has anyone had their kids' cholesterol levels checked?

[EAMom]

Okay, here are the results so far (MTHFR not in yet)

 

Cholesterol 288 (high is >200) .....1 year ago it was 212

HDL 49 (desirable is >50) ....1 year ago it was 46

Triglycerides 137 (desirable is <150) .....1 year ago it was 113

LDL 212 (very high is >189)....1 year ago it was 147 which was "borderline high"

 

So, basically it is the LDL ("bad" cholesterol) that is really out of whack and that went up greatly in the past year. This surpises me b/c she is more physically active than 1 year ago (more PE, and walking home from school)..

 

Vitamin D is 29 (normal for this lab is 30-100ng/ml) ....1 year ago was 25

It surprised me that it is still pretty low. She's been refusing supps (I have a drop form I'm going to try now)...but she spends more time outside than she did 1 year ago. She's outside from about 1:45 until 3:15pm (PE outside every school day, then walks home), mostly in a t-shirt and longer (above knee) shorts. We're in Northern CA. She's fair skinned, so I didn't think absorption would be a big problem.

 

Mycoplasma

IgM 87 (<770 is neg)

IgG 1.18 (positive)

....so I think this means she definitely had Mycoplasma sometime, maybe in the distant past? Her IgM is very low! ???

 

Okay, so this is my plan A (any comments/suggestions?):

1)supplement with Vitamin D (vit d council recommends 1000iu/25 pounds...so about 4000iu/day?) http://www.vitamindcouncil.org/about-vitamin-d/how-to-get-your-vitamin-d/vitamin-d-supplementation/

2) try to sneak in more Omega 3's --sneaking Carlson's fish oil (lemon) into smoothie's etc. (What should my goal be-1600mg/day=1 tsp?)

3) increase Prozac to 15 mg/day (she was at 10mg, then dropped to 5mg)

 

Then recheck cholesterol (and D?) in 3mo.

 

If my Plan A doesn't get us anywhere (or far enough) then a possible Plan B would be to switch from Azith. to Augmentin for 3 mo. just in case the Azith. is causing some weirdness with the LDL.

[fightingmom]

Okay, let me preface by saying I don't even know what a statin is....and I wasn't searching for it. I did a searched for azith and increased cholesterol and found this link:

 

http://www.livestrong.com/article/62780-statin-dangers/

 

At the bottom it says something about medication interactions and mentions statins and azith. Just thought I'd post in case it helped anyone.

[mkur]

My last labs showed high cholesterol levels for the first time so this thread got me looking and I found this on pubmed.

 

Comparison of mechanism and functional effects of magnesium and statin pharmaceuticals

 

http://www.jacn.org/content/23/5/501S.long

[EAMom]

My last labs showed high cholesterol levels for the first time so this thread got me looking and I found this on pubmed.

 

Comparison of mechanism and functional effects of magnesium and statin pharmaceuticals

 

http://www.jacn.org/content/23/5/501S.long

 

Here is an easy to understand article on Magnesium. http://www.wholefoodsmagazine.com/supplements/features/reduce-high-cholesterol-nutritional-magnesium

 

The article mentioned problems with certain antibiotics ... I think Azith is one. One place said to take Magnesium antacids 2 hours apart from Azith, so maybe we can try Magnesium but just give it at a different time of day.

 

I wonder if she is Magnesium deficient and that is the cause of the high LDL??

[EAMom]

Dh found this! Apparently long term Azith can deplete Magnesium! The plot thickens!!!

 

http://healthgazelle.com/magnesiumandazythromycin.shtml

 

Also, she does NOT eat magnesium rich foods (green leafy veggies).

[EAMom]

Okay, here are the results so far (MTHFR not in yet)

 

Cholesterol 288 (high is >200) .....1 year ago it was 212

HDL 49 (desirable is >50) ....1 year ago it was 46

Triglycerides 137 (desirable is <150) .....1 year ago it was 113

LDL 212 (very high is >189)....1 year ago it was 147 which was "borderline high"

 

So, basically it is the LDL ("bad" cholesterol) that is really out of whack and that went up greatly in the past year. This surpises me b/c she is more physically active than 1 year ago (more PE, and walking home from school)..

 

Vitamin D is 29 (normal for this lab is 30-100ng/ml) ....1 year ago was 25

It surprised me that it is still pretty low. She's been refusing supps (I have a drop form I'm going to try now)...but she spends more time outside than she did 1 year ago. She's outside from about 1:45 until 3:15pm (PE outside every school day, then walks home), mostly in a t-shirt and longer (above knee) shorts. We're in Northern CA. She's fair skinned, so I didn't think absorption would be a big problem.

 

Mycoplasma

IgM 87 (<770 is neg)

IgG 1.18 (positive)

....so I think this means she definitely had Mycoplasma sometime, maybe in the distant past? Her IgM is very low! ???

 

Okay, so this is my plan A (any comments/suggestions?):

1)supplement with Vitamin D (vit d council recommends 1000iu/25 pounds...so about 4000iu/day?) http://www.vitamindcouncil.org/about-vitamin-d/how-to-get-your-vitamin-d/vitamin-d-supplementation/

2) try to sneak in more Omega 3's --sneaking Carlson's fish oil (lemon) into smoothie's etc. (What should my goal be-1600mg/day=1 tsp?)

3) increase Prozac to 15 mg/day (she was at 10mg, then dropped to 5mg)

 

Then recheck cholesterol (and D?) in 3mo.

 

If my Plan A doesn't get us anywhere (or far enough) then a possible Plan B would be to switch from Azith. to Augmentin for 3 mo. just in case the Azith. is causing some weirdness with the LDL.

 

replying to my own old post...MTHFR was neg

last week we bumped to prozac back down to 10mg/day, as her behavior didn't seem any better on 15mg/day (vs. 10) and I have other concerns about SSRI's (so the lower to dose the better).

I have also been trying to supplement with some Magnesium

Edited June 8, 2012 by EAMom

[philamom]

My daughter's cholesterol results continue to be out of whack. I know it's infection driven, because along with some other labs it drastically changed since Sept. Prior testings were normal. Nothing has changed with her diet.

[cobbiemommy]

I cannot remember which doctor told me this, but when your thyroid is out of whack, your cholesterol goes wonky too. I think it was my personal MD, not DS's. Once you get the thyroid in better shape, the cholesterol numbers will even out. He is a big proponent of Armour thyroid (non-synthetic) and I have to admit, I am feeling much more energetic while taking that medicine.

 

Ds, is also Hypothyroid and has high cholesterol. He also had very high levels of inflammation. IMO the underlying cause of the high cholesterol in our kids is the cascade from autoimmune antibodies.

[philamom]

I cannot remember which doctor told me this, but when your thyroid is out of whack, your cholesterol goes wonky too. I think it was my personal MD, not DS's. Once you get the thyroid in better shape, the cholesterol numbers will even out. He is a big proponent of Armour thyroid (non-synthetic) and I have to admit, I am feeling much more energetic while taking that medicine.

 

Ds, is also Hypothyroid and has high cholesterol. He also had very high levels of inflammation. IMO the underlying cause of the high cholesterol in our kids is the cascade from autoimmune antibodies.

Interesting. My daughter's thyroid labs are normal. My daughter is the opposite- abnormal low total cholesterol since Sept, but elevated trigylecerides since Dec. Her Sed rate, which has been in the 90s since Sept is now 77. Still very high - should be <20.

[EAMom]

Just an fyi- re red rice yeast. There is a little controversy with this supp. Apparently red rice yeast has naturally occuring statin in it. The govt ordered all statin removed- hence the product may not work as well now. However it appears that not all companies are successful at removing all of the statin. THe result is by taking red rice yeast, you may get varying levels of statin. Not inherently dangerous- but questionable- esp for a child. Just an fyi...

 

Here is a link re red yeast rice and the controversy.

 

Of course it begs the question, if statins are a problem, then would naturally occuring statins be safe (or safer?). Also, if she can't take a statin with Azith, wouldn't red yeast rice also post a problem.

 

http://heartdisease.about.com/cs/cholesterol/a/Nrxcol_rry.htm

 

Anyway, red yeast rice is something to consider (plus, I think statins are overused/overprescribed and big pharma evil), if some of these other things we're trying (adding in more fish/oil, magnesium, etc) don't help.

 

It does seem like red yeast rice gets good reviews on amazon http://www.amazon.com/Natures-Plus-Yeast-Extended-tablets/dp/B004NG67EA/ref=pd_sim_hpc_1

[Wombat140]

B vitamins are good for lowering cholesterol, I've forgotten the details though. Of course it might not help with the OCD if, as some posters have suggested, the high cholesterol is a symptom of something else that's the real cause, but it might be worth trying.

I'm not sure that red yeast rice makes much sense as an alternative to statins, since as far as anyone knows statins are its only active ingredient!

[Delawaremom]

Dr Ritchie Shoemaker feels that inflammation, not cholesterol, is the driver. That high cholesterol is a response to inflammation. You may want to browse his site http://www.survivingmold.com/ or his books. On the site is a list of inflammation tests he recommends.

 

You might also want to do some research into zinc. One study has suggested zinc can increase your LDL (good cholesterol) http://www.livestrong.com/article/530227-zinc-hdl/ and other research suggests zinc deficiency could trigger anorexia.

 

Also, one other thought is that the oxidative stress from increased anxiety could cause inflammation and an increase in cholesterol. So some type of antioxidant (milk thistle, resveratrol, alpha lipoic acid) might help. That could also be why an SSRI would have a positive impact?

 

Hmmm...the article says that zinc might DECREASE HDL (which is the good cholesterol). We didn't get her zinc levels checked. She's not on a zinc supplement. We haven't gotten back the breakdown of HDL/LDL yet. I can post when they are in.

 

Although zinc has many benefits, zinc supplementation may reduce good cholesterol known as HDL in your body. However, further research is necessary.

 

Read more: http://www.livestrong.com/article/530227-zinc-hdl/#ixzz1qu72oCtE

 

YEs, I think the anxiety might be a factor!

 

Is she taking omega 3 fish oil? It lowers the bad cholesterol, and actually is the main ingredient in one of the statins (don't know which one.) We take them, and I know that both DS and my cholesterol lowered as a result.

 

No, she won't take fish oil , even in the capsule form. She also won't eat fish. She does get about 5-6 of those Gold Circle farm Omega DHA eggs per week, so she does get a bit of DHA. 2 eggs are supposed to have 300mg of DHA. I cook with mainly with Canola oil, sometimes olive oil.

 

YEah...I don't think the eggs are a problem. When dh (briefly) went on the South Beach diet, he ate MORE eggs and he lost weight and his cholesterol went DOWN.

 

Hi. I'm a newbie here and was reading some old posts.... I noticed your comment about dd not liking fish oil... I wanted to share my wonderful experience with Nordic Naturals Omega Gummy Worms... My 8 yr dd is so so so picky.... And she loves these:-) it's like candy to her!! My dd likes the gummy worm better, they make a gummy fish version too! You can find on amazon or drugstore.com for abt $20 for 30 worms!

[norcalmom]

Hi EAMom - I dunno anything about the cholesterol, but in reading thru this thread saw that her IgG mycoP was positive. There is a reason there is a cap on the normal VS positive IgG- it means that it is high enough that you need to track it -to see if it is rising.

 

Vast majority of doctors are misinformed on this - so you should test her in a few months. If its rising, it's an active Myco P infection - a chronic one. If you do some digging, you will see that the test manufacturers and a number of paper recommend re-testing if IgM is neg, but IgG is positive - and I'd think that's esspecially true if you don't have any awareness of your DD having had a mycoplasmal infection. My son had his continue to rise while on full does Azith.

 

People who have MycoP for long periods of time (chronic) usually do not make the IgM...which is why they even test the IgG. Also, people that have it more than once - will often not make the IgM.

 

Good luck with everything!

[dcmom]

Hi EA! My dad is having a high cholesterol issue, and cannot take statins due to very bad side effects from them. He recently found this book "The Eight Week Cholesterol Cure" which works on cholesterol with diet and supplements. This method is based on medical studies, and sorts through all the info. The author is a medical journalist who ended up having a heart attack, and developed this program for himself. While I certainly do not advocate any kind of diet restriction for kids (esp pandas kids with a history of AN), there are some things to add to the diet (oat bran) that helps lower cholesterol. The book may have some useful tidbits for you.

 

Also- I don't know how your family eats, or if you bake much (I bake quite a bit- as I have one pandas kid who eats very little...I am always trying to find something she will eat). I am a vegetarian (aspiring vegan) and LOVE EnerG egg replacer for any baking. Which lowers the cholesterol of the final product substantially.

 

After the research I did (for Dad) on red rice yeast- I would not be comfortable using that as a method of treatment, esp for a child. The levels of statin in the supplement is untested, varied, and actually now not supposed to be present.

 

The latest thinking on cholesterol/ heart disease is that in theory cholesterol is not bad for you- BUT when there is inflammation in the body (specifically the arteries/ vessels) that is what "catches" the cholesterol and causes high cholesterol and heart disease. So working on lowering inflammation helps.

 

Good luck!

 

PS- my kids also had a very low (above normal) myco number that indicated possible past infection (or exposure)- but it does not seem to be causing any pandas issues now (thankfully).

[philamom]

No depression. I should also mention that her D-Nase spiked to 600 in Sept. and has finally come down to a normal level of 214.

Sept to March-

Total Cholesterol: 111, 105, 90, 106, all low

HDL: 49, 43, 23 (L), 43 (normal is 37-75)

Triglycerides: 106, 82, 227 H, 220 H

LDL: 41, 47, 22, 25

 

wow...Interesting that her triglycerides went up so much!

Well, it took almost three months to get my daughter on full strength Amox. It's been 7 weeks now. Her Triglycerides are back to normal (75- was in 200's), Total Cholesterol is still abnormal low but rising (120- almost normal). Her sed rate is 53 (coming down from 90's), C-Reactive is now normal. Wbc/Rbc is now normal. Total Iron,binding & capacity are now normal. ANA is still positive but her hexagonal phase confirm is finally negative.

Edited July 7, 2012 by philamom