I just came across a study of Track Your Plaque (TYP) program blood test results for a 3 month period for a group of, hmm, let’s see, that would be one middle aged male.
Oh, yes, yes, yes that would be me!
This was no double blind with an extra twist sort of study that you’d want to give a lot of credence. But I’m sure you can imagine that it means a whole lot to me.
I wanted to get a set of baseline numbers at my HMO at 3 months on the program. I’m also looking to raise my HDL and want to participate in the new TYP program “virtual trial” of the use of PhosphatidylCholine for raising HDL. So, I needed an HDL number before I got started with that too.
There is good news and bad news in the latest results…
At the time of my mild heart attack almost 10 years ago, my uncorrected LDL cholesterol was about 300. You can see the benefit of the statin drug called Lipitor at 7/13/2006 on my total cholesterol and LDL. At 7/13/2006, I added Zetia and got retested on 2/15/2007. You can see that the addition of Zetia made a difference for my total cholesterol and LDL by that retest date.
Then, at the beginning of September 2007, I got started with the TYP program and the results of my 3 months doing the program are shown in the 3rd column of data. There are dramatic improvements in 3 of the 4 standard lipid panel categories.
My LDL now is even below the TYP program goal of 60 for LDL. I never imagined that someday I might be able to lower my statin dosage. Perhaps that’s in the cards at some point.
I’ve got more to go with my Triglycerides to hit the 60 objective but I feel confident I can get that number down.
My problem, of course, is HDL. At my HMO, I’m always running with an HDL in the mid-30s. I have lost some weight and I think I’ve read that HDL can temporarily decline during a weight loss period. But obviously, I’ve got some serious work to do.
Track Your Plaque program goals are easy to remember. Just 60-60-60. Dr. Davis says that coronary plaque regression frequently takes place when those objectives are met. But I’ve got high Lp(a) so that complicates my prospects for plaque reduction. I’ve got some ideas I’m going to write about in the near future here so stay tuned.
I’m torn between feeling great about these results and being concerned about a few other lipoprotein patterns I have. I’ve got all the bad patterns. High small dense LDL, high Lp(a), and low HDL2b.
I took the Liposcience NMR blood test that Dr. Davis recommends and it scared me spitless. Almost 100% of the large number of LDL particles that I have are of the dangerous small dense type. And I have 0%–that’s right zero percent–large HDL-P and VLDL-P.
My HMO doctors hadn’t ever mentioned the particle number values that the crazy Dr. Davis beats a drum about every chance he gets.
About my diet for the last 3 months… I don’t really think I tried very hard to lose weight but still lost 15 pounds in 3 months. I want to redouble my efforts. But I wasn’t doing that low fat thing I can tell you that. I think I’m probably now somewhere in between the kind of diet that Dr. Davis recommends and what Jimmy Moore is all the rave about.
gotta go…
November 30th, 2007 at 1:30 pm
Your story is so close to my own, it is like looking in a mirror… mild MI at 45, cath lab and $100K to the docs and hospitals later, a prescription for Lipitor, Lisinipril and Toprol XL (and of course Metformin because by the way you’re also diabetic). Got rid of the Metformin within 6 months by dramatic changes to diet (inadvertantly cutting the carbs despite the recommended ‘low-fat’ diet advice… UGGH!).
Anyway, my lipids looked great on paper (at least my doc thought so), with the exception of HDL which would not go above 34. Then I got the muscle pains from 40 mg Lipitor, and my Total Cholesterol came in at 99 (it had been running around 110 for 2 years… I thought it was fantastic, but have learned it is way too low). Anyway, I immediately discontinued the Lipitor and cut the wheat and increased the Omega 3’s/fish oil, and 90 days later, cholesterol is 160, HDL is 58, Triglycerides are 72… and the muscle pains are relieved.
In my opinion, Dr. Davis is a GOD… amazing there are still cardiologists with a brain remaining (at least not on load to a big-pharma concern). He hits it on the head every post. My only purely non-professional comment to you is to be very careful of the Lipitor, as it does a great job at lowering the cholesterol number, but also seems to suppress the HDL… and as we now know, fat is not the ultimate enemy.
Keep up the greta blog!
December 1st, 2007 at 2:52 am
John:
I agree that Dr. Davis is some kind of divinely inspired being, and he is going to save a lot of us. We really need to publicizise what he is doing.
-Rich
December 1st, 2007 at 11:18 pm
[…] And now, three months later, I got back my standard lipid panel blood test results… […]
December 2nd, 2007 at 6:12 pm
Dear Heart Cipher,
If you are trying to raise your HDL, I would recommend that you consider switching from Lipitor to Crestor. Of all the Statins, only Crestor can raise the HDL (even though the amount is very small…). 40mg of Crestor is more powerful than 80mg of Lipitor if my memory is correct. Since your LDL is already low (as per an NMR test…dont’ trust a regular standard cholesterol test), then I would guess that 10mg to 20mg of Crestor would be sufficient. Another added benefit, is that Crestor is metabolized differently than Lipitor and Zocor and you don’t have to worry about the grapefruit juice problem like you would with those other two powerful statins.
As for Niacin, I prefer Endur-acin (www.endur.com) as it is very cost effective and has been used in clinical trails for many years now. It costs only 15 cents per 1,000 mg compared to $3.50+ for Niaspan. Endur-acin tablets are sustained release to release over 6-8 hours. Dr. Davis seems to like the Slo-Niacin but I don’t like the fact that Slo-Niacin contains hydrogenated vegetable oil (Disclaimer: I realize that it’s a very small amount of hydrogenated vegetable oil and I also realize that fully hydrogenated vegetable oil isn’t as bad as partially hydrogenated vegetable oil but I try to avoid it nonetheless). Endur has recently come out with a new product called Endur-Thine which is 500mg of the sustained release niacin like the Endur-acin but also 200mg of sustained release Pantathine. Cost is about 57 cents for 2 tablets. Pantathine may help with lowering your triglycerides and raising your HDL. Dr. Davis says that Pantathine doesn’t seem to work in lowering cholesterol but it may be worth trying.
Other supplements that are claimed to help raise HDL are EGCG, 7-Keto & resveratrol but I have never tried these so I cannot say.
One supplement to be cautious of is excess Zinc. I was taking three different supplements a year or two ago that all contained zinc and my cholesterol skyrocketed. I later learned that excess zinc can raise cholesterol (something about it throws off the zinc to copper ratio..). I was taking 110mg daily back then! (15mg is 100% of the RDA). Needless to say, I only take 15mg a day now.
The prescription drug Gemfibrozil (Lopid) helps lower triglycerides and raise HDL. Next to Niacin, it is the most powerful drug to raise HDL even though it is more of a triglyceride lowering drug I believe. Unfortunately, I don’t believe that Gemfibrozil is prescribed if a patient is currently taking a statin. I think they no longer prescribe Gemfibrozil with a statin because of the muscle break down and deaths that occurred when it was taken with the statin Baycol (which has since been taken off the market). I think prior to that however, it wasn’t uncommon to prescribe it with a statin. Perhaps it still can be prescribed to a patient with a proven track record of statin tolerance. Ask a knowledgeable Doctor of course.
As for me, I am not a TYP paying member, but I did read Dr. Davis’s book TYP and I religiously read his blog. I agree that his program is the best thing out there and is light years ahead of what average Physicians and Cardiologists are recommending to their patients. I am a 38 year old male and I have FHC (familial hypercholesterolemia) and have been on statins since they were first introduced in 1987/1988. The hardest thing with the TYP program is finding a Doctor that you can partner with to begin your own program. Most Doctors aren’t enthusiastic about Niacin or n3 (fish oils) let alone anything else. I got a referral to my current Doctor from the heart scanning lab that I found in the back of the TYP book. My new Doctor specializes in treating people with lipid disorders and is not only friendly towards Niacin and n3, but he uses the NMR blood testing and he also recommends CoQ10 & vitamin D3 (without me having to ask for/suggest these supplements). He is as close to a TYP Doctor as I could find and I am very pleased with him. If anyone in the SE Michigan area needs a referral to him then feel free to put them in touch with me. My li