phytoestrogens are a natural alternative to hormone replacement therapy.  Found naturally in plants, phytoestrogens may help protect against breast cancer, bone loss, hot flashes, and high cholesterol.  Scientists have discovered hundreds of phytoestrogens including soybeans, seeds (especially flax), whole grains, nuts (especially walnuts) and many herbs.  Phytoestrogens herbs include black cohosh, **** quai, red clover, alfalfa, licorice, Korean ginseng, wild American ginseng, kudzu root.

My mother used a product by Blackmores called Phytolife (contains soy phytoestrogens). She read an article where Japanese rarely suffer symptoms of menopause due to the high soy content in their diet. I believe it took about three months to kick in and all her estrogen deficiency symptoms went away. She took this product for the next three years until she found she didn't need it anymore.