Re: PA and cholesterol levels

[Guest guest]

Hi Sherry,

> I've been reading

> a lot of research linking elevated cholesterol with inflammation

> levels. It seems that elevated C-reactive protein (a blood marker for

> inflammation) is closely linked to elevated cholesterol levels. It

> appears that people with all kinds of inflammatory conditions (like PA)

> have a tendency to raised levels.

That's very interesting!

> Does anyone know anything about this?

I have also observed a correlation between the activity level of PA, and

my cholesterol levels. I suspect they are related, but I can't say which

causes which. My doctors all vehemently deny any possibility of any sort

of link between the two things.

I really think we should do a little research here in the group. Such as

each group member who knows his cholesterol levels telling us if they

are normal, or how much they are, along with his/her relative severity

of PA. We could be breaking new ground here!

Manfred.

[Guest guest]

For what it's worth, I've been reading about C Reactive Protein being a possible

indicator for heart disease for a couple of years; so when my CRP test came back

positive, I did a little research and found out that there is a more sensitive C

Reactive Protein test that must be used to determine possible heart risk - not

just the one typically used to detect inflammation. I asked my doctor (whom I

really trust - she's very up to date on everything but takes a very common

sense approach) if I should have it. She said she'd order it if I wanted but

she had never found it useful for diagnostic purposes - that at this point it

was more a research tool; so I didn't get it. I do have high cholesterol but

had it for a long time before I developed PA.

Joanna Hoelscher

630-833-7361

[Guest guest]

Joanna - the funny thing is that my own CRP levels are always within

normal range, even when my rheumy can clearly see with her eyes that

I have terrible inflammation! Same for my sed rate. But I'm

wondering if there is something else going on in inflammatory

diseases (along with, for most people, elevated CRP) that affects

cholesterol.

Not that any of this affects treatment in any way. I still have to

try to lower my levels by diet and exercise. But I'm just curious -

I like for things to make sense!

best regards,

sherry z

[Guest guest]

Is your cholesterol high enough to warrant medication, like the statin drugs?

I've been on Lipitor for a number of years but when I first developed what I now

know were symptoms of PA, the first thing my internist did was take me off

Lipitor because it can cause muscle pain/problems and statistically, she said,

was the most likely culprit Even after the diagnosis, she told me to stay off

of it until the PA was under control so no question about the problem being

associated with Lipitor. Worried me a little bit (I'm a worrier) because when I

was first put on it, my cholesterol had gone up to 300 - clearly genetic.

Cardiologist said I could be eating Big Mac's and pizza every night and not get

cholesterol levels that high. I have found that exercise does help the " good "

cholesterol level tremendously because mine has always been way above " normal " -

which is good.

Joanna Hoelscher

630-833-7361

[Guest guest]

My total cholesterol level:135mg/L

LDL 69mg/L

HDL 66mg/L

Triglyceride level:71

P is mild A in mild flare.Some joint damage due to PA

I wish you the very best of heath,

Peace soudi

[Guest guest]

Total Chol - 256 (up from 204 1 year ago, up from below 150 until the

PPP started)

TG - 144

HDL - 56 (down from very high levels pre-PPP)

LDL - 171

Up until the PPP started, my TG were so low, my HDL so high, and my LDL

so low that I had been told more than once, " If heart attack were the

only thing you could die from, you would live forever! "

The three biggest things that could be affecting my cholesterol:

1. Age - I hit middle-age and menopause about the same time it all

started.

2. Inactivity - I went from working out intensely 4-6 hours per week

(cardio and weights) to practically immobile in 1 year. (Due to PA.)

3. I stopped drinking red wine, which is supposed to be good for

cholesterol levels. (Due to MTX playing with liver panels, so I went

totally off all alcohol.) I have had 1-2 glasses of red wine with my

dinner my whole adult life, until now.

regards,

sherry z

[Guest guest]

Hi Sherry, Joanna,

> Total Chol - 256 (up from 204 1 year ago, up from below 150 until the

> PPP started)

That looks like action is required. It's too fast a rise to be left

unchecked!

> Up until the PPP started, my TG were so low, my HDL so high, and my

> LDL so low that I had been told more than once, " If heart attack were

> the only thing you could die from, you would live forever! "

Interesting. So we two share the move from healthy blood fat levels to

unhealthy ones, going hand in hand with PA. It MIGHT be coincidence, but

who knows? We need more data!

> The three biggest things that could be affecting my cholesterol:

>

> 1. Age - I hit middle-age and menopause about the same time it all

> started.

>

> 2. Inactivity - I went from working out intensely 4-6 hours per week

> (cardio and weights) to practically immobile in 1 year. (Due to

> PA.)

>

> 3. I stopped drinking red wine, which is supposed to be good for

> cholesterol levels. (Due to MTX playing with liver panels, so I went

> totally off all alcohol.) I have had 1-2 glasses of red wine with

> my dinner my whole adult life, until now.

I think the inactivity might be the most important factor among these. I

try to battle my problems by moving as much as I can. On bad days, I'm

forced to limit my physical activity. On better days, I walk and climb

and do some physical work. And in six weeks I'm moving to the

countryside, so I will have a lot more motivation for walking,

shoveling, etc! I hope that will help!

> I don't blame you for not wanting to take any more drugs!!!!! I echo

> the sentiment. Your e-mail got me curious, though, so I did a little

> web surfing and found that a lot of the sites on triglicerides and

> diet still say stay away from the " bad " fats.

I guess they do have an influence, but my problem was that the doctors

told me to avoid all sorts of fats and replace that by grains and sweet

stuff, since I don't have any problem with blood sugar.

> Also alcohol is a biggie.

That's no problem for me. My alcohol consumption can be measured in

milliliters per year, without requiring a large number. Most of it comes

from eating slightly overripe apples! ;-)

> Otherwise, the only other thing I found of interest is to

> avoid low-fibre carbs, which - I think - can convert to sugar or will

> at least raise triglicerides.

I understand that ALL carbs are converted to sugar.

> I'm actually not quite sure why high

> triglicerides are even a problem.

My doctors told me that they are a precursor to cholesterol, and that

this is the main danger. I don't know how much of that is true.

> Mine used to be high but have gone

> down without much effort from me. Lost a littlle (and I mean a

> little) weight so maybe that helped. Good luck with it, either way!

I can't loose much weight, or I would fall below the healthy range.

That's one of the good sides of not living in the USA! We eat a lot less

fatty stuff and processed foods than over there, and we rely less on cars.

> P.S. I don't use much sugar, either, but I do like sweet stuff so

> stick pretty much to Spenda.

I had no idea what that is, and after some googling I found out that the

spelling is Splenda, and that it is a small amount of sucralose diluted

in a large amount of dextrose. I wouldn't eat such stuff!

Another very interesting hint I found is that Splenda contains THE SAME

amount of calories per weight as sugar!!! So the only advantage is that

for the same sweetening effect as sugar, the same volume is used, but

this weighs less than sugar and for that reason contains less calories.

But it is definitely not a zero calorie sweetener, as the label seems to

indicate!

Manfred.

[Guest guest]

Sherry: I think all three could have contributed but - for what it's worth - my

cholesterol suddenly went up after menopause.

Manfred: Sorry - I don't spell check and should. You're right: it is Splenda.

It's 600 time sweeter than sugar and is actually made from sugar. The sugar is

chlorinated - which I'm not crazy about since I worked for an environmental

group for 20+ years and know that chlorine is a major cause of dioxins in the

environment. However, Splenda is the only sugar substitute (for those of us who

have sweet tooths and weight issues) that isn't destroyed when you heat it so

you can use it for cooking and baking as well as putting a drop of it in your

morning cup of coffee (and I literally mean a drop of it!!!) Also, it's

generally considered - at least here in the U.S. (even by health food

afficionados) to be the safest of the sugar substitutes. Comes in several

different forms and you may be right about some of them being " puffed " up with

dextrose but the caloric value, none-the-less is significantly lower than that

of sugar. (It even comes in one form

that's half sucralose and half sugar.) It's more expensive than the others,

too, but is now being used more and more often in place of Equal in sugar-free

products like Coke, Pepsi, sugar-free ice cream, etc. (At least the " better "

brands are using Splenda.)

Lucky you that you're thin enough you can't stand to lose any more weight!!!!!

Makes the high cholesterol even more puzzling - and frustrating, doesn't it?

Though when my cholesterol first went up, the cardiologist I was seeing at the

time said that I could be eating Big Macs and pizza every night and it wouldn't

go that high, were there not a genetic component. My dad suffered many years

with lots of cardiovascular problems, including high cholesterol/triglycerides.

I am interested by all this discussion of cholesterol, however, because when I

first started having these unusual joint/muscle problems a few months ago, the

first thing my internist did was take me off Lipitor (which I've taken for some

years for high cholesterol.) She said that " statistically, it was the most

likely cause of the problem. " However, after 3 weeks off of it and no change, I

went back on. Then, when things got worse and I was sent to a rheumatologist,

she told me to stop taking it again for 3 months to allow time to find out what

was really going on and get it " under control " - and to make sure the Lipitor

wasn't a contributing factor. I reminded her that my total cholesterol was

near 300 when I first went on meds for it; she said, " I know; but it won't hurt

you to be off the meds for 3 months. " I trust this woman so am doing what

she's told me to do but have some fear none-the-less. I think from what you all

are saying, I will

have her check my cholesterol again before I go back on meds just to see what

has happened and how high it's gotten. Thanks to all of you for the heads up on

this.

Joanna Hoelscher

630-833-7361