Anyone else out there with extremely high lipoprotein (a)?

Posted by csage1010 (Sue) @csage1010, Feb 21, 2022

Hi! I just found out that I have an extremely high lipoprotein (a) of 515 nmol/L. I'm terrified; it's that high. I'm 58 years old and my total cholesterol is 212. My LDL is 141, and my HDL is just 40. My cholesterol/HDL ratio is 5.3. Of course it's a long weekend and I may not be able to reach my doctor tomorrow. I have watched a couple of informational sessions online from various doctors discussing elevated LP(a), but no one mentions anything close to how high mine is. Is there anyone else out there with severely elevated Lp(a)? Thanking you in advance. Sue M.

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@lindybowers

My lp (a) is < 10. But my lp (b) is 141. So much to learn and understand. In 3 months of hard work with a modified food plan I created, A1C is down .4 from 6.7 to 6.3. HDL is 43 (up 3 pts from 40). Triglycerides 287 down 102 pts. from 389. LDL up 10 pts. from 152 to 162. At the time of the May 31 blood test, I weighed 197. I was 207 on Jan. 1. I had a second blood work up on Sept. 6. (extensive with 33 vials of blood). It showed my insulin was off the charts at 30.8 should be < 18. I've learned so much since the early Sept. blood tests. And my weight has dropped from 194 to 184 in 30 days. I can tell after eating a restricted pristine whole food meal if I feel groggy that my body is pumping insulin and the cells are resisting it. So smaller meal is better. And with the doctor podcasts I am learning that intermittent fasting will trick the sluggish fatty liver into burning the fat in the liver. YES. this had been my question - how to clean fat out of the liver. I have to be careful because I also had a Ct scan of the heart and discovered I have an electrical problem in heart (SVT) with an irregular heart beat and some plague in carotid arteries and some calefied vessels but not life threatening.
I AM DETERMINED TO CLEAN UP MY BODY WITHOUT DRUGS.
BY UNDERSTANDING MY METABOLISM AND INFLAMMATION, i BELIEVE i CAN AND WILL STAY ON THIS STRICT LIFE ALTERING FOOD PLAN AND REACH HEALTHY LEVELS.

My primary doctor is clueless. I had a holistic dr check many things my doctor would never think of. They are all stuck on checking standard lipid panels and focused on statins AND eat a low fat diet and exercise. I refuse to take statins. I've spent weeks researching the root causes of my steatosis that showed up on a pulmonary Ct scan and the pulmonary dr. never mentioned the liver or the atrophied thyroid. If i hadn't read the cat scan, I'd never have known, and I thanked the dr. who interpreted the Cat scan ex rays. It focused me into researching endless studies and listening to doctor owned podcast . Dr. Ken Berry. Dr. Bikman, Dr. Philip Ovadia, Dr. Eric Berg, Dr. Khan. So grateful for the insights and knowledge from taking a lot of time educating myself. This is what will keep me vigilant.

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Best wishes to you.
There was one doctor some years ago that would have supported your plan. I wish could remember his name. He wrote books describing his methods which included a very very strict diet, meditation, lots of exercise, total stress removal. He had remarkable success with patients that were motivated to stay with the diet and plan.

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My lp (a) is < 10. But my lp (b) is 141. So much to learn and understand. In 3 months of hard work with a modified food plan I created, A1C is down .4 from 6.7 to 6.3. HDL is 43 (up 3 pts from 40). Triglycerides 287 down 102 pts. from 389. LDL up 10 pts. from 152 to 162. At the time of the May 31 blood test, I weighed 197. I was 207 on Jan. 1. I had a second blood work up on Sept. 6. (extensive with 33 vials of blood). It showed my insulin was off the charts at 30.8 should be < 18. I've learned so much since the early Sept. blood tests. And my weight has dropped from 194 to 184 in 30 days. I can tell after eating a restricted pristine whole food meal if I feel groggy that my body is pumping insulin and the cells are resisting it. So smaller meal is better. And with the doctor podcasts I am learning that intermittent fasting will trick the sluggish fatty liver into burning the fat in the liver. YES. this had been my question - how to clean fat out of the liver. I have to be careful because I also had a Ct scan of the heart and discovered I have an electrical problem in heart (SVT) with an irregular heart beat and some plague in carotid arteries and some calefied vessels but not life threatening.
I AM DETERMINED TO CLEAN UP MY BODY WITHOUT DRUGS.
BY UNDERSTANDING MY METABOLISM AND INFLAMMATION, i BELIEVE i CAN AND WILL STAY ON THIS STRICT LIFE ALTERING FOOD PLAN AND REACH HEALTHY LEVELS.

My primary doctor is clueless. I had a holistic dr check many things my doctor would never think of. They are all stuck on checking standard lipid panels and focused on statins AND eat a low fat diet and exercise. I refuse to take statins. I've spent weeks researching the root causes of my steatosis that showed up on a pulmonary Ct scan and the pulmonary dr. never mentioned the liver or the atrophied thyroid. If i hadn't read the cat scan, I'd never have known, and I thanked the dr. who interpreted the Cat scan ex rays. It focused me into researching endless studies and listening to doctor owned podcast . Dr. Ken Berry. Dr. Bikman, Dr. Philip Ovadia, Dr. Eric Berg, Dr. Khan. So grateful for the insights and knowledge from taking a lot of time educating myself. This is what will keep me vigilant.

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@hsminc

My husband had a Lp(a) of 159 - three times the upper limit of normal. We believe this contributed to his ascending aortic aneurysm. Although his elevated lp(a) was discovered in 2003, nothing was recommended except to keep his LDL at 70. He did that until the aneurysm was noted. Then he was referred to a coronary artery disease specialist. That doctor put him on Repatha. He was also on Zocor but his values got too low in the eyes of his doctor. So he no longer takes .Zocor, just Repatha. His Lp(a) is now about 90 and his LDL is 50. His doctor likes these numbers better than the LDL of 16.

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Its very good to hear that Repatha worked for him.

I had a second blood test for Lp(a) recently as I thought the first test
may have been wrong as it was so high at 559.9 nmol/l but the second was even higher 591.3 nmol/l. My LDL C is not really high and other lipids are in normal range.

My GP has referred me to to a new clinic in my area that specializes in Familial Hypercholesterolemia and Lp(a). I'm hoping to get into a Clinical Trial or Repatha. I've been told that Repatha can reduce the Lp(a) by 20-30% but the drugs in late stage trials can reduce levels by 90+%.

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I am very familiar with Niacin. Back in the 1970s, I worked at a University for a physician that was almost "in love" with Niacin to treat cholesterol and other lipid disorders. We had a Family Heart Clinic for patients and their family members that had Type II hypercholesteremia.
Some patients did not return to Clinic and my physician boss thought it was because they had been "cured" of their lipid issues. I followed up on these patients, who (toward the end of coming to Clinic) had stellar lipid values. I learned that too many had died of liver failure. I am sure we monitored their liver enzymes but I think high enzymes values were felt to be "okay." Niacin can be very toxic to the liver.
This was a horrible experience that had lasting effects on my memory. There are much safer drugs now. Repatha lowered my husband's lp(a) by more than a third. It is still above the upper level of normal BUT there are drugs now in clinical trials soon to be completed that seem to be very effective and do not have the toxic and possibly deadly effects of Niacin.

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@hsminc

Yes- he had been on zocor since 2003. When he started Repatha he was still on zocor. After about three months on zocor and repatha, his CAD specialist discontinued the zocor. At that point, his LDL was 16 and his total cholesterol was about 100 - as I remember. The CAD specialist thought this was dangerous to his brain!

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His lipids had always been low. Think total cholesterol ran about 135 just on zocor.

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@mayoconnectuser1

hsminc,

How were his other lipids?

Given what you noted, and broad recommendation, was he on statins at some point?

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Yes- he had been on zocor since 2003. When he started Repatha he was still on zocor. After about three months on zocor and repatha, his CAD specialist discontinued the zocor. At that point, his LDL was 16 and his total cholesterol was about 100 - as I remember. The CAD specialist thought this was dangerous to his brain!

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I am definitely not a doctor but I, like others here, have heard that high lipoprotein (a) is genetic. I have read that niacin is the only thing that can reduce it. You may look into that and ask your doctor about it. It has to be the nicotinic acid that causes the flush. Niacinamide does not help with that so make sure to do your research and get the right kind of niacin and the right dosage.

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@hsminc

My husband had a Lp(a) of 159 - three times the upper limit of normal. We believe this contributed to his ascending aortic aneurysm. Although his elevated lp(a) was discovered in 2003, nothing was recommended except to keep his LDL at 70. He did that until the aneurysm was noted. Then he was referred to a coronary artery disease specialist. That doctor put him on Repatha. He was also on Zocor but his values got too low in the eyes of his doctor. So he no longer takes .Zocor, just Repatha. His Lp(a) is now about 90 and his LDL is 50. His doctor likes these numbers better than the LDL of 16.

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hsminc,

How were his other lipids?

Given what you noted, and broad recommendation, was he on statins at some point?

REPLY

My husband had a Lp(a) of 159 - three times the upper limit of normal. We believe this contributed to his ascending aortic aneurysm. Although his elevated lp(a) was discovered in 2003, nothing was recommended except to keep his LDL at 70. He did that until the aneurysm was noted. Then he was referred to a coronary artery disease specialist. That doctor put him on Repatha. He was also on Zocor but his values got too low in the eyes of his doctor. So he no longer takes .Zocor, just Repatha. His Lp(a) is now about 90 and his LDL is 50. His doctor likes these numbers better than the LDL of 16.

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How old is he? Is he doing dies, lifestyle changes?
My sister has familial hypercholestemia and me with very high Lp(a) so both in our risk gene pool but my 4 sibs won’t even test for it.🤷🏼‍♀️

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