I feel like I'm dying :(

[Pea-n-Me]

Remember that heart disease isn't something that occurs in a vacum. There are a number of factors that go into one's cardiac profile. Genetics are huge. If family members had a heart attack, coronary bypass surgery, stents, or died from a heart attack, you are at high risk for having CAD yourself. (And if it makes anyone feel better, I live with this myself as well as educate my cardiac patients. My own father died of a heart attack, and triglycerides run high on both sides of my family. And as far as my children go, their uncle on my DH's side died young of a heart attack and their other uncle has severe CAD. I'm making it my business to keep their hearts as healthy as they can be. It is a daily challenge for our family, especially as we ourselves often get caught up in the rat race that's typical of many families today.)

So some of our risk factors for heart disease are modifiable and some are not. Non modifiable risk factors are your genetics, your gender (females are usually protected until menopause, but not always), your age, race, etc.

Modifiable risk factors are really the ones that can have a big impact on how healthy our hearts stay over the long haul. Smoking - huge. Smoking accelerates CAD (and contributes to other heart problems). Quitting smoking would be #1 for anyone who is smoking but wants to better their health. Other modifiable risk factors are diet, high cholesterol profiles, overweight, exercise, sedentary lifestyle, stress levels (job, financial, life events, etc), diabetes management and hypertention management, among others.

Read more:

http://grfw.org/presenter.jhtml?identifier=4726

http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/heart-disease/DS01120/DSECTION=risk-factors

Good luck to everyone in this struggle. It's good to talk about. If you've followed this thread, it means you care. And that's a really great start.

 

[Pea-n-Me]

Not the OP either, but my Dr. put me on Metformin at first which is one of the safest drugs to use for lowering blood sugar, but it still gave me terrible side effects and I was miserable on it. He took me off of it and told me I had 6 months to get things under control with diet and exercise or he would put me back on it. That's when he suggested a nutritionist. He prefers treating stuff naturally anyways.

My mom takes Diet pills she gets from a diet Dr. and they are giving her high blood pressure and they make her jumpy.... I'm worried about her heart while she's on it....

You can take Cinnamon pills too, they help lower blood sugar; just make sure the supplements are high quality. I use the NOW Foods brand and I get them off of iHerb.com, very cheap.

My nutritionist also has me on Turmeric, Ginger, Calcium/Magnesium, a "Green Foods" multi-vitamin, (all are NOW foods brand) and she wants me to eat 2 tbsp. of high quality tomato paste every day. (Which, honestly, I don't do every day, but I try!) I get the tubes of it from Whole Foods for less than $2, and no BPA

I tell my Dr. everything that she tells me or puts me on, just to be sure, and he loves the advice I'm getting : ) And, it has worked, so the proof is in the pudding.

I was talking more about medications for cholesterol management, specifically. I know that many people don't want to take medications, but the OP mentioned it several times and I'm wondering if maybe I could help her out a little bit with that. It's always a possibility to continue to make positive changes, but go on something while those are being done in undertaken to get the levels down, which is critical, and later lower or come off them if successful. I can guarantee you if you wind up in the hospital with a coronary event you will be going on something, and people at that point are afraid and are quite willing to go on something then. Why wait until something happens?

BTW, metformin is a good treatment for PCOS (which I'm guessing you have; or maybe new Type II diabetes?), a type of metabolic syndrome that can negatively affect your health over the long term. There is a certain way to start it to avoid GI symptoms when going on metformin, but that's really for another thread. I'd show you a link but to date, I haven't found a good one that accurately describes PCOS and its treatment. Good luck with the challenge you have before you.

 

[DebbieB]

My family has high cholesterol and I fought taking meds. Mine was over 300 and even with a strict diet I could only get down to around 250. My doctor put me on the minimum dose of lipitor (10mg) and it dropped to around 200 in about 6 weeks. It has stayed there even though I haven't been real careful with my diet. I haven't had any side effects.

 

[NY Disney fan]

NY Disney Fan, I meant to ask you yesterday - why are you so opposed to going on medication?

Because I'm young (30 something) and I hate the idea. I'm already on thyroid medication (a waste if you ask me) and if I had to take another pill at this young age, it would be a bummer. What kind of long-term effects would pills have if I take them for 20-30 years starting now? Plus, what if I marry someone in the next few years and we wanted to have a child? (a long shot but still!).

I'm not opposed to taking pills IF diet and exercise showed promise. If they do not, then I would realize that pills would be the only thing to save my life.

Since yesterday my diet has been nearly flawless. (I'm talking about mostly whole foods and in moderation). I have to get an exercise plan which is easy because I have a library of fitness videos. I'm giving myself until Oct. 7th before I sit down to talk to my doctor and get another lipid profile.

My lunch today was steamed broccoli and 1/2 c. of brown rice. --- LOL.

 

[Carnie]

You need more protein.

 

[cteddiesgirl]

NY Disney Fan, I meant to ask you yesterday - why are you so opposed to going on medication?

Not the OP, but they all have side effects.
My dad had a heart attack several years ago. They put him on Plavix and for a while he seemed OK. Just a little weak which was contributed to his heart attack.
But, after a few months, he kept getting weaker with almost no energy. Itchy, dried out skin. Then he started losing his hair at the back of his neck.
He even went to the heart doctor 6 months later and they ran the liver test. The heart doctor gave him a clean bill of health despite the problems he was having. It was thought that his weakness was just the aftermath of his heart attack and he was still recovering.

Eventually, he ended up in the hospital with a very low red blood cell count. The doctors and nurses had no idea how he could actually manage to walk into the emergency room. If anyone had quickly lost the amount of red blood cells he had lost, they would have been dead. He was saved because it was over a long period of time and his body adjusted for it. They ended up giving him 6 units of blood and did all sort of tests on him. It was after a few days testing and finding nothing explaining what could be wrong before a nurse figured out that it was the Plavix. It prevented his body from forming new red blood cells. He hasn't taken it or any other heart medicine since then.
He now only takes a baby aspirin and a multi-vitamin that includes iron. He hasn't had any problems since then.

Medication seems to be given out almost as if it's candy and many people don't recognize or ignore the warning signs of the side effects before it's too late. All heart medicine is extremely strong stuff and can be very dangerous. No matter how many studies they do, they still can't know how a drug will affect a body. Especially over a long period of time. And every person is different and can have different reactions to drugs. I suggest always taking a natural approach before taking drugs. Our bodies were not made to accomodate all the chemicals that are contained in drugs. Not to mention the chemicals in our food, our clothes, our cleaning products, etc. It can combine with deadly results.

 

[Tiana]

.

 

[whogirl'smom]

I haven't read all the replies on here, so forgive me if this has already been mentioned.

Red Yeast Rice.

My cholesterol was 272 a couple of years ago (mostly heredity) and after taking red yeast rice (3 600 mg. capsules a day) it dropped to 180 in 3 months. No, I'm not kidding. I take 2 capsules daily for maintenance. No side effects, liver panel looks good every year.

I will advise you to only buy the brands at GNC or a reputable health store, not at Wal Mart or somewhere. If you're not paying about $25-$30 for 120 capsules, you're not getting the strength you will need. The others are cut with too many fillers and will not lower your cholesterol enough to matter. It's worth a shot if you haven't tried it--even my doctor said you can only do so much with diet and exercise if this runs in your family.

Good luck!

 

[Magpie]

Because I'm young (30 something) and I hate the idea. I'm already on thyroid medication (a waste if you ask me) and if I had to take another pill at this young age, it would be a bummer. What kind of long-term effects would pills have if I take them for 20-30 years starting now? Plus, what if I marry someone in the next few years and we wanted to have a child? (a long shot but still!).

I'm not opposed to taking pills IF diet and exercise showed promise. If they do not, then I would realize that pills would be the only thing to save my life.

Since yesterday my diet has been nearly flawless. (I'm talking about mostly whole foods and in moderation). I have to get an exercise plan which is easy because I have a library of fitness videos. I'm giving myself until Oct. 7th before I sit down to talk to my doctor and get another lipid profile.

My lunch today was steamed broccoli and 1/2 c. of brown rice. --- LOL.

Oi - that's not going to keep you satisfied!

Next time, add a little cheese or a bit of chopped up chicken breast or a quarter cup of black beans or some tofu to your broccoli and brown rice. You should be having some protein with every meal.

When you skip the protein, you end up hungrier down the road.

 

[bicker]

One of the best tools we've found for addressing that is Nutritional Yeast. I'd rather have some soybeans, or tofu, or quinoa, but when that's not ideal, Nutritional Yeast really helps boost protein content. And it doesn't have any of the saturated fat of cheese.

It is also a decent popcorn topping, having a savory buttery flavor.

 

[focusondisney]

Because I'm young (30 something) and I hate the idea. I'm already on thyroid medication (a waste if you ask me) and if I had to take another pill at this young age, it would be a bummer. What kind of long-term effects would pills have if I take them for 20-30 years starting now? Plus, what if I marry someone in the next few years and we wanted to have a child? (a long shot but still!).

I'm not opposed to taking pills IF diet and exercise showed promise. If they do not, then I would realize that pills would be the only thing to save my life.

Since yesterday my diet has been nearly flawless. (I'm talking about mostly whole foods and in moderation). I have to get an exercise plan which is easy because I have a library of fitness videos. I'm giving myself until Oct. 7th before I sit down to talk to my doctor and get another lipid profile.

My lunch today was steamed broccoli and 1/2 c. of brown rice. --- LOL.

Hi! I'm certainly no expert, but I'm wondering if your thyroid condition might be part of the problem. Might you need your meds adjusted or your thyroid level rechecked? I think thyroid problems can affect your cholesterol levels.


Thanks for startng this thread. It is reminding me I need to gret my cholesterol rechecked. Had a check up in Jan. Don't remember all my nos. right now, but total cholesterol was 240. Had been around 210 but my dr. wasn't too concerned because that wasn't a fasting level.

Any way, I made lots of dietary changes right away. Cut out butter, one of my favorite food groups. Yes, I said "food groups", I ate that much! Started eating oatmeal about 5 days a week. Sorry, but it is instant, got to be better than frosted flakes, right? I have apples almost everyday. Lots of blueberries & strawberries. Snacks: small portions of raw almonda or walnuts & only baked chips if I must have them. Just found baked Tostitos by the way, they are wonderful! Have only eaten a rare processed baked good.

So I have lost 15 lbs with just those changes! I'm thrilled! I couldn't believe it when the scale started to move. I've lost a dress size & DH says I look great! I felt so motivated to keep at it. So now I need to see if the blood levels improved with the weight.

One thing I will say is to read all labels. You can really make a difference just by knowing what you're eating. Just looking at the fat grams on the label has kept me from buying lots of bad treats ( Enteman's coffeecakes, Hagan Dass ice cream, Reese's peanut butter cups!)

I still allow myself a treat, but now I have a single Weight Watchers chocolate cake, a chocolate frozen banana or a single Mallow cup. I am not dead yet, & I want a few treats or what will I give up when I'm really old !!

Any way, good luck to you. Guess I'll make an appointment to get my labs rechecked & see how I'm really doing. I might need to add exercise to my lifestyle. I've been trying to avoid that!

 

[focusondisney]

I haven't read all the replies on here, so forgive me if this has already been mentioned.

Red Yeast Rice.

My cholesterol was 272 a couple of years ago (mostly heredity) and after taking red yeast rice (3 600 mg. capsules a day) it dropped to 180 in 3 months. No, I'm not kidding. I take 2 capsules daily for maintenance. No side effects, liver panel looks good every year.

I will advise you to only buy the brands at GNC or a reputable health store, not at Wal Mart or somewhere. If you're not paying about $25-$30 for 120 capsules, you're not getting the strength you will need. The others are cut with too many fillers and will not lower your cholesterol enough to matter. It's worth a shot if you haven't tried it--even my doctor said you can only do so much with diet and exercise if this runs in your family.

Good luck!

I forgot in my previous post to say, I did start taking the red rice yeast & odorless fish oil capsules. A doc at work suggested the red rice yest. Glad to hear it did work for you.

 

[creativeamanda]

Fish oil supplements. Talk to your doctor about Lovaza (a fish oil supplement only by prescription). YOu can also do 2500mg in supplements . My husband started it along with a exercise and diet regimen and is now in the best shape of his life. It's taken him a year.

High protein diet, especially eating chicken and fish.

Most of all--discuss everything with your doctor!

 

[cm8]

I got blood test results back this morning:

Triglycerides: 285 (should be less than 150)

HDL : 18!!! (should be higher than 50 for females)

How can I reverse this??? Any advice is appreciated. I'm headed for a heart attack!

I would also like to know if you have any other issues that could make your cholesterol numbers high too? The fact that you know what you need to cut out is half the battle. The other advice on exercising and changing your diet was dead on. Please try to avoid being placed on statins as a last resort. A lot of people may not know this, but many things influence your cholesterol levels. Eating habits, hormones, not fasting 13 hours before testing, hypothyroidism, anemia, not exercising, familial hypercholesterolemia, and other things. OP, you have taken the first step in making it right and that is all that matters! I too wish you much success and lots of 's when you get the numbers you want!! Have fun getting healthy!

 

[TeaToo!]

Low (underactive) thyroid can do this.
(I have not read all posts/replies here, so Im sorry if this has already been suggested)
Get your thyroid labs and look them over, and research online if you dont know how to read them. Many times docs assume "in normal range" is all that is needed, when really upper end -or- lower end (depending on which thyroid issue you have) is better.

Good luck.

 

[npmommie]

One of the best tools we've found for addressing that is Nutritional Yeast. I'd rather have some soybeans, or tofu, or quinoa, but when that's not ideal, Nutritional Yeast really helps boost protein content. And it doesn't have any of the saturated fat of cheese.

It is also a decent popcorn topping, having a savory buttery flavor.

ooohhh nutritional yeast on popcorn is my favorite! it is soooo good