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Need help

Posted: April 13th, 2015, 3:20 am
by Bethesda
hello, I need help urgently. I have been on LDL for 12 months now and lost 12 kilos which I am very pleased about but my doctor is not so pleased as my cholesterol has shot up over that time. If my cholesterol doesn't come down in 6 weeks she wants me on medication which I am not happy about. She has suggested modifying LDL which she is not exactly thrilled about as she knows I am not being personally supervised but just following a book and the internet. What will I do please. Everyone says how great I look although I actually feel terrible as my arthritis has got worse and the weight loss hasn't helped this. I hope someone can answer me quickly.

Re: Need help

Posted: April 13th, 2015, 1:07 pm
by omalani
Stress and pain can elevate cholesterol levels. Lack of sleep can also interfere with weight loss and I don't sleep well when I am in pain at night. Also drinking a lot of water helps your body function well. I purchase some alkaline water and have found my body craves it. The one I liked best is from New Zealand, Eterna. If you look at the charts of alkaline and acid foods, you will find fruits and veggies on the alkaline side and Starches, meat, sugar and oils on the acid side. It takes 3 months to see a change in your levels. Remember the body is happier when it is slightly alkaline and Disease states are acidic, like gout (uric acid) Resp. acidosis (Carbon dioxide build up) Metabolic acidosis (Ketone build up).
When raw veggies are cooked they become more acidic. I would suggest a fruit and soup flush. That would cut back on the meat. Fish is always a good choice too. Cook your veggies as little as possible and eat a lot of beans. Beans have fiber, protein, carbs and lots of vitamins. Raw apples are so good for you and they should be abundant this time of year. They don't say "An apple a day keeps the doctor away" for nothing. Exercise and just moving your joints should help too. It also releases endorfins that relieve the pain some. Pray and ask God to give you peace and serenity, wisdom to eat right and believe that He will help you. I will put you on my prayer list and I know you will find a way and even your doctor will be impressed. The less weight you are carrying around the better you will feel. I recommend Living Wheat Free For Dummies. It is a great book and give lots of information in an understandable format. I almost forgot, your cholesterol level can be elevated when you have a lot of plaque in your teeth, so be sure to brush and floss and get those teeth cleaned regularly. God bless you and keep you. O:-)

Re: Need help

Posted: April 13th, 2015, 2:57 pm
by MsHeirloom
Sometimes while your body is processing and eliminating cholesterol stores and plaques, the blood levels elevate temporarily because the blood is transporting it until the liver can break it down and eliminate it.

Oma is exactly spot on regarding trying to make your body as alkaline as possible for health. You have done a great job, Bethesda. Best wishes in getting your cholesterol levels down and your other symptoms under control.

Re: Need help

Posted: April 13th, 2015, 9:47 pm
by Bethesda
Thank you ladies for your encouragement and especially prayer. I have been rather discouraged lately with quite bad depression which is being treated with medication and counselling. Following LDL sometimes gets discouraging when all our friends go out for meals like Chinese and I have to stay home as there is absolutely nothing I can eat. I always go out when they go out for coffee though and I take something. I also get a bit sick of the lack of variety. I so used to love my desserts like custard and cheese cake and chocolate etc. (not that I ever pigged out or anything).
12 kilos which is about 30 pounds has taken me down one or two dress sizes. I feel good about that but the arthritis and depression pull me back down. I am going to seriously deal with both and not allow the devil to win.
I guess the doctor pulled me down a bit yesterday as she wasn't that interested in my weight loss but only worrying about the cholesterol jump which was from 6 to 7. Mind you, my triglycerides had improved and so had the good cholesterol but the bad cholesterol was the one that had jumped.
Sometimes I just wish I didn't love food quite so much.
I have only found one thing that will get me to sleep at night apart from a sleeping tablet (no, no to that). ....is of all things one butterscotch. By the time I have sucked it I have started to relax enough to close my eyes. Weird, hey? Music and breathing and all the other stuff doesn't help at all. By the way, I am usually up between 2 and 5 times through the night. So yes, not a good sleeper at all. There are reasons.
I wish there was someone from Australia doing LDL that I could discuss some of the food choices out here with.
thank you once again. God bless. Jeni

Re: Need help

Posted: April 14th, 2015, 12:51 pm
by omalani
You are doing well and you know your body better than everyone else. It is depressing to go through giving up wheat, sugar and fats and then after losing 30 lbs. not getting encouragement from your doctor. However, your knees are thanking you big time!! I was in a chair exercise class yesterday and my chair was creaking. When my fellow exerciser commented on it, I said "better the chair than my body." I love to eat too and this is the only way I can eat and enjoy more energy and maintain or lose weight. You need to see what works for you, we are all different. The bottom line is: No processed food, especially wheat, sugars and oils. Desserts are hard to give up. I noticed when I go to a church potluck, there is always salad left over but never any dessert, bread or starchy casseroles. Keep up the good work. Also realize that medications can effect your weight loss. I have just started losing again after 2 years of maintaining. It's not a race, but a learning process. Life is a journey of learning and God is the one Who gives us wisdom. God bless you dear one and hang in there.

Re: Need help

Posted: April 14th, 2015, 2:02 pm
by Zesti
Jeni,
One of my favorite restaurants to go out with the girls IS Chinese. Most will all serve No MSG when you ask, just stay you are allergic to it. They have on the menu a "dieters section" which is what I order all the time and love it.. Steamed chicken and veggies. the chicken is so tender. I always make sure the rice is either on the side ( I will bring home to DH) or ask for "none please..., and I ask for the sauce on the side. I love to order take out because all the sauces will come on the side anyway. I just don't use them. The chicken is so tender and so are the veggies, it just doesn't need any sauce....I will take my own tamari sauce or don't use it at all. At first the girls restaurant was a cheap buffet..I didn't go, they kept bugging me, so I said. "I will go to a restaurant, no Buffet . We found one closer to all of us AND we love it. The folks look forward to us coming now and they are so used to me that they say "just tell me what you want and the cook will cook it and all with no MSG.. I even have the green ice cream for dessert. I am so happy with my friends, and finish the dessert there and so satisfied I come home feeling so much better. THAT'S what's important. Time with Friends!!
The first time I order the ice cream, I came home prepared. I made a huge smoothie of nothing but fruit in case "the flood doors opened. I wasn't going to let ANYTHING ruin my day, especially the food Monster. Now, when we go sometimes I order the green ice cream and sometimes I don't, because I don't want it. AMAZING!!.. but I still come home feeling good having spent time with my girlfriends and not mad and frustrated because I can't eat like the rest of the world. I can. I choose not too, and I choose to eat healthy. Make the best choices you can at the time Don't despair.
Anytime we go out to eat, whether it's friends house, restaurants, picnic's, it doesn't matter. BEFORE I leave I eat something healthy ( mostly my beans or corn and peas), make a smoothie and have it sitting in the fridge to greet me upon my return...just in case...and if I blew it while I was out. I get right back to LDL the very next meal, most times it's the very next minute when I get home...
Don't despair..and I gotta say here too...With LDL I brought my cholesterol down. Same thing as you, my doc wanted me on the meds....I SAID NO WAY!....I did LDL for 3 months and went back, made sure it was a proper fasting blood test..no coffee!...My numbers did the same as yours..Tri were down, ( good thing) bad was the same but the good was up. My doc was so happy, so I did it again. Stayed LDL, 3 months went back to doctor. This time, the good was even better, bad was down as well as my triglycerides.. My doc said. "what EVER you are doing keep doing it!" just make sure you are not staving yourself. NOPE NOT ME! and eat plenty of the "green stuff"...HEY DOC GREEN is my favorite color, no prob-LIMO....I eat either spinach,kale, mustard green, whatever daily..always add them to my smoothies...frozen, fresh, canned always have some on hand..
Oh, I should say...I go see my doctor every once a year now, and do the fasting blood test, and even have my hormones and thyroid checked.. I LOVE doing the numbers game with my doctor...
She, my doc suggested I try melatonin for my "not sleeping" and all the ups and downs during the night..
I stopped drinking any liquiq about 9pm...then take a time release melatonin around 11:30 or midnight and ready for bed. It is helping me. If this is the pattern and it works for me, after a week, she wants me to try it without the melatonin and see how it goes. With LDL I don't have any acid reflux so already I am sleeping better. And when I do get up, I am able to go to the bathroom and right back to bed, right back to sleep...
Something is working here...YEA!
God loves you and so do we...
:ymhug: :ymhug:
Zesti

Re: Need help

Posted: April 16th, 2015, 11:46 pm
by Bethesda
Omalani, you mentioned wheat free for dummies, does that mean you are gluten free but not following LDL closely? Just curious.
Thank you ladies for all the encouragement. I have cut out all coconut oil, egg yolks, red meat, cut back all dairy and upped the fruit and veges. I have 5 weeks to change things before another blood test. doc doesn't want me going on a long trip without my cholesterol down. Hubby thinks she is a bit of a fuss pot but I want to keep in good with the doctor or it makes things difficult if you are at odds with your GP. My cholesterol went from 6 to 7 (would you be able to work that out the way you do it in America) in the 12 months I have been on LDL. She says it has to be something about the diet. Ps they like us to be 5 or below although there is a bit of leeway as I am not high risk category.
God bless and thanks again. Jeni

Re: Need help

Posted: April 17th, 2015, 1:41 pm
by omalani
The exact title is Living Wheat Free For Dummies. I have been following LDL and no, I do not eat Gluten free processed foods. They consist of sugar and gluten free flours and a lot of additives. I make things for myself and like you I eat lots of fruits and veggies. The book talks about different kinds of wheat free, i.e. vegan, vegetarian, Ovo-lacto with milk and eggs, various meats added etc. I will occasionally add a potato to a veggie stew or soup. I may eat some oatmeal or brown or black rice, but not very often. I want to try Zesti pureed corn for a hot cereal or maybe polenta. My stress over taxes and the sale of my house are over!! I close on Monday and will pay all my debts off. Praise the Lord! ^:)^ ^:)^ I am now 8 lbs. to One-derland, yeah. :D Life is sweet.

Re: Need help

Posted: April 17th, 2015, 9:09 pm
by MsHeirloom
Congratulations on all counts. How wonderful to see the scales going down...down...DOWN!!!!!

Re: Need help

Posted: April 25th, 2015, 6:10 pm
by LINDA RN
Kinda late jumping in here but want to add my AMEN to everything that Zesty, Omalani and Pam have said. Your doctor is preaching old stuff. In all the years of pushing cholesterol lowering medication, it has never been shown to be useful for women and is no longer recommended for most women. Search Dr. Mercola's site for info on cholesterol. Also watch some of Dr.Becker's You Tube videos. He will even quote medical journals. As far as staying in good with your Doctor, I would tell her that you have been doing a lot of reading on these medications and do not feel comfortable at all adding toxic chemicals. You may also need to research the meds you are on because most may affect your liver causing the rise in cholesterol.

I hate to also make this point but I have been on a sweets binge and my cholesterol is nearly 250. It goes down when I am off the sweets. If you have to add some healthy fats back in to eliminate sugars including fruits, then that would be better. After you have done some reading, come back with questions. Don't want to overwhelm you with top much information.

Re: Need help

Posted: April 30th, 2015, 7:56 pm
by Bethesda
Thank you for that Linda. I have read all that cholesterol stuff but our GPS out here are still adamant about the need for cholesterol lowering medication. I don't have another choice of doctor. (shortage here) If you don't go along with the GP you are not a popular patient. Of course I can just accept the script and not take it.
After a year on LDL my triglycerides dropped. (good) and my LDL dropped a bit but the total cholesterol went up quite a lot. Hdl also went up a little(good). I have to have another blood test in 2 weeks as we are going away for a few months and the doctor wants to be sure I will be ok.
We have different readings to yours......how it works here is that total cholesterol went from 6 to 7.
I have been eating the cholesterol lowering margarine, stopped the coconut oil, cut my eggs to half or just egg whites and reduced red meat considerably. there isn't much else I can do. I already only have stevia as a sweetener.
My medications are thyroxine which I have taken long term as a preventative for future cysts coming. a very low dose blood pressure med, fairly low anti-depressant and the latest thing is celebrex for arthritis.
I also take fish oil, cod-liver oil, baby asprin, calcium (because of the low dairy) and sometimes peppermint for IBS.

Re: Need help

Posted: May 2nd, 2015, 5:36 pm
by LINDA RN
Has your doctor tested your D3 level? The calcium will not be absorbed into your bones without adequate D3. You also need Magnesium to absorb calcium. Just some personal experience...
I was taking Calcium supplements because it seemed to be the thing to do. I was having so much pain in my joints it was unbearable. I was sleeping in wrist splints and thought I had torn a rotator cuff. I stopped the calcium and the pain went away. You mentipned arthritis pain that LDL did not eliminate. Wonder if it is the calcium? You could wait until after your last visit to the doctor, then stop the calcium for 2 weeks. If the pain stops, restart the calcium. If it comes back you know what is causing it. You may have to experiment woth other calcium supplements but don't buy them by the truckload. I am blessed to have a friend close by who milks her own cow so I can get fresh unpasturized, unhomogenized milk and yogurt from her. I don't do dairy every day but a little has not caused a problem and i can get the calcium without the pain. I take Vitamin D3 daily along with Vitamin K2 and magnesium. Some may say I am too much into supplements but I am nearly 64 with no health problems so I don't need to see a doc. Thanks be unto God!

Re: Need help

Posted: May 2nd, 2015, 8:16 pm
by omalani
Our eating plan and giving up processed foods, seems a little strange to doctors, dietitians, and diabetic instructors. However, I have found it is the only way to eat, where I can enjoy food and eat larger volumes and still lose or maintain weight. I grew up in Southern California and there were always lots of fresh fruits and veggies available. Those are the foods I acquired a taste for at an early age. I am creatively modifying Mexican and Italian recipes to have what I like without wheat, sugar and high fat foods in my diet. My parents were from farms in North Dakota and endured long winters without fresh foods. They ate a lot of beans and my Mom often served bean soups and stews. My Mom had a friend whose husband was in the Navy. When he got a promotion, someone commented, "You don't have to eat beans anymore, you can afford meat". She responded, "But I like beans!" People like what they eat and I am sure that there are people in the program who never ate a lot of fruits and veggies that now love them. The important thing is being healthy and enjoying life. I have a friend who had bariatric surgery, lost 70 lbs., and is miserable. That is too much to do to lose weight. I will stick with LDL for as much time as I have on earth and someday enjoy fruit from the tree of life. I'm sure it will taste better that anything on earth. Life is precious, cherish it.

Re: Need help

Posted: May 3rd, 2015, 1:58 am
by Bethesda
Linda, I only started the calcium because it said somewhere in the book about taking it because of the lack of dairy. Just had my vitamin d3 checked and it is fine. I have had the arthritis prior to LDL.
I grew up on a farm with fresh eggs and milk and all sorts of produce but now it is a far cry from that type of living and I have to do the best I can. Organic is out of the question price wise.
Beans is something new to me. I don't dislike them but was never brought up on spicy food so there is some discipline required in this regard. I have been taking peppermint etc to stop the bowel bloating due to the colonic inertia.
2 weeks and I have to repeat the blood tests and I am praying that the Lord will show me what to do.

Re: Need help

Posted: May 3rd, 2015, 9:52 am
by LINDA RN
You don't have to make the beans spicy. Hubby lived on pinto beans 2 meals a day 6 days a week. They would have beans and cornbread with fried potatoes for lunch and supper. They would add boiled greens when available. They would eat all the good salad stuff out of the garden in the summer. His momma seasoned with bacon fat or salt pork. I season with olive oil. The pureed beans in the best tomato soup ever is delicious. I add Italian seasoning and use it as a spaghetti sauce over spaghetti squash. blenderize the butter beans with cauliflower for mashed potatoes. Come up with your own concoctions and be sure to share.

Don't stress out too much over all this. Stress can really mess up your system. Like you said all your good numbers are good. I am agreeing with you that the Lord will guide you in the way you should go.

Re: Need help

Posted: May 3rd, 2015, 11:51 am
by omalani
If you like egg salad sandwiches try my recipe without egg. Mash garbanzo beans with a fork. Then add mustard and mayo like you are making egg salad . Add a little sweet relish if you like. (I rinse some of the sugar off the relish in a strainer.) I like it on corn thins or light rye crisps. You could also put it in lettuce wraps. If you can get frozen veggies and fruits, or rinse off the canned fruit or but fruit canned in 100% fruit juice. Do you have pumpkin this time of year? The hot pumpkin smoothies are so good. Life is a challenge. :D

Re: Need help

Posted: May 6th, 2015, 4:43 am
by Bethesda
I have never even seen a tin of pumpkin. I don't think it is sold anywhere out here. I always cook my own. Would that be the same? I might try a pumpkin smoothy even though it sounds pretty weird.
Also, sweet pickles. What exactly are they?
Even though I have been on LDL for over a year, my appetite has not reduced like the book says. I still can't stuff myself at lunch time and then hardly eat anything for tea. If I put off lunch too long it mucks up the day.
I used nutritional yeast in my chicken dish today so I didn't use much cheese. It has a cheesy taste.
Some clothes I am buying 2 sizes lower and I am not embarrassed to wear figure hugging stuff anymore.
Blessings to you all.

Re: Need help

Posted: May 6th, 2015, 9:12 am
by MsHeirloom
Cooking your own pumpkin would be just fine. I have also used winter squash as a substitute. Our canned pumpkin is just very convenient. The pumpkin smoothie is like eating a semi-solid pumpkin pie and is very satisfying. The entire batch (Patsy Faye's recipe) makes enough to enjoy all week.

Sweet pickles are sliced cucumbers or small whole cucumbers that have been canned in a mixture of vinegar, salt and spices, sweetened with sugar or artificial sweetener. The sugar, of course, can be a problem. Whether or not you use artificial sweetener is a personal decision.

Maybe your appetite was not too much to begin with. You are enjoying victories on and off the scales. Keep up what you are doing. This is not a race, but a healthy way of eating for life!

Re: Need help

Posted: May 6th, 2015, 11:52 am
by omalani
If you don't have a taste for pickles, then don't add them to your recipes. I wish I didn't like sweet pickles, for unless you get them with no added sugar the sugar in them just increases your desire for more sweets. I went totally crazy yesterday and ended up finishing the 2 dozen banana oatmeal cookies I baked to use the over ripe bananas we had. My nephew and his son did not like them and so I ate them all. He was cleaning out the fridge last night and found 2 more over ripe bananas, but I told him to throw them out!! :ymsick: Making Banana bread or cookies, which I have no business eating and no one else likes is insanity. I was raised by parents who came from farms in North Dakota and were married during the great depression so even though I was raised in Southern California, I was taught that you never throw out food. The only time you do that is when it has mold growing on it, and even then I wad taught you could cut the mold off a block of cheese and still use it. Mom was so clever at using up leftovers that you didn't realize they were left over. It is easier to eat LDL in my own home. When you have 3 different people to cook for that don't eat lots of fruits and veggies, it is hard. Gramma eats the same things at every meal! Meat or veggie burger, broccoli, rice or sweet potato and EVOO poured over everything. I discovered she lives avocado and 1 day she ate some cucumber. She eats no tomatoes or anything with tomato sauce. She will not eat any fruit. She did eat apples for a while but now says they give her gas. It is not easy. I have tried to cook healthy for the guys but the teen live on bread and sugary cereals. I did tell Gramma that I cooked the beans the old fashion way, soaking them and putting new water in them and also adding a Tbs. of vinegar, so she ate bean soup a few times. She told me I wasn't a good caregive the other day because she had 3 glasses of ice water and I refused to bring in another glass with ice in it. The truth was I didn't have another clean cup. She is forgetful so she probably doesn't remember anyway. She will be so happy when her daughter comes home from vacation. Life is good.

Re: Need help

Posted: May 7th, 2015, 3:15 am
by Bethesda
oh, Mrs Heirloom, we would call those pickles.....gherkins. what we would call pickles would be more like a bright yellow chutney but more on the sour side.
I made the hot pumpkin smoothy last night with banana, pumpkin, milk, dates and spices. It was rather sickly and DH didn't pass a comment so I guessed he wasn't fussed about it.
Omalani, I can't believe you could eat 2 dozen cookies. I don't think I have eaten that many in my entire life. LOL. All my overripe bananas go in the freezer for banana ice cream. If you put some between 2 corn thins its like an ice cream wafer.
I never throw anything out. Cheese gets the mould cut off and so do all the fruits and veges.
Our supermarkets now have something call THE ODD BUNCH which is virtually seconds like mis-shapen fruit and veg and it is cheaper. We also have lots of specials of close to use by date and I save a lot by that.
I can't imagine how hard it must be for you cooking different meals for different people. DH eats the same as me or makes his own. Oh, yes, you are living somewhere else for a while aren't you? Fancy Grandma putting olive oil on everything. Thats unusual for an older person. I guess she has some dementia. She will be happy when her daughter comes home and I guess you will be too.
I did a walk today putting out brochures for church and the weather here for Autumn is beautiful, still in shorts.