Cholesterol Success -- MEDS are gone !

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Cholesterol Success -- MEDS are gone !

Postby zoey55 » Fri Oct 14, 2011 7:12 am

Hey Guys - I have been practicing this WOE since end of April, 2011. I was on 40 mg of simvastatin at that time with these starting #'s:
TC: 162
LDL: 80
HDL: 41
TRI: 207

After 2 months of this WOE I had to have another lipid panel done due to a Life Insurance screening and I had these results:
TC: 138
LDL: 65
HDL: 52
TRI: 103

After getting those results, at the advice of someone here, I wrote a letter to my Dr. and sent him a copy of that info. I inquired about cutting my pills in half, down to 20 mg of simvastatin for the next 3 months, prior to my next visit/lipid panel. He called and said he agreed that I could do that.

Yesterday, I had my 'official' 6 month Dr. checkup (since I take both HBP meds and cholesterol meds I have to go in that frequently). I was very nervous to see how my 3 additional months of this WOE + 1/2 dose statins would come out. My results were as follows:

TC: 136
LDL: 67
HDL: 44
TRI: 124

I was so excited, nearly the SAME as the full dose of STATINS ! So, I boldly suggested :D that I stop the statins entirely for the next 6 months to get a true picture of my cholesterol numbers. I still want to stay under 150 TC and <80 LDL, so I don't have a LOT of wiggle room but I have some for the anticipated increase of going off these drugs completely. He totally agreed and said my numbers speak for themselves and this WOE is totally the right way for me to go!

I'm 134 lbs and 5'5", so I'm not really expecting to lose a lot more weight, but am still seeing about 1/4 lb./week loss, so perhaps that will come down more and help things. Also, just more good eatin' may help keep my numbers steady.

I am SOOOOOO encouraged that in 5.5 months I was able to ditch my Cholesterol Meds and although mostly I lurk, I've learned so much from everyone here, gathered so much wonderful advice and information and seen the courage, great attitudes and mountains to be climbed for everyone that it really, really made a huge difference that led to my success. THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU, you guys are inspirational !!! :nod:
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Re: Cholesterol Success -- MEDS are gone !

Postby ETeSelle » Fri Oct 14, 2011 7:26 am

CONGRATS!! Those are great numbers and WHOO HOO re: getting off the evil statins! :)
zoey55 wrote:I'm 134 lbs and 5'5", so I'm not really expecting to lose a lot more weight, but am still seeing about 1/4 lb./week loss, so perhaps that will come down more and help things. Also, just more good eatin' may help keep my numbers steady.

Just want to point out that while your BMI is in the normal range at 22.5, you may well find that you DO need to lose more in order to keep your cholesterol down off the statins. You would still be in the normal range down to 112 or so--but maybe shoot for 120? Many people find that it's necessary to stay on the lean side for cholesterol lowering purposes if they have issues w/ that--and the health benefits are much greater on the lower end of the BMI scale. :)

Again, congrats, and please keep us posted!
Elizabeth
Weight now: 124 (20.0 BMI)
Weight in 2010: 207 (33.4 BMI)
Star McDougaller Story
Testimonial thread

Trust me on this: One day you'll wake up and realize that it no longer feels like "being strict." It just feels GOOD. :)
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Re: Cholesterol Success -- MEDS are gone !

Postby Love the Lorax » Fri Oct 14, 2011 8:11 am

First of all - AWESOME!!! What a fantastic job you have done, congrats for all the hard work.

I second that about the lower BMI thoughts. I know we don't know you personally, but you might want to think about whethere or not a lower BMI would help you. Personally, if my BMI isn't low, my BP and glucose jump right on up out of normal ranges. I know I need to add muscle mass, but I doubt I will ever add enough muscle to get into a "high normal" BMI.
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Re: Cholesterol Success -- MEDS are gone !

Postby zoey55 » Fri Oct 14, 2011 1:27 pm

Thanks ET and Lorax! I definitely hear you on the lower BMI for the lower cholesterol. At this moment I'm not TRYING to lose weight, but by that I mean, with this WOE I still am slowly LOSING weight and haven't plateaued out yet. It seems to be about 2 lbs./month. I would like to still drop at least another 9 lbs (without trying :lol: ) which would put me at 125. If I can get there without MWL or cutting out a few of my favorites I'd prefer to do it that way. But if I can't then I'll figure out how to suck it up. If I can, that'll put me at that weight right around another 6 month checkup. Then I can see the effect of that + no statins and figure out if I need to continue to work on some things or if I have a stable (and acceptable) cholesterol level.

Thanks for your words of wisdom, you guys are great.
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Re: Cholesterol Success -- MEDS are gone !

Postby Vegankit » Fri Oct 14, 2011 1:51 pm

Wonderful results, I bet you feel great too.
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Re: Cholesterol Success -- MEDS are gone !

Postby zoey55 » Fri Oct 14, 2011 6:47 pm

Thanks Vegankit, I do :-D . And, I imagine all my muscles jumping for joy without the statins! Of course, this is only Day 1, so it's only gonna get better!
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Re: Cholesterol Success -- MEDS are gone !

Postby sweetfruitlover » Fri Oct 14, 2011 8:02 pm

Yay! That's excellent news Zoey! How awesome. And it's great that your doctor is so supportive too. I hope you keep us posted on your progress - I'd love to know what your levels are next time you check.
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