Saw a cardiologist to make sense of my lipids

[Ghoul]

How does that work? Is it binding up fat so it is excreted instead of absorbed or?

I dunno man, it just reminds of "Tang", orange flavored astronaut drink from my childhood

Psyllium fiber: Regularity and healthier lipid levels? - Harvard Health

Psyllium husk helps lower LDL cholesterol levels as well as two other lipid markers for cardiovascular disease. It’s thought to work by absorbing bile acids and cholesterol, which are then elimin...

www.health.harvard.edu

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0002916522030076

Also, I find the idea some farmer in Turkey has to toil over an entire acre of flowers, carefully harvest, dry, and process the plant, just to make enough psyllium husk for one container of Metamucil so I can eat a little more cheese and have a "premium poop experience" appealing.

 

[bigMoJo]

I dunno man, it just reminds of "Tang", orange flavored astronaut drink from my childhood

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0002916522030076

Reminds me of my dad, he loved Tang!
He'd mix everything in with it... even his Metamucil!

 

[Avies48]

Mostly genetics. Then too much saturated fat and not enough fiber. Then everything else.

You can make a decent dent in Apo-B in 3 months with a glass of psyllium husk fiber drink a day (metamucil).

ill give it a drink and see where it stands! Thanks!

 

[Ghoul]

ill give it a drink and see where it stands! Thanks!

It's not cheap, there are alternative brands, but if you can handle the cost, Metamucil is far better than the others. It's smooth and dissolves easily. Don't use the capsule or other forms.

I put the powder on the bottom of a glass, then fill with COLD water, and very quickly mix then drink. DO NOT let it sit. It gels up quickly, and not pleasant to drink that way. When drunk quickly, it's just a reasonably tasty "orangey kids drink".

It'll take your GI system a few day to completely get used to it, but as any regular user of Metamucil will tell you, from that moment forward, your crap will be technically perfect. If your trip to the toilet were an olympic event, it'd be judged all 10s.

 

[bigMoJo]

I had to post my lipids... from 09/26/2024... maintenace calorie diet. You can also see last year's #'s result as well... was cutting hard 100% clean.
These past 12 months, I've been eating majority clean, but more unhealthy meals, about 2 or 3 per week. Big impact, but still not bad. I just started cutting again, so it's back to 100% clean. I'll have to post my #'s when all this was above 200 etc.

I text my doctor about the IQ labs and a Calcium Score, he said he would need to refer me to a cardiologist or I'd have to pay labs OOP.

 

[Ghoul]

This is actually a decent explanation of the mechanism:


View: https://youtu.be/VmvQD_zyfGI

 

[MarkusLA]

I read about psyllium sometimes containing lead. There may be a brand that does not. Always tradeoffs..

Psyllium Fiber Supplements Review & Top Pick - ConsumerLab.com

 

[Ghoul]

I read about psyllium sometimes containing lead. There may be a brand that does not. Always tradeoffs..

Psyllium Fiber Supplements Review & Top Pick - ConsumerLab.com

So I went down that rabbit hole, and for me, it's just not a credible concern.

A number of redditors decided to have their lead levels checked before and after 6 months of daily use and came back at zero. Other who's been using psyllium fiber products for a decade plus, zero lead. I haven't seen a single medical authority withdraw their support of its use; or even caution about lead content, despite the relatively high profile that single article got.

To me, it appears to be a non issue.

There are some rather obscure risks it's worth familiarizing oneself with:

Psyllium Information | Mount Sinai - New York

Learn about Psyllium or find a doctor at Mount Sinai Health System.

www.mountsinai.org

 

[Avies48]

It's not cheap, there are alternative brands, but if you can handle the cost, Metamucil is far better than the others. It's smooth and dissolves easily. Don't use the capsule or other forms.

I put the powder on the bottom of a glass, then fill with COLD water, and very quickly mix then drink. DO NOT let it sit. It gels up quickly, and not pleasant to drink that way. When drunk quickly, it's just a reasonably tasty "orangey kids drink".

It'll take your GI system a few day to completely get used to it, but as any regular user of Metamucil will tell you, from that moment forward, your crap will be technically perfect. If your trip to the toilet were an olympic event, it'd be judged all 10s.

Ive been mixing it with my protein shakes and also have fiberlyze which is pretty good too… yeah left a few shakes in the fridge over night it was like i was in ghostbusters and slimer hit my cup pretty grody haha

 

[bigMoJo]

Ive been mixing it with my protein shakes and also have fiberlyze which is pretty good too… yeah left a few shakes in the fridge over night it was like i was in ghostbusters and slimer hit my cup pretty grody haha

Yeah, it has to be consumed immediately. I've drank Jellomucil several times. lol.

By the way, COSTCO has their (identical) version of Metamucil low sugar that I buy, its half the price.

 

[Avies48]

Yeah, it has to be consumed immediately. I've drank Jellomucil several times. lol.

By the way, COSTCO has their (identical) version of Metamucil low sugar that I buy, its half the price.

Ill check the Costco thanks

 

[egruberman]

I use the Frontier organic psyllium husk off of Amazon. It's husk and not powder, meaning that it congeals a little less quickly and tastes... okay.

I've made some tasty muffins with psyllium husk, but I can't find the recipe anywhere.

 

[egruberman]

This is actually a decent explanation of the mechanism:

The fact that it says, "trap cholesterol" is kind of annoying. It traps bile acids. I find it annoying because so many are confused about the distinction between dietary cholesterol and serum cholesterol. Hint: there's very little relationship.

I text my doctor about the IQ labs and a Calcium Score, he said he would need to refer me to a cardiologist or I'd have to pay labs OOP.

This is bullshit. A CT-CAC is a matter of a couple hundred bucks and as we known, ApoB and Lp(a) testing is tens of dollars.

 

[bigMoJo]

This is bullshit. A CT-CAC is a matter of a couple hundred bucks and as we known, ApoB and Lp(a) testing is tens of dollars.

Agreed.
I'm going to see how long it takes to make an appt with the cardiologist... I don't mind visiting a doctor and seeing what they're about (meaning if they are full of sh**).
You're Right, Again...
If it's going to take too long, I'm just going to pay. I found quite a few radiology offices... lowest prices: $205 near me, $140 with one hour drive.

 

[Avies48]

Repatha finally approved by insurance $0 copay 1 month supply!! Yay… hopefully it works well and i dont get a lot of sides from it!! Push health for the win along with my insurance of course

20 years of ldl at 177, total chol at 250, apob @ 140 currently

 

[egruberman]

20 years of ldl at 177, total chol at 250, apob @ 140 currently

Yeesh. I have a hard time keeping up with everyone. Have you had a CT-CAC?

 

[Avies48]

Yeesh. I have a hard time keeping up with everyone. Have you had a CT-CAC?

Yep… a 1.5 in one artery the rest were at 0… i think i posted the results here but dont recall,

Circumflex artery

1.5

 

[egruberman]

Yep… a 1.5 in one artery the rest were at 0… i think i posted the results here but dont recall,

Circumflex artery

1.5

Oh, yeah, I recall that now. Single digit scores are often in the margin of error. I would expect something higher with 20 years of exposure to elevated LDL. In that sense it's a good thing.

You're probably fine, but if you wanted to get a sense of whether there was soft plaque, you could get a CT-Angiogram.