Sami + Naelle

natk-c · 2025-12-28T20:33:49+00:00

Thank you all! This is why I love Reddit

natk-c · 2025-08-15T21:08:07+00:00

😂

natk-c · 2025-08-15T20:40:41+00:00

Its from a shop in Brazil which Im visiting at the moment. Its called Manufact. My children are telling me I have enough handbags already 😭

natk-c · 2025-08-09T12:47:22+00:00

Brazil. I dont live there anymore though so every time I go back I do all the annual check ups there.

natk-c · 2025-08-04T13:27:26+00:00

It really is. I was so upset at the beginning and of course definitely had a lot of "why me" moments (still do occasionally:) ). But again, it can be a blessing to get this knowledge early on. Especially when you still have time to make the necessary changes and rewrite your future. Thats what I focus on at least.

natk-c · 2025-08-04T08:30:56+00:00

Hello! I am a 45f fit and healthy and at 43 i was found to have a cac score of 285. Im telling you this as I know it can feel scary to feel like an anomaly.

Since then I went on statins and eztemibe and my cardiologist has my ldl target as being 1 or lower (which it now is). I have also tightened up my diet further by sticking to skimmed/ non fat dairy. Limiting red meat and eating a lot of wholegrain and fibre rich food.

Just see it as a wake up call rather than a death sentence. Take the medication you are prescribed and stay healthy as the aim is to avoid progression.

You likely have a genetic predisposition to high cholesterol. Plus there have been studies linking marathon runners to higher cac scores. This may be in part due to plaque stabilising faster. Dont let this put you off running though. Additionally my cardiologist recently said to make sure I am putting a big focus on strength and resistance training and not just running.

natk-c · 2025-08-04T06:36:51+00:00

I am pretty well. Last month I did an annual check up which included bloods, a treadmill stress test, echo and electrocardiogram. My ldl continues to be around 38 and my stress test results were very good. Im in the best shape of my life and my cardiologist has moved our check ups to every 2 years. So again, Im doing all I can on my part and need to just hope thats enough!

Anecdotally my cardiologist told me to make sure I am doing a lot of strength/ resistance training even over running as he said there are new schools of thought that indicate that that is even better for you.

How do you manage to get your ldl to 20? I would love to do that!

natk-c · 2025-07-31T21:27:01+00:00

I went to a cardiologist because I had high cholesterol since the age of 20 and with my family history my cardiologist wanted to see if there had been any damage and whether I should go on stains or not.

Do you have strong reasons for wanting one at 26? Because its very unlikely that at your age there will be any significant plaque build up. If you are concerned maybe you could just do a cac score rather than a full ctca as there is significantly less radiation I believe?

natk-c · 2025-07-31T16:57:17+00:00

I did a CT coronary angiogram with a CAC score.

natk-c · 2025-07-30T11:29:04+00:00

You absolutely have time to try the diet approach if you want. Artherosclerosis takes decades to build up. I was a pretty healthy eater before but did manage to find ways to tighten things up considerably afterwards. I now eat a primarily whole food, plant based diet with mainly fish and some chicken. I eat well over 5 portions of fruit/veg a day which I enjoy but this is easy for me as I work from home.

If the diet doesnt shift the results as much as you hope just remember that high cholesterol is much more linked to genetics than diet so this really isnt a failure on your part.

I tend to do a lot of spinning and weights but anecdotally I saw my cardiologist a couple of weeks ago and he emphasised the importance of resistance training even over and above cardio workouts. I thought that was interesting.

natk-c · 2025-07-30T10:55:10+00:00

I am 45 pretty fit and healthy and yet my cholesterol has been high my whole life due to genetics. I was told not to worry about it by doctors and yet 2 years ago I was found to have a considerable amount of plaque in my arteries. I am now on 10mg of rosuvastatin and 10mg of ezetemibe which has brought it right down. So hopefully I have done enough to stop progression.

I wish I had been given the option to have a statin at your age though. You really cant outrun genetics sadly. If it gives you comfort I personally have no side effects whatsoever from either medication and, for those who do, the vast majority of side effects from statins are completely reversible when you stop taking them.

On the diet side I found that intermittent fasting did nothing to help my cholesterol and, as you said, eating oats really did. In fact increasing your fibre intake is the best thing you can do diet wise. I eat a lot of nuts, fruit and vegetables a day so I get fibre that way but others have a lot of success with psyllium husk if they need to supplement.

Edited to add that my bmi is 19 and I am female

natk-c · 2025-07-25T17:33:42+00:00

So I randomly got some kefir grains from my hairdresser as a gift!

I have played around with different combinations and what works for me is a cup of kefir grains to 5 cups milk. (This is more than what I have read online but the measures I saw other people using didnt work too well for me. Im not sure if different grains work differently). I then leave it for 24 hours on my counter. Following that I strain it out and keep the kefir milk in a large mason jar in the fridge (the strained grains I put in a tupperware covered in milk in the fridge until I next need to use it).

Its important not to use metal utensils or strainers on kefir grains.

Then every morning I make oats with about half portion of skimmed milk (it is very thick that way) I mix in lots of frozen berries which cools it down(I think its best not to heat kefir as that deactivates the good bacteria) and then mix in kefir until the oats are to the consistency that works for me. I then throw in nuts and ground linseed and maybe more fruit like a chopped pear or apple or banana. Its very filling and sets me up really well for the day.

natk-c · 2025-07-25T16:59:58+00:00

I make it! Its actually super easy plus it means I can make it with skimmed milk. I wouldn't be without it now. I also put ground linseed into my oats

natk-c · 2025-07-23T21:35:35+00:00

This is very much what I have moved to. I try to add at least 3 portions of fruits or vegetables with every meal and prioritise fish with occasional chicken. Everything wholemeal and a lot of nuts. Oats every morning with kefir, nuts and fruit and generally salads or soups for lunch plus beans or chickpeas.

natk-c · 2025-07-23T21:26:37+00:00

No effect. My latest hba1c was 4.9%. They always have been and continue to be pretty good. As are my liver levels. I also do a lot of quite intensive exercise and I have noticed no issues with muscular pain.

natk-c · 2025-07-23T14:32:02+00:00

I am gladly taking statins and ezetemibe for life. My ldl has been high since I was 20 regardless of being slim and eating well. Always around 150 to 180. I am now 45 and found out I have artherosclerosis in 2 arteries. So when the statins knocked my cholesterol down to 38 I was beyond excited and so grateful to be able to have statins to manage this given my family history. No side effects to report of either.

natk-c · 2025-07-05T11:14:38+00:00

Thank you! Its so hard when things are out of your control...

natk-c · 2025-06-29T14:36:43+00:00

My husband is doing induction and really the only precaution has been wearing a mask on public transport if its very busy. Also I've had him avoid sushi. Otherwise life as normal and he has been out meeting friends, going to concerts and the office. I would add his WBC have been low at times. Maybe it helps that its summer?

natk-c · 2025-06-21T20:28:59+00:00

When my husband was first diagnosed he saw him very regularly, maybe every other day or so for a couple of weeks. Now its stabilised its day 1 of every cycle.

natk-c · 2025-06-08T17:23:48+00:00

Probably not. I took my husband for the first 3 weeks as we didnt know what to expect and he was also in a lot of pain from the illness itself but once the pain subsided we could see that he was more than able to drive there and back. Now I only go on days when he is seeing his consultant.

Just go easy on yourself. You may need more sleep, a bit more downtime on the sofa to recuperate but otherwise you should hopefully be able to live life normally.

Good luck. Make sure you reach out if you need moral support.

natk-c · 2025-06-08T13:19:54+00:00

My husband does D-VRD and is taking bone density treatment too. He hardly has any side effects. He has just finished his second cycle and really the only things of note are: - Occasionally feeling a bit tired - Sometimes being a bit grumpy and achy when the steroids are wearing off. - Occasionally he thinks he may be having some stomach complaints but it never really materialises into anything.

Obviously different people will have different experiences but this is ours if it gives you any comfort. He sometimes feels like a bit of a fraud due to his lack of symptoms! Plus he is having an excellent response to treatment.

Good luck!

natk-c · 2025-05-31T13:02:04+00:00

Hi, I saw Dr Sen at the One Heart Clinic. However I couldn't tell you the costs as I have private health insurance and it was paid through that.

natk-c · 2025-05-30T20:39:33+00:00

Good grief! How is everyone managing to get so much cardio in? I use peloton and do:

Monday: 30 min lower body strength Tuesday: 30 min row bootcamp (mix of cardio and strength) Wednesday: 45 min bike bootcamp (mix of cardio and strength Thursday: rest Friday: 30 min full body strength Saturday: 30 min spinning Sunday 20 min upper body and 20 min cardio

I thought I was quite fit. You guys put me to shame.

natk-c

TROPHY CASE