Results are In

Hi!

I picked up my lab results in preparation for my physical tomorrow. I started on 5 mg lipitor in September, increased to 10 mg in October and have continued on 10mg since then, for about 6 months. The numbers in parenthesis are my last lab values.

TC: 181 (195) Before lipitor 231
HDL: 52 (48) Before lipitor 43,39,26
LDL: 86 (114) Before lipitor 152,143
C/HDL Ratio: 3.5 (4.1)Normal<4.4
CHD Relative Risk Ratio 0.6 Average risk
1.0
LDL/HDL Ratio: 1.7 Normal < 3.22
CHD Relative Risk Ratio 0.5 Average risk
1.0

Trig: 215 (167) Before lipitor 179,225
went up to 400 after starting lipitor

SGOT (ALT): 29 (22) Normal < 37
SGPT (AST): 40 Normal < 65
Alb: 3.6 (3.3) Normal 3.4-5.2
Total Protein: 7.5 Normal 6.4-8.2
Alk Phos: 58 (70)Normal 50-136
Creatinine: 0.9 (0.9 before lipitor)Normal
0.6-1.3
Total Bilirubin: 0.7 (0.5) Normal 0.0-1.2
BUN: 17 (17 before lipitor)
Glucose: 80 (90) Normal fasting 65-109

It doesn't look like lipitor has had any effect on my liver after 6 months.

BUT my triglycerides are UP again. I can't possibly eat any better than I am. I have lost 10 pounds since December. I could possibly have impaired glucose tolerance which might be affecting the trigs.

Does anyone have any opinions, especially concerning the triglycerides? I am NOT going on lopid. I was intending to go off lipitor but now not sure what to do. Got to admit those numbers look great, especially the ratios. Not sure what the lipitor is doing though, besides lowering my LDL. HDL could be up because of all the exercising I was doing to lower my glucose. Hmmmmm.

Chris

[This message has been edited by chrismth (edited 05-03-2001).]

Re: Results are In

Hi Chris and JJ,
I've got to make this short... Your doc saying that your trig's aren't bad shows he's from an old school, and that he'd better start studying. T. chol. of 220-250 is not bad. It's LDL's, VLDL's, and Trig's that are bad. The trig's are extracted from your food by the small intestine's endothelial mucosa. But in cases of genetic problems, the liver manufactures the bulk of them from its content of acetate...(more of this will come as I piece together my research summary that was destroyed in my meltdown). There is some consideration of the brain signalling the liver to make these due to the brain not sensing essential fatty acids. It can also be a genetic problem. The doc's have been blaming cholesterol because of its high presence in the artherosclerotic plaque. In truth, its involvement comes after the the intima of the arteries are injured by macrophage cytokines after they have ingested oxidized trig's, vldl's. and ldl's. Once the injury is there, it becomes a receptor site that produces prothrombin and inflammatories. The clotting platelets gather along with the cholesterol...then comes the calcium, and poof...there is the stenosis.. ie: it starts with OXIDIZED TRIG'S, VLDL'S, AND LDL'S. The key is to prevent the oxidation. When my wife had trig's of 2750, she plugged a bypass within three months. While on antioxdants that include BHT, she has had no atherogenesis in the past 1 1/2 years. And she has had cholesterol of 795, and trig's of 6625 when I got a bad lot of BHT called BHT+. She had a stent that has not occluded at all in almost a year, and these normally reduce by 50% within two months. I've learned a lot in the past two years, and if I can get done, I'll be charing it all...Finding all of my references is the toughest part...God bless you all, Oldguy