Even if you have forgotten about my cholesteral, my doctor hasn’t. As you can see from the most recent numbers I’m pretty much OK.

But it sure was a good thing they took blood early last Monday before last week’s high fat, high calorie snack overloading (which by the way has continued unabated these last two days) because I would be willing to bet my current numbers are a lot higher.

Got my latest cholesterol numbers back and the HDL & LDL numbers are pretty much identical, but the total number was down 10 points. Maybe because my triglycerides were the lowest they have ever been.

So I guess I’ll be sticking to the 48mg Tricor in the morning and the 20mg Zocor in the evening. Actually worked out cheaper this way because I’m taking the generic for Zocor and it is only $8 bucks a month compared to the $30 a month for the Red Yeast Rice it replaced.

Had a cholesterol follow up with the doctor yesterday and as always, I’m close, but no cigar.

No more monkeying around with the Red Yeast Rice supplement, the new course of action is to add another statin, 20 mg of simvistatin (AKA Zocor) to the 48mg of Tricor and see ya’ in March.

My six month cholesterol blood work came out nearly identical to the previous numbers, so we are standing pat. I did notice where last time my HDL was highlighted as low, this time it wasn’t, and the number was the same. The range on this report said between 31 and 75 was OK, whereas the last several have said >59 was desired and <40 constituted a “higher risk.” Different software? Somebody lowered the expectations? The good stuff could be higher and the bad stuff could be lower, but at least the total is well into the normal range. Everything else they checked, including liver function, was smack in the middle of the ranges. Looks like I’ll be taking Tricor and Red Yeast Rice for the rest of my days…

For those of you hanging around to see if my lipid profile ever levels off with all the numbers in the green, you will have to come back in 6 months. My latest numbers, from a blood draw on the 6th of this month, are the best ones yet, but a couple of numbers are still slightly off. Medication remains the same from the last testing, Tricor, and the supplement as well, 600mg of “red yeast rice.” Two things have changed since the December test; 1) in January I started drinking one 4oz glass of red wine with dinner at home and 2) about a month ago I changed my breakfast cereal from Frosted Mini Wheats to the new Smart Start® Healthy Heart Maple Brown Sugar.

On the previous episode of As The Cholesterol Varies we were in a rocky hover mode, with the numbers changing slightly, some the right way and some the wrong way. After 4 months of Tricor…we are about the same. Good news is that the triglycerides are now under the limit, but the “good” cholesteral is still below where it should be. The Doc feels the only way to bring this number up is by adding a statin, so we are going to start taking the Red Yeast Rice again, but as an addition to the Tricor not just by itself. We’ll see what happens in April.

On the previous episode of As The Cholesterol Varies Brian’s good cholesterol was lower and his triglycerides were elevated. In today’s episode, as you can see from the chart below, we make an improvement in one and took a step back in another. Plus, sigh, the bad cholesterol is now slightly back over the limit. If you compare the current numbers to the January 10th ones, you can see they are pretty much the same. The Jaunary numbers were the result of 3 months of taking just the inexpensive dietary supplement Red Yeast Rice. I sense that the doctor is not exactly sure what to try next, so we play watchful waiting, keep taking Tricor and come back in 4 months…tune in again in December for the next exciting installment.

Six weeks ago my doctor put me on Crestor to lower my cholesterol (actually it was to raise my good cholesterol and drop my triglycerides) and a little over 3 weeks into it, I called the doctor and begged off because it was upsetting my stomach and making copius amounts of gas. We went back to taking Red Yeast Rice for about the last week and a half before blood was drawn last Friday. Today was my follow up appoinment and the numbers, like last time, shifted some up, some down. Now we will try Tricor and see what happens in 6 more weeks.

After 4 months of doubling down on my Guggul & Red Yeast Rice herbal supplement, my lipid profile shifted slightly about center, but when you look it, it really got worse. I had no argument to give the doctor, so I took my Crestor sample packs and said, “See you in 6 weeks.” Let’s hope this drug works, or heaven forbid, I have to change my eating habits or exercise….

Last September I had some blood work done as part of a company Health Fair. My lipid profile was on the high side. My doctor recommended that I try something called Red Rice Yeast, a herbal supplement that can lower cholesterol. I might do the trick and would be a lot cheaper than a name brand medicine. My mother-in-law picked up something at the health food place she frequents that is a combination of the Red Rice Yeast and Gulupid. The recommended dose is 1 or 2 tablets a day and I have been taking one in the morning for the last three months. Monday I had blood drawn in preparation for today’s doctor’s visit. The numbers went down (or up where applicable) but not really enough. So I am going to start taking two a day and go back in four months for another blood test and doctor’s visit.

Last week our company had a Health Fair. One of the local hospitals was offering a free Lipid Profile, AKA Cholesterol Check. What the heck, I’m in. The results were mailed to the house and it seems as if I am totally out of the “normal” ranges for most all of them.

Total Cholesterol was 209, less than 200 is the goal
Triglycerides were 271, less than 200 is normal
My HDL was 24, 35or greater is what you are supposed to have of this “good” cholesterol
My LDL was 131, less than 130 is what you are supposed to have of this “bad” cholesterol
My Factor was 1.82, instead of less than .50, I guess this is some sort of mathematical combination of these other numbers.