Cholesterol at 216.....Is that real bad?

[jimmyohio75]

Last week I had blood drawn to determine my cholesterol level. I am 42 and I have never done it before. Today I went to my doctor so he could give me the test results. The total cholesterol was 216. I don't recall the individual LDL and HDL numbers. My doctor said he wants me below 200 and he subscribed me a (generic) statin drug. My blood pressure was great and he even did an EKG test which was perfect. Should I be overly concerned about this?

[Teleplayer]

It's all about the HDL, LDL, Triglycerides and total cholesterol. There are prescribed ranges for each.

216 Total -- probably NOT a good thing.

I am no doctor, but am fanatical about getting my annual physical, semi-annual check-up and I always watch what I eat.

[hangten]

If it was me I would just cut out meat and dairy (or drastically reduce them) before taking a statin. you might be surprised at the result. I am not a doctor, I am not suggesting you should do this, and if you did, you should talk it over with your doc first...

just sayin what I personally would do. (I'm 42 also)

good luck!
Aram

[sfarnell]

Originally Posted by Teleplayer

It's all about the HDL, LDL, Triglycerides and total cholesterol. There are prescribed ranges for each.

216 Total -- probably NOT a good thing.

I am no doctor, but am fanatical about getting my annual physical, semi-annual check-up and I always watch what I eat.

+1 A total cholesterol reading is almost meaningless. For instance, your HDL or good cholesterol could be really low and therefore could lower that total cholesterol reading. What matters is the ratio of HDL and LDL ( and some other things like triglyceride level, the size of the LDL particles, the type of LDL, etc). A higher LDL is a lot better when there is also a high HDL level.

[wilerty]

Always ask your doctor for a copy of your blood test results. Obviously listen to your doctor, but also do a search regarding your results. There are numerous ways to improve your results, but I doubt that you will find that 216 is good or meaningless. It also is not terrible.

[fritferret]

yeah, you need the other numbers to really know, but i would think that if your doc is just prescribing a statin w/out making othe rrequest of you, then your other numbers must be ok (ie, not alarming).

here's what i would do: start eating a handful of walnuts everyday, start having a bowl of oatmeal everyday (not he stuff loaded w/ sugar), start drinking celery juice (proven ot have a significant impact on lowering cholest when taken as juice daily), cut way back on sugar and simple carbs...oh and start taking fiber or at least soluable (sp?) fiber.

in a month, i would think your numbers would drop significantly. might be harder if you've genetics working against you.

[sfarnell]

Originally Posted by fritferret

yeah, you need the other numbers to really know, but i would think that if your doc is just prescribing a statin w/out making othe rrequest of you, then your other numbers must be ok (ie, not alarming).

here's what i would do: start eating a handful of walnuts everyday, start having a bowl of oatmeal everyday (not he stuff loaded w/ sugar), start drinking celery juice (proven ot have a significant impact on lowering cholest when taken as juice daily), cut way back on sugar and simple carbs...oh and start taking fiber or at least soluable (sp?) fiber.

in a month, i would think your numbers would drop significantly. might be harder if you've genetics working against you.

+1 And exercise at least five days per week.

[Blanket Jackson]

It's bad enough. Maybe won't kill you today, but it is one of these ...

[Flyin' Brian]

Originally Posted by Teleplayer

I am no doctor, but am fanatical about getting my annual physical, semi-annual check-up and I always watch what I eat.

One of the wonderful perks I got moving to Canada was getting exceptionally intense physicals, including things like a colonoscopy at the proper intervals. And it's free because they believe in preventive medicine.

However many people offset this by eating stuff like poutine.

[Blanket Jackson]

Originally Posted by Flyin' Brian

However many people offset this by eating stuff like poontang.

fix'd

[dmb70]

I get mine checked every year, I'm 41, mine was 213 this year. My hdl was high my ldl low & tri's high. My Dr said not to worry about it & didn't prescribe anything. All my other numbers were very good, just total cholesterol a little high.

[RupertB]

I got a bad score this time last year. Doc wanted me on a statin. I said "give me a few months." I dropped about 50 lbs and now my scores are much better.

Reducing the amount of fat, especially animal fat, is a good start. Read the labels of the prepared foods you are eating and the nutritional information for the restaurants you frequent. I found that part of my problem was simply ignorance about how much fat I was consuming.

Here is another tip: To lower your serum cholesterol, reduce your sugar consumption. Seriously.

Edit: Whatever you do, DON'T take the statin & think it means you don't have to change your diet. I have a coworker who does this. I've tried to talk to him about it but he laughs it off. I worry about the guy.

[BarkingTree]

My cholesterol is 120 total..with low HDL..
My LST liver enz are elevated, Ive got Fatty Liver disease..
figure that?

No more Potato chips?..I dont even eat that bad..nill on the fast food.
Yeah I would get real honest with myself about diet and exercise before a
Statin..they've got side effects and your young.
Something to bring up with your doc....

[Tom CT]

He prescribed meds to help you drop 16 points?! Although everyone is obviously different, I was able to lower my total cholesterol by almost 70 points by watching my diet for just 3 months. You might want to mention this to him as a possible first step.

[9fingers]

The total cholesterol number , especially if borderline like yours is pretty meaningless. Your good cholesterol can be very high and skew the results. 200 is a very simplistic line. The drug companies of course want you to take statins.
I'm not a doctor and don't play one on the internet. I do do my own research and I dropped my total cholesterol level by 70 points in 3 months with daily oatmeal, doubling up on fish oil caps (1200 mg. twice a day), plant sterol tabs 3 times a day, soluble fiber (apple pectin tabs) twice day, cutting out eggs & cheese, a slight increase in soy consumption, using LOTS of extra virgin olive oil & a few other common sense things. I never did & do not eat ANY junk food.
Talk to your Doc about what the numbers actually mean. Look up the side effects of statins. Look up dietary methods of control. Make you own decisions using all of the above. It may turn out that statins are what you need. After I looked up the side effects and the price of statins (no insurance, self-employed) it suddenly got a lot easier for me to make some (pretty easy) lifestyle changes.
Do keep in mind that the majority of doctors are MUCH better trained at prescribing meds than they are in nutrition. They are trained to see 200 & think "statin". It makes it real quick & easy.