I HATE CHOLESTEROL!!!!

I am 26 years old and I have high cholesterol (225). Your cholesterol level is supposed to be less than 200. This whole situation really pisses me off. Last fall, I had my cholesterol checked as part of my annual physical and it was high at 211, but my doctor wasn't too concerned. He just wanted me to watch my diet and recheck it in 3 months. Well, I didn't get rechecked in 3 months; I got it rechecked last week. AND IT HAS GOTTEN WORSE!!!

But, since I had my cholesterol checked the first time, I have made some major (and good) changes in my diet, mostly because I switched to the Core plan. I only whole grain products; I have oatmeal almost every day for breakfast; I don't eat a lot of eggs; I only use skim milk; and I don't eat many processed foods that have cholesterol in them (only Totino's Lean Pizza Rolls and Trader Joe's Mini Beef Tacos, but they don't have a lot of cholesterol and I don't eat them very often). Also, on average, I exercise 3-4 times per week and I have lost at least 15 lbs. All of these things are supposed to make my cholesterol go DOWN, not up! But no, my cholesterol has gotten worse, particularly my LDLs - the bad kind of cholesterol.

I guess on the upside, my doctor circled my triglyceride level (72) and wrote that my "diet is actually very good!" Your triglyceride level is supposed to be less than 150 mg/dl and mine has gone down 34 mg/dl (it was originally 106). But I still have high cholesterol and it has gotten worse....grrrrr!

Apparently, genetics plays a bigger role in this whole thing than I imagined. High cholesterol does run in the family on my dad's side. Both his dad's and his mom's families have a history of high cholesterol, so I've gotten screwed. I guess this means I'm going to be taking yet another medication. As if four medications a day for my allergies and asthma weren't enough. In the grand scheme of things, taking another medication doesn't really bother me (as long as it's a pill and not a shot or nasal spray, both of which I hate, but must get/take for my allergies); it's the principle of the matter. I have made a lot of lifestyle changes that are supposed to lower my cholesterol, but they didn't and that's not fair!

Okay, that's the end of my diatribe against cholesterol. The lesson is everyone should get their cholesterol checked every once in a while because high cholesterol isn't an old person thing. Sustained high cholesterol can lead to all sorts of bad things - heart disease, heart attacks, diabetes, coronary artery disease and a host of other bad things. It's best to catch it early.