Managing cholesterol

Question

I am 32 yrs old and weights 131 lbs at 5' 3 ". Despite controling my diet and doing karate 3 hrs per week I have high cholesterol (287) and high triclyceride (250). I am at a lost and don't know how best to control it. At these levels I feel dizzy and lethargic. Please advise.

mkh9 · Answer

Hi again,
Regarding vytorin, it is a combo of zetia and zocor. There was a study that said that although the Vytorin will lower the cholesterol, it didn't have good effects to prevent heart attacks. Howeverk, Crestor was shown to reduce plaque and had better results in clinical studies. Also, with the Niaspan, it is known to raise HDL level but HDL is not necessarily protective as they thought. But that study may be skewed because it was done on all cardiac patients.You may want to read about Vytorin there was a problem with it and I can't remember all the details.
take care,
mkh9

love_spell · Answer

My GP thinks its familial cholesterol indeed.  As my mother also has issues controling hers.  He has prescribed Vytorin for me. I did do the full lipid panel and the HDL was 48 and LDL was above 150.  I did check glucose level and it was ok.  

I have been making great efforts to sticking to my diet.  Oatmeal for breakfast and no beaf, pork or shellfish.  Fish at least twice per week and lots of protein from beans.  I rarely eat eggs.  

As to exercise.  I do martial arts 3 days per week for an hr, but for the past week due to the light-headedness I haven't gone.  

My doctor has requested a liver function test.  I will discuss doing screening for hypothyroidism.  

Thanks!  Will update later.

mkh9 · Answer

It sounds like you have familial high cholesterol. The only FDA approved drug that has had clinical trails is Crestor. It is a statin drug so you have to watch for muscle pain , fatigue with it. If you get any tell you doctor right away. Have they done a full lipid panel on you too? Diet only lowers your cholesterol by about 10%. So, it helps to not eat any extra cholestrol as your liver is what genetically controls the amount of receptors you are born with that break down cholesterol. So, try not eating anything with partially hydrogenated fat (trans fat), none. Also, have no egg yolks, no bacon, and so forth. Eat whole wheat cereal with fruit for breakfast, non fat milk or vanilla soy milk. lots of vegies and fruits etc. Very light on meats. If you HDL (high density lipoprotein) is low then you may have to take slow Niacin as well. If not you may be able to take vitorin instead. Exercise is very important too. Long walks are good. But I wouldn't do it yet until you find out why you are dizzy and lethargic. Have your fasting blood sugar and thyroid checked as well as sometimes this can cause dizzyness. But also, clogged arteries and your thyroid, too could do this. You need to have a more thorough exam. Hypothyroidism can make your cholesterol go up or harder to get rid of and make you tired and maybe dizzy too. My husband has all of the above too. Let me know how it goes as I'm interested in what happens.
take care,
mkh9