Okay, Still waiting on follow-up labs for hormone info but was able to get cholesterol results. I’m bummed out. I’m currently taking crestor 10mg, Tricor 145mg for borderline high cholesterol. My lastest numbers are:
Total Cholesterol:210
Triglecerides:177
LDL: 142
HDL: 33
What aren’t the statins working. I exercise 4-5 times a week and eat moderately. Do I need to go on a extreme diet or increase statin dose? High cholesterol runs in my family but it should be manageable with today’s drug therapy. What gives?
if your hormones are off then your system tries to compensate by providing more raw material… which is… Cholesterol. If you get your hormones/adrenals (testosterone, estrogen, cortisol, thyroid, etc.) all in order then your Cholesterol may follow suite.
statins should be your last line of defense AFTER you have tried to balance everything else.
I agree, often normal guys have elevated cholesterol levels that seem to be a result of lost hormone levels. After they restore T levels, and also hopefully DHEA if needed, there cholesterol levels can improve, sometimes greatly. Hopefully some of that does transfer to familial Hypercholesterolemia - Wikipedia , but perhaps not.
Protect yourself by increasing HDL with high potency B-vits, including niacin, folic acid, biotin. Do research on the WWW, however lef.org may be your more productive source.
Test homocysteine to see how you are doing in terms of arterial inflammatory markers. CRP is often used for that, but is not specific and is a generalized inflammatory marker. Restored T will protect arteries from your condition by improving endothelial function. Search for endothelial dysfunction at lef.org to find other things that you can do that are preventative and restorative.
Thanks for the links. Hopefully I can get my hormone levels balanced out and see some improvement. My diet actually isn’t the greatest so I’m going to work on that as well. I’ll try the b vitamins and start taking fish oil again. I’ll post my labs next week. I already got my estrogen level back at 34. This went up from 22 since starting on testim 2 months ago. I assume from the stickies that 34 is a little high.
Your LDL is high, should be under 80 especially if you are on statins. More alarming however is your Triglycerides; 177 is very high. Latest studies and related reports are focused more on Triglyceride levels along with what are called Very Low Density Lipids (VLDL). If your numbers are high in these two areas, you need to focus on getting them down. I personally went through a similar situation with high Cholestorol and Triglycerides.
I concentrated on changing my diet to a very low carb diet (High Protein)first, I then had my blood tested and discovered that I was suffering from Hypothyroidism and Low Test. After going on TRT and meds for my thyroid combined with diet and exercise, my numbers came down dramatically. My LDL is 65 (combined Cholestorol = 116) and Triglycerides are at 56.
As KSman points out, numbers “can improve, sometimes greatly”, mine have. It doesn’t happen over night and you have to be disciplined; more importantly I’ve found that researching these things on your own and becoming educated on the latest studies will help you to help yourself.
Good Luck
RB
I’ve been on statins for years with little improvement. Only found out recently my T was low. I’m hoping over time it will improve once I get my hormones in check. My diet deinitely needs improvement. I may also be hypo but my thyroid panels have always come back clean. If my cholesterol doesn’t improve with diet and T replacement then there must be something else going on like a thyroid issue.
I see that you’re 36 years old / young, so when you say you’ve been on statins for years (and it’s not working) it’s concerning. You need to get your diet under control immediately (Low carb diet, no sugars, breads pastas, etc.). What protocol are you using for TRT? Are you satisfied that your Dr. is having the correct testing done? Read the stickies relating to testing, print and bring to your Dr. Also, consider asking your Dr. for a prescription for Lovaza (prescription fish oil), it will help reduce your LDL and Triglyceride numbers significantly.
rbarker:
I just started TRT 2 months ago using only the Testim Gel. I will have my latest lab results this week and am meeting with Urologist this Fri. He seems open and up to date with the latest methods so I’m sure if I need an AI or I want to switch to bi-weekly injections he will have no problem with that. The cholesterol is a different issue. It runs borderline high in my family and my dad needed a stent at age 65.
I’ve been on statins for about 4 years with marginal results. I was able to get my Trig down to around 100 at one point and my Total Cholest to around 196. My LDL and HDL have been the hardest to manage. My dad with diet and meds has been able to get down his cholesterol to very good levels. Being young, I admit my diet at times sucks. I tend to over eat at times and love to BBQ.
I’m only about 10lbs overweight at 6’00 190lbs but would like to get down to 180 with a healthy diet. I exercise 4-5 times a week but can’t get my HDL above 37 even with the meds.
I should have latest lab results by tomorrow to see if the Testim has had an effect. I probably need a new Thyroid panel done since Its been about a year since one was done. I’ll post new labs for some much needed advice before my DR appt this Fri.
My Chol panel is almost identical to yours. I eat fairly well, exercise 4-5 days a week. I tried statins and every time they gave me joint and/or muscle pain. I have radically changed my diet and will re-test in another month. I cut way down on carbs (especially high gi carbs). I also greatly increased my intake of healthy fats (ie olive oil, fish oils, avocados, nuts). I'm hoping that will help increase my HDL numbers. Take 6-9g of omega 3 fish oil a day and that will help bring down triglycerides. Are you taking any other meds? I think things like anti-depressants can cause hypercholesterol.
Has anyone noticed any adverse effect on cholesterol from taking arimidex? I know it can cause numbers to tank but I think that is with a dose of 1-7g/ day. I’m not sure what effect .25g eod would have…
Ocean: I am also hereditarily predisposed to High Cholestorol, Triglycerides, etc. My father and older brother both passed away at the age of 58 due to cardiac arrest. They were both severely overweight, drank alcohol, smoked and basically led sedentary lifestyles. I am the exact opposite; wrestled for years straight through college, don’t drink, smoke and am very active, but still my cholestorol and triglycerides were very high. I realized that it doesn’t matter what you weigh when it comes to cardiac disease due to heredity. It comes down to diet (as I stated in my earlier post) and taking control of the situation you are in, post your lab results, but most importantly, research and learn all you can, read, fill your mind with everything out there that can help you help yourself. Read the stickies on this website. You’ll get there; it may take some time to dial it in, but you’ll get there. Be disciplined.
Jedi, I haven’t noticed any adverse effects on my cholestorol from Arimidex, in fact it’s been quite the opposite, my numbers have been great Total = 116, LDL 65. I’m on 1 mg every other day, the dosage you refer to (1-7g/day) seems extremely high.
[quote]rbarker wrote:
Ocean: I am also hereditarily predisposed to High Cholestorol, Triglycerides, etc. My father and older brother both passed away at the age of 58 due to cardiac arrest. They were both severely overweight, drank alcohol, smoked and basically led sedentary lifestyles. I am the exact opposite; wrestled for years straight through college, don’t drink, smoke and am very active, but still my cholestorol and triglycerides were very high. I realized that it doesn’t matter what you weigh when it comes to cardiac disease due to heredity. It comes down to diet (as I stated in my earlier post) and taking control of the situation you are in, post your lab results, but most importantly, research and learn all you can, read, fill your mind with everything out there that can help you help yourself. Read the stickies on this website. You’ll get there; it may take some time to dial it in, but you’ll get there. Be disciplined.
Jedi, I haven’t noticed any adverse effects on my cholestorol from Arimidex, in fact it’s been quite the opposite, my numbers have been great Total = 116, LDL 65. I’m on 1 mg every other day, the dosage you refer to (1-7g/day) seems extremely high. [/quote]
I think people with breast cancer take 1-7g/day. Those are the people I have seen on forums complaining of cholesterol issues. How did you get your cholesterol under control?
Jedi: Listen, I’m sure that cholestorol is the least of worries for someone who has breast cancer; for someone on TRT it’s a different story and one should have no business taking more that 1 mg of Arimidex a day. Getting my cholestorol under control wasn’t my main objective, it was a concern, but it just happened as a by product of getting my triglycerides under control. After much research and reading that triglycerides combined with Very Low Density Lipids (VLDL) are the real culprits in causing plaque build up in arteries, which eventually will lead to a cardiac event (heart attack or the requirement of preventitive procedures such as stent placement or bypass surgery), I felt that I needed to do more than exercise and eat less. I realized that I needed to have my blood tested and look into TRT as well as other alternatives out there. The symptoms I had were all typical signs of Hypothyroidism, Low T and Metabolic Syndrome (tired almost all the time, loss of enthusiam to work out, etc.).
I began TRT (test cyp) approximately 6 months ago and also take Arimidex as stated in my previous post. I also take Lovaza (prescription fish oil), which I think has really helped reduce both triglycerides and cholestorol. I follow a very low carbohydrate / high protein diet, which also has made a huge difference regarding cholestorol numbers. I basically follow the “Protein Power LifePlan”, it’s a great book and it will give you great insight in to what you should and should not eat. Read it, it’s takes discipline to follow, but the rewards are worth it. I have lost 40 lbs. (275 - 235) in the last 6 months, but I don’t feel as though I’ve been killing myself doing it. I attribute the reduction in my cholestorol and triglycerides to a combination of TRT, Thyroid treatment, diet, exercise and supplements.
High dose Arimidex/anastrozole does not cause lipid problems, it is the resultant low E levels that do that. With our use of low dose anastrozole to modulate E levels, we do not have those concerns. And lower E levels protect the arteries, by improving endothelial function. E needs to be opposed. With men, E is opposed by T and with women E is opposed by progesterone.
Here comes the uninformed suggestion. Wait for it… wait for it…
And cutting the saturated / trans fats, and upping the whole carbs and fat fish/ vegetable oil in your diet : how does it work with your blood lipid levels ?