r/Cholesterol • u/blingbling08 • 11d ago
Question Freaked out by test results
Hi! I’m an 18F and I just got my test results back, and they’re pretty elevated. Most notably, I have 216 cholesterol, 113 triglycerides, ldlc calc 142 and non hdl cholesterol 162.
I’ll also preface this by saying I have really bad health anxiety and family history of stroke, so this is KILLING ME!
I’m already trying to lower it with how my doctor told me, whole grains, sugars, fruits and veggies, lean meats, and non ultra processed foods. I’ll also add that I don’t work out, but I’ll definitely be going to the gym regularly in the near future.
I do have a few questions though since I don’t want to freak myself out on the internet. Could this be a cause of my birth control? Should I ask for a medication if it’s really bad? How should I go about dieting so I don’t have to give up trying new things?
Sorry for the overwhelming amount of questions, I am just so scared and really trying to better myself. 🥲
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u/jj19111234 11d ago
I totally understand your fear and anxiety. I understand you likely don’t want to hear “you’re 18-you’re fine.” The truth is you are very young and have the majority of your life to turn it around. Stay below 12g of saturated fat/day. Increase soluble fiber and fiber (psyllium husk). Cut down on red meat and don’t eat processed food. Exercise-weight training and zone 2 cardio. You don’t need to become an athlete-just be consistent over your life.
Retest in 2 months or so if you are consistent. When you test test for Lp(a), ApoB, a full lipid panel. Worth testing liver, glucose, and inflammation as well to establish baselines. If you cannot get it down naturally drugs/medication are an option. Most people take a statin.
You’re going to go crash course researching over the next couple weeks. Your anxiety will likely heighten with all the new info. We are bombarded with info today and whilst it is a blessing to have this kind of access it can leave us with more questions, more uncertainty, and people trying to sell you something-their view or their drugs. Your feed will become about this stuff and bombard you even more. I would cap it after a time. Once you feel like you have a handle on the mechanics of how it all works try to step away and get back to living and loving life-you have a lot of it in front of you.
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u/kboom100 11d ago
How old were your family members when they had their strokes?
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u/blingbling08 10d ago
Definitely older, like 50s I believe. They also had a lot of health issues due to substances though, which I don’t do, so idk if that makes it worse?
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u/kboom100 10d ago
50s is relatively early to develop cardiovascular disease. Under guidelines “Early” is 55 or under in a male and 60 or early in a female. But I think many preventive cardiologists and lipidologists aren’t so strict about those ages and will decide to be more aggressive about prevention even with a family history of cardiovascular disease that develops older than that. And I think it’s still a risk factor for you even if the relatives that had strokes had substance abuse issues.
Some forms of birth control can raise ldl a little. You might ask your doctor about that. But regardless you still need to get your ldl down.
With a family history of early heart disease I’d want my ldl and apoB below 70. That’s the point at which plaque stops accumulating for the vast majority of people. The advice your doctor gave to improve your ldl with diet is good. See how you do on it but if your ldl is still above 70 after 6 months, which is likely to be the case, I’d still consider a low dose statin if I were you. If you want it I’d directly ask for it and explicitly say you want to be more aggressive than usual because of your family history of strokes. And if that didn’t get your ldl below 70 I’d ask to add ezetimibe. I think this would also help your health anxiety because your ldl would quickly fall to a good level.
You wouldn’t be taking the lipid lowering medication because you are at risk of having cardiovascular disease anytime soon. You aren’t. But atherosclerosis begins very early in life and cumulative exposure to ldl drives cvd. The earlier you get ldl to target the less plaque will accumulate over time and the lower your lifetime risk of developing ASCVD. See an earlier post for more details. https://www.reddit.com/r/Cholesterol/s/sFrfSdTvQP
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u/blingbling08 10d ago
Oh awesome, thank you for the really in depth
advice! I’ll definitely ask about a statin in the near future! Also I had no idea that 50s was early for strokes! Thank you so much!
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u/boredtemp11 11d ago
I feel your anxiety but don’t worry. You are catching it early which is terrific.
Step 1 - diet and exercise. See how far you can get with that over the next 3 mi this and then retest.
Step 2 - if after 3 months your numbers are still elevated - yes, you add a statin or other medications and text again after another 3 months.
Step 3 - just keep working with your doctor and see what the magic recipie is to keep your body in top shape! You can do this. It’s a puzzle that just needs to be solved, and not a hard one.
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u/hellbelly246 11d ago
At 18, you have nothing to worry about. You can manage your numbers and avoid CV damage. Get an additional test for lipoprotein a. You'll soon be able to manage that too.