Moderately High Cholesterol and Liver Readings..but not too overweight

Hi All,

Have never really posted here before with anything substantial, but have
been reading a lot of posts here in the last 3 weeks or so. I got interested
because my wife wanted to go on a diet for a vacation 6 months or so from
now, and Atkins came up. I read the book quickly, found this NG, and away I
went. She is not following seriously enough IMO, but I think I am hooked.

Anyways...I am not very overweight...at least by appearance. I am about
5'10", and currently 210 lbs (was about 216-218 a couple weeks ago (thank
you Dr. Atkins!)), but have always had a pretty heavy/solid build and been
heavier that I look. No one believes I am 210+ lbs. I have been concerned
because I starting to get a bit of a belly, and am having to buy some pants
in a 36" waist, and some even in a 38"....a 34" I would be more happy with.
According to some BMI tables, I am considered obese - WTF is up with that!

My main concern with my health at this point are my cholesterol and liver
readings etc. I will post the numbers when I get them, but my doctor called
to say they were all too high. Since I took the tests about a week into
Atkins, I realize they may be a bit artificially high, but I also had the
tests long ago (1 year), that also had high readings, am concerned. My
father has heart problems from clogged arteries. My mother has high
cholesterol problems as well.

Anyways....from reading the book, I have seen that after 6 weeks or so, it
is a good idea to re-test and usually by then some of the benefits get
shown, especially in your blood health.

Is this a reasonable amount of time to wait to see if there are positive
results? I don't want to find I haven't waited long enough to see postive
results. What do you suggest? If I follow Atkins seriously, at what point
should I head back for more tests - I really think some postive #'s will be
that boost I really need to keep it going strong.

Thanks All,

GT

I'd say wait 6 months, and then get tested every 6 months after that. Some
numbers will go up and then come back down -- testing too soon will just get
you all worked up. Also, reading just total cholesterol numbers is not very
meaningful....you should be looking at ratios instead. You might do some
work on google to learn what to look out for.

GT wrote:
:: Hi All,
::
:: Have never really posted here before with anything substantial, but
:: have been reading a lot of posts here in the last 3 weeks or so. I
:: got interested because my wife wanted to go on a diet for a vacation
:: 6 months or so from now, and Atkins came up. I read the book
:: quickly, found this NG, and away I went. She is not following
:: seriously enough IMO, but I think I am hooked.
::
:: Anyways...I am not very overweight...at least by appearance. I am
:: about 5'10", and currently 210 lbs (was about 216-218 a couple weeks
:: ago (thank you Dr. Atkins!)), but have always had a pretty
:: heavy/solid build and been heavier that I look. No one believes I
:: am 210+ lbs. I have been concerned because I starting to get a bit
:: of a belly, and am having to buy some pants in a 36" waist, and some
:: even in a 38"....a 34" I would be more happy with. According to some
:: BMI tables, I am considered obese - WTF is up with that!
::
:: My main concern with my health at this point are my cholesterol and
:: liver readings etc. I will post the numbers when I get them, but my
:: doctor called to say they were all too high. Since I took the tests
:: about a week into Atkins, I realize they may be a bit artificially
:: high, but I also had the tests long ago (1 year), that also had high
:: readings, am concerned. My father has heart problems from clogged
:: arteries. My mother has high cholesterol problems as well.
::
:: Anyways....from reading the book, I have seen that after 6 weeks or
:: so, it is a good idea to re-test and usually by then some of the
:: benefits get shown, especially in your blood health.
::
:: Is this a reasonable amount of time to wait to see if there are
:: positive results? I don't want to find I haven't waited long
:: enough to see postive results. What do you suggest? If I follow
:: Atkins seriously, at what point should I head back for more tests -
:: I really think some postive #'s will be that boost I really need to
:: keep it going strong.
::
:: Thanks All,
::
:: GT

"GT" wrote in message ...
Hi All,

Have never really posted here before with anything substantial, but have
been reading a lot of posts here in the last 3 weeks or so. I got interested
because my wife wanted to go on a diet for a vacation 6 months or so from
now, and Atkins came up. I read the book quickly, found this NG, and away I
went. She is not following seriously enough IMO, but I think I am hooked.

Anyways...I am not very overweight...at least by appearance. I am about
5'10", and currently 210 lbs (was about 216-218 a couple weeks ago (thank
you Dr. Atkins!)), but have always had a pretty heavy/solid build and been
heavier that I look. No one believes I am 210+ lbs. I have been concerned
because I starting to get a bit of a belly, and am having to buy some pants
in a 36" waist, and some even in a 38"....a 34" I would be more happy with.
According to some BMI tables, I am considered obese - WTF is up with that!

My main concern with my health at this point are my cholesterol and liver
readings etc. I will post the numbers when I get them, but my doctor called
to say they were all too high. Since I took the tests about a week into
Atkins, I realize they may be a bit artificially high, but I also had the
tests long ago (1 year), that also had high readings, am concerned. My
father has heart problems from clogged arteries. My mother has high
cholesterol problems as well.

Anyways....from reading the book, I have seen that after 6 weeks or so, it
is a good idea to re-test and usually by then some of the benefits get
shown, especially in your blood health.

Is this a reasonable amount of time to wait to see if there are positive
results? I don't want to find I haven't waited long enough to see postive
results. What do you suggest? If I follow Atkins seriously, at what point
should I head back for more tests - I really think some postive #'s will be
that boost I really need to keep it going strong.

Thanks All,

GT


I'd wait at least a few months and ideally I'd wait until several
months after you reach your target weight. There was a post on here
from a guy a few weeks ago that had high numbers until well after he
reached his target weight. For most people, after a few months, total
chol is about the same, hdl is improved and trig drop dramatically.
For some, like me, total and ldl have gone up, but I'm waiting till I
get to my target. Figure then I will have more vegs, less fat, etc
which may help. You can also try adding fiber, which has been shown
to help lower chol. I use the metamucil that is sugar free. There
are also products that have the plant sterols which are supposed to
help. This is what they put in benecol margaring, but I get them in
pill form.

If you want to get an idea of your risk of developing hard CHD in the
next 10 years, you can go to the Amer Heart Assoc website or the NIH.
They have an online calculator where you can put in your chol, hdl etc
and other risk factors and it will give you an estimate. It will
likely make you feel better, as factors like your sex, smoking, etc
make a bigger difference.

Three months has been mentioned as a good starting point. My take would be
to look at where you are in this way of eating. For example at three months
are you still losing weight? Have you settled into low-carb as a way of
eating and a way of life? Have you reached a balance between bacon &
burgers and fish and vegetables? ... that's when I would get retested.
What you want is to get stabilized so when you get test results you know
what direction you need to go.

I would personally resist statin drugs until your life changes are in place
and you get another lipid profile. If indeed you are taking Atkins
seriously this will not take long. You may want to explore Atkins a little
deeper and see what he has to say about supplements especially since you
already know your history and family history. Don't take too long to get
things under control either by diet, supplements, or Dr prescribed
medications.

Roger is correct; you need to know the entire picture with the results.
Since you didn't post specifics Roger is assuming you don't have all the
tests but your post does seem to indicate that your readings are "all too
high."

Kevin

"GT" wrote in message
...
| Hi All,
|
| Have never really posted here before with anything substantial, but have
| been reading a lot of posts here in the last 3 weeks or so. I got
interested
| because my wife wanted to go on a diet for a vacation 6 months or so from
| now, and Atkins came up. I read the book quickly, found this NG, and away
I
| went. She is not following seriously enough IMO, but I think I am hooked.
|
| Anyways...I am not very overweight...at least by appearance. I am about
| 5'10", and currently 210 lbs (was about 216-218 a couple weeks ago (thank
| you Dr. Atkins!)), but have always had a pretty heavy/solid build and been
| heavier that I look. No one believes I am 210+ lbs. I have been
concerned
| because I starting to get a bit of a belly, and am having to buy some
pants
| in a 36" waist, and some even in a 38"....a 34" I would be more happy
with.
| According to some BMI tables, I am considered obese - WTF is up with that!
|
| My main concern with my health at this point are my cholesterol and liver
| readings etc. I will post the numbers when I get them, but my doctor
called
| to say they were all too high. Since I took the tests about a week into
| Atkins, I realize they may be a bit artificially high, but I also had the
| tests long ago (1 year), that also had high readings, am concerned. My
| father has heart problems from clogged arteries. My mother has high
| cholesterol problems as well.
|
| Anyways....from reading the book, I have seen that after 6 weeks or so, it
| is a good idea to re-test and usually by then some of the benefits get
| shown, especially in your blood health.
|
| Is this a reasonable amount of time to wait to see if there are positive
| results? I don't want to find I haven't waited long enough to see
postive
| results. What do you suggest? If I follow Atkins seriously, at what
point
| should I head back for more tests - I really think some postive #'s will
be
| that boost I really need to keep it going strong.
|
| Thanks All,
|
| GT
|
|

I'm honestly not sure what you mean by your liver numbers -- would
your doctor have put you on a statin such as Lipitor had it not been
for your "liver numbers"? (You don't mention any medicines, unless I
missed them.)

You're going to get all sorts of opinions about how long to wait, but
I can give you a personal testimonial on progress. In March I had been
on a cholesterol cocktail for about 5 months, with good progrss, not
great (I probably should have stopped drinking). My total cholesterol
in March was 133... I went on Atkins in late July (I am your height
and I weighed 212), and have dropeed 16 pounds since then. I also
stopped all alcohol and caffeine (more strict than some people go, but
I'd really rather eat my carbs in vegetables or the occasional
licorice) My cholesterol numbers were re-measured a week ago (7-8
weeks after Atkins), and my total cholesterol has dropped now to 95.
(I'm still on the cholesterol cocktail, and hope that will one day
change).

Blood pressure has also improved.

Make sure you get enough potassium, by the way, that's the hardest
part early on.

Frank Lynch
The Samuel Johnson Sound Bite Page is at:
http://www.samueljohnson.com/

"Frank Lynch" wrote in message
...
I'm honestly not sure what you mean by your liver numbers -- would
your doctor have put you on a statin such as Lipitor had it not been
for your "liver numbers"? (You don't mention any medicines, unless I
missed them.)

I have an appointment next week to go to the doctor and discuss the numbers
with him. I'll post them then. The liver tests are something to do with
Lever Enzymes and fatty deposits in the liver or something. I'm not really
sure what it means yet.

GT

Cholesterol is one thing . Abnormal liver enzymes are quite another. If your
liver enzymes are ugly, you most definitely need to talk to the doctor as
this is a sign that your liver might be failing or that you have a serious
disease like hepatitis.

Total cholesterol may go down on a low carb diet, or it may not. Your ratios
should improve and your triglicerides most certainly will drop.

However, low carbing will not correct liver failure. Talk to your doctor!

-- Jenny

168.5/137

Low Carb 9/1998 - 8/2001 and 11/10/02 - Now

http://www.geocities.com/jenny_the_bean
How to calculate your need for protein * How much people really lose each
month * Water Weight Gain & Loss * The "Two Gram Cure" for Hunger Cravings
* Characteristics of Successful Dieters * Indispensible Low Carb Treats *
Should You Count that Low Impact Carb? * Curing Ketobreath * Exercise
Starting from Zero * NEW! Do Starch Blockers Work?


"GT" wrote in message
...
Hi All,

Have never really posted here before with anything substantial, but have
been reading a lot of posts here in the last 3 weeks or so. I got
interested
because my wife wanted to go on a diet for a vacation 6 months or so from
now, and Atkins came up. I read the book quickly, found this NG, and away
I
went. She is not following seriously enough IMO, but I think I am hooked.

Anyways...I am not very overweight...at least by appearance. I am about
5'10", and currently 210 lbs (was about 216-218 a couple weeks ago (thank
you Dr. Atkins!)), but have always had a pretty heavy/solid build and been
heavier that I look. No one believes I am 210+ lbs. I have been
concerned
because I starting to get a bit of a belly, and am having to buy some
pants
in a 36" waist, and some even in a 38"....a 34" I would be more happy
with.
According to some BMI tables, I am considered obese - WTF is up with that!

My main concern with my health at this point are my cholesterol and liver
readings etc. I will post the numbers when I get them, but my doctor
called
to say they were all too high. Since I took the tests about a week into
Atkins, I realize they may be a bit artificially high, but I also had the
tests long ago (1 year), that also had high readings, am concerned. My
father has heart problems from clogged arteries. My mother has high
cholesterol problems as well.

Anyways....from reading the book, I have seen that after 6 weeks or so, it
is a good idea to re-test and usually by then some of the benefits get
shown, especially in your blood health.

Is this a reasonable amount of time to wait to see if there are positive
results? I don't want to find I haven't waited long enough to see
postive
results. What do you suggest? If I follow Atkins seriously, at what
point
should I head back for more tests - I really think some postive #'s will
be
that boost I really need to keep it going strong.

Thanks All,

GT

"Jenny" wrote in message
...
Cholesterol is one thing . Abnormal liver enzymes are quite another. If
your
liver enzymes are ugly, you most definitely need to talk to the doctor as
this is a sign that your liver might be failing or that you have a serious
disease like hepatitis.

Total cholesterol may go down on a low carb diet, or it may not. Your
ratios
should improve and your triglicerides most certainly will drop.

However, low carbing will not correct liver failure. Talk to your doctor!

Actually, it does mention in the Atkins book that both Liver and Kidney
function CAN be corrected (or at least improved, I can't remember the
wording in the book), by Low Carbing. Not sure what is going on with the
liver, but the doctor didn't seem overly concerned....but I will find out
when I meet with him next week.

GT

Make sure you get enough potassium, by the way, that's the hardest
part early on.

Frank Lynch
The Samuel Johnson Sound Bite Page is at:
http://www.samueljohnson.com/

How do you know if you are NOT getting enough potassium?

Frank Lynch wrote in message . ..
I'm honestly not sure what you mean by your liver numbers -- would
your doctor have put you on a statin such as Lipitor had it not been
for your "liver numbers"? (You don't mention any medicines, unless I
missed them.)

You're going to get all sorts of opinions about how long to wait, but
I can give you a personal testimonial on progress. In March I had been
on a cholesterol cocktail for about 5 months, with good progrss, not
great (I probably should have stopped drinking). My total cholesterol
in March was 133... I went on Atkins in late July (I am your height
and I weighed 212), and have dropeed 16 pounds since then. I also
stopped all alcohol and caffeine (more strict than some people go, but
I'd really rather eat my carbs in vegetables or the occasional
licorice) My cholesterol numbers were re-measured a week ago (7-8
weeks after Atkins), and my total cholesterol has dropped now to 95.
(I'm still on the cholesterol cocktail, and hope that will one day
change).

Blood pressure has also improved.

Make sure you get enough potassium, by the way, that's the hardest part early on.

Frank Lynch
The Samuel Johnson Sound Bite Page is at:
http://www.samueljohnson.com/





Total chol of 95 and your taking a chol cocktail? What is a chol
cocktail? I've never seen total chol that low. Why would anyone be
on chol drugs with a total chol number of 133 or 95? What are your
other numbers?
There have been some studies done that showed people with chol that is
very low have a higher death rate than those with high chol.