Conflicting information on what is or is not very high risk

Thanks Susan

I've taken time to study your advice, I respect that as a nurse you know what you are talking about, and I think I've actually been doing a lot of what you suggested - I really thought I was getting it about right.

I do eat a lot of salmon, trout, mackerel, tuna and eggs (I have at least 1 a day as my protein source). I don't like avocado and don't have any oils or fats except the 1-cal spray. I remove all fats and skins before cooking and eating as unfortunately certain fats trigger my attacks of diverticulitis. I'm supposed to have a lot of soluble fibre, so I get my daily carbs and fibre from 30gm proper porridge (not the packet dust) and home made blended soups. I also don't have any pre-prepared foods, as you never know what's gone into them apart from lots of chemicals and additives. I love cooking and do everything from scratch.

The body is a complex thing and it seems that one action can result in a knock on effect elsewhere. I'm UK based and I don't think the GP or the specialist nurses have time to hand out more than the bog standard, one size fits all, protocol based diet sheets, and we are left to fend for ourselves. I've been a forum member for Diverticular Disease for 2 years, and that has certainly been my and other posters experiences. We are all different and each of us reacts differently. I've just heard my GP will be contacting me, so I'll see what she has to say.

You're probably the only person that fully understands how different foods affect your diverticulitis so you must base your diet around that otherwise you'll be ill. you do need fat particularly for growth and repair of the nervous system so you could try fats that you've never tried before, such as coconut oil. Other than that just continue as you are. Cooking from scratch every day is the best thing anyone can do. You can get all the carbs you really need from fruit and veg without eating any of the carbs from potatoes, pasta, rice and bread (flour and sugar). That way, we get back to basics and avoid the type of processed foods that are producing most of the modern killer diseases such as obesity, cancer, heart disease and diabetes. Good luck.

Thanks Susan. I've just had the call from the GP surgery who want to speak to me on 26 November. My GP is new so I've written a letter outlining the history since 2001, so it can be scanned in and she can read it before the consult. Otherwise she would not pick up all the related information in my full medical history, certainly not in the limited time she has available. I've tried to make it clear that there is no way I'll go back on statins. When I stopped taking them the Nurse Practitioner who was monitoring me said I had the most severe reaction they had seen, and my notes do show that. I've not tried coconut oil, but I do like coconut milk and coconut, so that's something I can try. In the meantime I'll stick to the pre-diabetes diet to keep the glucose down and lose more weight.

Well I had my talk with the GP and having looked at the severe side effects I reported when originally taking statins in 2009, she agreed that I was one of the people who can't take them. I had submitted a food diary and she said I was doing almost everything right. One interesting thing emerged - she told me that 70% of cholesterol is due to a person's liver function and only 30% due to diet. She concluded that as my diet was pretty good, my high cholesterol was due primarily to my liver function. Instead she suggested I keep taking plant sterols, and increase my intake of "good" fats in the form of oily fish, to lower my ratio. She also asked me to try and lose more weight, setting me an initial target of a 20kg loss in total, through reducing portion size (I eat too much of a good thing).

Interestingly, my cousin who is slim (5'8" and just over 9 stone), fit (gym bunny 3 times a week) and a healthy eater, has just returned a Serum cholesterol level of more than 9 mmol/L. She also worked in the NHS for 40 years and flat out refuses to take statins, based on what she saw over the years. Instead she intends to ask about Ezetimibe, which I've never heard of. My next check up is in 6 months.

Thank you Susan for posting what is a very sensible approach to this issue. I too have familial high cholesterol, last measured at a level of 9 but I eat healthily , do not have high BP nor high blood sugar and am not overweight. I also suffered as a result of taking statins which made me very ill indeed. I stopped - against the comments of my doctor and my health improved immensely. I too will not take them again. As you say, cholesterol is needed for our brains and other body functions and too low a level of cholesterol is very damaging. The new guidelines for a level around 3 I think it is, is way way too low for healthy functions. Statins are now known to increase blood sugar levels so really shouldnt be considered being prescribed to someone who had pre-diabetic indications.

Re diet - eat healthily, dont remove or even restrict any natural foodstuff - leave out processed foods, chemically altered products such as 'diet' or low fat, low sugar but avoid high saturated fat and high sugar. Eggs are good for you, FACT. Dairy is good for you, in moderation, FACT. Carbs are in everything, including vegetables so it is impossible to avoid them completely. Just make sure the carbs in your diet are complex and not refined but dont try to removed them from your diet as they too are essential for good gut health. Fad diets or severely restrictive diets are the enemy.

Felinia you are doing well and your cholesterol is not excessively high in real terms just according to the level the pharmaceutical industry have introduced to make more money from pushing statins.

Loxie, Your lipids are important . You want your HDL to rise because thats the good cholesterol. Triglycerides need to stay down (these lipids come from eating trans fats so dont eat those) and LDL is better if it can stay down but its not really the demonised lipid that we've been told it is. So don't dwell on it.

Thank you Susan, sound advice. Unfortunately my experience of my local GP's has been to look at the overall number and proceed to demonise me for what is in effect something I have no real control over. I have a family history of high cholesterol but looking back, we ate very healthily within a very tight budget, we certainly didnt overeat or eat takeaways. My mother cooked from scratch and the plate was full of vegetables with very little meat, because they were cheaper. My family were all fit and slim but my dad's family all died young of heart disease so I guess I was a marked woman from the start. I'm vegetarian so meat fat isnt a problem and I don't eat any processed or pre-prepared foods, I cook with olive oil mostly and sometimes salt free butter (I basically dont care what is said about butter - it's staying in my diet - within moderation) My BP is about perfect, I have blood sugar levels between 4 - 5 and I'm not overweight - I weighed up the risk of dying of a heart attack or stroke against getting diabetes, being in pain all the time and having a damaged liver - my view was I'll go for the shorter but healthier life please.

Hi Marys1358. I am in the UK and we generally get cholesterol level results in mmol/L. Using an online calculator your general level of HDL/LDL would seem to be around 6 or just over - this is NOT excessively high. It is only considered high in terms of what the pharmaceutical industry would have us believe in order to over medicate us and make lots of money out of us. Given that you have MCTD, statins are really not a good idea for you as they will aggravate your existing MCTD symptoms.Your vit D level is normal - A level of 20 nanograms/milliliter to 50 ng/mL is considered adequate for healthy people. Do not take vit D supplements unless very specifically told to do so by your doctor, Vit D levels build up in the body. It's impossible to overdose from natural sources, ie sunlight or food intake but it is possible to overdose when taking supplements. Considering your age and other health issues, your cholesterol levels are not a cause for concern at all.

I was wondering if i can move this because I thought I was starting a new discussion and don't want to take away from her questions.

Thanks MARY

Hi Mary. you can make a new post under the relevant subject headings. These threads tend to develop into conversations on the relevant subject matter anyway, as its of interest to anyone looking up info on the problem.