Scary High Cholesterol after Atkins! HELP!!!

[whiteisle]

My husband and I have been doing Atkins for about 4 weeks. He's very fit, muscular, and has little body fat to lose; however, the health benefits of Atkins really attracted him to the diet, and I need to lose baby weight, so we decided to both do it. Now we're both scared, though, because his cholesterol went from 190 to 277 in about 4 weeks!!! I don't know the breakdown because he was just donating blood when we got the results. I've read that this happens sometimes, and then it goes back down. Is this true? What should we do? When should we test it again?

Any advice, please???

[sallyseachange]

Re: Scary High Cholesterol after Atkins! HELP!!!

Don't panic... it can go up sharply and then down again. Dr A said it's best not to have it tested before at least six weeks on the plan.
Total cholesterol means nothing. You do need the breakdown to see what the trigs and HDL/LDL ratios are.

[pinkfusion]

Re: Scary High Cholesterol after Atkins! HELP!!!

240 mg/dL and over: High Risk
People who have a total cholesterol level of 240 mg/dL or more typically have twice the risk of coronary heart disease as people whose cholesterol level is desirable (200 mg/dL). If your test didn’t show your LDL cholesterol, HDL cholesterol and triglycerides, your doctor should order a fasting profile. Work with your doctor to create a prevention and treatment plan that's right for you. Whether or not you need cholesterol-regulating medication, make lifestyle changes, including eating a heart-healthy diet, getting regular physical activity and avoiding tobacco smoke.

http://www.americanheart.org/presenter.jhtml?identifier=183#total

[pinkfusion]

Re: Scary High Cholesterol after Atkins! HELP!!!

I dont agree with a low fat diet, obviously, but total cholesterol isn't unimportant.

[Soyabeany]

Re: Scary High Cholesterol after Atkins! HELP!!!

I am assuming he was not fasting when he donated blood. If he had eaten prior to having his blood drawn that might have affected the results. Something to keep in mind.

[SarahWants2BSkinny]

Re: Scary High Cholesterol after Atkins! HELP!!!

If your good cholesterol shoots up fast than you're bad cholesterol comes down, you're overall number would be higher but you'd be healthier. So it's not necessarily a bad thing. It's important that both tests were done while fasting, as well as making sure they give you the full profile. I wouldn't freak out about it. Let us know what you find when they do a fasting lipid profile. I'm curious to know.

[imagood1]

Re: Scary High Cholesterol after Atkins! HELP!!!

The same thing happened to me -- I had a new lipid panel done last week and go to my endocrinologist on the 1st -- hopefully my numbers have come back down!