High cholesterol levels - any advice?

If your levels are over 130 mg/dL, you should definitely be on statins

Sam Hall15 said:If your levels are over 130 mg/dL, you should definitely be on statins

Two years ago, my levels were north of 125—I managed to bring it down to about 110 through diet alone (though I was quite relentless about it)—and my triglycerides dropped from over 50 to 25. 👍
Of course, I’m still sticking to the regimen...

Your cholesterol levels seem to be hovering right on the edge of the normal range—or perhaps even slightly elevated, depending on which specific scale your doctor is using. If I were in your shoes, I’d consider bumping up your daily activity level; even just a brisk walk at about 4.4 miles/h for 45 to 60 minutes can make a world of difference. It's also worth looking into increasing your intake of fiber-rich foods. To give you some perspective—and maybe a bit of hope—I once dealt with a cholesterol reading of 9.7 and triglycerides at 4.7. After five months of being incredibly disciplined with my diet and staying active, I managed to bring my cholesterol down to 3 and my triglycerides to 1.4. I achieved that through strictly controlled nutrition and consistent exercise. I'd personally recommend incorporating healthy fats like olive oil into your meals, along with plenty of corn and other whole foods.

About a year ago, I found myself undergoing a series of scans—CT, MRI, some sort of deep eye imaging, and an ultrasound of my carotid arteries—all because of this persistent ringing in my head and the fact that horizontal lines seemed slightly distorted whenever I looked to the right. By the time all the testing wrapped up about twenty days later, everything had seemingly cleared up on its own, leaving doctors with nothing to report except for elevated triglycerides (5.6) and slightly high cholesterol (5.2). They put me on Lipitor, which I took until my follow-up showed everything was back within the normal range. Thinking it was just a temporary hiccup, I went back to my usual diet, but unfortunately, the head noise and ear congestion have returned. A recent blood test showed my triglycerides are back up at 5.1. I started the medication again, and while the levels stabilized, I decided to stop taking the 10 mg dose of Lipitor about two weeks ago, only to find that the tinnitus and the visual distortions have resurfaced. My internist insists there’s no connection between the triglycerides and these neurological symptoms. For context, I'm 44 years old, about 5'9", and weigh somewhere between 167 and 174 lbs, with a blood pressure of 130/80. My father has a history of high triglycerides and takes Lipitor and Tylenol constantly following his two heart attacks. I find myself wondering if I should stay on the medication indefinitely or if exploring natural alternatives might be worth a shot. Interestingly, my neurologist suggested I take some Tylenol. I also deal with gastritis and occasionally take Prilosec, so I wonder if there could be any interference there? I've heard people swear by a remedy involving garlic and lemon juice, but I don't actually know the proportions; if anyone happens to know the recipe, I would truly appreciate it. Thank you for your help.

I'm not sure if this thread is still active... I have a recipe involving lemon and onion that works wonders, so if anyone out there is still looking for relief, let me know and I'll post it here.

Sam Hall15 said:In women, iatrogenic hypercholesterolemia is frequently triggered by oral contraceptives or treatments for iron-deficiency anemia....should either of those be taken into consideration?

For me, it’s definitely the birth control (I've been on Yasmin for three years, and I just cracked open a box of the newer generation Yasmin)... everything else in my labs looks flawless, except for that stupid
cholesterol at 6.0...
HDL 2.4,,
LDL 3.05...
triglycerides 1.20
it's a mess 😠

I stay active, I eat healthy—the stuff people here call "junk" is basically my daily diet... so I honestly don't know where to start or what to fix...🤷
Maybe the only thing is cutting out eggs, since I eat them about 2 or 3 times a week for the protein (you know, sports, muscle building, blah blah)

And stress... well... I wouldn't say I'm a high-strung person 😬, but I am prone to campaign work—so you know how it goes when deadlines hit and you end up pulling an all-nighter. Even if I don't personally feel stressed, I assume the body still registers it as such. Then again, now that college is over, those kinds of nights are pretty much non-existent...

Please help with any advice, and my sincere apologies if reviving old threads irritates anyone. 😁

Sam Hall15 said:In women, iatrogenic hypercholesterolemia is frequently triggered by oral contraceptives or treatments for iron-deficiency anemia....should either of those be taken into consideration?

So, my mom’s dealing with high triglycerides and cholesterol—nothing crazy, I guess, just standard stuff.

She doesn't eat meat, and honestly, if you ask me, she barely eats anything at all—though, hey, she does have an apple every single day, so there's that.
The only thing is she drinks way too much coffee, and she’s got a bit of a sweet tooth, but it's not like she's living on junk. She's only about 128 pounds.

Now, here's the thing—she had a stroke, so she's on meds for that. Lately, though, she's down to just one medication, Tegretol.

So, could that possibly be the cause???

There is no need to cut eggs out of your diet just yet; even if your total cholesterol looks high, your HDL and LDL levels are excellent. I would suggest repeating the blood work after fasting for three days and avoiding fatty foods, then testing first thing in the morning. Please let me know what the new results show... If you had something heavy or greasy that day, or even the day before, the readings might be falsely elevated.

Sam Hall15 said:There is no need to cut eggs out of your diet just yet; even if your total cholesterol looks high, your HDL and LDL levels are excellent. I would suggest repeating the blood work after fasting for three days and avoiding fatty foods, then testing first thing in the morning. Please let me know what the new results show... If you had something heavy or greasy that day, or even the day before, the readings might be falsely elevated.

Wow, you’re a lifesaver, Doc! 😍
Thanks for getting back to me so fast—it’s a huge relief to know I’m not walking around on borrowed time. 😬
I’ll definitely get the tests redone once I muster up enough courage to face that many needles again. Honestly, after seeing how much blood they took the first time, I accidentally ended up finishing half a glass of wine that evening just to take the edge off... 🙈

Thanks!