r/Cholesterol

Hello All !

Thanks to this sub I was able to see substantial differences in my reported cholesterol numbers. If you're interested this was my first post and I'm back after six months with an update while seeking some advice.

I'm a 31 yo male, South Asian. Father is on medication for Cholesterol (never had any heart conditions)

Here are my older numbers 👇

I. Numbers from March 31, 2026 :

- Cholesterol, Total 247 mg/dL

- Cholesterol, HDL 61 mg/dL

- Triglycerides 230 mg/dL

- Cholestrol, LDL (calculated) 149 mg/dL

- Cholestrol / HDL ratio = 4

- LDL/HDL ratio = 2.4

- Non HDL cholesterol = 186

And then below are my more recent numbers 👇

II. Numbers from Oct 4, 2026:

- Cholesterol, Total 191 mg/dL

- Cholesterol, HDL 59 mg/dL

- Triglycerides 163 mg/dL

- Cholestrol, LDL (calculated) 109 mg/dL

- Cholestrol / HDL ratio = 3.3

- Non HDL cholesterol = 137

Additional Numbers from Oct 4, 2026 to evaluate risk:

- ApoB 91 (Optimal <90 and Moderate 90-129) so seems like I'm at the borderline

- Lp(a) 99 (Optimal <75 and Moderate 75-125k)

- Ldl particle number 1548 (>1409 is high)

- Ldl small 291 (>219 is high)

- Ldl medium 384 (>301 is high)

- HDL large 6436

- Ldl paattern A (Optimal)

- Ldl Peak Size 219 (Moderate)

After seeing these results purely based on diet and exercise (daily sustainable routine) and no medication, I was hoping for my PCP to give me a pat on the back and suggest that I continue with this approach.

However, they reached out saying that seeing the risk factors he'd suggest a statin and that he'd reach out for a consult about the same. This has me confused and deflated and so I'm considering a second opinion from a cardiologist (I'll ask the PCP to refer me) but I was wondering if anyone out here would know why they'd suggest so ?

Especially since in April they gave me the option of aggressive lifestyle changes or statins and I chose the former which I think worked but now in October they only recommend the statin option (even after such a drastic reduction )

I'm not against statins but i would wanna go on then if there isn't a dire need at my age.

Would love to hear thoughts on the same especially since I'm very new to this.

I'm a 37 year old South Asian woman with a family history of high cholesterol and heart disease. My LDL has been steadily increasing with the last tests showing at 177. ApoB is borderline high at 1.27 and LpA in normal range with 56.8 mmol.

I went to a cardiologist who did an ultrasound and said my heart and neck arteries look totally fine and that I shouldn't start statins until after menopause. She said until menopause, women are protected anyway and high LDL doesn't necessarily mean I'm likely to get a stroke or heart event.

Now I'm a bit sceptical about this as most doctors are not as up to date with newer guidelines and most don't advocate for a proactive approach of prevention. In fact, insurance doesn't cover statins in this country until you have a stroke or heart attack. Plus there are tons of studies about how women are less likely to receive treatment compared to men with the same condition.

What do you think?

I have the luxury of access to a "third-world" country where I can buy statins at 1/6th of the cost, over the counter. I already started self administering 5 mg rosuvastatin with 10 mg ezetimibe on alternating days, but now this cardiologist is making me question things.

How is this possible? my dad had perfect cholesterol readings for years. LDL, AP1, LP01, trigrlicries were all fine. my mom was concerned b/c he was fatigued which resulted in full body scan and then a calcium score reading which showed he could hve some plaque. From there they saw his main artery being 90% blocked. How could this be? he looks and feels so muh worse from statins.. has no energy and body aches and muscle cramping plus flu like symptoms..

I have to thank this sub, I've been reading a lot of the comments on posts here and they seem to have helped a lot. I had my first high cholesterol reading this summer at almost 270 mg/dl. I was pretty surprised with how active I am. My doctor wanted me on statins, but I declined, and told them let me try naturally first. I'm active and fit, but ate very poorly and high cholesterol runs in my family. I took a lot of advice here, switched to a *mostly* plant based diet, with some lean protein. I ate lots of oats, fiber, vegetables, and non-fat greek yogurt. I also signed myself up for a local charity 5k, and started running every other day. My most recent lab came in at 190mg/dl. Not great but the trend is my friend. I'm going to keep pushing and hopefully get an even better reading the next lab. Thanks everyone!

Are the calcium scores reliable? I have had sticky 140 ldl for many years and never stay with statins bc of the side effects. I have a zero score for the calcium score test

Just a quick shout out for Trader Joe's bean, rice and cheese burritos in the freezer section. No saturated fat because they use fat free cheddar. Thank you!

Share stories about starting statin, the name and dose, side effects and the bright side as well

https://preview.redd.it/cm5gomneggth1.png?width=1258&format=png&auto=webp&s=eda21de1c3e3169ba61c79cf858957447529a52a

I am 5'10, 173lbs, active, lift weights regularly, and I don't eat terribly. What immediate steps should I take? Dr asked for diet changes and would like to test for LipoA and ApoB in 3 months, given family history.

Has anyone else experienced an upset upper stomach after incorporating more fiber into their diet? I was diagnosed with high cholesterol and my original eating habits were lots of good homemade food, lots of steak and treats (little vegetables tbh) and atleast 3 days probably of fast food meals. Little fruit if any. I’ve incorporated a lot of fiber. Chia seeds, oats, flax, vegetable and fruit. I expected gut problems like maybe bathroom issues but not with my upper stomach? I originally thought it was hunger pain but after eating my oats this morning it started up again when I was definitely not hungry. It does feel similar to hunger 28 f

Hi! I’m new to statins. I’ve been in ignore
mode on my cholesterol. I stay trim and exercise and don’t eat terrible, but my brother recently had a scare and I was motivated to get going on bloodwork.

255 overall. I don’t have the test results on me, but the scary part was the big and little cholesterol particles floating around. Wayyyyyy beyond average and I’m a 61 year old woman. Still way above for my age group.

My question is
Since I’m on the statin and good about taking it, can I have some ice cream 1x a week and a filet on occasion? My diet is pretty good otherwise. Martini on weekends. Gave up regular cheese. I’m kind of lost on what to eat but I’m focusing on avoid saturated fats as much as possible. I’m leaning heavy into chicken.

31-year-old female. 8 weeks postpartum. I did not eat great or exercise during my pregnancy but have actually been on a weight watchers diet the past 5 weeks or so. I am currently 5ft 3in 137lbs. I do have some familial high cholesterol to my knowledge but my blood work for my annual physical was concerning. I had blood drawn about a year ago and only my LDL was slightly elevated and now it’s a lot higher/ everything else is also elevated

Total cholesterol - 221
HDL-47
LDL-148
Non HDL cholesterol- 174

Thoughts ?