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 and writes about medical facts.
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Dear Martin,
I am male, 57 years old, 1m72, 65 kg, non-smoker, alcohol max 1 or 2 units/day. “Prehistory” : – high cholesterol (>10 years), now take 40mg of Bestatin daily.
I have a question about my current cholesterol medication. Have had high (total) cholesterol since I was 30-35 years old… value then already around 330, also high triglycerides. Started with statins, simvastatin around age 45, and (total) cholesterol dropped to 190 or so. Take 40 mg of statins daily.
Recently you told me to possibly stop cholesterol medication (now 40mg) Bestatin in Thailand, no side effects, but you said maybe co-cause of diabetes. Values for HDL and LDL within limits. Triglycerides also normal.
I am not against it, I have also read the book “Cholesterol myth”, and also that other parameters currently apply to health (eg “Small LDL” would be “dangerous, but they don't do that test in Thailand).
Will my (total) cholesterol not rise sharply if I stop taking Bestatin? My Thai doctor will almost certainly be against it. Are there other values I should pay attention to?
A few years ago I lowered my dose from 40mg to 20mg (pills almost finished), and my (total) cholesterol had risen to 240. I don't remember HDL and LDL.
Yours faithfully,
E.
*****
Dear E,
With very high cholesterol, the cure is probably better than the disease. 330 is indeed on the high side. In that case, just keep swallowing.
By small LDL you probably mean VLDL. This test is also done in Thailand and certainly in the larger centers.
In the future it might be wise to do liver tests as well. SGOT, SGPT, and GGT. LDH also sometimes provides extra information.
Leave the rest to your doctor.
Sincerely,
Dr. Maarten