Female, 40 years old. don't drink/smoke. exercises 2-3x a week. No meds. Seldom eat fried foods. No soda/ juice. Triglyceride (WNL) HDL= 66. LDL=133..Cholesterol=205 (>199). Should I be worried?
View 1 RepliesI just started lipitor. Does lemon juice affect it?
View 2 RepliesPlease advise. I am taking Carrot Juice - Vitamin A to reverse arterial plaque but have been told to be careful as carrot juice (Vitamin A) can cause plaque chunks to dislodge and cause clot. Is this true?
View 3 RepliesI am a 17 year old teenage male. I am not overweight (I'm 5"8 and like 145 pounds which is around average for my height) but my doctor apparently told my parents that I have a high cholesterol level of around 140 which has gotten my parents pretty freaked out. However, my parents tend to freak out about alot of things, so I just wanted to know if I'm really high for someone my age and weight, and if this means I'm at high risk of a heart attack. Does anyone know how cholesterol works for teenagers?
View 3 RepliesSo I'm a 25 yr old female, 132 lbs and 5'6" and I just got my results back stating my total cholesterol is 138, my LDL is 65 and HDL is 55. Is this something I should be concerned about and see my regular doctor? I got the tests done because it was mandatory to apply for life insurance (so not through my regular doc).
View 1 RepliesI smoked for 37 years from the age of nine. I have tried to quit many times but can say now in hindsight that I never really tried, I just pretended to myself that I was trying. Some times I stopped smoking and had a cigarette less than an hour later but made up an excuse and continued to "try" stopping. I never actually admitted to failing until I was back on my usual 20 or 30 a day.
In January I decided to give it a go again but this time I went to a stop smoking group. This will not work for all people but it did for me so I am happy. Somebody at the group came out with the idea that everyone at the group should get into their heads that the minute you have 1 cigarette then you have failed. I am a naturally competitive person and this really worked in gettting me motivated. I did not want to be the one that failed.
In the group we were given help with products and I chose to use patches and lozenges. I used the patches for 6 weeks and the lozenges for about 12 but do not use either now. There seems to be this perception amongst internet posters that if you use stop smoking products then you didn't do it properly and its far better to stop "cold turkey" Personally I think it's the result that counts not how you get there.
I have now gone almost 8 months without a cigarette and still get the cravings now and again. But I just keep saying to myself "if you have 1 cigarette you have failed".
I am 25 and have been smoking cannabis almost every day for the past 10 years. The last 8 years this has been entirely skunk, and it's normal for me to spend anywhere between £50 and £70 a week on it. I do smoke it with tobacco but have managed to give up cigarettes a year ago.
Despite this I have passed college and got myself a degree - and I now have a well paid respectable job.
However, I have noticed that my memory is pretty lousy and its really affecting my work. I also get chest tightness and pains which is why I really want to give up (as well as the money). I am pretty unmotivated hence I rarely cook meals or exercise. My social skills are also poor and can only strike up a conversation with somebody if I've had a few drinks. When I am stoned, I find it difficult to hold a conversation - simply cos I don't want to - and most evenings consist of staring at the TV all evening not even noticing what I am watching.
2 years ago i split up with my fiance (and baby) as she could no longer put up with my smoking and mood swings (which can be really bad for no apparent reason). (i chose weed over them as I didn't see why I should change - however we were no longer in love so I suppose it was inevitable)
I gave up for about 10 days a few months back - the first 3 days were really hard (lack of sleep, agitation)and I vowed not to go back to it. However, I live in a small town and ALL my friends smoke weed (including my brother who I live with)so was soon back into the swing of things. Almost all my friends and brothers friends do the usual Crack, Coke Pills MDMA Base etc on a regular basis but I've always been able to control my use of these. I'm up to my eyeballs in debt (mainly from drink and drugs) so cannot afford to move to a flat of my own. I feel I can't get away from it despite remembering how much better I felt when i gave up.
I agree there should be more help, but I still don't think its necessarily a bad thing. I know some people who can take it or leave it so why should it be illegal just because some people take it too far. I think a large risk at the moment is highly pollutes "soap bar" and skunk pumped full of chemicals, glass filings (to increase weight), and flavourings. If it were legal to grow for your own use, I'm sure many people would have less of a problem with it.
I've been a smoker for 17 years now. I've tried everything and still can't quit. Any methods anyone can recommend that helped you?
View 1 RepliesI gave up smoking at new year, just over two years ago. My dad died from emphysema when he has 60, and i always said that if i ever got a cough that reminded me of my dad i would quit. It got to the point where i was coughing myself to sleep each night, and i realised this wasn't just a cold that was going away, so i set myself a smoking deadline of new year (this was in the autumn) and did just that. Well 90% of my cough went away virtually overnight, but i was left with a niggly throat clearing thing, which wasn't too much hassle. Felt pretty good, and pleased with myself. So anyway, a couple of weeks ago i was doing a meditation app, and the instruction was to take a deep breath and hold it. It kind of took me by surprise, and the next day my back was hurting. So i made an appointment for the docs and she booked me in for a chest x ray and prescribed me a peak flow meter and some ventolin. 3 times a day i have to do a best of 3 reading, take two puffs of ventolin, then twenty mins later do another best of 3 reading. After three days of doing so i'm feeling constantly breathless, worse than i ever did, i still have that pain in the left side of my back, and i am sure now that indeed i have emphysema like my dad. I feel like crying all the time yet i'm putting a brave face on for everyone. I don't have any kids, and my boyfriend still smokes in the house. I try not to be around it, bit it's only a small house and difficult to avoid. He didn't see the long horrible death my dad had, both his parents are still fit and healthy. My morning peak flow reading is 350 and the other two (noon and night) are roughly 370 with hardly any difference from the ventolin except i think its giving me a dry throat. I guess my question is, has anyone else had COPD from age 40 and still lived a long time? How bearable is it? Because my dad carried on smoking quite far into his (he gave up when he went on oxygen) i'm finding it hard to expect anything different than he got. Also is it possible for the peak flow tests to be making me breathless?
View 32 RepliesI am seriously looking at beginning Jason Vale's "7lb in 7 days" Juicing plan, so much so I have already downloaded the book on my Kindle (as this is more than half price of buying the book) and am 40% through it. I am not totally "sold" on the idea, not because I don't think this is a good idea but mainly because I am not sure I can have the determination to stick to it!
I love my food. I have no other pleasure in life (don't drink/smoke/buy bags or shoes/have nails done or spoil myself with Spa Days or clothes shopping and as I have children, I find I don't go out much either!). Throughout my entire life, food has been a treat, a pleasure, a celebration, a commiseration - any event has always been celebrated or commemorated round the dinner table or with some kind of "treat")
Thought it may help/motivate me if I kept a mini "blog" on here (??) as to how, why and what happens as this may (or may not - probably the latter!) help anyone else who is thinking of doing it and doesn't know what to expect.
90% of the girls at work have done it and one member of my family is currently doing it (she is now on Phase 2 and 3 of the plan) and they all swear by it!
This is by no means my "quick fix" and I am fully aware and totally understand that this is a "health change" which is the reasons I am doing it but to lose a few pounds in the process can only be a bonus. Don't get me wrong, I NEED to lose about 4-5 STONE but my main draw to this Plan is the health benefits. Yes, I am over weight, Yes I have high blood pressure, Yes I have high cholesterol, No my blood sugars are not too high (thank God) and Yes I do have heart disease, stroke and diabetes in my family plus Cancer on all sides.
I am now 45 years old and need to kick my butt in order to stay alive long enough to see my kids married and to be around long enough to enjoy my life - because I sure ain't at the moment!
I feel lethargic, have a huge "can't be bothered" attitude, have absolutely no energy or interest in anything, do Zero activities and would much rather sit on the sofa watching a chick flick than walking briskly round the park with my dog/kids! I admit, I am LAZY.
Now, the thought of starting this process is VERY appealing and I am all for it with renewed determination every time I have just finished a Spaghetti Bolognese with Garlic Bread!
But, can I do it - YES I CAN!
Watch this space!
Had chest xray done .I have no cough slight out of breath has I have asthma. doctor's have now told me I have mild change if my lung copd.when I asked does this mean I have the decease she said it might just be from the damage from smoking all those years ago.am so worried and stressed. does this mean this is the beginning of a death sentence? not sleeping or eating.
View 35 RepliesMy mother is 79 years old and in the early stages of dementia. Having stopped smoking 14 years ago she has suddenly started again - despite having had a collapsed lung and a cancerous tumour removed from her lung earlier this year. We are very concerned for her health and don't know what to do - has anyone else faced this particular problem?
View 5 RepliesI have just been diagnosed with stage 2 copd (emphysema). I have smoked for 48 years. I am 65 and told I have lungs of a 95 year old. I am struggling to stop smoking. If I cannot how fast will my progression be.
View 29 Repliescan anyone tell me which way they found the best, i don't really want to go on patches etc and i've heard bad reports on champix. I,ve tried acupuncture and found i cut down, but we all know what happens, creep back to full smoking again.
View 12 RepliesI'm 15 years old... and i've been smoking since i was 12.. i am quitting, but since yesterday i have had this really bad pain in my throat, it feels like there is a lump of some sort, that won't go away, but then today, i woke up with the same throat pain (but worse) it hurts to breath in, it also hurts my left shoulder blade/ arm when i breath in, my nose, and occasionally my chest.. I am having a really hard time breathing, and i'm really scared. help?
View 1 RepliesI had a general health check at doctors yesterday. Am a 41 year old male and am taking co-codamol painkillers and amitriptyline on regular basis for back/nerve pain. Try to be physically active when I can but have real issues with my back and legs that limits anything too physical or for any length of time, but in general I manage at least 30 mins of some kind of physical activity each day. My diet isn't brilliant but it isn't terrible either (can be improved I'm sure).
6ft tall, waist measured yesterday at 38" and I'm just under 80 kg in weight.
My health check said my blood pressure was good, and that my pulse was nice and steady but also that my good cholesterol was above average (over 1.5) but that my bad cholesterol was not where it needs to be at 7.2.
The bad reading has freaked me out a bit. I've never had a cholesterol test before so cannot compare reading to a historic level but nurse has requested me to have a further blood test and probably a chat with doctor.
So, question is does having an above average level of good cholesterol and good blood pressure help manage the higher levels of bad cholesterol? My overall risk of having some kind of cardiac issue in next ten years came out at 1.49% which seems fairly low, but I forgot to ask how low you can get this % ie a risk of 0.01%?
I can try to up my physical activity a little bit but how dramatic would you change your diet based on above? I have lost two relatives to heart disease on my father's side of family (his sister and his father) but both parents appear to be fine although not aware they have ever had their own cholesterol tested.
I'm going to try and lose a few kg in weight which I'm sure will help but any advice in how to better manage my bad cholesterol appreciated.
I am a male with what has been diagnosed as Lichen Sclerosus. I am actually unsure that this is correct as I have no white plaques and have not had a biopsy for it. The skin condition was caused by taking fluoroquinolones, a type of antibiotic, and it was initially diagnosed as thrush- after seven months of trying treatments I managed to get rid of this using Eumovate steroid cream. Unfortunately a few weeks later I had to take the same antibiotics and it instantly returned. The doctors were extremely awkward with me from then on and never really listened to me- it seemed a real fight where they always knew best. I had steroid cream damage from taking them in different potencies for another year non-stop, despite me questioning this. The steroid cream actually atrophied my skin to the point that all the blood vessels underneath were raised and visible, they made me lose all feeling in the area it had been applied (sensation was reduced from the altered skin already) and eventually this caused me impotence at the age of 19. Fortunately with time the steroid damage has reduced somewhat and I am no longer impotent, but I have little feeling and still have pain from my condition. Tacrolimus did nothing but I managed to calm it down to an extent, getting rid of blisters using manuka honey, but it didn’t stop pain or swelling so I looked into essential oils. A lot of them calmed the skin but their anti-inflammatory effects didn’t take away the swelling until I looked at inhibiting cox-2. Mixing with Jojoba oil I found that 6 oils inhibited it and reduced swelling and symptoms dramatically, even bringing back sensation to an extent. I became sensitised to 5 of them, meaning I am now only holding on due to Frankincense oil, which I worry I could become sensitised to. I would not still be living if it was not for this. Yet I am not cured, I have little sensation and some pain and the skin is changed and thin. Therefore I cannot have sex and I am extremely self-destructive. I have always been about 5 steps ahead of doctors and had to fight for treatment, it is so under control in appearance due to the Frankincense that some doctors deny I have anything and say it is in my head, but I fought until I was sent to the doctor regarded as the expert dermatologist in the UK who said he could clearly see I had a problem. However he seemingly dismissed all this progress I have made and said I could either use Eumovate or have a circumcision. Now these are invalid options. I certainly cannot use steroids as one treatment destroys my skin now, while circumcision is bad for multiple reasons: I have stretched my foreskin so it retracts, it is the part with most sensation, and I may have to use those antibiotics at some point in the future which would put me back here but with no foreskin. I have recently talked to a doctor and she is writing to people regarding treatments I have asked her to enquire about, namely platelet-rich plasma therapy, stem cell therapy, laser therapy and photodynamic surgery. I was wondering if anybody has had these and if they had seen improvement?
View 42 RepliesI have been diagnosed with hallux rigidus (accompanied by a bone spur, joint space narrowing and mild sesamoiditis). The pain came on suddenly (sharply) in September 3013 and progressed rapidly to constant aching and tenderness by November). Although the podiatrist says the arthritis is "mild", I am definitely concerned that I already have lost joint space. As I am only 45, with a number of additional biomechanical conditions in other areas of my body, its very important for me to avoid any surgery that could potentially throw anything else out of alignment.
I have been closely following success stories of PRP and stem cell therapies and am definitely encouraged by anecdotal evidence (from forums and testimonials, as well as patients I've encountered personally). It appears that with a skilled and experienced practitioner, PRP can kickstart healing, and stem cells can actually help grow back cartilage. There is one physician in Chicago (Hauser at Caring medical) who even treats mild bone spurring with injections of HCl (which helps dissolve it).
I'm wondering if anyone has tried any regenerative therapy for their big toe (or anywhere on the foot - all data can be helpful) and how they fared. Also please write if you are interested and considering it, as it will undoubtedly be helpful to exchange ideas and information.
For several years I took Simvastatin lowest dose (cut in HALF) and had good cholesterol numbers that satisfied the internist. That doc retired and new internist did a CPK test last year (my first one ever) and found it elevated to 243 so stopped the statin due to fears of muscle damage.
A year later (last week) the retested CPK, after taking NO statin for a year, was 303 and chol. numbers were back up (see below)!! So, doc says go ahead and take atorvastatin because there is a percentage of people who have high CPK with no other apparent problem. He said atorvastatin is more effective re chol. lowering than simvastatin which I'd had years ago. Is that so?
I am female, 64 years old and at age 55 had a calcium scan of the heart which showed ZERO calcium score. This was because I had similar TC numbers to current numbers and one doc (a cardiologist!) said 'have the scan' -- "find out if you need a statin." When he saw the ZERO calcium score for someone 55 he laughed and said I did not need a statin.
Years later, however, this new internist/gerontologist says that's fine but that is just the hardened cholesterol seen in the zero score, not the 'soft,' which is what travels and causes heart attacks and stroke. Great! Money spent for nothing on the test! Guess I need to educate the cardiologist?
My current chol. numbers before re-starting a statin last week were: Total Chol: 251; HDL: 77; LDL: 157; and Trigs: 87. Ratio is 3.26 -- Doc says he does 'not like' the 157 LDL.
So... a week ago I started on atorvastatin at a super low dose (I cut the 10 mg. pills into quarters so 2.5 per day. I have read in multiple places that it's stronger than simvastatin so wanted to start LOW and research shows that 2.5 is often enough to bring numbers to reasonable levels. I am not aiming to have the world's lowest cholesterol.
Last night and today I developed sharp pains in upper mid section and read the 'side effects' -- sure enough -- it's a possibility. Have also experienced increase in heartburn since taking these pills for a week. Started almost immediately. Is there a connection?
NOTE: Gallbladder removed in '04, before ever starting on any statin at all -- I'm one of the many who still has occasional GB related pains, likely from sphincter of oddi problems (sludge or stones formed by liver). It is called SOD III and it's not uncommon and since it's not a frequent occurrence, there is nothing to do about it per gastro doc. I have not had an episode in three+ years until last night/today, though this was mild.
Any relation to start-up of atorvastatin and these pains? Who knows? I would prefer taking NO statins since they are known to raise glucose a little and can bring on Diabetes type 2. My fasting glucose is high normal already at 98 and type II runs in my family at older ages. Swell.
What do YOU experts think of this? Would you be concerned about taking atorvastatin (or switching to simvastatin, which I took with no obvious problems for a few years?) Or would you just say forget the statins and live your life and don't worry about it? There is NO history of heart attack in anyone on either side of my family before age 80 and no 'strokes' at all.
I know caffeine is a big thing while pregnant, but lately I've been drinking soda everyday. And coffee I've been craving it, I don't want to drink coffee and soda in the same day. Could I be drinking to much caffeine? I don't want it later on being my fault for drinking to much. I cant help it sometimes. The past 2 days I haven't drink any soda nor coffee, but right now I'm craving some coffee.
View 6 RepliesI'm always needing soda or something with caffeine
View 3 Replies