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Hello. I Am A Woman In My 40s Who Has

Posted on Sat, 23 Nov 2019

Question: Hello. I am a woman in my 40s who has HBP, Chronic Migraines, Fibromyalgia/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, and Borderline HPB. Currently I daily: 20 mg tid of Bentyl for IBS, 80 mg of Nadolol, 25 mg of HTCZ, Fioricet (as needed for migraines), Milk Thistle (to help protect my liver from the Fioricet and help my slowly increasing liver panel reading of AST (which is now 140)), Rhinocort for sinus issues and a multi-vitamin. I used to take a bunch of supplements such as biotin, echinecea, astragalus, mushroom extract, goldenseal, and CoQ10, however it became too much for me. I do need a supplement for my High Cholesterol as I am allergic to fish oil/fish, I am unsure of what to take. Are there in any supplements that I can take in lieu of fish oil to help with my borderling High Cholesterol?
Thank you!

Answered by Dr. Ilir Sharka (1 hour later)

Brief Answer:
I would recommend as follows:

Detailed Answer:
Hello!

Welcome to Ask a Doctor service!

I understand your concern and would explain that there are no supplements that can help reduce cholesterol levels.

I would like to directly review your blood lipid profile, in order to suggest if there is a real need for treatment.

Anyway, some natural ways to reduce cholesterol levels are:
- avoid sugar and fatty foods
- food rich in omega 3 fatty acids: nuts, walnuts, olive oil ,etc.
- try to lose some weight if you are overweight
- Aerobics.

I would also recommend checking thyroid hormone levels for possible thyroid gland dysfunction.

Hope you will find this answer helpful!

Wishing all the best,

Dr.Ilir Sharka, Cardiologist

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Prasad

Follow up: Dr. Ilir Sharka (6 hours later)

Dear Dr. Sharka,

My thank you so much for your response. My lipid panels are the following:

Cholesterol, Total: 210
Triglycerides: 120
HDL Cholesterol: 61
VLDL Cholesterol Cal: 24
LDL Cholesterol Calc: 126

Would you say supplements are ineffective in general. For example I take the Milk Thistle hoping to lower my Alkaline Phosphatase, S of 140. (This is steadily increasing) and I am wondering if it is the fioricet.

Yes, about loosing weight. My BMI is 32.

Any advice you could offer would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you!

Follow up: Dr. Ilir Sharka (2 minutes later)

Dr. Sharka,

I am sorry, I neglected to provide you with my thyroid numbers:
TSH: 1810
T.4 (Direct) 1.17

Thank you

Answered by Dr. Ilir Sharka (8 hours later)

Brief Answer:
I would recommend as follows:

Detailed Answer:
Hello again!

Thank you for the additional information!

Based on your blood lipid profile, your Total cholesterol/HDL and LDL/HDL ratio are low. This means that you are not at any increased cardiovascular risk.

So there is no reason to panic. I would just recommend practicing aerobics and trying to lose some weight.

In this reggard, aerobics and a good diet (consulting with a dietitian) will help.

I agree with you that Fioricet is contributing in the increase of your alkaline phosphatase levels. I would recommend avoiding it.

Hope you will find this answer helpful!

Wishing all the best,

Dr.Iliri

Note: For further queries related to coronary artery disease and prevention, click here.

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Nagamani Ng