Venting... new cholesterol issue

[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!!

[pll]

I believe it's non soluble fiber. Oat meal has a bit (I have it every morning), something like psyllium husk (metamucil!) has it. I've had a couple of measures where my cholesterol was high, but my dr retested me only after 6 months. After the last time, I used metamucil every morning (the "original" version, sugar free), started avoiding soft cheeses, added a glass of red wine every night for a while. Almonds are good, too.

[Crankin]

I already drink a glass of red wine every night, eat almonds, and dark chocolate. I am going to up the oatmeal and decrease my cheese consumption. I eat a lot of Spanish types of cheese. I am also considering the Metamucil route.

[Catrin]

I hope this turns out to be an anomaly Crankin, crossing my fingers that the next test will have a better outcome for you.

[Crankin]

OK, I got the results of my cholesterol re-test. My total went down to almost where it was last year: it's 226 (it was 263 in April). My HDL was now 114! The message on my VM from my PCP didn't say what the LDL was, but her comment was, "your ratio is fantastic, let it alone." I am going to my endocrinologist tomorrow, about my bone stuff, and I can ask her to look up my LDL, just so I know.
OK, so this was either one of two things, or maybe a little of both. I have been eating a very large amount of meats and cheese, since January, kind of semi-Paleo, as well as restricting carbs, so I think for a few months I didn't have enough fiber, too. Since April, when i got the first results I have not had any beef or veal, and the only pork I've had are very, very thin pork chops, maybe once every two weeks. Otherwise, I've been eating a ton of fish, vegetarian, chicken, and turkey. I upped my fiber, too. I did try the Metamucil, but it made my stomach hurt. Now that cycling is in full gear, I'm eating a lot more fiber/good carbs. On the other hand, it could have just been a bad test, but I'm suspicious that it coincided with a change in my diet.

[sookiesue]

I use a fiber product called Konsyl. You shake it with 8 oz liquid (I use about 2 oz whatever fruit juice the kids have around, a squirt of lemon juice, and the rest water) and drink it. Follow with a glass of regular water. It has never given me a stomach ache, but I've never tried any other fiber products so I don't have any basis of comparison. Might be worth a try for you if you want to add fiber.

Glad to hear the retest went better for you!

[chatnoire]

Glad to hear about the good news with the re-test! We've been worrying about the boyfriend's good cholesterol here, since he had a screening through a heath day at work. His "bad" was at 168, but his "good" was only at 21.

He recently lost 19 pounds, and we've been eating more healthy foods, but he's still considered "overweight" with a BMI of 28. We are trying to drink more red wine, eat more nuts and fish, and we have a CSA farm share this summer to increase our veggie consumption, but we're also a little teeny bit worried.