Hello ladies!

I am so mad!!!!!

I just got my bloodwork back from my doctor's office yesterday, and my triglycerides have gone to 409!! Six months ago, BEFORE a 30 pound weight loss, my triglycerides were 189!!! Is this possible??? Six months ago, my cholesterol was 162, HDL 39, LDL 84. Now, my cholesterol is 167, HDL 45, LDL 40. What does all this mean? How can my cholesterol be ok by the trig. have gone so high? Could there have been a mistake at the lab? By the way, my family doctor did the blood test six months, and my gynecologist did the most recent one. Could that make a difference? I have been eating so much better, cutting out junk, but I have slacked off on my work-outs. Could that make the difference? Thanks so much!

Certainly, labs can make mistakes, so that is a possibility in your case.

But I do know something about high triglycerides, since my husband was originally diagnosed with a level of 700 about 10 years ago. He actually had the problem his entire life, most likely, but it was never checked before he was almost 40!

He originally went on a low-fat diet instead of statin drugs. Well. . . the next test jumped his triglycerides to 900! We finally figured out what happened in that case was that SUGAR raises triglycerides, and by skimping on healthy fat (olive oil) it went up even more. Triglycerides appear to be really related to blood sugar, it seems. So he got off the sugar and went back on the healthy fats and it came back to just under 700--still not too good.

He absolutely had to go on Tricor (a statin that really targets triglycerides), because we were told he had a faultly gene that can only be helped slightly by diet. Since going on Tricor, he's been "normal."

Like you, he had pretty average total cholesterol, while having bad triglyceride levels.

Hi Bluewillow, my brother has just received a similar blood test result. His triglyceride level was almost 600, and his cholesterol was 190. I'm not sure what causes this, but like DesRoth said there are meds that can help control the levels. My cholesterol is 201 (with good and bads being where they should be) and my trig level is 85. My Gyno said that hormones play a HUGE part in cholesterol levels, so wouldn't that play a part in triglyceride levels as well? My whole family has high trig levels, I don't know why mine are so low. Sheer luck, I guess. I know TONS of people that have high readings. I would consult with your doctor reference your readings and see if he/she recommends a med for you.

HUGS!

I just wanted to add, Bluewillow and Kleeo, high trig levels are more of a risk factor for women than for men. So I agree with Kleeo that if they don't come down with a very low-sugar diet, you might consider Tricor (the rest of them didn't really work for my husband--they seemed to only work on cholesterol).

I have not told my husband that high triglycerides are less dangerous for him, as opposed to women, than other components in the lipid profile, because I'd be afraid he'd stop taking the medicine, and I'd panic.

You're a VERY wise woman, Des! Every time my Mom mentions to my Dad that he didn't 'complain' after eating tomato sauce or something like it, he stops taking his Prilosec! And then she feels just terrible about it! I wonder how come men aren't as panicky as we are at this point in our lives? I'm jealous.

Thanks, Des and Kleeo!

I've sure learned a lot from you two! I had no idea SUGAR causes high trig! And you know, thinking back about the day I had my blood test, I was fasting, BUT I popped a couple of breath mints while sitting in the waiting room-- do you think that would have affected the results? Surely not, but that's just a hunch. Or wishful thinking! I normally don't eat that much sugar, but then again, it's hidden in a lot of foods. I use olive oil regularly and try to eat well. And I have really improved my eating since six months ago. Those test results make me want to just go chug down a big milkshake and have a piece of greasy cheesy pizza. Oh lordy if I did that I'd be sick as a dog!

Des, your husband sounds like mine-- sometimes we have to use psychology. And I didn't realize high trig was worse for women than men either.

Kleeo, I hope your trig stays low! At least I know I'm not alone with the high trig and that there are meds that can help.

I believe I will have a retest, especially since my total cholesterol and hdl and ldl look ok-- just to ease my mind. I was whining about it at work today and someone told me it was "old age"! Maybe so!

Hugs and thanks!

DesRotchild,
I have posted it times and times already: low fat/high carb diet will raise TRG in suseptable individuals - aka insulin resistant, pre-and-diabetics.
While it certainly possible to get high TRG from alcohol, but numbers in this range - mostly from high carbs.low fat diets. The only way to lower TRG to normal range :<150, is to drop carbs to lower levels. No need to take statin drugs, they are vey dangerous, but eating <100 g carbs a day and lots of good fats, protein, eggs, veggies, and limited low glycemic fruit, NO SUGAR OF ANY KIND, almost no bread, pasta, potaotes, and such, no baked goods and desserts, anything that can be converted into glucose rapidly. This plan will help your DH to keep his TRG and total CHO in check without dangerous meds.


I can assure that healthy diet alone would do the same trick without any side effects. See if you can he can try it for 3 months. Tendency to high TRG is a strong indicator of faulty blood sugar metabolism and a good predictor of T2 diabetes.
HTH

Bluewillow,
Exercise is really good for everything, but it is helpfull with HDL, not TRG. High TRG are a sing of too much sugar and starches in your diet. Some ppl have genetically predisposition to insulin resistance, and certainly, as we lose our estrogen, we become more and more IR. So at this stage of life high TRG combines with lower HDl is a recipe for disaster. The healthy TRG/HDL ratio should be <2. Anything more than 7 is really bad news. Add good fats back to your diet, and cut starches, sweets, and sugars: cookies, soft drinks, icecream, etc. Opt for diet version or low carb, use Splenda instead of sugar, and add lots of good fats to your diet: EVOO, good butter, avocado, seeds, buts, eggs, good cheese, even animal fats from clean sources are great. Keep carbs <100g a day, and eat fruit in small quantities and low gelycemic only: berries are the best. Make most of your carbs- vegetables, as much as you want, BTW, potatoe is a starch and not vegetable. try it for 3 months, your HDl will increase and your TRG will drop like a stone, and overall ratio will be much better too. It is essential for women to have high HDL and low TRG, men are more at risk with high LDL.
CHO= HDL and LDL and TRG/5
You previous test:
162=39+84+TRG/5. hence your TRG used to be =(162-84-39)*5=195. Not too high, but above the limit.
By looking at your numbers, I wonder if you been on low fat/high carb diet by the chance? By "cutting out junk" and "eating good" you mean cutting out fats and eating more whole grains, fruits, and in general lower fat? if yes, then this is where your problem is JMO!
But even your previous test shows low HDL, it should be >50 for women. The total CHO/HDL ration should be <3 for low CAD risk, and TRG/HDL<2 is good.
Having said that, it can be a variation in blood tests too, or you did not fast for 12 hours before the test!
LDL of 40 is kinda suspicious. I would get another test and make sure you fast for 12 hours, id results are similar, then try what I suggested, and you will be amazed with the results. I eat tons of fat and my TRG are always <80, but I keep my carbs at low level, and so my DH.
best of luck.
I.

Hey Blue, My brother is a health food MANIAC. I don't know of one person that eats as good as this kid does! He LIVES on veggies, fresh fruits, fish, and all of the good things that I ALWAYS overlook in my diet. And he still has high trig levels. This only leads me to believe that it CAN be genetic, and for some people meds are necessary. Eating healthy IS important, I totally agree with this. But I also believe that some people are destined to have high cholesterol/trig no matter what they try to do. VERY good idea to follow your doctors advice!
HUGS!

I think Iradan is right about the proper diet to lower triglycerides. Your doctor will probably tell you to cut out more fat but if you follow Iradan’s diet your next test results are more likely to be normal.

When I was younger I used to get my blood work done and I always got a call that my cholesterol and triglycerides were high. I was always told to cut out more fat! My mother also always had high triglycerides. Back then I had a high carb, low fat, low protein diet—it was a really bad diet and I had problems with hypoglycemia all the time. Several years ago I went on a modified Atkins type diet. The diet cured my hypoglycemia. I really did not need to loose weight so I was on maintenance. I cut out bread, sugar, pasta… I did eat potatoes/corn tortillas/fruit though but not for the main portion of my meal. The last time I got my blood lipids checked my cholesterol was really good and my triglycerides were in the normal range. My mother also did the diet plan with me and her triglycerides have been normal as well. I have a check up in a couple of weeks and I am hoping that my blood lipids will continue to be good. I have a HMO so I do not know if the doctor will order tests or not.

With men, altered lipid levels can be related to low hormone levels. If Kleeo’s brother was my husband I would make sure that he got his testosterone and estrogen tested and if he had lower testosterone and higher estrogen I would want him to start testosterone replacement with medication to lower estrogen. Many doctors do not know how to treat men and do not know about the link between altered hormone levels and altered blood lipids, so you actually have to find one who knows what testosterone and estrogen levels in men should be. Low testosterone in men can sneak up on them gradually as they get older so they may not even notice any symptoms or be in denial about the symptoms that they do have.

Kathy

Ira and Kathy, Thanks so much for all of the great information!!! Kathy, I didn't know about the man hormone thing. Very interesting and informative. Ira, You are a font of info on nutrition.

SusanC

P.S. I have cut all table sugar from my diet. I eat low carb and have had a low Trig level for years....80

Hello to all! I'm grateful for all the great replies and info that I obtained from this initial post--- and I thought I'd post an update since I had my blood tests redone just last week... My triglycerides are now back down to 204, and my cholesterol is even lower than ever at 147. SO, I really think the 409 was an error, fluke, or something weird going on. I feel a lot better mentally about it now, and have more confidence in these last results since it was my family doc that re-tested me this time-- and he's the one that I've always gone to for testing, not my gynecologist, which is the one that revealed the high trigs. My doctor also said the test can be affected by what one eats in the week before the test... something to confuse us even more! Anyway, I'm doing so much better-- have been changed from Premarin to the Vivelle Dot Patch and also switched from Xanax to Ativan and I feel HUMAN again!!! And I'm sleeping so much better!!!! Yippeee! Now, if I could just get rid of this darn chronic (had at least a year) left shoulder/arm/finger pain, I'd be totally happy!

Take care all you ladies!

Mary Jo

Hello blue
My triglycerides, colesterol, LDL & HDL went haywire for awile also. I am taking omacor, You need a script for it. My daughter had pancris problems & her Triglycerides was 1700, yes 1700. Her Dr put her on omacor & they are comming down really good. Mine is all within range now, all of them. I was shocked how many ppl are on this.
It has omega 3 acid ethyl esters. I don't know what that means but I know it has helped MANY ppl. Maybe ask your Dr about it.
Good luck

That's great news bluewillow - I was going to suggest having blood work done again too. I was wondering what your Fasting Blood Sugar was?

Karen