Cholestrol Problem

Hello- I have never posted before (or I don't remember it!-LOL)- I have been diabetic for 5yrs & have had several ups & downs- Blood work yesterday showed cholestrol that does not make Dr happy- anyone else have problem w/ diabetes causing higher cholestrol & advice?

Hi

  I am prediabetic and have to take 1/4 Crestor daily,  My chorlestrol has come down a great deal now and the Dr. is happy.  I feel the more greens and veggies are in ones diet, the better.

Mary

Hi there & welcome!

I've been diabetic for 26 years with high cholesterol about 15 of those. I take a 10 mg Crestor per day as diet didn't do it for me. I do recommend lots of fresh produce, oatmeal every morning, lean meat & staying as low-fat as possible in everything else. Don't go too far because you will start craving high-fat foods & end up binging! The advantage of oatmeal is it helps not only with your cholesterol but your sugar control & blood pressure.

Good luck!

Susan

cicimc, what's your secret eating oatmeal? Mom's been T2D for about 8 years. When she moved in she was eating oatmeal almost every day- and would crash about 3 hours later. We found that adding something high protein stopped the crashes. Is that what you do?

thank you all -will try the oatmeal- remember hearing that now before- have

 a blessed day& I look fwd to chatting w/ ya'll more

To be honest, I've not had that problem. During the week I eat my oatmeal at work, using the packaged, flavored instant (regular maple brown sugar, not SF), without any protein. (Maybe the added sugar makes a difference?) I think the difference is I eat lunch approximately 3 1/2-4 hours afterwards. I'm also not very active as I sit at a desk. When I'm home, I do add skim milk as I'm more active. The milk is enough protein to keep me going. Type 2 is more difficult to control than Type 1 for some reason. I've heard that Type 2's have to have a higher amount of protein but am not sure how true this is!

 I've been type 1 for 39 years, trust me, type 1 is far more difficult than type 2.

I would also suggest some protein along with the oatmeal. Eat a high fiber diet, lots of vegetables, omega-3 foods, like salmon, almonds, ground flax and check out www.spacedoc.net before you decide to take cholesterol lowering medicine. Do reserarch on cholesterol and the medicine.

Lose weight if you need to and exercise, both will help improve your health.

DH took it for a while but had terrible side effects even months after he stopped taking them and some of them can be permanent. The physician on the web site is well respected.

Wishing you the best health.

chefly

So what do you do when even climbing a short flight of stairs causes problems? That's Mom's problem. DR wants her to walk, but causes tachycardia and angina (for about 15 years now). We live in a split level duplex, and she struggles to climb the 14 steps (6, then 8) from her bedroom downstairs and the living room/kitchen upstairs.  I've already done extensive research on T2 diabetes, her cardio problems, her arthritis, the meds she's on, cholesterol, triglycerides, fats in general, carbs, sodium, Omega-3, Omega-6, ad infinitum. I know she's not eating as well as she is capable of, but it's like dealing with a mule.  At least I've helped her understand she needs some protein with those carbs. Now I need to convince her she needs more veggies and less fatty food...

 Is she diagnosed with heart failure? Is excess weight causing much of her difficulty in breathing and moving? How old is she, 70's or 80's?

If her doc. will allow or promotes her getting exercise and her heart can handle it, she could ride an exercise bike or do exercises while sitting on a chair and use some small free weights.

If she is as stubborn as my mother, there isn't much you can do. Just explain to her that her health will only deteriorate if she doesn't eat well and exercise.

I wish you and your mom the best.

chefly

 This is like a sign from above, on the radio this morning was a medical program and they were talking about heart failure. There was a study done at Northwestern University in Chicago and the results will be published in a medical journal I think next month. They kept the small group on ace inhibitors and beta blockers but added high doses of certain vitamins and minerals like CoEnzyme Q10. They found large increases in the patients ejection fraction rates. The Doctor/host of the show mentioned one person going from an  rate of 17 to 50 or 59 (I can't remember which).

I Googled it and found this information about the study. You might want to show your mom's doctor this information and push him or her to let you try adding the supplements to her current medication.

Abstract:
This report describes the normalization of left ventricular ejection fraction and resolution of signs and symptoms of chronic and severe heart failure in both male and female patients (mean age 54 years) treated with standard medical therapy. These observations were made in 11 patients with idiopathic dilated cardiomyopathy treated in a single cardiology practice, who had evidence of myocardial "viability" (dysfunctional but noncontractile myocardium that has the potential for improvement in function) as assessed by cardiac magnetic resonance imaging, low-dose dobutamine echocardiography, or nuclear imaging. These patients were treated with standard available therapies including [beta]-blockers, angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors, digoxin, and potassium and non-potassium-sparing diuretics. The average ejection fraction at presentation was 17% +/- 9% which improved to 59% +/- 5%. All patients improved to New York Heart Association functional class I with available therapy. The majority of patients received micronutrient supplementation with coenzyme Q10, vitamin B1, and amino acids, which target the pathways of cardiac metabolism and may aid in the restoration of cardiac function. This case series demonstrates that normalization of cardiac function is possible with standard therapy and the importance of assessing myocardial viability in all patients with heart failure and reduced ejection fraction. Given the unique metabolic needs of the failing heart, the role of micronutrients in combination with standard therapy warrants further investigation.

(C) 2008 Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, Inc.

chefly