Hello,

At age 43 I have high cholesterol. It is a family curse. My brother who is six years younger has been on Lipator for a couple years already. I do not want to use drugs. But I can't seem to find any good information on reducing cholesterol.

I see a lot of discussion on fats! Is that where it is coming from? Isn't cholesterol in meat and animal products? Will I have to forever forego my beloved hamburgers? My Dr. says I should go on lipator but I want to try diet first (and I cried thinking no more grapefruit!). Is he getting a kickback for putting patients on drugs?

Help? I'm so confused.

Chris

My bf is in similar situation. He found out that he has high cholesterol ever since his late 20s. probably a family thing... both of his parents has high chol level

Anyway, I didn't want him to get on Lipator. we heard that he might have to take it for the rest of his life. since he's still in his late 20s/early 30, we did not like the idea that he'll have to depend on a few pills for the rest of his life...

He tried dieting and exercising. He went out jogging twice a week and play volleyball/basketball once a wk. He cut down lots of fat (no more fries, chips, cooking oil, butter, limited red meat etc etc). Although it brought down his triglyceride level quite a bit, his total cholesterol level remained the same ???

After trying for 2 years with no satisfying improvement, we decided it's time to take some medication. I read something about niacin. Niacin is also known as nicotinic acid or vitamin B3. Normally a health adult needs about 15 to 20 mg of it a day, but as a cholesterol control agent, my bf is taking 1000 mg a day. Flushing, itchiness are common side effects, but he found some niacin with non-flush formula. Our doctor had his doubt about the use of niacin, since we insisted, he let us try and we continue to monitor his blood cholesterol level, and his liver function (one rare but possible side effect is liver malfunction). Everything is great now! Normal level of cholesterol with no side effect. Talk to your doctor about the use of niacin!

I just thought niacin is "safer" and more natural since it's already a vitamin that we are taking everyday (although at a much smaller dose!)

Niacin? I heard about it's cholesterol reducing property before but don't know enough about it.

Make sure you consult with your doctor before taking any medication!

Judy

Hi Chris, welcome to the board!!! you've taken the first step in taking control of your health - good for U!!!

high cholesterol is a complicated issue and let me explain. when i worked at the heart health clinic, i've seen many patients successfully lowering cholesterol with diet and exercise alone. i've also seen patients lowering cholesterol with diet, exercise and meds. there are also patients who are not overweight, eat absolutely healthy and exercise regularly but still have high cholesterol and these types of patients usually need to take meds for a long time (probably genetics).

there are many reasons doctors recommend cholesterol meds and it usually depends on his assessment of your heart attack risk factors. For instance, age? family history? weight? smoking? other pre-existing medical conditions especially diabetes? how high is your LDL cholesterol and triglycerides? patients with relatively high triglyceride levels are usually put on meds right away. Discuss with your doctor about your desire of trying dietary changes and work with him. also ask for a referral to see a registered dietitian in your community; there may also be a heart health clinic or lipid clinic in local hospital too.

back to the dietary changes, pls take a look at the following if you did not have a chance to. these are the articles i've written and compiled in the past and hopefully you may find some useful to you.

http://www.healthcastle.com/high-cholester...erol-diet.shtml