View Full Version : High cholesterol , blocked arteries etc.
Hello kind people :)
I know I've mentioned this a few times (sorry!), but I just wondered if anyone has experience with this who could give me a real life perspective instead of the assumptions I've jumped to from reading a few articles on google.
I have been doing well for a few weeks and felt I was finally getting somewhere , until now. I had high cholesterol when I was a child, think I was about 10ish. It was discovered through an eye test, I had a grain of cholesterol in the back of my eye. I visited the hospital and was discharged, my cholesterol went down to normal and everything was hunky dory.
Except the fact that if I'm honest, I have not had the best diet through my life. I am overweight ( but taking steps to change that) and I can only assume my cholesterol went straight back up and stayed there. Im going in for a test on monday but extremely frightened of the results. Anyway, Im now 22 and wondering whether its too late for me.
I'm genuinely frightened that I've had high cholesterol most of my life (it was discovered at 10 but ive always been fat so I'm convinved I had it way before that). I'm worried that its blocked my arteries and I'm on the way to a heart attack. I'm on a diet now but I feel like its way too late to change , my fate is sealed etc.
If its not a heart attack, Im worried my arteries have hardened, weakened etc and i've developed a brain aneyrusm.
Obviously everyone tells me I'm being stupid, I;m 22 I have years to turn it around etc but I feel like I've had this my whole life that its too late, damage is done etc.
Does anyone have any experience with high cholesterol, hardening arteries etc that could give me some realistic advice? Apart from lose weight etc which i already am. I have diagnosed myself with an impending heart attack and aneuyrsm, and its slowly begining to ruin all the hard work I've done in beating health anxiety :(
emeraldgirl
05-10-13, 20:26
Hi. I have high cholesterol and was terrified when I first found out. My mum has it too and looks like it runs in our family. I am on statins and ave been for about 5 years when they first discovered it during a random blood check so I don't know how I'd had it. The statins are wonderful and really do bring it right down so even if you do have i you can do something about it with medication. My mum is 90 - her cholesterol has been over 8 for at least 10 years and she refuses to take the statins. Hope this reassures you a bit.
Thankyou for your reply, it does reassure me a bit :) Your mum sounds quite the character lol. My parents don't have high cholesterol , just me :(. Well I can only assume I have it now based on my rubbish diet.
What scares me is that I keep reading how it can causes heart attacks and brain aneyursms, and with 20+ years I'm pretty much already dead in my mind :(
Maybe the results will come back just fine :) Also not all cholesterol is bad cholesterol. If it is high then you will be given something to control it. My husband has had 2 heart attacks due to blocked arteries. He now has stents in his arteries and is working full time and leading a normal life. It is less likely that you will have this problem at your age so lets just wait and see what your results are on Monday and go from there :)
The problem is I'll never find out if I have blocked arteries because the doctors dont and wont take me seriously, nor will anyone else. I'll never be able to get it treated and I probably already have an aneyrusm forming from the weakning arteries :(
nomorepanic
07-10-13, 15:34
It would take many years for the cholesterol to build up in the arteries and you are still young so it is highly unlikely you have anything to worry about to be honest.
Like Nic says, it is highly unlikely you have anything to worry about. You are only 22 so enjoy your life and live it instead of worrying about what might be, especially when it is so unlikely.
I've had two heart attacks, bypass surgery and most recently stents. I'm 54, had high cholesterol and triglycerides much of my life. I also abused myself in my youth. Can't change the past so it is what it is. What I'm going to tell you is as real life as you can get!
At 22, you have nothing to worry about. If you want it to remain that way then common sense health is all you need to do. Eat healthy, get regular exercise, avoid fatty foods, avoid drinking heavily, stay away from drugs, DON'T SMOKE!, practice safe sex and above all else LIVE your life as opposed to being a slave to anxiety!
Good Luck!
Thankyou everyone :)
I know I'm only young, i should have time to turn things around but I'm just paranoid. I was starting to feel better until I logged onto the daily mail site and there was an article entitled fit and healthy 23 year old dies of sudden cardiac death. Now I'm less reassured!
Sick of hearing these stories about people my age dropping down dead of sudden heart issues, it does my anxiety no good at all :(
So I got my results back today. She said they were completely normal but a bit high. How does that work??? She didn't give me a number or anything so I just don't know what to make of them :(
She said they are NORMAL so that means nothing to worry about. Slightly high can be normal for many people so you need to stop worrying and enjoy your life. :hugs::hugs:
nomorepanic
11-10-13, 15:29
Why not get the doc to explain the results properly to you as I know that you are going to worry about this now as the word "high" was mentioned.
Hi,
As one who suffers from coronary artery disease, Allow me to explain and hopefully set your mind at ease.
Factors such as total cholesterol, LDL, HDL and triglycerides have a "range" that they fall into.
For example, Total cholesterol can fall between 75 and 199 and be considered normal. LDLs (bad cholesterol) 10-130, HDLs (good cholesterol) 40-55 and triglycerides (sugars in the blood) 10-150.
Mind you, each lab has a slightly different range and way they categorize what's low, normal high etc., but generally, what I stated is accurate (in the US) within a few points + or -.
So, if your doctor said your readings were normal but a bit high, she is most likely saying your readings were on the higher side of the normal range.
Everyone is different. What's "normal" for one person is not for another. Body chemistry, diet, exercise etc., play an important role in what your readings are.
If you're still concerned, I would ask for a copy of the test results and look for yourself.
Good Luck!
DaisyPolly
11-10-13, 16:55
I recently had a cholesterol check & mine was 6.7 which I thought sounded a bit high as I understood it should be below 4.0.
My Dr explained to me that you can't just go on the number. She showed me on the computer how they feed in all your stats such as age, sex, weight, height, lifestyle, medications etc. My reading was a 2% chance of having a heart attack which she said was tiny & she wasn't at all worried and that someone with a cholesterol count of 4.0 could actually have a higher risk of heart attack!
Not sure I'm convinced but it reassured me for a day or two lol
Also not all the cholesterol is bad. My total was 6.3 but take away the good cholesterol and it was only 4.2 (approx, I can't remember the exact figures).
Thankyou guys very much, although I;m not sure I'd want to know my calculated heart attack risk!
I'm not actually worrying too much, which has suprised me. The first thing she said was that it was completely normal, and no appointment has been made which makes me assume it wasn't that high really, which I'm suprised I was expecting it to be in the 7's or something.
I would love to let my heart worries go. I am getting chest pains, smoetimes I don't know whether it is my costochondritis flaring up or something new, its hard to tell and I get myself worked up stupidly.
I've had 2 blood tests for heart attacks, along with a FBC, 4 ECGs and chest xray where they said my heart was normal size etc but I just want an echo which they won't allow, everyone says that if i had any heart condition it would ave been picked up on these tests but I'm not so sure.
And then the chest pains start again and I go back to the beginning, awful anxiety.
I wasn't even worried about underlying heart conditions til I read a story about a giirl my age dying of sudden cardiac death, now I wonder wether I have a condition relating to this. Wondering if it ever stops ...
"Wondering if it ever stops ..."
Maybe I can give you a perspective to look at. When I was diagnosed with cancer, I had quite a few moments of doubt, anxiety and a pretty big pity party for myself as well.
Then I got mad! Finally, after the heart attacks and surgery and all the other "crap" I dealt with the last six years finally things were looking up and then cancer?! Are you F'ing kidding me?! There was NO WAY I was going to let this SOB of a disease take me! I got into battle mode and fought tooth and nail and guess what? I beat the beast! I have issues out the wazoo and it could come back any time but for now I'm here.
Will it ever stop? Do you want it to? I would assume the answer is yes! Get pissed! Fight back! Take control! Do something to help yourself battle this beast called anxiety. How dare it continue to mess with your head. Who the F does it think it is?
Look at it in a different light. If it were someone trying harm you wouldn't you fight back? Well this is harming you and you need to kick it in the nads!
Go for it and Good Luck!
nomorepanic
11-10-13, 18:05
Fishmanpa - I love your replies :roflmao:
catherineinky
11-10-13, 18:21
So I got my results back today. She said they were completely normal but a bit high. How does that work??? She didn't give me a number or anything so I just don't know what to make of them :( Roxy... go get some omega fish oil and start eating cheerios for breakfast. you will be shocked how your blood work turns out next time. No need to worry... :yesyes:
DaisyPolly
11-10-13, 18:26
The trouble with anxiety is that it causes some many symptoms in itself that you never know whether it's just the anxiety or something serious. I have had all manner of strange symptoms that I would never have attributed to anxiety.
Just when you think you're getting a handle on it, it comes back when you least expect it. Crazy!
What it must feel like to be a relaxed, chilled out person who just deals with things in a calm rational way! Don't you envy them?
Oh well this is our lot in life, I'm such a little ray of sunshine!:winks:
I love your replies too Fishmanpa.:roflmao:Well flipping done!!!
Oh Fishmanpa, I do love your replies and you do make me smile (a rarity these days!). I love your positivity and if more people were like you then the world would be a better place ;)
I wish I had your attitude, id love to know you in real life lol im sure youd give me a much needed kick up the arse!
I wish I could stop thinking I'm going to have a sudden cardiac death :(
sudden cardiac death :(
Interestingly enough, when my time comes, not knowing what hit me is much more preferable than suffering.
I'm not saying I want a long drawn out death or to suffer at all, but I really wouldn't want a sudden death. I would want time to prepare etc, I would hate a wham bam gone sort of thing (even though I wouldn;t know about it!) which sounds weird but hey ho!
Feeling better today I think, I'm going to make an appointment to discuss my weak/blocked artery fears and see what happens from there :)
Feeling better today I think, I'm going to make an appointment to discuss my weak/blocked artery fears and see what happens from there :)
Best thing I've heard so far today. I saw your post concerning your little one and your fear. You should be enjoying every wonderful moment and relishing in it as your children grow. Living in fear is robbing you of that enjoyment.
Looking forward to seeing positive posts from you!
Good Luck!
Thankyou Fishmanpa :) I dont think you will seeing many though hah! Though your posts have helped me more than I could possibly explain to you.
Its not hugely likely that at my age I am going to drop dead of an aneyursm or a heart attack or a blood clot etc so why the hell am I worrying about all this?! Crazy.
Thankyou Fishmanpa :) I dont think you will seeing many though hah! Though your posts have helped me more than I could possibly explain to you.
Its not hugely likely that at my age I am going to drop dead of an aneyursm or a heart attack or a blood clot etc so why the hell am I worrying about all this?! Crazy.
Uhhhhh... YEAH! No Kidding! Keep asking yourself that question! Every time something comes up, ask yourself that question.
I look through my posts and I just think you mad cow, what on earth are you on! But the fears are so real to me at the time and I have no idea why.
My heart and sudden death is such a huge worry of mine, really need to stop reading the daily mail health stories! Only started thinking of sudden death since I read about a girl my age dying of it. I'm working well to get my cholesterol down aswell, just hope its not too late and there isn't already massive blockages :)
went and got my results in numbers, my cholesterol is 4.8 woo flipping hoo! 3.3 good 1.5bad im so relieved :)
Mine was 6.1
It went down to 5.9 which is still high apparently.
Need to be re-tested soon, my diet has been awful though so I am putting it off for a while.
The rest of my heart disease score was super low though.
Hi I have this problem too how high was yours ?
I have no idea how high it was, I was only 10 and my parents conveniently cannot remember the number. I just know it was high as an optician found a cholesterol grain in my eye and I remember running out of the hospital crying scared out my wits because a junior doctor said I needed all these heart, liver tests etc.
Funnily enough I had my cholesterol checked a couple of months ago and it was 4.2.
I still worry about my clogged arteries now! (Amongst other things).
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