Helped Over 500,000 patients with 98%+ satisfaction.

Connect & Get Personalized 1-to-1 Answers from Expert Doctors

DoctorSpring > Question Home

Treatment for high TOTAL, HDL and LDL CHOLESTEROL LEVELS.

Resolved Question:

On this last month and a half my cholesterol went up total is 298 HDL 65 LDL 212 and Triglicedios 105....I take meds for high blood pressure...one Carvedilol 40 mg once a day and 5mg Enalapril once a day and 0,5 alprazolam twice a day....Im under a lot of stress, living in another country, taking care of my mother with alzheimer and aone......Im vegetarian and very aware of fats and sweets, dairy products and flour products...but when i do have an anxiety attack I overeat and usually i will eat those same thing I do avoir most of the time and I know they are bad.

Do I need to take cholesterol medications at this precised moment or is it possible to lower those number in a month with a strict diet to get me started to continue doing the right thing....Im very scared right now and I heard so many negative comments on the side effects of the statins that I was wondering if I could go by for one month without them and jump start to continue in the ight path afterwards......Thank you!!!!

Category: Cardiologist

Ask Your Own Question

Category: Cardiologist
 22 Doctors Online

Hello
Thank you for your query at DoctorSpring.com
Your ldl cholesterol is way too high. You are hypertensive. Are you diabetic? Overweight? Family history of early coronary or cerebrovascular disease?
Even in the absence of these risk factors due to hypertension you are a candidate for aggressive lipid lowering by around 30 to 50 percent of thos ldl level.
Of course diet control is definitely warranted. Oils like sunflower safflower olive rice bran are good for you. Green leafy vegetables fruits sprouts almonds walnuts are good for you. Avoid dairy and bakery products red meat. Fish is good for you if you are non vegetarian. Daily 45 min fast walk swimming or cycling is good for you. But in addition you need to be on rosuvastatin or atorvastatin at high dose. Side effects include muscle pain liver dysfunction. They are not so common. In case you have muscle pain or nausea vomiting anorexia you shoild consult your doctor for appropriate tests. But statins are reasonably safe and indicated in your case
Feel free to discuss further,
Regards
Dr Vivek Mahajan
DM Cardiology


Patient replied :

Thank you so much for your reply....could it be that stress produces such high colesterol levels? Or is it all due to diet.....? all of your answers are negative except for the hypertension that is being controlled by medication. Now im so nervous thinking i will have a heart attack anytime...I will consult a cardilogist tomorrow.....those atorvastin or rosuvastin will lower it immediately? thank you!!!


Hello
It is partly due to your diet and partly your body metabolism. Diet control will definitely help. Roauvastatin or atorvastatin will show effect in 6 months. You wont get a heart attack immediately but it increases the risk. You need not panic. Just follow the precautions.
Would be glad to answer any queries.
Regards
Dr Vivek Mahajan


Patient replied :

Hello Dr. Thank you very much for your prompt responses and I am feeling much better with your help until I get to see a Cardiologist in a few weeks. What type of tests can I have to find out if there is already damage in my arteries and if so, could this condition be reversed? I was told by a physician that the statins clean the arteries, if that is the case once they are cleaned will i be able to stop taking them? or this is most likely a treatment for life.
Since I have been reading Dr. Dean Ornish,s reasearch and treatments on reversing heart pathologies thru primarly a vegetarian diet, stress management and exercise I became very interested in this approach but not too many Cardilogists go along with his concepts and I want to know what your input on these issues are to help me decide to make a better decision for myself...Thank you!!!!


Hello.
Since you are asymptomatic for any arterial disease, no tests are indicated to find out if your arteries are already diseased. In the absence of any symptoms, you should not focus on the possible damage. Rather you should focus on the preventive aspect.
Most trials have shown statins effect after 3 to 5 years of therapy. So that is the duration we are looking at. However if you can tolerate it well, you should continue them even after that Ofcourse lifestyle and dietary management are an important part of lipid control. However, we cannot rely only on that in your case at your lipid levels. So you shoild continue the lifestyle modification along with the pharmacological therapy.
Let me know if I can assist you any further.
Regards, Dr Vivek Mahajan, DM Cardiology.


Dr. Vivek Mahajan
Category: Cardiologist
Experience: 
Fellowship: DM, Cardiology, PGIMER, 2013
Residency: MD, Internal Medicine, AIIMS, 2007
Internship: King Edward Memorial (KEM) Hospital, 2003 
Medical School: MBBS, Seth G.S. Medical College, 2002
Dr. Vivek Mahajan and 4 other Medical Specialists are ready to help you

Users who read this, also read:

Make informed and better medical decisions.

Join the 500,000 people who found a smarter, quicker way to get Answers, Recommendations & Expert Opinions.

Expert Doctors at fingertips

Recommendation on next step. Second-opinion.Multi-specialty.

Save Time

Average time for answers: 6 hours.

Save Money

$35 for typical specialist consult vs. $120 for a local appointment.

Free Follow-ups

Clarify, ask further questions for free in private conversation.

100% Satisfaction

Money back guarantee for the 1st reply. MEDNET Quality Board.

Start My Consultation

CHAT NOW

About DoctorSpring.com

Doctor Spring is a novel online Doctor consultation platform where you can get your medical questions answered by leading Doctors. Just Submit your question and rest assured that you will consult a Doctor easily. Once you submit the question, the Doctor from the concerned specialty will reply within hours. You can always ask more questions or add details with follow-up question options and make it an online doctor chat. You may use this service to consult a specialty or for getting medical second opinion. All paid services come with a MEDNET quality assurance and 100% money back guarantee.

DoctorSpring in news