has anyone had their kids' cholesterol levels checked?

[EAMom]

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.

 

good news! How interesting!

[EAMom]

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!

 

I have been mixing the coromega orange packets in smoothies. Unbelievably, she is picky about gummies too!

Edited July 11, 2012 by EAMom

[EAMom]

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!

 

THanks, good point about the mycoplasma, I was wondering!

[EAMom]

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).

 

Hi DC!

I have the cholesterol book on hold at the library, so I will get to read it soon

 

I hate to give up eggs (I buy the cage free ones with DHA omega-3) since they are one of the healthier things my dd likes (egg salad sandwhiches) for lunch. I guess I have to educate myself since I have been reading such conflicting information re eggs. I have more concern about her carbs (she seems to graviate towards non-whole wheat junk food baked goods) and the impact that might have on her LDL.

 

I've been being better about sneaking in some coromega (into smoothies) and also some Chia Seeds (that's easy to sneak into a lot of stuff) into her diet.

 

I just wonder if there is something PANDAS-y (not diet, or genetic, or exercise related) that is the cause of the values.

 

I am slowly planting the idea of seeing an integrative doc, Dr. Swcheig, (who does PANDAS and Lyme) up in Petaluma in dd's brain. http://hillparkmedicalcenter.com/pediatric-autoimmune-neuropsychiatric-disorder-associated-with-streptococcus-infection-pandas/ I am a little worried about seeing an integrative doc (due to the emphasis on diet...not sure gluten free with work with the history of AN). But, I do feel like this guy would do a better job of peeling away the layers than mainstream docs.

 

Our ped doesn't want us to even repeat the bloodwork (with her) and she wants us to see a cardiologist (she feels it's out of her expertise)...so we may do that first just to see what they have to say.

[dcmom]

EA- good luck- you must feel like you are between a rock and a hard place btwn AN and high cholesterol. At her age, and the fact that she suffers from pandas (and pandas AN) I would, for now, let the concern for the AN win out. I think I would sneakily just move the whole family toward a heart healthy lifestyle- moderate diet and exercise- and try not to worry about it for a while. I would see a pediatric cardio, too. I would not doubt pandas is the culprit here, maybe the autoimmunity is causing some inflammation that in turn is causing the high cholesterol.

 

Good luck!

[EAMom]

EA- good luck- you must feel like you are between a rock and a hard place btwn AN and high cholesterol. At her age, and the fact that she suffers from pandas (and pandas AN) I would, for now, let the concern for the AN win out. I think I would sneakily just move the whole family toward a heart healthy lifestyle- moderate diet and exercise- and try not to worry about it for a while. I would see a pediatric cardio, too. I would not doubt pandas is the culprit here, maybe the autoimmunity is causing some inflammation that in turn is causing the high cholesterol.

 

Good luck!

 

yeah, and it is so irritating the way she gravitates towards carbs (bread, not necessarily whole grains) instead of veggies/fruits. Ugh.

[JuliaFaith]

My son's chol has been on the high side all during treatment. Dr not concerned. Read somewhere the cholestrol helps protect brain and other things I cannot recall. Also, it seems you are on the right track with less carbs. When we went GF my dh's went down quickly which his dr. seemed surprised by. Less carbs had to be the answer (he had tried several yrs before reducing fats with no success ).

[EAMom]

My son's chol has been on the high side all during treatment. Dr not concerned. Read somewhere the cholestrol helps protect brain and other things I cannot recall. Also, it seems you are on the right track with less carbs. When we went GF my dh's went down quickly which his dr. seemed surprised by. Less carbs had to be the answer (he had tried several yrs before reducing fats with no success ).

 

How high we're they? I wasn't terribly concerned last year, but now at 288 with sky high LDL, I have to wonder what is going on!

[JuliaFaith]

My son's chol has been on the high side all during treatment. Dr not concerned. Read somewhere the cholestrol helps protect brain and other things I cannot recall. Also, it seems you are on the right track with less carbs. When we went GF my dh's went down quickly which his dr. seemed surprised by. Less carbs had to be the answer (he had tried several yrs before reducing fats with no success ).

 

How high we're they? I wasn't terribly concerned last year, but now at 288 with sky high LDL, I have to wonder what is going on!

I wonder if that is the 'total #'? Do not know how to read all of this myself, except that the HDL is the good number and can offset the bad LDL a bit. Here are my son's numbers:

 

HDL: 74 (ok)

LDL: 151 (High)

Triglycerides (fats carried in blood from food you eat): 121 (normal)

Total: 249 (High)

 

Here is an interesting article on it:

 

http://www.webmd.com/cholesterol-management/guide/understanding-numbers

[EAMom]

My son's chol has been on the high side all during treatment. Dr not concerned. Read somewhere the cholestrol helps protect brain and other things I cannot recall. Also, it seems you are on the right track with less carbs. When we went GF my dh's went down quickly which his dr. seemed surprised by. Less carbs had to be the answer (he had tried several yrs before reducing fats with no success ).

 

How high we're they? I wasn't terribly concerned last year, but now at 288 with sky high LDL, I have to wonder what is going on!

I wonder if that is the 'total #'? Do not know how to read all of this myself, except that the HDL is the good number and can offset the bad LDL a bit. Here are my son's numbers:

 

HDL: 74 (ok)

LDL: 151 (High)

Triglycerides (fats carried in blood from food you eat): 121 (normal)

Total: 249 (High)

 

Here is an interesting article on it:

 

http://www.webmd.com/cholesterol-management/guide/understanding-numbers

 

well geesh, the ldl is "borderline high" according to your link, but that high HDL is great. Since HDL is factored into total cholesterol, it is driving that number up.

 

If you look at his total cholesterol to HDL ratio 249/74 =3.77 ...that is pretty close to ideal. http://cholesterol.emedtv.com/cholesterol/cholesterol-hdl-ratio.html

 

 

What is his diet like? how old is he? Does he take fish oil?

[JuliaFaith]

 

well geesh, the ldl is "borderline high" according to your link, but that high HDL is great. Since HDL is factored into total cholesterol, it is driving that number up.

 

If you look at his total cholesterol to HDL ratio 249/74 =3.77 ...that is pretty close to ideal. http://cholesterol.emedtv.com/cholesterol/cholesterol-hdl-ratio.html

 

 

What is his diet like? how old is he? Does he take fish oil?

Interesting article. Thanks for sharing.

 

Son's diet is eat everything (now that his stomach feels good again) . He is GF and all organic. We have our own vege garden and buy into a local garden for veges. He loves the carrots when fresh out of the ground. He is 14 and takes 3 fish oil 3xday (along with chlorella) before each meal. My dh took this and had to stop because his cholestrol got too low so could be a contributing factor. We buy whole pig so eat a lot of organic fat. Big meat eaters in this family.

 

He also loves anything sweet. He can go thru fruit like you would not believe. Have read articles on children and their need for sugar (hopefully healthy) in their diet. Cannot remember the details though.

[EAMom]

H JUliafaith,

hmmm. I have not heard of chlorella before!

 

Well, I'm interested to know what my dd's levels are now...as I've been doing some coromega in smoothies. She won't take fishoil pills or many supps, but I am able to stick stuff (coromega, probiotics, magnesium) in smoothies.

 

So your son's levels seem pretty reflective of his diet. Does he eat eggs?

 

Is your son a couch potato or pretty active? What I don't understand is that my dd's activity level increased in the past year, but her cholesterol got worse! We're not big meat eaters, but she does eat 1-2 eggs a day.

[JuliaFaith]

H JUliafaith,

hmmm. I have not heard of chlorella before!

 

Well, I'm interested to know what my dd's levels are now...as I've been doing some coromega in smoothies. She won't take fishoil pills or many supps, but I am able to stick stuff (coromega, probiotics, magnesium) in smoothies.

 

So your son's levels seem pretty reflective of his diet. Does he eat eggs?

 

Is your son a couch potato or pretty active? What I don't understand is that my dd's activity level increased in the past year, but her cholesterol got worse! We're not big meat eaters, but she does eat 1-2 eggs a day.

My dh says cholestrol protects the brain from toxins according to son's dr. So maybe her toxin level is high?

 

My son eats eggs several times a week.

 

He is a couch potato when not feeling well which has been a lot in the last 3 months, however, in the last 3 weeks he has been feeling much better every day so has much more active.

 

Putting supps in smoothies is a great idea!

 

Chlorella is made from algae. It is a great de-toxer and has some "amazing"properties when mixed with salmon oil. There is powdered chlorella that could be put in a smoothie. PM me if you want the brand that tested well (and 1/2 the price of a few others that tested well).

Edited July 10, 2012 by JuliaFaith

[EAMom]

another interesting thing:

 

dd's weight is 50% percentile now...but could this have something to do with her past AN?

 

http://www.endocrinetoday.com/comments.aspx?rid=40070

 

Hypercholesterolemia has long been known to be associated with anorexia nervosa. Typically total cholesterol and LDL are elevated; HDL may be high also. With refeeding, cholesterol levels return to baseline. Other forms of malnutrition are not usually associated with high cholesterol. However, until recently the underlying mechanism has not been clearly delineated. A PubMed search revealed only a handful of articles reviewing hypercholesterolemia due to anorexia.

 

There have been several theories regarding the pathophysiology. These include reduced cholesterol metabolism, starvation-induced increased flux of peripheral cholesterol to the liver, decreased LDL-receptor activity and/or decreased triiodothyronine associated with a starvation state.

 

maybe something is wrong and her LDL receptors (or something) never reset once she gained the weight back?