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[octoprof]

Does one feel any different with lower cholesterol levels?  Or do you just hope that all the effort makes a difference in the long run?

The effort does make a difference. My father was one of those folks whose cholesterol was off the charts no matter what he did (eat right, stay skinny, etc. and he'd still have total around 500).  Mine use to hover consistently around 348 (why that number, I have no idea).  I went on lipitor for a while but hated taking yet another pill every day for the rest of my life (and Dad took huge doses which made no difference for him).

So, I lost some significant weight (I'm still overweight but not nearly as much) and changed the way I exercise (both volume and type) and eat. This has also been good for my bones (every female in my family over 25, except me, has osteoporosis) and my joints (arthritis).  I exercise (mostly swim/bike/run/walk/elliptical) frequently and for long periods at times. I weaned myself off of sugared soft drinks (and almost all soft drinks) and caffeine (that's not for everyone, I'm sure). My total cholesterol now (miraculously) stays at or below 200 now (and the details are all within normal ranges) and I feel better.

Yes, it's worth it and makes a difference in the long run (been off lipitor now for way more years than I was on it).

Full disclosure: While my father's family has ridiculously high cholesterol, he never had any heart disease (lived to age 76, died of cancer) and heart issues are rare in my extended family. Go figure.

So, I would like to one day see that definitive study that will tell me that causal/correlation thing that taking Lipitor and lowering cholesterol numbers will prevent my heart attack or stroke. Otherwise, I will be convinced that the Lipitor will cause me more problems.

Like collegekidsmom, I just wasn't convinced that taking Lipitor was better for me than the alternative of not taking it while making changes in diet/exercise to lower the cholesterol to reasonable levels.

[tenured_feminist]

Mr. T_F's GP (who is also mine), read him the riot act last spring about his triglycerides and cholesterol, but she refuses to prescribe anything until he's "gotten off his damn butt and started exercising and eating right!" She encourages him to view wheat and other grain products as slow-acting poisons for his system and has him on plenty of fish oil. She scared the pants off him, and since then, he's lost about ten pounds and been going to the gym about 2-3 times a week in addition to being more active generally. He'll get a retest soon and see if he gets another scolding or a pat on the head.

Who knows whether there's any cause and effect, but he does feel more energetic and he's sleeping better. I think he's finally gotten over the nightmares of her catching him with a bagel in hand . . . but with his having had two grandparents die from heart issues, I'm glad she put the fear of G-d (or maybe just her!) into him.

[collegekidsmom]

Yes, I am in a bind because I do have a normal weight, exercise almost daily, and have a diet that I think is near perfect-after tweaking it over the years. Yet still my cholesterol numbers are always high. Also, my blood pressure gets high at times. So, really drugs are my last option, and I am not too keen on taking any of them. One time I agreed to follow to the letter some particular diet that the doctor ordered to lower my cholesterol. I followed it to the letter for one month. I went back and the numbers were the same. Nobody in my family to my knowledge has ever had heart disease except for one possible chain smoking uncle. I have a large family and nobody has ever had any heart issues. I am waiting for some kind of testing besides the usual calcium streaks in arteries or inflammation that can show you that you are having a bad result of walking around with high cholesterol. I don't have diabetes (no person in my family ever has), have never smoked, and don't drink much. So, I don't know. I have kind of decided just to live my life as it is. I always feel good-never tired, and never sick.
I walk a lot and run some-not as much as the longer daily runs I did through my forties, but I guess I could really step it up and start doing a lot of strength training or something. I think I will go back to core strength ab training or some of the other things I used to do. Or maybe just read a book or sit in the yard.

[zarathustra]

Does one feel any different with lower cholesterol levels?  Or do you just hope that all the effort makes a difference in the long run?

The effort does make a difference.

I know the effort makes a difference in how you feel, but I was wondering if anyone actually felt the difference between high cholesterol and lower cholesterol--say if someone who was already working out, eating well and just added statins...do they feel the difference in the cholesterol levels?

[octoprof]

Does one feel any different with lower cholesterol levels?  Or do you just hope that all the effort makes a difference in the long run?

The effort does make a difference.

I know the effort makes a difference in how you feel, but I was wondering if anyone actually felt the difference between high cholesterol and lower cholesterol--say if someone who was already working out, eating well and just added statins...do they feel the difference in the cholesterol levels?

I can't imagine that they would, but who knows? I was on statins for some years and felt nothing significant.

[collegekidsmom]

A family member was put on Lipitor and developed excruciating back pain that disappeared as soon as he stopped taking it. So, he definitely felt worse on Lipitor.

[t_r_b]

This thread is in need of this video. Skip to 2:20 for the most relevant bit.

[zarathustra]

This thread is in need of this video. Skip to 2:20 for the most relevant bit.

Love it.  Hey, Cosby had it going on back in the day.

[t_r_b]

This thread is in need of this video. Skip to 2:20 for the most relevant bit.

Love it.  Hey, Cosby had it going on back in the day.

He most certainly did. Plus he had one of the sexier TV wives of all time.

[conjugate]

Mr. T_F's GP (who is also mine), read him the riot act last spring about his triglycerides and cholesterol, but she refuses to prescribe anything until he's "gotten off his damn butt and started exercising and eating right!" She encourages him to view wheat and other grain products as slow-acting poisons for his system and has him on plenty of fish oil. She scared the pants off him, and since then, he's lost about ten pounds and been going to the gym about 2-3 times a week in addition to being more active generally. He'll get a retest soon and see if he gets another scolding or a pat on the head.

Who knows whether there's any cause and effect, but he does feel more energetic and he's sleeping better. I think he's finally gotten over the nightmares of her catching him with a bagel in hand . . . but with his having had two grandparents die from heart issues, I'm glad she put the fear of G-d (or maybe just her!) into him.

I'm a little confused.  Mine was happy when I suggested going from chocolate to frosted shredded wheat for snack food as part of an effort to put more fiber in my diet.  I'm also doing the fish oil, but I thought more fiber was beneficial as well.  I'm also doing niacin, and there's not much history of heart disease in my family, so perhaps my GP isn't so uneasy about the thought of whole wheat.  Anyway, we'll find out in September.

[t_r_b]

I'm also doing the fish oil, but I thought more fiber was beneficial as well. 

I don't know about the impact on cholesterol, but more fiber is beneficial in all sorts of ways.

I had a conversation with a friend last weekend whose HDL is too low. The prescribed regimen is just brutal: lots of olive oil, avocados, fish, wine. As health problems go, this one comes with more than a few nifty perks.

[conjugate]

I'm also doing the fish oil, but I thought more fiber was beneficial as well. 

I don't know about the impact on cholesterol, but more fiber is beneficial in all sorts of ways.

I had a conversation with a friend last weekend whose HDL is too low. The prescribed regimen is just brutal: lots of olive oil, avocados, fish, wine. As health problems go, this one comes with more than a few nifty perks.

Avocados it is, then.  Hooray for guacamole.  Although I seem to recall reading that the benefits of red wine are not clear yet, I hesitate to quit.  I am succeeding in losing weight, however, which is a good thing. 

Or I was, until I went to the country buffet for dinner tonight... we'll see what consequences that may have wrought.

[collegekidsmom]

Well, considering I literally had that for dinner tonight-tuna, avocados, olives, tomatoes with olive oil-for me it won't matter. I always eat that way and my HDL is low. No magic bullet for me.