Post #390,161
5/31/14 9:17:41 AM
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Psyllium experiments.
So, the doc has been after me for a couple of years to get my cholesterol under 200 mg/dL... In January it was 252 (188 LDL) - much higher than it's ever been for me (it always used to be 200 - 210). He's also worried about my "small LDL particles" (small LDL-P) number. It should be below 527 nmol/L - and has been above 1000 (very high) for me on occasion. Those are bad as they are sticky and can clog things up... Earlier this month my total was 212 mg/dL (148 LDL) and my small LDL-P was 834 - still not good enough. That was after nearly eliminating cheese and not having milk with plain rolled-oats hot cereal in the mornings, and eating more soup (esp. Lentil). My weight has been creeping up over the years (around 160 lbs in January, around 152 lbs in May, when my ideal weight is probably around 145 lbs), so I'm working on bringing that down, but need to try more than that. My only notable anomaly is I have a "PFO" - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atrial_septal_defect - which isn't a big deal (~ 25% of people have it), but its another reason to keep my cholesterol under control. Box has mentioned that he believes that cholesterol numbers don't really matter - it's whether the stuff is sticking and clogging up your arteries. I'll be getting an ultrasound of my neck arteries sometime soon to check for that. I don't have any other notable risk factors, but my mom has had several strokes... Obviously more exercise is good, just for general principles, also too. He doesn't want to put me on statins, and my dad hated them when he was on them (muscle pain, etc.) - his cholesterol has been around 200 for decades. Anyway, the doc mentioned that getting more fiber is worth trying. "A 10% drop in your numbers would be a good thing..." So I did some reading of the Mayo Clinic web pages and other things. Of course, all fiber isn't equal, and even all soluble fiber isn't equal. It turns out, at least according to the doc and various things I've read, for the greatest cholesterol reduction, one wants a "viscous" soluble fiber as that grabs more of the stuff in your gut. That naturally is the most unpleasant to eat/drink... I got a can of whole husk psyllium from Amazon - http://www.amazon.com/Organic-India-Whole-Psyllium-12-Ounce/dp/B0016AXN7A/ I was originally planning on just trying adding oat bran to various things I eat (maybe sprinkling it on salads, soups, etc.), but it looked like I would have to eat pounds of the stuff to have the same effect. I've been using the psyllium for a couple of days - one level tablespoon in ~ 12 oz of warm brewed decaf tea in the evening before dinner. It's not difficult to drink in ~ 30s. It's amazing how full it makes me feel. It's not a pleasant feeling, but it's not horrible. No cramps or gas or other common side effects, yet anyway. I don't know how people do it 3x a day though... We'll see how it goes. Thus ends today's episode of "true confessions". :-) Cheers, Scott.
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Post #390,162
5/31/14 9:48:24 AM
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Good luck with that Scott!
Most mornings my wife fixes steel cut oats to get more fiber into us. It's not quick to cook, however. And then, there's green smoothies.
But, I should see a GP for a checkup. Haven't seen one since 2001. Should know my numbers.
I do see a dentist and an ophthalmologist on a regular basis.
Alex
"There is a cult of ignorance in the United States, and there has always been. The strain of anti-intellectualism has been a constant thread winding its way through our political and cultural life, nurtured by the false notion that democracy means that "my ignorance is just as good as your knowledge."
-- Isaac Asimov
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Post #390,163
5/31/14 9:48:56 AM
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Nuts!
Specifically almonds... I have changed my eating habits considerably to diet, lower cholesterol, and be generally healthier. I eat much smaller portions, but I snack through out the day. Almonds are great high protein, high fiber snacks. It's good for keeping lean tissue and losing fat. I get unsalted roasted almonds at Aldi and go through 2 bags a week at work. Ten bucks. It seems to be working; cholesterol is down, BP is down, weight is down. Not as fast as I'd like, but what is? "Religion, n. A daughter of Hope and Fear, explaining to Ignorance the nature of the Unknowable."
~ AMBROSE BIERCE
(1842-1914)
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Post #390,174
5/31/14 2:19:17 PM
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Metamucil is psyllium but with better texture
At least to me.
Yeah, I went the statin route. The pain was intense, and measurable via blood test.
I bailed on it, and did metamucil, atkins, and exercise.
Drop 75 pounds and my cholesterol as well.
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Post #390,198
6/1/14 5:21:44 AM
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Used that for cats..
For 'loose stools' -vs- some Big-pharma med with mumble-mumble side-effects/we aren't sure.
Worked for one who, when properly diagnosed with thyroid imbalance--later didn't need it.
Didn't realize it was cholesterol-related in bipeds. We're all Robt. Stroud of Alcatraz these days--neither the Vets' nor MDs (generally)
are nearly-ept enough (or interested much?) re. simpler alternatives.
(Need to shop for a new white coat; old ex-lab one has deteriorated. If I have to diagnose as well as treat, I should have a proper uniform.)
If my cure-rate beats Pharma, maybe epaulets too.
Luck with your experiments.. think I'd verify Any alt-mode approach -vs- statins
even were it only for the fact of unconscionably huge profits going into such Reactionary perps' pockets.
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Post #390,201
6/1/14 8:24:55 AM
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cholesterol-related
Soluble fiber absorbs bile.
Bile is made from cholesterol (and other stuff, but a major component.)
Every time you shit out the bile, your body makes more, which sucks the cholesterol from your blood.
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Post #390,227
6/2/14 10:23:32 AM
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Never heard that explanation before
Sounds simple enough to be true.
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Post #390,228
6/2/14 10:29:39 AM
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...
From the Google:
Bile: Bile is a yellow-green fluid that is made by the liver, stored in the gallbladder and passes through the common bile duct into the duodenum where it helps digest fat. The principal components of bile are cholesterol, bile salts, and the pigment bilirubin. --
greg@gregfolkert.net
"No snowflake in an avalanche ever feels responsible." --Stanislaw Jerzy Lec
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Post #390,243
6/3/14 12:59:21 AM
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In Chem days.. always wondered wtf bilirubin was "For.." A mere dye, I guess.
(Too disinterested to Google the sucker--even.. yet. TMI.)
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Post #399,541
2/26/15 8:17:53 PM
2/26/15 8:48:10 PM
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Update.
I'm still taking 1T of whole-husk psyllium 2x a day (in ~ 12 oz of warm water). It's easy now. My carotid artery doppler test results were a "trivial" amount of plaque buildup. I asked the doc if there was some scale that would put "trivial" in context, but he said it was a qualitative description. I took that as a good result, bu yt my doc says there shouldn't be any. :-/ A few weeks ago I had another round of blood tests, and we talked about the results today. Total cholesterol - 196 mg/dL yay! (ideal is < 200) HDL - 50 mg/dL yay! (ideal is >= 40) Triglycerides - 74 mg/dL yay! (ideal is < 150) But LDL - 131 mg/dL boo. (ideal is < 100) LDL Particles - 1431 nmol/L meh. (ideal is < 1260) LDL small - 248 nmol/L boo. (ideal is < 162) LDL medium - 279 nmol/L boo. (ideal is < 201) HDL large - 4412 nmol/L boo. (ideal is > 9386) He explained that the LDL small particles are bad because they're sticky and can clog things up. Large HDL particles scavenge the bad stuff, so you want lots of large HDL particles. (Note the ideal particle ranges are different from those given earlier - this was a different testing outfit than earlier.) A couple of other tests for "Apolipoproteins" was moderate. He also had a few tests for genetic cardiovascular markers done. I have 4 genetic markers for increased risk of CVD. Of course a "1.56 fold higher risk" doesn't really mean anything without more information and that wasn't in the report. So, bottom line, I've done about as much as I can with diet and supplements to clean up my blood. I can't find the time to exercise vigorously enough and regularly enough to make a difference. He said if my doppler test showed no plaque then he wouldn't be as concerned, but with my mom's and her father's history of stroke, the genetic markers, and the poor HDL particle numbers, he is still convinced that statins are worth a try. I mentioned my dad's experience with statins (terrible muscle pain). He said the way to prevent that is to take coenzyme Q-10. He says he takes it and he's on Crestor (IIRC). So I guess he walks the walk. ;-) He said it used to be that the only thing that worked to reduce cholesterol levels was high doses of niacin. But at high doses it has horrible side effects. He said "statins are a miracle"... So, I've tried, unsuccessfully, to prove that I didn't need to try statins. I said, Ok, let's try something mild and see if it helps. So, I'm starting a trial with 20 mg of pravastatin sodium (generic pravachol), once a day at bedtime, with 100 mg of Q-10 2x a day. (He said the best kind of Q-10 to get is that with ubiquinol, but none was obvious at the drug store.) More tests in a couple of months or so. We'll see how it goes. [edit:] tyops and less-than and greater-than signs. Cheers, Scott.
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Post #399,544
2/26/15 8:42:56 PM
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if your Triglycerides are low you are not drinking enough hard liquor
Any opinions expressed by me are mine alone, posted from my home computer, on my own time as a free American and do not reflect the opinions of any person or company that I have had professional relations with in the past 59 years. meep
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Post #399,545
2/26/15 8:48:25 PM
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Heh. :-)
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Post #399,546
2/26/15 9:05:37 PM
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it true, ask yer doc :-)
Any opinions expressed by me are mine alone, posted from my home computer, on my own time as a free American and do not reflect the opinions of any person or company that I have had professional relations with in the past 59 years. meep
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Post #399,547
2/26/15 9:10:04 PM
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Why would higher triglycerides be good for me?
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Post #399,549
2/26/15 9:35:20 PM
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sorry bad eyes, this is what I read
Triglycerides - 74 mg/dL yay! (ideal is > 9386)
Any opinions expressed by me are mine alone, posted from my home computer, on my own time as a free American and do not reflect the opinions of any person or company that I have had professional relations with in the past 59 years. meep
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Post #399,550
2/26/15 9:52:24 PM
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Nope. Not your eyes.
I had forgotten that the LRPD parser doesn't like less-than characters. It ate a bunch of text until I converted them to the ampersand-lt-semicolon version.
Sorry about that. :-)
Thanks.
Cheers,
Scott.
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Post #399,551
2/26/15 10:06:40 PM
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We can at least say that it could be much worse! :)
Alex
"There is a cult of ignorance in the United States, and there has always been. The strain of anti-intellectualism has been a constant thread winding its way through our political and cultural life, nurtured by the false notion that democracy means that "my ignorance is just as good as your knowledge."
-- Isaac Asimov
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Post #399,552
2/26/15 10:13:32 PM
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It can *always* be worse. :-)
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Post #399,561
2/27/15 8:25:58 AM
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Well ...
He's looking at triglycerides. He knows that cholesterol isn't just one number. He understands the side effects of the statins and has a plan to mitigate it.
I still wouldn't take it, but you've found a doc that's better than the vast majority. Good luck.
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