OT: Home testing for cholesterol

Tim

Several reviewed here, thrown up by Tim+'s link

The one I use, (Wellion Luna) seems fairly accurate for a 25sec test, showing a total cholesterol reading. I don't use it too often because the test strips are expensive @ £2.50 each.

Not really. As a former GP I'd imagined you would have had something a little more informative to contribute.

There is a test where you can send a sample off from home:

It is over ten years old, so rather out of date, but this NHS document might help, search for:

Buyers? guide Point-of-care testing for cholesterol measurement CEP09020 September 2009

What do you hope to gain from a cholesterol test?

Mine is on the floor - probably hypocholesterolaemic.

Never been a GP. You only asked if they existed. I believe it?s been possible to buy them in Boots for years, as the most cursory web search would have revealed.

Tim

You can buy a total cholesterol monitor at around £30 ish and tests strips which cost around £15 for 5. These are date sensitive.

Taken together, these studies demonstrate several points. First, there was substantial day-to-day variability in total cholesterol. For example,

I only googled this because of variations I was getting in my own tests. As with BP ideally you want an average calculated from as many tests as possible

Ideally you should test for two or three types of cholesterol which is considerably more expensive - hence the reluctance of GPs to test outwardly healthy patients. However an averaged overall figure should probably indicate if there's any cause for concern.

michael adams

...

A junior doctor, then.

I've been on this group in one guise or another since before Google even existed so would have used it if could have assisted. I only sought anecdotal evidence from contributors here who may have actually gone down the self-test route and found something that from their own personal experience works.

My main doctor suggested I go onto statins. However, the dox in this neck of the woods get kickbacks from the pharma companies so I wanted to independently check if there's a valid reason for it. I rattle enough as it is.

You clearly didn?t try at all.

Again, that *isn?t what you asked*.

If you had asked, ?has anyone got any personal experience of cholesterol home testing kits and how do I interpret the results? you would have got much more useful responses. You only asked ?do they exist?. The answer to that question is yes.

It?s not my fault I?m not psychic. They didn?t teach mind reading at medical school. Of course I could have given you more useful pointers but when you seem to be too lazy to do even the most basic of web searches for a product that?s been available over the counter in Boots for years, expecting others to read your mind is a bit optimistic.

Tim

Have you ever had your thyroid hormone levels checked?

Insufficient thyroid hormone will raise cholesterol. And you should be checked for that before starting statins. Statins are generally contra-indicated by hypothyroidism.

I too was offered statins a few years ago. My cholesterol was merely very low at the time - and has since dropped further. Jolly glad I refused.

Oh good, at least you understood *that* bit if nothing else.

It's not mandatory for you or anyone else to answer questions put here. If you don't have anything worthwhile to contribute or you don't understand the question, it would be better to simply leave it to others who may be better informed and move on.

Very interesting; thanks!

I have taken statins since a heart attack 17 years ago, I check my total cholesterol every few months and it always reads around 4.3.... Don't forget you need the good cholesterol, so don't go too low on the total.

I understood your question. ?Do home testing kits exist??. Clearly you thought you asked something different though. Don?t blame others for your poorly worded question.

Tim

One of the big issues is deciding whether its good or bad. I don't think its cut and dried any more, in much the same way as diet advice is. Some people are just, well different. Brian

Testing your overall cholesterol levels will give you very little useful information, so in my biased view a home based finger prick test is a waste of time and effort.

For indications of how well your body is regulating cholesterol you need to have a breakdown of all the individual components and work out the ratios.

Having said that, I would be very wary of going onto statins.

In my personal experience I have had very bad reactions to two different ones. I have friends who also have had bad reactions.

I am also maintaining a cholesterol level that might be traditionally be considered "high" but the ratios are good and my surgery is comfortable with the overall picture.

IMHO your caution over the incentives from big pharma is very wise.

Perhaps you should move from asking a DIY group if you CAN test your cholesterol at home, to asking if you SHOULD. Then go to specialist fora to ask if you should be concerned about your (unstated) cholesterol levels, and the risks of statins.

See

My personal figures last year:

Serum cholesterol level 6.36 mmol/L Serum LDL cholesterol level 3.86 mmol/L Serum HDL cholesterol level 1.96 mmol/L [0.9 - 1.45] Serum triglyceride levels 1.18 mmol/L [0.3 - 2.3]

Ratio of total cholesterol to HDL is 3.24 which is in the healthy range.

Noting that my total cholesterol levels have been up in the 7s but still with good ratios.

HTH

Dave R

When they tested my cholesterol level, only one other person ever tested at that clinic had a lower overall level. However, they say the good/bad ratio is wrong, so they put me on statins.

Quote from NHS below. But what they don't adequately identify, is that there is much questioning as to what constitutes hypothyroidism. The standard TSH test usually has a top of reference interval around 4.5 - but, at present, few will get any treatment until it rises o 10.0. Leaving a significant gap in which all too many are left - so-called subclinical hypothyroidism. Even if you have overt symptoms.

If you have an underactive thyroid (hypothyroidism), treatment may be delayed until this problem is treated. This is because having an underactive thyroid can lead to an increased cholesterol level, and treating hypothyroidism may cause your cholesterol level to decrease, without the need for statins. Statins are also more likely to cause muscle damage in people with an underactive thyroid.