Question to GP Maarten: I'm worried about my low HDL-c
Maarten Vasbinder lives in Isaan. His profession is general practitioner, a profession that he mainly practiced in Spain. On Thailandblog he answers questions from readers who live in Thailand.
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Dear Martin,
I am D, 62 years old, weight 62 kg, 173 tall. I had my blood tested for everything in November last year and only the HDL-c worries me a bit, because this is 22. I do this every year but it has never been this low, the HDL has never been been over 40 in the past 25 years.
The doctor gave me 40 mg of Tovastin to take every day during a gallstone attack in July, can this also be a cause of the low HDL?
I walk every day, don't drink anymore and never smoked. Do use 1 aspirin 81mg and 1 doxacozin 4mg, and in the evening 1 finasteride before going to sleep because of my prostate and then that tovastatin 40mg.
Do you have any advice for me what I can do best to increase the HDL or should I not take something or take something extra and should I be concerned about this?
Thanks for the advice.
Regards,
D
*****
Dear D,
Cholesterol is made by the liver and has many functions. Statins are indeed used to treat gallstones and only work somewhat when it comes to cholesterol stones, which are the most common.
You shouldn't worry too much about your low HDL. We don't treat labs, we treat people. That low value is indeed probably due to the Tovastin (atorvastatin). You can stop doing that.
A gallstone attack often occurs after a fatty meal. If you do have attacks, it is possible to remove the gallbladder. This can be done with keyhole surgery. However, you do have to be careful with fat for about six months afterwards.
Statins are not good drugs because of the side effects. A study was recently published in the journal Atherosclerosis, which shows that people who take statins live slightly shorter. Because statins bring in an awful lot of money for the pharmaceutical industry, they continue to propagate them.
Yours faithfully,
Dr. Maarten
Do you have a question for Maarten and do you live in Thailand? Send this to the editor: www.thailandblog.nl/contact/ It is important that you provide the correct information (see list at the top of the page).