What do you mean I have high cholestoral?

Family history.

A subject I know a little bit about.  Familial Cholesterol is a major contributor to the "silent killer" label in heart disease.  Ultimately, this is what killed my first husband just 11yrs ago, but we did not know that till the last four years because it also took my Grandaughter, my oldest daughter has it, inherited from her Dad.

This is serious stuff people, and the ads on TV for Vytorin put an upbeat spin on it rather then telling you just how bad it can be if left untreated.  There is a specific test you can ask your Dr to perform to determine whether your high cholesterol is genetically linked.  Any women in a family who has this trait need to be tested as it can effect expectant Mothers, and their babies.  

I lost a Grandaughter nearly 4yrs ago on the day she was to be born, and this Familial Cholesterol was the cause of the conditions that lead to her death. It was only my Daughters research in trying to understand why she had lost our precious Symonne that we discoved all this.   My Daughter suffered a full placental abruption which could have taken her life as well, the baby had not developed adequately and the Drs failed to recognize it.  Had she known it could all have been different, with the right medical care, the right medicine, it could have been different. 

Really think about your family history, it doesn't have to just be heart attacks that should make you wonder.  The strain that this stuff puts on the body over 30-40yrs undiagnosed can cause myriad health problems, and there are Drs out there who still don't get it.   My advice is that if you have High Cholesterol, take it one step further and insist your Dr tests you to see if it is linked in genetics, it could save your life and the lives of those you love for generations to come. 

Marsha-thanks for sharing this difficult story. I have a family member with high cholesterol who doesn't take it seriously enough.  I have shared this blog with him.  Thanks for blogs and people who share to help those in their community.

Marsha,

Yes, thanks for sharing. I'm still a little shocked by the information but I've become instantly aware of my diet, as well. Even though my diet is pretty clean - not a lot of processed or fried foods - I am looking at food differently today than yesterday. And I'll probably increase the length and intensity of my workouts to counter the higher cholesterol level.

But you're right, it is something to monitor going forward and I have a renewed appreciation having heard your story. So thank you for that.

Marsha,

A friend of mine emailed me last night after reading the MCS blog. She generously sent me some information in dealing with high cholesterol levels. I thought I'd pass it along to other bloggers in case anyone else is facing the same thing.

I regret it won't help your family members but it may help others.

"Lecithin, especially the granules, are really good for high cholesterol. You can mix them in water--not too good, or sprinkle them over soup or salad. They taste a little "nutty." Lecithin creates a sticky environment for the arteries and flushes out cholesterol.

"In Western Medicine, the cause is never examined, only the treatment--drugs. In alternative medicine, the cause is always determined, thus leading to a "cure." The cause of high cholesterol is usually that your liver is not functioning properly. Drugs put a further strain on your liver. The liver breaks down cholesterol. To enhance the abilities of your liver, you can do a "liver cleanse."

"Here's some other treatments that help lower cholesterol:

1. Niacin, Selenium, Spirulina, Shitake extract, Cayenne (capsicum), Goldenseal, Hawthorn--only take Goldenseal for a week at a time, then skip a month. 2. The only suggested fat is First Cold Pressed Olive Oil--used in moderation and never heated--"infuse" or add it to your food. 3. Organic Apples--at least one-a-day. The pectin in the apples carry cholesterol to the liver to be broken down. All fruits and vegetables are good for HC. Not only for the antioxidants, but for the FIBER--a real cholesterol buster. 4. Sunlight 5. Abstain from caffeine--it causes HC. 6. Drink lots of water."

Admittedly, I drink lots of ice tea. Its the first thing I will address in correcting higher than normal levels of cholesterol.

Hope it helps others...

I don't really want to go too far into this, as you can imagine they are very painful memories to walk.  However, I feel there is a little more to add.

I am cautious about any medicine, any medical care, when you have the human element involved there are bound to be oversights, mistakes, etc.  I am very wary of chemical cures because the risks outweigh the benefits in many cases.  It's my understanding that some of the drugs used to treat this can cause liver damage.

I've never heard that the liver causes high cholesterol, could be true as one of the statements in my Grandaugters autopsy report was that her liver was "fatty", and that is all that was said.  My first husbands was concluded to be "unremarkable" Before you think that reading such things is gross, it was in this report that we discovered the color of her eyes which makes it alot more human. 

What I can tell you is that my Daughter on top of everything else she has had to endure also had to have a procedure done on her heart, she had a condition called SVT, and with all of that the Drs had STILL NOT diagnosed the familial cholesterol.

She is only 26yrs old.  Once they figured it out she went on the medicine, one of the weakest dosages, and it lowered her cholesterol to the point where she no longer has to take the medicine.  She controls it with her diet and gets checked routinely, but her health appears to be remarkably better all the way around. 

I guess the truly important, and undebateable message here is to get involved in your own health care.  It is easy to set back and trust the Drs, especially if you have one you have known for years.  My experiences have taught me that can be a serious mistake, they're only human, and they need your involvement, most want it, and the ones that don't are the ones you should be very afraid of.  

Prejudice also play a part in all of this.  With my first husband was the prejudice that all his problems would go away if he would control his weight.  He'd had high blood pressure for years, even evidence of a heart attack from scarring on the heart. But no one ever looked at his arteries, no matter which duty station we went to no one ever bothered to look at his arterties.  He was overweight because his arteries were clogged, and had been for years, the pathologist told me that he had the arteries of a 90yr old man and he was 47 when he died.  Had they done something to fix his arteries there would have been no weight problem and he could very well be alive today.

The prejudice over my Grandaughters death......Drs did not pay attention to my Daughter when she told them she believed something was wrong, that the baby was not growing like she should be. She should have been considered high risk because she had pre-eclampsia with her first baby. Between the fact that they viewed her as a "worry wart" Mother and were just a little careless with measuring her stomach the warning signs that something was wrong were ignored, everything went from normal to irreversible in a matter of two months 

If you have a Dr that does not appear to listen to you.........you need a new Dr.