TOTALLY GEEKED!

jlbear71 · Guru

Yikes! High Cholesterol

lilyofcourse · My spirit animal is a pink flamingo.

Google the Daniel Diet.

It's sooo good.

I haven't found a recipe that isn't good.

We love the stir fry and taco soup.

And there are snacks and goodies and it doesn't feel like you're missing anything.

What medication is he on?

weltschmerz · Guru

jlbear71 wrote:
DH finally went back to the doctor's office. He has not been in four years. His labs show that his bad cholesterol is over 1100!!! And his good cholesterol is too low as well. He is now on medication for it.
But we need to make changes in our diet. Big Time! I want to implement eating vegetarian at least once a week. Except we are very picky when it comes to heartier vegetarian options. I am picky with beans and lentils. Neither of us like chickpeas in that form but I like hummus. Neither of us like tofu - to us, it has a weird texture. I am also worried about too many vegetables having negative digestive effects.
So, help, please.

Holy crap! Does he have a problem with digesting vegetables? How about fish? You guys like fish?

Mellow Momma · Sniff...sniff, sniff. Yay! A Bum!

Make hearty veggie stew. It doesn't seem like you are missing the meat and it's still yummy. Portobello mushrooms are a great sub for burgers. Grill them and eat like a burger. I personally don't like meat substitutes (Morningstar and Boca items) and prefer to just eat without it.

I have never been bothered by eating veggies so I can't help you with the digestion part of it.

A lot of cholesterol is genetic and not diet. Just something to consider.

lilyofcourse · My spirit animal is a pink flamingo.

Oatmeal.

It works.

Use things like fruit and honey to flavor it.

I love oatmeal.

I know what to do_sometimes · Frozen Sucks!

Have him see a nutritionist, his doctor perhaps suggested one. But remember cholesterol levels are not just about diet, genetics and exercise have a lot to do with it.

lilyofcourse · My spirit animal is a pink flamingo.

Did they put him on a blood thinner?

jlbear71 · Guru

Genetics are a huge part in this. We know this as fact. But I want to give it everything to try to lower these to reasonable levels.

He is on Fenofibrate. He has been exercising semi-regularly and will increase it to 3-5 times a week.

He has no issues with digestion of vegetables, I do. Too many and I am stuck in the bathroom (sorry for TMI).

We like seafood, he likes more types than I do. DH is allergic to shrimp and lobster.

He is also allergic to aspirin and Nsaids so he can't do the aspirin thing.

Would oatmeal bars have a similar effect as oatmeal? He does not eat breakfast at home. Not even sure if he eats it during the work week.

He won't see a nutritionist. It took this being my Christmas and Valentine's present to get him to go for a physical. And they mentioned the colonoscopy needed to be done again.

jlbear71 · Guru

And with his family history and his allergies, they really need to be careful with any blood thinners. MIL has had issues with several blood thinners.

weltschmerz · Guru

lilyofcourse wrote:
Did they put him on a blood thinner?

They don't automatically put people on anticoagulants for High Cholesterol. They're dangerous drugs.

http://www.texasheart.org/HIC/Topics/Meds/blodmeds.cfm

Lady Gaga Snerd · Guru

First i would request that they repeat the lab test.

Lady Gaga Snerd · Guru

Most cholesterol is Not diet. It is Endogenous aka your body makes it. Yes you can modify your exogenous intake and eat oats until you bray but diet alone wont do much if that is really the number.

ed11563 · Guru

Lady Gaga Snerd wrote:
First i would request that they repeat the lab test.

Physicians I've worked with have told me that 20 % of lab tests are wrong.

Repeat the test using a different lab.

jlbear71 · Guru

This is from the labs.
Cholesterol, total 238 - High
Triglycerides 1143 - Alert
HDL Cholesterol 25 - Low

The numbers are not unusual for his family history. Both parents have/had high triglycerides with MIL's numbers very high (not sure of numbers) FIL had his first heart attack at age 52. His test from 6 years ago was in the 600s, five years ago with meds it was down to around 300-350ish. Then the insurance would not pay for what was prescribed and the doctor at the time was an azz so DH never went back. Considering all factors (including the amount of rum he drinks on the weekends) it is no surprise that his numbers are skyrocketing.

lilyofcourse · My spirit animal is a pink flamingo.

weltschmerz wrote:
lilyofcourse wrote:
Did they put him on a blood thinner?
They don't automatically put people on anticoagulants for High Cholesterol. They're dangerous drugs.
http://www.texasheart.org/HIC/Topics/Meds/blodmeds.cfm

Weltz, I know. I've been on them.

I know you have all of Google to look things up on.

But I have sat in the classes and taken the drugs.

Hence the question instead of an assumption.

lilyofcourse · My spirit animal is a pink flamingo.

Jlbear71, the best course of action is education.

Adding fiber helps.

Yes, the body produces its own cholesterol. But we can lower what we consume.

If he will not agree to a nutritionist, at least ask the doctor for guidance and guidelines.

Also, research any and all meds. Make sure you know the side effects and interactions.

Exercise does a lot to lower cholesterol.

Lawyerlady · On the bright side...... Christmas is coming! (Mod)

jlbear71 wrote:
Genetics are a huge part in this. We know this as fact. But I want to give it everything to try to lower these to reasonable levels.

He is on Fenofibrate. He has been exercising semi-regularly and will increase it to 3-5 times a week.

He has no issues with digestion of vegetables, I do. Too many and I am stuck in the bathroom (sorry for TMI).

We like seafood, he likes more types than I do. DH is allergic to shrimp and lobster.

He is also allergic to aspirin and Nsaids so he can't do the aspirin thing.

Would oatmeal bars have a similar effect as oatmeal? He does not eat breakfast at home. Not even sure if he eats it during the work week.

He won't see a nutritionist. It took this being my Christmas and Valentine's present to get him to go for a physical. And they mentioned the colonoscopy needed to be done again.

He needs to start eating breakfast. Cheerios works. And oatmeal on the weekends - the REAL stuff, steel cut oats. Also, smoothies with some flaxseed thrown in.

In addition to a meatless night or two - do a fish night with wild caught salmon.

You are going to have to switch to whole grains instead of refined grains. No white bread - needs to be whole grain.

Mellow Momma · Sniff...sniff, sniff. Yay! A Bum!

lilyofcourse wrote:
Jlbear71, the best course of action is education.

Adding fiber helps.

Yes, the body produces its own cholesterol. But we can lower what we consume.

If he will not agree to a nutritionist, at least ask the doctor for guidance and guidelines.

Also, research any and all meds. Make sure you know the side effects and interactions.

Exercise does a lot to lower cholesterol.

Exercise does NOT work for everyone. You can run like the house is on fire everyday and your levels may not even budge. That's the genetic component. Quite a few people in my family have done the diet to the point that they eat barely anything and exercise like crazy people and the results of every blood test are practically the same.

lilyofcourse · My spirit animal is a pink flamingo.

You are going to get a crap ton of advice.

He has to find what works for him.

Raising the good cholesterol helps fight the bad.

Omega 3s do that.

I'm not an expert, never claimed to be.

All I know is what works for me.

Good luck, don't panic and find a doctor to work with.

Lady Gaga Snerd · Guru

Personally , i think a lot of this is overblown. They have been "defining down" the number for years. A "normal" cholesterol years ago used to be up to 330. They keep lowering what they want it to be and then of course a lot more people now need to take statins.

lilyofcourse · My spirit animal is a pink flamingo.

When I had my heart attack, my total cholesterol was 119.

It was wonderful. All the numbers in the right places.

And I was put on cholesterol meds.

After a year, my numbers were the same.

I took myself off the meds, didn't tell the doctor.

My numbers were still the same.

That was 10 years ago. My recent blood work still shows the same numbers.