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1394098 tn?1385960134

Cholesterol went from low to high while eating less

Hi everyone,
I have never posted here before because my cholesterol has always been very low.  I finished a 48 week tx for Hep C recently. During tx I lost 20 lbs even though I slept through a lot of it. My blood pressure has dropped significantly but now my Cholesterol is high.  I dont understand.  I still sleep a lot because of the tx (10-12 hrs a day).  Im very tired.  Typically my diet is this.  I have a homemade fruit smoothie made with low fat milk, whey protein powder and fruit when I wake up.  Then later my husband makes a supper of low fat meat, baked potatoes and green veggie.  I dont feel like eating much of it but I eat anyway.  For a snack I have low fat milk or Almond milk.  This has gone on for almost a year.  I am so tired.  Why do you think my cholesterol would go up with that kind of diet?  I dont feel like eating more and I guess with my cholesterol up, I shouldnt eat more.  But where do I cut back?  My cholesterol before tx was somewhere around 170. Pretty good for a person of my weight and age according to my Dr.  Now its 255.  What do I do differently?  
4 Responses
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4682981 tn?1357944029
You need to be careful about eating low fat foods. if you have too low of fat and you are eating the way you are you will have no energy.. your body needs something to burn as energy and since you aren't eating a lot of carbs it needs the fat. The fat is not the problem, you need to eat healthy fats though (creams, butter, ghee, coconut oil, olive oil) read up on the paleo diet, primal blueprint or check out marksdailyapple.com they are great resources and will help explain why you are feeling this way and your cholesterol is going up. Fat doesn't make you fat, it doesn't clog your arteries, it's inflammation that does this - please watch this video on the Dr. Oz show it will help explain.. seriously though, don't be afraid of fat. you need energy.. or you'll just want to sleep all the time - http://www.doctoroz.com/episode/doctors-who-say-everything-you-know-about-cholesterol-wrong?video=16023
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Avatar universal
No meat, dairy or oil, period. It worked wonders for me and I've been doing it for a year. Also no nuts, eggs or avocado.
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1394098 tn?1385960134
Thank you for your answer.  My Dr did check my thyroid and it is ok.  But my liver may not be functioning well at this time so that is a possibility.  In fact that was one of the first things that made my Dr look for Hep C.  My liver wasnt functioning well and he couldnt find a reason.  So maybe need to go see my PCP and see what he says.  Ironically his name is Dr Eatwell.  I am not kidding.  The Hep C forum answered some questions that I had and one was that in some successful tx, a person can have a spike in cholesterol.  I really dont believe its my diet.  As I said I dont eat much. Today, I had a little more fat.  I had a banana smoothie, a sandwich with cheese, tomato, and spinach (microwaved not fried so no butter) and a can of bean and bacon soup. And of course my low fat milk for a snack.  I still dont think that is too much fat.  But I guess i need to read more labels.  Thanks again. Terry
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159619 tn?1707018272
COMMUNITY LEADER
Based on the symptoms you describe, I would have my thyroid checked. Your thyroid controls your metabolism, think of it like your furnace. If it is under performing it is not burning fuel efficiently. Same with your body, if you thyroid is not working well, or hypothyroid, you are not burning your fats like usual and this causes higher LDL levels. Ask your doctor about checking your thyroid function, this may not have anything to do with your diet. Also, if you liver is not working well it may not be eliminating cholesterol from your system. As it heals your cholesterol may go down as well.

That's where I would start with my doctor.

Jon
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