Just got the second test result. triglisirides dropped to 434 and Cholesterol dropped to 162. Just thought I'd let ya know.

-- Kenneth in N.C. (wizardsplace13@hotmail.com), January 10, 2002

Answers

OK!!!!!! Glad to hear it. So, what have you been doing to achieve these results? Maybe it will help and encourage the rest of us as we struggle to unload the extra roll left over from the holidays. OK, maybe it's just me w/ the extra and not "us". Keep up the good work.

-- John in S. IN (jdoofus@hotmail.com), January 10, 2002.

Great!!! Being completely ignorant of these things, what is a good level for the triglycerides and the cholesterol? Are you feeling better?

-- Doreen (bisquit@here.com), January 10, 2002.

Thank you soooo much for letting us know how you are doing! You are still in my daily prayers..it is never easy to change diet, lifestyle, etc.....good for you that you can see the results of all of your efforts so quickly!!!! Yeah KEN!!!!!!!God bless.

-- lesley (martchas@bellsouth.net), January 10, 2002.

Sounds great. Don't go for a big mac and fries to celebrate :>)

-- Jay Blair in N. AL (jayblair678@yahoo.com), January 11, 2002.

OK here's the thing. We didn't make any earth shatering changes. Were eating more chicken (baked instead of fried). Less hamburger, and substituting two meals a week with a salad. If we eat "fast food" (hello were still human, lol) It's chicken sandwichs no mayo. The meds lipitor and welchol are kinda harsh on the system but do work. From the research my wife did a good fat blocker will knock trigliserides down too.

NORMAL? Well most doctors agree Trigliserides around 200-350 Cholesteron 100-150. Some say less, but hey when can you get 3 or more doctors to agree on anything?

It's a battle but if you slip just pick back up next meal. The one thing we've learned "Do Not Beat yourself Up for being human!"

-- Kenneth in N.C. (wizardsplace13@hotmail.com), January 11, 2002.

CORRECTION Welchol is non systemic therefore its side effect profile is very low if any . it is not absorbed into the blood stream so it is not harsh on the system!!

-- BEN (ithrowheat@yahoo.com), August 21, 2002.

Good job, Kenneth! I didn't even know that they tested for triglycerides. I've been tested only for "good" and "bad" cholesterol (HDL and LDL). I've also been told that these levels are at least partly hereditary (my son blames me for low HDL levels :)

I've also been hearing lately that cholesterol is being assigned a back seat in the battle against arterial health and heart attacks and strokes, in response to new info that the most important factor is "irritation". Don't know much about this latter, though.

There are some data, however, that indicate that raising HDL levels has postive benefits for cariovascular health, e.g. read the info at http://heartdisease.about.com/library/weekly/aa061801a.htm and http://heartdisease.about.com/library/weekly/aa022201a.htm

In a nutshell, regular aerobic exercise helps raise HDL levels, and so does moderate alcohol intake. The second URL discusses doctors' obligation to share that info with their patients.

-- joj (jump@off.c), August 21, 2002.

Oops, didn't add the caveat about the fact that alcohol consumption (duh) has potential negative side effects, and the potential benefits to the HDL levels need to be balanced with all the potential bad effects of the alcohol on the liver, on the heart itself, and on society (like drunk driving, aggressiveness, etc).

Some of the negative side effects of alcohol occur primarily when drinking occurs in more than "moderate" amounts, they say...

-- joj (jump@off.c), August 21, 2002.

As with the previous poster, I just received back my lab report and it included for the first time trigliserides. As I believe most of us keep records of prior recordings of cholesterol, nothing I have attempted over long periods (eliminating butter, beer etc.) over the last 14 years has caused my cholesterol to range by more than 2-3 points in an overall range of 207-212. The lab report line item said that it should be < 200 (no big deal), but my HDL was 60 and LDL 114 (both good ranges) and the multiplyer was 3.7(also good).

The question is why with these good ratings is my trigliserides at 199 (recommended<150) and what can I do to try and drop it?

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

-- Dave in Connecticutt (ammd3@aol.com), March 08, 2003.