Advize needed!!

[Maya & Inka's mommy]

My daughter was feeling tired all the time, so we went to the doctor with her, to have her blood checked. Today we got the results :eek: . Her cholesterol is VERY VERY high, unusual for a 15 year old girl!! Normally, the level should be between 150 and 230 mg/100ml. Indra's is 366 !!!
We have an appointment with the doctor tomorrow to figure out what she will have to do now. Does anyone of you here have problems with high cholesterol-level?
I need some good advize on a diet for her. She loves hamburger and pizza, but I am afraid that is forbidden food from now on :eek: :( ! Poor girl, she is so young yet to have these kind of problems... :( :(

My beautiful girl :)
http://users.pandora.be/bernardgabriels/images/indra%20maart.jpg

[caseysmom]

wow that is scary...I think eating out is the worst...try to make home made meals in their simplest form...baked chicken, etc...maybe they can retest...maybe it was a mistake????

[popcornbird]

Oh my gosh! :( Poor Indra! That is very high, especially for someone so young.

Lut, did the doctors give her medication for this? Have Indra exercise vigorously. Exercise does help in bringing cholesterol levels down somewhat. She'll need to cut down on foods with high cholesterol. Eggs, red meats, etc. should all be reduced from her diet. I hope her cholestrol will go back to normal levels soon!!! Poor girl. I hope it was just a mistake. Maybe you should try testing again?

[Maya & Inka's mommy]

Originally posted by popcornbird
Lut, did the doctors give her medication for this?

No, not yet. We just received the results by mail today. I didn't wait a second to make an appointment with our doctor tomorrow evening. I'm not feeling well about this.... poor Indra:(

About sport: she used to swim in competition. But she had to stop all sports because of bad knees. She just recovered from another "patella-infection". I am so worried..... . Do you think this is family-related? Indra comes from India and got adopted by us when she was 16 months old. So we now NOTHING about her medical history :( :(

[ramanth]

Poor Indra! I have no advice, but I hope a change in diet, some medication, and light exercise will help!

[lizbud]

Lut,

I don't have any advice either but found this link that explains
a little.

http://kidshealth.org/teen/question/dieting/cholesterol_p2.html

It says it can be hereditary. I hope the Dr. can get her more
specific things to do in order to get this under control.

[petslover]

I hope your daughter gets feeling better. Maybe the made a mistake. I hope everything gets back to normal.

[sammy101]

my mom has high-cholestoral and she takes Fish Oil and Garlic(vitamin pills),theyre supposed to help with high cholestoral.

Fish Oils-
http://www.vitaminworld.com/pages/Categories.asp?xs=B462CE863E894D9EA5A410A401BC4EFE&CID=17

Garlic-
http://www.vitaminworld.com/pages/Categories.asp?xs=B462CE863E894D9EA5A410A401BC4EFE&CID=22

i'll go check to see which one my mom takes:)

[jazzcat]

I take a cholesterol drug, Zocor. I think mine was at 270 and the best I could do with diet and exercise was to get it down to 240 on my own but since I have a family history of high cholesteral my doctor went ahead and put me on it. Cholesterol drugs are 'statins' and some people are unable to take them because it can cause muscle loss and muscular problems. My mother in law had to stop taking Zocor because her back muscles became to weak and she had severe muscle cramps. She has high cholesterol due to her diabetes.

I'm hoping if I can drop my excess weight my cholesterol will get down under 200 and I can quit taking the drug.

As young as your daughter is and since she is not overweight I would guess this may be more of a heredity/genetic thing and she will have to take drugs. Bless her heart.

[catnapper]

Oh my!!!! I have high cholesterol too, and have been monitoring my diet. There are so many little changes you can make - and at her level, she might be a candidate for those new medicines to help lower cholesterol. Mine wasn;t high enough to think about the meds, and it came down after some changes in diet and exercise

I hope she'll be ok. Glad you found out before problems started!

[sirrahbed]

Hi Lut,
I think the first thing I would do is insist on another blood test. 366 sounds unbelievably high. Make sure the blood is drawn after fasting overnight, and that your daughter gets a good night of sleep before the test and no workouts or exercise that morning.

Is she on any other medications - some of these can cause a false high. Heredity is also a big possibility and probability if it truly is high.

If the retest is similarly high - the doctors will advise you - but there ARE some things she can be doing. Fish and Garlic oil (our grocery stores even carry these things) like sammy101 mentioned can be helpful. Exercise is helpful. Hubby was able to lower his total cholesterol by 80 points in only six weeks simply with fish oil capsules and oatmeal every single morning. Oats lower cholesterol for some reason!

Also - consider her HDL and LDL readings of cholesterol since a higher HDL (50+) is actually positive thing and low LDL (under 130) is a good thing and both of these readings can help make the total reading less alarming. Also - triglycerides are a 4th number they should check for and under 150 is the magic number for that reading. The numbers vary somewhat by lab but these are the values I learned.

Most of all - I would really want another set of labs drawn (LDL, HDL, Triglceride and Total) as this could easily be a false reading. My 2 cents.

Hoping for the best! Remember - if she really is high - there are plenty of things to do and assorted medications (quite likely also!) to try. I understand the fear that something could be wrong with your 15 year old daughter - scary!! I would also freak - but then think logically and have some retesting done, then get medical advice and be glad to find the problem early - OK??

(((Hugs))) to you

[NoahsMommy]

I agree that she should be retested. I just finished an article on how common it is for labs to mix up results/samples. ( :eek: )

My grandmother has high cholesterol. She's on medication and she exercises daily and eats really healthy. She buys that special butter too.

Hope Indra feels better soon. She's growing up to be a gorgeous girl.

Hugs,
Kelly :)

[Maya & Inka's mommy]

These are the other readings:

Cholesterol: 366 (should be 150 - 230)
HDL-cholesterol: 47 (should be higher than 40)
Triglyceride 55 ((should be between 30-170)
LDL : 308 (should be between 90 - 160)
:eek:

it is so scary:(

[AmberLee]

My cholesterol is high, and the diet, exercise, and pills are controlling it. One thing that helped a lot for me was when I was following the rice diet which has little meat but lots of fruits and vegetables. Does your doctor work with a nutricianist who can help you plan a good diet for Indra? If not, can you consult one on your own? Good luck, dear.

{{{hugs to you both}}}

[Maya & Inka's mommy]

We went to the doctor with Indra yasterday evening! All went fine. He explained everything very well, and got us a bit more relaxed:) . There is no need to panic right anow, he said. Of course, she will have to change her diet drastically; but she has no death-risk in the first 10 coming years. :rolleyes:
So, what are the plans: Indra will be put on a strict low-fat diet for about 3 months. No pills yet. After 3 months, her blood will be tested again . If she got the cholesterol level down it's okay. If not, she will be put on pills.
There is one MAJOR question, and it is one we CANNOT answer...:( . It is very important to know if her problem is hereditary!! If the answer is yes, she has to start the pills right away, and everything gets refunded.... . The problem: our Indra is adopted, and we know NOTHING about her family :( :( :(
I will try to contact the adoption agency, but I fear they won't be able to help; Indra was deathly sick when she was brought in at the orphanage, and it is likely that she has no family left...

This is making me sad..................;

[sirrahbed]

Originally posted by Maya & Inka's mommy
This is making me sad..................;

(((((((LUT))))))))
Please try not to dwell on this completely. It is GREAT that you caught this problem with Indra while she is so young!! If the dietary changes do not help - I suspect that the doctor will treat it as a hereditary condition and start her on the proper medications. In all likelihood - her condition is quite controllable!!

Though - I DO understand the worry and sadness when anything is wrong with our children:( It is so hard to handle at times so here are more ((((HUGS)))) my friend!!

By the way - did the doctor repeat her blood work or not?? Hoping the next readings will be *much* improved!!:)

[Maya & Inka's mommy]

Originally posted by sirrahbed
By the way - did the doctor repeat her blood work or not?? Hoping the next readings will be *much* improved!!:)

No, as our visit yesterday was in the evening. She needs to have an empty stomach for that test. I asked the doc for another test; but he said that he saw no reason for that as he trusts the lab who did the test. Would you insist on a new test?

[Albea]

Lut, I'm sorry about Indra's problem. Like many other people told you, it would be a good idea to ask for another test, and yes, is has to be done on an empty stomach.
I've been fighting high cholesterol for 20 years. At Indra's age is very possible that just a strict diet and exercise would help. It did for me for a long time until I reached a plateau and had to start taking medication when there wasn't anything else I could cut from my diet.
There's very little doubt that is hereditary. My brother is 10 years younger, excercises like a maniac, and still his count is high.
Whatever the next test shows, high cholesterol can be easily treated. It's only dangerous when it is not treated.
Best wishes for a healthy outcome.