Recent cholesterol increase

[Vinnie1]

I just had my fasting lipids checked and although not at bad levels they went up substantially (total 122 to 158, ldl 60 to 84 and hdl stayed about the same) from my previous reading 6 months ago. I have taken a statin (Advicor 1000/20 two a day) for 4 years and the cholesterols have always been about the same level until this last reading. I am a heart bypass/angioplasty/stable angina 59 yr old male. I follow a very low fat, very low cholesterol diet (Ornish). My cardiologist would like to see ldl below 70 and total minus ldl below 100. So I'm off on both of these now.

My questions are:

What could make it increase so quickly?

Should I repeat the blood test right away thinking this is an outlier reading or just wait 6 months and re-test?

Do you think I should change statins and if so any recommendations?

Thank you for your help. It is greatly appreciated.

[TerryH]

Fruit Pectin Cholesterol Cure

I was diagnosed in June '07 from a May blood test.  Doc said it was hereditary and there was no dietary fix to be had.  Prescribed Lipitor at $3./day for the rest of my life!  I numbly bought the pills but Googled the drug before taking.  There is a 5.6% rate of severe muscular degeneration!  I never took them out of the wrapper.
Further Googles turned up an array of natural treatments but only one had scientific studies attached to a great deal of anecdotal evidence - FRUIT PECTIN.  The study was on pigs and the grapefruit rinds cured them.

5 months later all 5 indicators read NORMAL!...whereas all 5 were badly out of whack back in May.

The Cure:  Buy liquid fruit pectin, same as for jam and jelly making.  I found Certo brand at the Superstore for $3. a box which lasts about 3 weeks.  Mix 1 teaspoon with juice.  I like veggy juice or orange.  Take once a day for the first week and then 3 times per day hence.

Note that since my condition is hereditary I did not attempt to alter my eating habits at all.  I am a fit and trim man and have modified my eating habits decades ago to maintain appropriate weight to height ratio.

Now that I am 'cured' I will drop my pectin intake to 1 teaspoon/day.  In Jan'08 I will be tested again to see in the lower maintenance dose is effective.

Good Luck to All,
Terry

PS:
Take responsibility for your own health by educating yourself.
Don't trust Doctors.  They are paid directly by drug companies.
Do not accept advice, carte blanche, from people without names.

[Cleveland Clinic]

I am not sure why your total and ldl cholesterol went up, but given the fact that you did not change your medications, it is almost certainly caused by dietary changes.
Lovastatin ( which is the statin in advicor) was the original statin, was discovered in the early 1980s  and has by far the lowest potency of any of the current available statins. Despite being the first statin it is not the best studied as well, and the evidence we now have regarding the benefits from statins in heart disease come primarily from other more powerful statins ( such as zocor pravachol or lipitor). I would recommend you to change to one of these, and also consider crestor as an option, despite the lack of mortality data from this particular medication,  because of its improved metabolic profile and less deleterious effects on hdl levels.