I’ve always taken care of myself. These photos are of me at 26/27 before I “started taking care of myself”.
I didn’t change the way I care for myself or my healthy lifestyle, I simply started taking more supplements geared towards lowering cholesterol.
I do not eat much sugar, I don’t touch soda, i don’t smoke or drink, i eat primarily whole grains, eggs, chicken and 99% fat free turkey, I eat broccoli and avocado daily. I do eat 3700-4000 calories a day. But primarily all healthy food.
I just have FH, nothing to do with my lifestyle. It’s a really shitty card to be dealt, given how well I do take care of myself.
I’d love to see any study showing 200 being a beneficial level, that would be awesome. However my advanced lipid numbers are still quite horrific.
We actually talked a bit via email. I’m reaching out to a couple doctors he recommended to chat with them. Also seeing a lipid specialist in a few weeks.
Ehhh, I’d argue it does… above 130 is considered borderline, above 160 is considered high and 190 is considered “he needs a statin”… whilst @aaronca isn’t at 190, he’s close and his particle size is off, his + HDL is low,
Also, anything above 200 is considered detrimental, below 200 is preferable… though if low cholesterol is because HDL cholesterol has been crushed then its not preferable. His apolipoprotein B is quite high (one of main proteins within LDL known to induce organ damage over time), involved within healthy metabolism of lipids…
TRT isn’t going to help him (or hurt him) if the dosage isn’t too high, whilst I’m all for hormonal optimisation, the truth is going high (say in the 1000’s) for most will knock HDL by 10-15%, this isn’t what Aaronca needs… if @aaronca wishes to use AAS or engage within hormonal “optimisation” it is of my unprofessional opinion that a statin is a must… @aaronca I don’t know if this is possible, but if you can be honest with you’re doctor regarding what you wish to do, I’m almost certain (If you’re doctor believes in harm minimisation rather than “just say no”) you’ll be put on cholesterol lowering meds.
I also take red yeast rice extract btw, I don’t have familial hypercholesterolemia, I asked my mother “what is it that my grandmas husband had”, it turns out there’s a genetic mutation (that I may or may not harbour) in which the receptors towards LDL cholesterol don’t function adequately, thus even normal/slightly elevated levels of LDL will induce accelerated rates of lipid perioxidation… chances are though given that it was also accelerated with elevated LDL that I don’t have it
My lipids aren’t great because I’m always on 200-250mg weekly (HDL of 40-45 LDL of 105-115)
Regarding hypercholesterolemia, there were initial studies in which AAS like oxandrolone were used too “lower total cholesterol”… this was before we realised the reason total numbers were being lowered was because HDL was being crushed lol
It depends where 200mg weekly gets you, for some it gets them to 1500-2000+ ng/dl with equally high ft to boot, hence the slight depression in HDL levels
Interestingly according to literature this decrease (overall HDL, impact on subtractions/particle sizes unknown) isn’t particularly compounded as test doses go higher, as 600mg weekly only decreases HDL by around 25%
Would love for you to do that, FH / Genetic high cholesterol in particular.
There are some studies showing that TRT for individuals with high cholesterol due to NON generic reasons, actually gets lowered on TRT. Partially due to healthier life styles, exercise, being better state of mind due to optimized test, but I believe there are also some other internal reasons that are at play, maybe @unreal24278 would know (I could be totally wrong on the last part).
There’s another active post here now with an individual whose numbers improved although still bad, however they are 27% BF if I’m not mistaken.
There’s almost nothing that I can find regarding true genetic high cholesterol, hyperlipidemia, familia Hypercholesterolemia with TRT. I’d love to hear what a few of the doctors on your show think.
There’s like… no data on TRT and familial hypercholesterolemia A’s the medical community as a whole is piss scared to trial androgens within conditions relating to lipid disorders (for good reason… it’s potentially lawsuit city)… parts of the medical community still believe test causes prostate cancer, whilst an increase in DHT may predispose one to prostate ailment as they get older if they already have genetic predisposition, it’s actually now documented that hypogonadal men who acquire prostate cancer tend to have more aggressive varieties, furthermore… the prostate isn’t malleable like skeletal muscle as in… androgens can induce upregulation of AR and induce the synthesis of new AR in skeletal muscle, the prostate appears to have a fixed net amount of AR one is born with, hence why we don’t see guys on megadosages acquiring prostate cancer at like a 100x rate compared to the general populace
Within normal individuals, TRT (and no… I’m not talking about hormonal “optimisation”, which while great, isn’t medically mandated trt wherein levels are brought to the bare minimum of what one just needs for adequate physical function, muscle mass maintenance, glucose control etc) may slightly decrease total cholesterol, decrease atherogenic sub fractions of LDL etc
However there are confounding variables at play… did trt allow the individual to become more motivated to exercise/eat better. As both have tremendous impact regarding limiting the arherogesis (indirect and direct mechanisms)… can go into it if you wish but it’s not all that interesting (has to do with metabolic adaptation, changes regarding lipid metabolism etc)… even then there’s a range, extreme, ultra endurance training probably isn’t all that good for you according to literature
That’s huge, as one motivated to spend the cash for TRT will more likely be motivated to eat better and exercise and get as much out of it as possible.
I have FM and I’m on TRT. Been on TRT for over 20 years. Honestly, I hate to say it but TRT doesn’t make the numbers better, they usually make it worse. It’s a conundrum since I need testosterone to function because of primary hypogonadism but it makes all my numbers (except my HDL) go up, despite doing everything in my power through diet and exercise to keep them low and in check. If I had the choice, I wouldn’t take testosterone while having FM. Every time my cardiologist see my bw, he goes into a panic and prescribes medication which I don’t do well with because it makes me tired and in pain, making functioning difficult. It becomes a choice between saying F the numbers and just taking care of myself and being active or taking medication and having reduced quality of life. If you can tolerate statins and other medications for cholesterol, then go on TRT and take the medication you need. But if you are looking for someone with FM to tell you that TRT doesn’t effect your cholesterol numbers negatively, I don’t have that results.
One more thing, they are just numbers and that doesn’t always mean much too. There are people who have normal or low cholesterol numbers and need to get bypasses and have heart attacks. There is a lot of different theories about what causes heart disease and it isn’t all cholesterol.
I appreciate your experience and words, sir! I haven’t posted in here in quite a while, but figured I’d report back on what’s happened since February.
I started my statin (rosuvastatin 20mg), and took my baseline LDL of ~250 down to 126. My HDL was at 40. Here’s where it got tricky, and ended up making my final decision easy. The statin hurt my testosterone levels, badly. My TT went from 500-550 down below 350, and it took my FT from 12-13 down to under 7. I felt miserable, had lost motivation for the gym, for eating right, everything. I couldn’t figure out why, I figured maybe due to an injury I was nursing and with Covid closing gyms and things being so crazy. However I got my labs drawn again and those were my new testosterone numbers. I had already contemplated TRT before, but feeing the way that I did, and seeing those numbers, it was pretty easy to make the decision.
I feel like an entirely different person now, in a good way. I’ve always eaten healthy, but I’m eating healthier than ever before, arguably in the best shape of my life minus this shoulder injury, and feel amazing. Oh, and my LDL went from 126 down to 101 since starting TRT. Could be a total coincidence.
Here’s the bad… my HDL. I have had low HDL my entire life. 35-40 pretty much. It’s now 29. So, I feel great, my LDL is great, and my HDL is shit. I guess things can’t be perfect.
