Menopause Matters Forum
Menopause Discussion => Other Health Discussion => Topic started by: star35 on April 26, 2024, 09:41:29 AM
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Hi has anyone managed to reduce their cholesterol with out taking statins, if so how did you manage it.
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Hi. I talked this over with my GP recently as my cholesterol is 5.9 with a 15% chance of stroke or heart attack in the next ten years We looked at my diet and it seems that it would take up to a year or more to bring about enough changes as, apart from wine and chocolate, the rest of my diet is good. I'm 70 though and a year at this age seems to be a big portion of whatever time might be left. ;D I have my statins but haven't started them yet. Will do that tonight! How is your diet? Is there lots you can cut out such as cheese, butter, cream, ice cream, alcohol, chocolate? Also upping exercise is important too
Taz x
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Hi Taz thank you for your reply, my gp said it would probably take me six months to make a difference. I'm going to spend the weekend looking at my diet, over all it is pretty good but there is a lot I can cut out.
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We were amazed that statins were suggested about 5 years ago. Especially as GPs get 'extra' for prescribing them. It began when I had blood tests and the new GP freaked out as my cholesterol was 7, had been for over 15 years. She was quite scathing about our usual GP >:(. DH decided to trial dropping by diet, I rejected statins initially until we had spoken to our GP.
Apparently: the levels for prescribing statins had been dropped to a lower level! Go figure. We both take them for a quiet life ::) without problems.
It really is up to you. Is there a risk of stroke in your family? How old R U, may I ask. [we are both 70]
It would be a brave medic to wrest chocolate from me ;D
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Hi CLKD, I'm 63 and no history of family heart problems or stroke I just want to do some research before making my mind up. I might give diet a go for 6 months and reconsider if nothing has changed. Thanks for replying.
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This statins milarky is so contentious. If its genetic there is not much you can do about it even if you have the most boring tasteless healthy food with plenty of exercise it doesn't do a damn thing to reduce the numbers, that's my story.
I can't take statins, I've tried them all and they had a good go at trying to kill me of, I await my fate!
My friend popped in the other day, a middle aged extremely large lady boasting her cholesterol was 3, I was very jealous!
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Ayesha my ex husband has cholesterol of 4, is not overweight with great blood pressure and eats all of the wrong stuff cholesterol-wise. However he still had a TIA last year with no reason found. He is now on statins despite the low level. He's a puzzle to the medical staff apparently. Just goes to show the figures don't always add up. :-\
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'eats the wrong stuff' - might be the clue Taz?
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What I mean is, yes he does eat chocolate and occasionally cheese and has a pint or two but his cholesterol level is always 4 yet he still had a mini stroke.
Taz x
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I don't know if it's true but I read half of all heart attacks occur in people with normal/ low cholesterol!
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It may be unrelated then, some people have thin veins = mini strokes.
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I don't know if it's true but I read half of all heart attacks occur in people with normal/ low cholesterol!
I think that's because heart attack is not always due to blood clots/furred arteries whereas stroke is more likely to have that as the cause?
CLKD his carotid arteries in the neck where the 'clot' got stuck are totally unfurred. The consultant was a bit surprised ;D
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I think the issue with all statistics is that they totally depend on how they're calculated and how they're presented, and also which category you fall into. If I'm told I have a 90% chance of having heart problems due to high cholesterol what's to say I'm not in the 10% that doesn't?
When it comes to lowering cholesterol a lot depends on the reason why it's high. If diet is bad then changing it may help, same with exercising and losing weight, but if it's genetic then nothing may help.
A few years ago the doctor said my cholesterol was "off the scale". I can't remember the figures. Despite such high numbers she didn't seem too worried but suggested I could try losing weight. I had a test 3 months later and was told it was normal! At that point she did say I could try statins if I wanted to, but said it would be better to increase good cholesterol to combat any bad.
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It can get confusing. At my age risk is based on a combination of cholesterol, blood pressure and weight. I did have the cholesterol and BP checked just after having had covid (again) and there is discussion as to whether covid causes both to rise so who knows.
Taz x
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My high reading was a few years before covid, so not related to that, but probably means there are various factors that can cause an incorrect result.
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Hi has anyone managed to reduce their cholesterol with out taking statins, if so how did you manage it.
My cholesterol started to go up during peri and before I started HRT, it was 7.4. Two years on it is 6.2. Still high but on a downward trajectory it seems. My ratio of HDL and LDL cholesterol is good and my other risk factors are fine, so I'm not too worried but I get my cholesterol checked every year. Nothing much has changed apart from taking HRT, so assume it must be that which is helping. For that reason, I have to have Utro as my progesterone, as the synthetics counteract any positive cardiovascular benefits the oestrogen gives you.
Not convinced by the evidence on statins and wouldn't personally want to take them.
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I can't recall if my high result was pre meno or during peri, but it does make me wonder if the results can be affected by hormone cycles or periods.
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I think lots of factors are involved, including hormones. I don't know if there's much evidence for lowering cholesterol overall but oestrogen helps with lowering bad cholesterol and boosting HDL, the good stuff. It also relaxes blood vessel walls and reduces inflammation in the body, which is a big part of heart disease. Heart attacks and heart disease levels shoot up in women after menopause, as oestrogen really does protect us. Whether or not HRT helps in this respect is not clear yet, as most of the data relates to the old forms of HRT. Not enough studies have been done yet looking at the effects of body-identical/transdermal HRT but certainly synthetic progestogens are a problem.
Triglyceride levels are thought to be as important as cholesterol as a risk factor, so any cholesterol test needs to have the full breakdown of the different types to be meaningful.
For people interested in looking at alternatives to statins, I can recommend A Statin Free Life by Dr Aseem Malhotra, a cardiologist and statin sceptic, who examines the evidence and gives advice on diet, exercise, stress management etc. Worth trying your local library - mine has it, although I did buy my own copy in the end.
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Has anyone tried plant sterols to reduce cholesterol? Friend of mine got hers down from 7.2 - 6.5 over sixth months.
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Not enough studies have been done yet looking at the effects of body-identical/transdermal HRT but certainly synthetic progestogens are a problem.
Can you tell us which ones? Currently on utro but get side effects so considering alternatives, possibly mirena.
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'benocol' margarine and yoghurt was supposedly good but there isn't any Peer reviewed research yet.
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Not enough studies have been done yet looking at the effects of body-identical/transdermal HRT but certainly synthetic progestogens are a problem.
Can you tell us which ones? Currently on utro but get side effects so considering alternatives, possibly mirena.
Micronised progesterones such as Utro and Cyclogest are the only ones that have a neutral effect on heart disease risk factors. Mirena should be OK because it's acting where it needs to, so it's such a small dose of synthetic progestogen. My specialist told me that after the first six months, there is not much in the general blood circulation.
Dydrogesterone is said to be one of the safer synthetics, as it is closer in make up to natural progesterone but unfortunately only comes combined with oral oestrogen in Femoston, in the UK at least.
Am guessing you have tried Utro vaginally? I too have awful side effects with it but for various reasons don't think I would tolerate a coil. I think the Mirena is a really good option for many women though, especially if you can't tolerate Utro.
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Has anyone tried plant sterols to reduce cholesterol? Friend of mine got hers down from 7.2 - 6.5 over sixth months.
Is it still going down Marge? Under 5 is the optimum (until they change it again!) : ;D
Taz x
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....... in order to prescribe/sell Statins?
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Has anyone tried plant sterols to reduce cholesterol? Friend of mine got hers down from 7.2 - 6.5 over sixth months.
I took tablet based plant sterols for a short while but stopped after reading that it could make things worse. I don't know how reliable that information was but I decided not to take the risk.
There is good evidence for extra virgin olive oil, oats and barley though, for reducing the bad cholesterol and boosting the good.
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I got a sudden high reading March 2023 where my triglycerides had gone through the roof. I cut out all cheese, Pepsi Max (not sure what role aspartame plays), sausages and bacon. Then introduced oats, more leafy vegetables, salads with lunches (only ate what I could see had no cream, salt, cheese in) and beetroot. In Dec my cholesterol levels had returned to just outside of 'normal'.
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Has anyone tried plant sterols to reduce cholesterol? Friend of mine got hers down from 7.2 - 6.5 over sixth months.
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I got mine down with Benecol drinks but they played havoc with my hrt. Plant sterols also attach to estrogen receptors and mimic estrogen so blocking the real thing, didn't realise for a few months. It took me months to get my atrophy under control again.
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I don't know if it's true but I read half of all heart attacks occur in people with normal/ low cholesterol!
Yes - it's a bit like osteoporosis, there are a higher numbers of fractures among those with 'normal' bone density than those with lower bone density. The research often doesn't go deep enough or look at accompanying factors. For example, vegetarians get less cancer - but they are likely to have much healthier lifestyles in general and those things are not taken into account. It may well be that the vegetarianism is incidental. Look very carefully at statistics, research and who pays for the research (often drug companies).