#21

Well yes, I just had a CIMT and there is nothing there. Honestly, I don’t buy the cholesterol theory at all as I’ve had elevated LDL for > 25 years
As far as I am concerned about my health, I will likely die from:
1 - pneumonia caused by degradation of my immune system from cancer treatment
2- cancer
3- accident
4- plastics on the brain
5-
6-
7-
8-
9-
10- CVD

I also checked with the Grok3 gave it all my health data and it stated ARR of taking statins was negligible and likely more harm than good. Statins greatly decrease my energy, fitness and cause muscle pain, so no thanks

5 Likes
#22

Out of interest have you had your thyroid tested? I have subclinical hypothyroidism not on any medication but my GP is convinced this has caused my cholesterol issues now which I never had before (II get tested on various markers past 6 years). He suggested bergamot twice a day for the cholesterol.

1 Like
#23

Bergamot didn’t move the needle at all for me. I did tests on my lipids before and after and my lipids didn’t change at all from this supplement.

The things that did move the needle were:

  1. Bempedoic Acid
  2. Ezetemibe
  3. 5 mg Atorvastatin

LDL and ApoB went from 122 to 48 on these three. (122 to 68 on the first two)

LDL and ApoB on Bergamot went from 122 to 122.

However, we’re all different and your results may differ from mine.

4 Likes
#24

I agree. Turning to supplements for LDL-C lowering makes no sense to me. We have a HUGE amount of safe and effective tools; multiple statins from weak to strong, we have Ezetimibe, we have 2 antibody PCSK9is, one siRNA PCSK9i, Bempedoic acid. Very soon we’ll have siRNA against Lp(a) too.

I don’t think there’s anybody on the planet who would fail to achieve satisfactory cholesterol levels from a combination of those. Turning to herbs just doesn’t seem worth it IMO.

Thanks Beth. As I mentioned above, I’m a bit hesitate about plant extracts. We just don’t know the quality, and it places a lot of trust in the manufacturer to actually deliver what they say on the bottle. Many studies and independent labs have looked at supplement purity and they’re really all over the place. Even then, I’m quite hesitant to take plant extracts which consist of a huge number of bioactive molecules - not all of which will be beneficial.

That’s great to hear Paul. Some people really are quite resistant to ASCVD, and presumably you are one of them.

However, I totally disagree with “not buying cholesterol theory”. It’s one of the most supported hypotheses that we have in medicine - from epidemiological studies, interventional trials, and even looking at genetic cases of abnormally high/low levels. People with FH (the disease I seem to have) die very young. People with severe FH die in their teens. On the other hand, people with freakishly low LDL-C have almost no plaque buildup, knockout mice don’t generate plaque, and lowering circulating LDL-C lower CVD risk across multiple studies. For me, that evidence base is too strong to deny.

Yes, that’s a great point, and my cardiologist also suggested this. My thyroid is great from every angle. TSH is stable between 1-2, and ultrasound check was all good.

3 Likes
#25

Good take on that and I would never suggest herbs instead of medicine, but in my case, I can’t get to my goal with medicine alone, so I’m personally open to other ideas. While it is an fda molecule, rapamycin has not been proven to help insomniacs, but it has probably been the single best thing for my sleep, and therefore health, I’ve ever done, so I never say never. If I’m willing to have unregulated herbs in my tea, why not a capsule that might help me.

@Paul Is a CIMT the ultrasound on your neck, right? If so, I thought it was worth sharing that I have a substantial CAC and the last ultrasound on my neck looked fine. You definitely might have clear arteries, but I wanted to share that tidbit.

@AnUser to your point, I would never suggest an herb instead of medicine. For me, it’s an addition because I have reached the wall of what my medicines can do. I have suggested them to people who are unwilling to take rx’s for their personal reasons because not trying anything seems foolish, even if I don’t agree with then.

4 Likes
#26

One of the highest risk factors is metabolic disorder. With an HbA1C of 4.8 to 5.1 you are very metabolically healthy, probably because of all the training you have done, so I imagine that you don’t have that much plaque/risk, etc, but I’m no cardiologist. Have you had a CT scan or even better a Coronary CT Angiography (CCTA), which shows the more dangerous soft plaque in the arteries.

1 Like
#27

Thanks for your reply. Yeah, I think at least having a decent amount of muscle has helped from the glucose disposal point of view. I’ve experimented with a continuous glucose monitor, and it does generally seem very stable and doesn’t spike in response to most things.

I’ve never had a CT or CCTA because I don’t know if it would give me actionable information. I’m already lowering ApoB to around 40 mg/dl. So there’s not too much else available in terms of risk reduction.

2 Likes
#28

Hi. Welcome to forum. Also medic. General Surgeon. Strong family history of ischaemic heart disease. Age 56. My lipids weren’t particularly up but Im on miniscule dose 10mg atorvastatin and 5mg ezetimibe to hold the sweet spot. Your age you can go low but when older no survival benefit and screws up your hormone production.
On rapa. Take it. I took despite autoimmune myocarditis and helped me come off methotrexate after 20 years! Had 7 horrible skin infections on it but being a medics took the abs and antifungals. Im a bit netropenic anyway from 20 years on methotrexate so significant risk with rapamycin. Stopped after a year of rapamycin but will restart gently 3mg 2 weekly soon as neutropenia allows.

2 Likes