Venting... new cholesterol issue

[goldfinch]

I would wait for the retest before worrying about a second opinion. Have you had a CRP test for inflammation? Isn't there different kinds of HDL too? Maybe the retest should have an even more detailed lipid profile.

The good news is that it sounds like you don't have other risk factors. Given that I have all sorts of risks factors with my mother dying of a heart attack at 39, father of heart failure at 63 (neither smoked and were not obese), skinny brother with stent in his 30s, me with high BP, bad LDL and only half decent HDL though good triglycerides, I have been on statins and a baby aspirin for 20 years.

[shootingstar]

I did get a lab test error for my blood sugar test. So I got retested but using the more real test which is ingesting pure glucose.

So 2nd lab test meant I was not diabetes 2 as thought earlier. But still, I reduced some of my high glycemic foods alot... white rice, white bread.. It made a difference to how I feel..which is better. Probably has controlled my weight more than I realize.

So retesting is worth it if already your lifestyle is healthy.

(By the way, my partner is finding that now when he's eating nuts, he feels a bit odd. He's not sure why...so he's going to monitor his reactions more closely now.) I eat nuts once per month or so. I find nuts abit heavy.

[Crankin]

Shooting Star, your boyfriend may be allergic to nuts. He should be careful. It often begins with just a feeling of gastric distress.
I am not going to get a second opinion until after the re-test. It does take awhile to get an appt. at the Brigham, but it may also take me awhile to get an appt. with a cardiologist locally, too. The one my DH goes to is the chief of the dept. at our local hospital, but he is quite old and often "dozes" off during appts. He's been great for my DH, though, and treated him very aggressively when no one else did and my DH has been symptom free for 5 years.
As I was shopping today, looking at all the people in the grocery store, I keep wondering, gee, they are all out of shape, overweight, and they probably will live longer than me.

[lph]

As I was shopping today, looking at all the people in the grocery store, I keep wondering, gee, they are all out of shape, overweight, and they probably will live longer than me.

I would like to say "Of course they won't!" But the bummer is that there's only so much lifestyle can do. There's a large portion of genetics and plain luck in there as well, that you just can't control.

I have high HDL as well, and last time I checked it was high enough to make my total cholesterol higher than it "should" be. I had a re-test, and it was quite a bit lower then, after a few weeks. I know what it's like to stress about stuff like this when you feel you're doing all you can. Good luck with the re-testing!

[OakLeaf]

(((((Crankin))))) Hope it turns out to be a lab error, or the effect of something unusual you ate before the test.

FWIW, if I'm not mistaken, the thallium marker they use for stress tests is different from the iodine-based contrast they use for other types of imaging, the one people are most likely to be allergic to.

[Crankin]

Thanks, for the info about the thallium, Oak. It's something I would like to have done, regardless, sort of as a benchmark.
LPH, I generally have very good genetics. My mom died young of an autoimmune disease, but 3/4 grandparents lived until 91-92 and the one that died at 79 (he was the one who had a heart attack at 60) died of cancer. My dad is 87, still active, despite the stents in both heart and legs, prostate cancer for 20 years, and being a life long smoker. Nothing wrong with his brain, either.
I don't want to over think this; in my case it's dumb luck. My DH has made me hypersensitive to all of this, but he is a living example of how modern medicine and lifestyle can allow someone with genetics from hell to ride 3K miles a year, nordic ski, and run.

[ny biker]

Isn't a certain kind of fiber also supposed to be good for lowering cholesterol? I don't remember if it's soluble or insoluble, but I think it's whatever you get from oatmeal (and Cheerios).

But yeah, I would say to take a few deep breaths, schedule the re-test and then do your best to forget about it until you have the second set of results. The freakishly high HDL result could indicate that this last test was skewed for some reason.

Good luck!!