Elevated cholesterol?

Your numbers don't sound so bad. My total is 303 but my HDL(good) is 67(which is good). My doctor wanted to put me on medicine and I said no thanks. At the time I was trying to stop taking blood pressure medicine which I have been able to do. I am trying to watch what I eat but it is not easy. I walk 4-6 miles a day, sometimes run, I am not overweight and my blood pressure is now perfect. But I do have a bad family history. Both of my parents died of heart attacks and had all kind of problems.
So far I have convinced my doctor that I don't have to take medicine but I am being sent to a cardiologist next week as I have been having chest pains and shortness of breath for the last 2 weeks. So I know that the first thing we are going to disagree on is the cholesterol.
My husband also had muscle problems when he took cholesterol meds. He tried 3 different kinds.
I also am allergic to a lot of medicine. Been to the ER for some reactions. So the only thing I really like to take is my hormones, vitamins and aspirin.
Medicine may be the right answer for some of us. So we all have to decide what is best for "me".
Good luck to everyone in lowering those numbers.

Well, I guess my family genes have caught up with me. A recent ct scan showed plaque build up in my lower aorta. So I have an appt. with a cardiologist in September, just before my 54th birthday. Most of my family members were 55 when they started experiencing problems. I have no other symptoms so hopefully it is not too late to avoid the problems they had. But, like Fineat50, I know we will disagree on how to deal with it. I am allergic to aspirin so that first line of defense is not an option either.
I do need to lose some weight. That has been very difficult for me with my hormones (haven't been able to take HRT) being all over the place this last year. I'm either craving salty or sweet. My DH has been a snack food junkie in the past so if it's in the house it's awfully hard to resist. I think, though, that he is finally ready to work on that area which will help me a lot.
I've been eating oatmeal for breakfast for the last month. Just had my cholesterol checked yesterday. We'll see if that helped any. I also had to have an abdominal ultra sound done for my liver and gall bladder so I couldn't even have water to drink before my tests. That was awful, especially since I have to drive an hour to the clinic.
We'll see how it all goes.

Wow, I have to deal with my cholesterol too, runs in my family. My sisters doctor has her on niacin daily building up to 3 a day. I hope it works for her I bought so of the non flushing type, I will keep you all updated.

Just got my lab results in the mail today. My cholesterol is over 300. Triglicerydes over 200. Note on the side of results in big letters : NEEDS MEDICATION FOR CHOLESTEROL!

I was given a prescription for niacin last year. The doctor said the biggest side effect was "flushing". I was already having hot flashes and night sweats so I was afraid to even try it. I tried a B vitamin with a super low dose of niacin in it and had "heat waves" afterwards. I have to make a follow-up appt. I don't know what to think, what to do. Think I will be spending a lot of time praying over this one. I need wisdom and peace of mind. Stressing over it is not going to help my heart or my cholesterol but easier said than done.

There is something called NON FLUSHING niacin... try that GOOD LUCK!!

My cholesterol is high and the doc puts me on statins to lower it but I never take them, I had looked on the drug website reviews and read too many bad thing about the drugs. Right now I am taking omega 3's At least I am doing something!

You can take Olive leaf extract I hear too, there is a show on cable TV called Know the Cause, it talks about all the grains that are moldy which he says molds are part of the cause of high Cholesterol. Things we can do to change it..

Have a look at his show or google him, his name is Doug Kaufman I think.. good info for us all~

Has anyone tried those new Super Shots yogurt drinks that are suppose to help lower your cholesterol? They have plant sterols in them. I have read that plant sterols are suppose to lower cholesterol but I am not sure what foods you need to eat to get them. Does anyone have any information about this?

I have been drinking the super shots just to see if they help. When I go to the cardiologist I know she is going to want to test me again. I want to try to do everything to stay off of medicine. And trying to eat good has not been happening lately as DH is on a junk food kick and I am following.

Hello, well Probiotics is what they use in those yogurt shots, bypass the yogurt and just get the plant flora for your gut straight from a health food store!! Read about Probiotics on Google.com you will see they put back the good bacteria in your gut that bad eating habits and taking antibiotics take away.. I use ones that keep the bacteria's alive so they are refrigerated capsules, they have liquid too take at night on an empty stomach they say.. My Surgeon reviewed all the stuff I was taking before surgery last year, she told me my Probiotics were OK to keep taking till that night before. GOOD LUCK!

Hey Presouz
I like yogurt. So I had not even thought about being able to get the good bacteria from something else. Thanks for the information. I learned to like yogurt when I was on a lot of antibiotics.
But I was talking about the plant sterols (phytosterols) that are in the shots. It is suppose to remove cholesterol. I have been doing some reading about plant sterols to see if it can really help lower cholesterol. Because I am looking for some way other than medicine. I have been drinking them so that I can see if it helps.
One thing I have noticed since drinking the shots is that my blood pressure is lower. Not sure if it has anything to do with it or not.
I was wondering if anyone had tried the shots or plant sterols in another form? And if it had helped lower their cholesterol.