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Health advice, Doc wants to put me on cholesterol meds
Rius
Globex CEONobody ever says ItalyRegistered User regular
Globex CEONobody ever says ItalyRegistered User regular
So, here's my situation. I'm a 27 year old male, 6'2" and overweight (weigh about 325 lbs). I'm not active enough, don't get much exercise, and I work in computers so a lot of my day is spent sitting at my desk.
A few months ago, my Dad went in for a cardiac stress test and eventually wound up having quintuple bypass surgery. He's not really overweight, but had terrible cholesterol from bad eating habits. This sort of kicked my ass into worrying about my health and my diet, so I decided to actually start using my corporate insurance and picked a Doc. My blood pressure was too high (180/90 I believe) and my blood test came back pretty crappy. Here are my numbers from a month ago.
Triglycerides 168
Total Cholesterol 248
HDL 33
LDL 181
Cholesterol Ratio 7.5%
Not ideal, to say the least. He told me to limit calorie intake and limit my cholesterol/salt/caffeine intake. I gave up about 90% of my soft drink habit (still occasionally have a Sprite when I'm out to dinner), I gave up eggs (used to eat eggs with diced ham nearly every morning for breakfast... now only occasionally get an egg white veggie omelet), and I try to eat less deli meat and cheese and things of that nature.
In 30 days, I lost about 15 pounds, so felt that I was doing pretty good. I try to be a little more active at work and on weekends, though I keep putting off anything more structured re; exercise.
I went back in on Monday and we did another blood test. Here are my new numbers;
Triglycerides 236 (up 68 o.O)
Total Cholesterol 247 (down 1)
HDL 32 (down 1)
LDL 168 (down 13)
Cholesterol Ratio 7.7% (up 0.2%)
So on the surface, doesn't seem like an improvement at all really. Also, what the hell is with my triglycerides?
The doc wasn't in today, so he's going to call me back tomorrow. I'm pretty sure he's going to want me to start taking cholesterol medication, Crestor most likely. I know this due to prior conversations on the topic. I also know that once you start taking a statin, you have to take it for the rest of your life.
Put simply, I'm not prepared to do something like that. Aside from the possible side effect implications, I'd much rather LIVE healthier than let a drug do all the work for me.
I guess what I'm asking is, if I make an honest and actual effort to be more active and improve my diet, can I avoid going on the drug?
A few months ago, my Dad went in for a cardiac stress test and eventually wound up having quintuple bypass surgery. He's not really overweight, but had terrible cholesterol from bad eating habits. This sort of kicked my ass into worrying about my health and my diet, so I decided to actually start using my corporate insurance and picked a Doc. My blood pressure was too high (180/90 I believe) and my blood test came back pretty crappy. Here are my numbers from a month ago.
Triglycerides 168
Total Cholesterol 248
HDL 33
LDL 181
Cholesterol Ratio 7.5%
Not ideal, to say the least. He told me to limit calorie intake and limit my cholesterol/salt/caffeine intake. I gave up about 90% of my soft drink habit (still occasionally have a Sprite when I'm out to dinner), I gave up eggs (used to eat eggs with diced ham nearly every morning for breakfast... now only occasionally get an egg white veggie omelet), and I try to eat less deli meat and cheese and things of that nature.
In 30 days, I lost about 15 pounds, so felt that I was doing pretty good. I try to be a little more active at work and on weekends, though I keep putting off anything more structured re; exercise.
I went back in on Monday and we did another blood test. Here are my new numbers;
Triglycerides 236 (up 68 o.O)
Total Cholesterol 247 (down 1)
HDL 32 (down 1)
LDL 168 (down 13)
Cholesterol Ratio 7.7% (up 0.2%)
So on the surface, doesn't seem like an improvement at all really. Also, what the hell is with my triglycerides?
The doc wasn't in today, so he's going to call me back tomorrow. I'm pretty sure he's going to want me to start taking cholesterol medication, Crestor most likely. I know this due to prior conversations on the topic. I also know that once you start taking a statin, you have to take it for the rest of your life.
Put simply, I'm not prepared to do something like that. Aside from the possible side effect implications, I'd much rather LIVE healthier than let a drug do all the work for me.
I guess what I'm asking is, if I make an honest and actual effort to be more active and improve my diet, can I avoid going on the drug?
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If you really dont want to take the medication, you most certainly will not have to. Your doctor won't force you, tell him what you've told us. If you tell him you dont want to take medication he will strongly strongly strongly suggest that you get out and start exercising. I know it's unpleasant, its not fun, its boring, etc etc etc but that's really going to help. Exercise will help your body in a multitude of ways, including reducing/managing your stress levels which would actually help your problem as well I think.
In the end, that's what I did. I started in October at a gym he recommended to me, and consulted a nutritionist on a diet customized for me. It's paying off. My most recent physical had very nice improvements in LDL and HDL, blood sugar, the works - and it was only at the 3 month mark. I can't recommend enough that you talk it over with your doctor, and see about a program that can really be customized for you, both exercise and nutrition wise. If you do decide to gym it up, make sure it's a gym that can really customize things based on your current health. I've had bad experiences with some McGyms on that front. Ask for a reputable one that can help someone in your shoes.
Even with my improvements in health and weight, I think my genetics tells me that eventually I'll be on statins. Heart disease runs in my family. The harder I work, hopefully, the longer I can prolong going on them.
Don't get me wrong, you are going the right direction by changing your eating habits. I would suggest eating more Omega-3 fatty acids (fish and flax oil are heavy in it)... the health benefits are controversial, but the studies do show that they reduce triglyceride levels, and overall cholesterol levels when taken with a statin. Just don't believe anyone that's saying they will cure cancer or make your member bigger. Don't go on megadose Niacin unless you are sure you can handle being flushed and feel "allergic" all day (it is a safer alternative, but the side effects are pretty bizarre). If you can, get a professional dietician to handle your meals for you.
Genetics may be against you as well. Some people have genetic disorders that prevent them from properly metabolizing cholesterol, with numbers that are slightly abnormal to grossly abnormal (you can literally see the grease floating around in a tube of blood with someone who has triglyceride numbers in the thousands). In this case, there's not much you can do other than go on the drugs AND change your lifestyle (and hope your heart doesn't give out before 40).
Diet alone probably won't achieve better cholesterol for you, unless you radically restrict your calories (calorie counting is still the best way to achieve a better diet). Keep this in mind. But if you do go the "diet only" route, then you'll have to wait longer to get good results.
No one but a doctor familiar with your medical history can really make this call. Perhaps you should consider getting a second opinion from another doctor.
While an admirable sentiment, depending on your circumstances, drugs may be necessary. I think what I'd do in your situation is ask the doctor what the risks are if you don't take the drugs they suggest. You may also want to ask for a referral to a nutritionist or dietitian.
One month may not be long enough to see noticeable gains from your new diet with your cholestoral. One month of exercise, for example, isn't going to have dramatic results for most people for weight loss either, it takes a while of your body getting used to the new routine for more impressive results to show up.
If you really want to be healthy, whether or not its possible to avoid going on the drugs, you'll need to start exercising regularly too. You should drop by the fitness thread in this forum, as it sounds like you're having trouble getting started.
Try egg white omelets and oatmeal for breakfast, it's very filling and very good for you.
I would assume you've stopped the diced ham already, you should think about cutting down on red meat as well.
Use less salt when cooking, or use Sea Salt.
Try walking once a day, everyday, for at least a half an hour.
Try to limit your calories to 2800 a day.
Honestly, you don't need a nutritionist or dietitian. If you go look at the fitness thread, and strictly follow the dietary advice in there, combined with cutting out the vast majority of saturated fats, cutting out trans-fats entirely (realize that something labeled "0g trans fats per serving" has trans-fats in it), and cutting down on sodium considerably, that's about all you can do. Make sure you're getting your 25 grams of dietary fiber every day, too.
You should know that your consumption of saturated and trans fat have more to do with your cholesterol levels than your consumption of cholesterol. Keeping your saturated fats down to about 5% of your total fat consumption is the way to go, and keeping calories from fats down to about 30% of your total calorie consumption is good for someone with cholesterol problems.
In order to get your HDL cholesterol up, you're going to want to make sure that as much of your fat as possible comes from monounsaturated fat. The best sources of monounsaturated fat are legumes (beans and peanuts) and olive oil. Try to get omega-3 fatty acids into your diet as well; best source of those is fish. A great snack (and you should be snacking a bunch if you're trying to lose weight) is unsalted peanuts; loaded with monounsaturated fats and protein, no sodium, and a significant amount of potassium (which is great for your heart). Finally, one to two glasses of red wine per day will help to get those levels where you want them to be (for me, this is the funnest part of a healthy diet).
If I were in your shoes, I'd give it six months. If in six months I couldn't get my LDL down, either because I wasn't exercising enough or the exercise wasn't helping, then I'd go on the statins.
the "no true scotch man" fallacy.
She lost a lot of weight, started eating healthy, and living healthy, and didn't have to go on them.
He even said she'd have to, but look at her now.
This is false, as thanatos pointed out