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10589445 tn?1411613911

Very high cholesterol test results

My workplace's annual physical checkup came around and it was my turn to schedule my physical. One of the tests to be performed was a cholesterol test. The requirement was to fast for 12 hours prior. Well I decide to fast for 3 days. Literally nothing to eat for 3 days straight, taking in nothing but water. The physical was on my 3rd day of fasting. The doctor could even tell that I haven't eaten in days because the Xray showed my stomach had nothing but air in it. Then the blood test came. Blood came out a little slow and thick. Then a week later I get the test results back. Total cholesterol: 240. HDL cholesterol: 33. Triglycerides: 376. LDL cholesterol: 132. Red Blood Cell count: 5.79. Hemoglobin: 15.6. Someone told me that the extra long fast could have affected my test results because once the fat is being used for food it's deposited into your blood stream. Is this true? Any advice?
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159619 tn?1707018272
COMMUNITY LEADER
Your numbers are not all that high, I've seen much worse. You HDL is too low (s/b 40+) and your TGL is too high (s/b 150-) but not way out of line. Your LDL is only 2 points too high so no big panic. LDL is the bad cholesterol and is what builds up in your arteries. Your low HDL is also an issue as HDL helps eliminate LDL. I doubt that the long fast made any difference but you could try it again in a couple weeks using a normal fast.
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2 Comments
Thanks for your response. I will be giving it about a couple more weeks or so and doing the cholesterol test again with the normal 12 hour fast.
jsb1973External User
I will be having it checked again in a few weeks with a 12 hour fast.
Tbd
jsb1973External User
I will be having it checked again in 2 weeks with a normal12 hour fast.
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
Sorry, but I have to strongly disagree with Erijon down there. I've seen him tell several people with really high triglyceride levels that its not so high.  First, the fat theory someone told you is bs. But, next time, eat normally and fast as directed so you get a truly accurate blood count that reflects whats going on in your body day to day!  Okay, now, what most people think of when it comes to cholesterol and triglycerides is how high is dangerous for HEART disease. Triglycerides are not as much about heart disease as they are about PANCREATIC problems. I learned this the hard way, as I thought the same.  With a triglyceride reading (especially fasting) of 376, you need to get on meds. Over time, that is a dangerously high level. (Not like in the 1000s, like I had, but high enough to severely tax the pancreas)  High triglyceride levels like this, throw off your cholesterol levels and readings, causing them to be really high, even on a realtively healthy diet. But, most people (and alot of doctors) think, get cholesterol under control, triglycerides will follow suit, correct? Well, acutally that is the opposite when your triglycerides are 376. Its not the cholesterol thats the problem. Its the triglycerides causing the cholesterol problem.  Triglycerides in your range more than likely cannot be controlled by diet (barring alcoholism) and you probably have the triglycedemia that is inherited, which means at any given time they can spike to ranges in the thousands one month and drop the next, for no apparent reason and with no side effects, so you'ld never know. Not to scare you (maybe to scare you a little), but you could be walking around with tri counts over 1000 for months and never know.  That is why erijon's comments are reckless. 376 tri reading is a strong indication of inherited hyperacute triglycedemia which is notorious for tri readings that go off the charts with the patient never knowing, until your pancreas explodes. And trust me, I know. I had triglyceride readings one month at 350, the next at 850, the next at 630, then 400, then 1000, and then 3000. - all over the place. Im gonna email you some info, but please dont ignore this, those blood counts are high enough to do some serious damage as is or they're indicating a bigger problem that you just cant ignore.
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