I work for a health care system and annually, all employees are able to have free blood work done. I just got my results back and my cholesterol is high. The normal range is under 200 -- mine is 233. When I was at my last doctor's appointment, he said high cholesterol may have been the reason my bilirubin is also elevated ...
Does anyone have any information on this? I searched online but I really can't find any helpful information. Do I need to change my diet? Exercise more? or is this just a natural progression of PSC?
I'm trying to not freak out but my heart is racing a little faster than usual ...
I have done some extensive research and ursodiol seems to lower cholesterol in psc patients albeit there is much research saying that ursodiol might be costly to the body. For me I have only seen positive results from being on ursidol and due to my current status as cirrhosis my doctors advice was to increase the dosage some mgs. I recommend you speak with your doctor about ursodiol and how it might be a suitable drug to regulate your psc. P.S I also stress dietary restrictions with having your condition such as raw fish,alcohol,processed foods and such.Lastly some people have said that they might benefit from sticking to a gluten free diet, consuming minimal animal meats with high fat content as well as dairy. Good luck I have been had elevated bilirubin in the past. You will get through it.
Thanks, Alexander -- but I've been off of Urso for a few years now. I randomly stopped taking it on my own because I had a bad feeling about it -- then a year later when I met with my doctor at a Liver Center, he told me he was taking all of his patients off of it because of the damage it causes to the liver. I'm going to talk with a physician tomorrow hopefully and see my options.
Hi Stacy, I have been diagnosed with PSC since 2009. High cholesterol was my first indication that something was wrong. I have radically changed my diet for 9 months, excluding animal protein, dairy and gluten. None of that has changed my cholesterol. At the urging of my PCP, went on statins, which only elevated my liver enzymes, so we stopped that. The high cholesterol is a result of the impaired liver function brought on by the PSC. I do use a vegetable based protein supplement called Sun Warrior. Garden of Life Raw Protein powder is also good. Also, was on Ursidol, but my physicans at Mayo discontinued that as well.
I had high cholesterol for years and it didn't correlate to my weight (I've always been on the skinny side) or my diet. I ate a lot of chicken, not much red meat, and a lot of fish. But in November 2011 I switched to vegan and my hepatologist was happy about that because she said animal protein was harder for the liver to process (I am stage 4 PSC, with cirrhosis) than plant protein. Within 3 months I went to my internist for an annual physical and my cholesterol came back the lowest it had been - ever! Way inside the normal range. It had been above 200. I was very impressed by that as was my doctor.
I've been taking ursodiol since I was diagnosed with PSC in 2006. Honestly, I am very tired of the urso debate and have read lots and lots of scientific articles that ultimately show its benefits. It is the ONLY thing there is to actually treat PSC with and people who respond well to it - their liver function numbers drop - also have lower percentages of cholangiocarcinoma and can function better and longer before transplant.
It has never affected my cholesterol, however. It was diet ALONE that did that. If you eat dairy, I suggest you stop because there are so many hormones, antibiotics, et al added to cows' diets that we don't need to expose ourselves to. If you eat a lot of meat, make sure you're buying the best product available. It's more expensive, I know. I gradually added some meat back into my diet because I use up my blood sugar too fast and have to eat too many vegetables in a meal to get adequate protein. My stomach just won't tolerate that much food, and especially not raw veggies anymore.
But I also supplement protein with whey protein powder in fruit and veggie smoothies. I will get my cholesterol tested soon and be able to know if this version of my diet will keep it down.
If you want to read about vegan diets, I suggest The China Study because it is well-documented scientific work and not some touchy-feely nonsense that I tend to dismiss. Good luck with your cholesterol level. My suggestion: change your diet.
i am going to offer a differing point of view that may seem outrageous but has a lot of scientific backing. total cholesterol in the blood tells us absolutely NOTHING about the health of our arteries. ultimately that is what we all should be concerned with. half the people who have heart attacks in the US have "normal" total cholesterol.
this graph shows data from 164 countries where the lowest overall rate of death was at a cholesterol level of about 220.
there are many scientific studies supporting this and many books written about it. it is fully up to you. i personally do not worry too much about cholesterol. i concentrate on keeping inflammation and blood sugar low.
I JUST talked to my doctor about this. She said OUR cholesterol is linked to our inflammatory process and mine is high right now too. When I got to her in 2010, my LDL was 974...yep..CRAZY. My cholesterol is running low exactly like yours right now [233]. Transplant Hep was upset but my PCP said POO-POO...she is NOT going to give me any medication because it is ALL SO BAD FOR OUR LIVERS. She said to PAY attention when I eat. If I get gas...don't eat that food again. If I get itchy the same. If I feel bloated the same.
Not to worry. I think Cholesterol issues are NORMAL for us.
Amen! I for one am exhausted from the harrange about cholesterol levels, and I for one am convinced that the high doses of statins I was previously taking at my doctor's advice contributed to the psc and liver damage I was diagnosed with several years later.
bubba29 said:
i am going to offer a differing point of view that may seem outrageous but has a lot of scientific backing. total cholesterol in the blood tells us absolutely NOTHING about the health of our arteries. ultimately that is what we all should be concerned with. half the people who have heart attacks in the US have "normal" total cholesterol.
this graph shows data from 164 countries where the lowest overall rate of death was at a cholesterol level of about 220.
there are many scientific studies supporting this and many books written about it. it is fully up to you. i personally do not worry too much about cholesterol. i concentrate on keeping inflammation and blood sugar low.
Mona, I liked what you had to say about cholesterol being linked to our inflammatory process. And I'm glad you got yours down. I don't think mine was ever above 230 or so, and with what you're saying added to what Bubba added (and I looked at some other articles that confirmed the lack of connection between high LDL and heart disease), I think I'm okay. And I just have to go by feel on my diet, too. Thanks!
Mona said:
HAY Stacy
I JUST talked to my doctor about this. She said OUR cholesterol is linked to our inflammatory process and mine is high right now too. When I got to her in 2010, my LDL was 974...yep..CRAZY. My cholesterol is running low exactly like yours right now [233]. Transplant Hep was upset but my PCP said POO-POO...she is NOT going to give me any medication because it is ALL SO BAD FOR OUR LIVERS. She said to PAY attention when I eat. If I get gas...don't eat that food again. If I get itchy the same. If I feel bloated the same.
Not to worry. I think Cholesterol issues are NORMAL for us.
High cholesterol and PSC go hand in hand. However, it's important to note that it's different from a "healthy" person's cholesterol. High cholesterol within the PSC realm doesn't require medication to protect from heart attacks, isn't related into diet and generally isn't considered dangerous. You mentioned you're not finding much online. If you search "cholesterol" in this keyword site, http://www.pscpartners.org/research#keyword, you'll find plenty of articles on the two. You can also do a Pubmed search on primary sclerosing cholangitis and cholesterol and you'll see articles pop on up that should help answer your questions.