Short post. I'm confused. When I moved to Boston, I had trouble sleeping. I was in an unfamilar place, I was on a brand new schedule, and working long days. So I stopped taking the niacin regularly because when you can't sleep, you can't wait until you fall asleep to take it. And when you take it, and get the horrible flush, it makes it even harder to fall asleep.
So I assumed my cholesterol would skyrocket. I combated that with daily strenuous exercise and a really clean diet. I also walk a TON now during my commute.
When I met with my new primary care physician last month, I told her I had been really bad about taking the niacin. She was OK with it. She basically told me that while it has been shown to lower the numbers, it hasn't been proven to actually reduce risk factors for heart disease. So someone who takes niacin for high cholesterol may have good numbers, but still might have heart problems. She said we don't know enough, but that if my body wasn't adjusted to the flush after so many months on it, that I should stop. So I did.
And look what happened.
| 2/11/2013 | 4/5/2013 | 5/22/2013 | Normal | |
| HDL | 72.5 | 69.4 | 72.9 | 45-65 |
| LDL | 202 | 219 | 175 | 0-130 |
| Triglycerides | 130 | 129 | 105 | 40-150 |
| Total Cholesterol | 301 | 315 | 269 | 135-200 |
| Cholesterol to HDL ratio | 4.1 | 4.5 | 3.6 | 3.5-5 |
Your Total Cholesterol of 234 is BORDERLINE
Your LDL of 66 is OPTIMAL
Your HDL of 151 is OPTIMAL
Your Triglyceride level of 85 is NORMAL
RATIOS:
Your Total Cholesterol/HDL ratio is: 1.55 - (preferably under 5.0, ideally under 3.5) IDEAL
Your HDL/LDL ratio is: 2.288 - (preferably over 0.3, ideally over 0.4) IDEAL
Your triglycerides/HDL ratio is: 0.563 - (preferably under 4, ideally under 2) IDEAL
On a related note, my thyroid levels are perfect. I haven't switched doses since...I don't know when. That's never happened! I've never forgotten how long it's been, because it's never been more than a few weeks!
