Cholesterol Update

Well, I knew this day would come: I'm now taking cholesterol meds. I've been taking them for about a week now; thankfully I haven't experienced any side effects so far. It helps that the dose is really low. We'll see if it's enough to lower my cholesterol level enough.

After the downward trend in my levels in May, I was really disappointed to see that they were elevated again in August (to a point that they were too high even if I didn't have diabetes). So that, coupled with my age, meant that cholesterol meds were happening whether I liked it or not. But I've had some good conversations with doctors and other members of my diabetes care team over the last few years. It sounds like the level they want a person with diabetes's cholesterol levels at are nearly i possible to obtain. Someone told me you would have to be an olympic-level athlete to achieve them (if you're lucky). Someone else suggested that if I ran 5km 3 or 4 times a week and went completely vegan, I wouldn't make the level they want. So that was comforting in a way: the target is very difficult (or quite possibly impossible) for most people to achieve. Couple that with me having grandparents on both sides of my family with higher cholesterol, and so a genetic predisposition to higher natural cholesterol levels, and the odds of me hitting the cholesterol levels they want for people with diabetes drops even further. 

A friend of mine asked why my cholesterol levels were going up when I eat fairly healthily (lol at least compared to other people they know who don't deal with cholesterol levels). A doctor told me that, for lack of a better term, people with Type 1 diabetes have "sticky blood" - they're more prone to LDL cholesterol buildup in their bloodstream. So that would have also made it hard for me to lower my cholesterol on my own (and may also have contributed to my elevated LDL levels? I'm not sure, but that makes semse to me if it does). That, along with my genetic pdedisposition to higher cholesterol levels, probably explains what's been going on. Oh, plus the level that the medical community recommends for people with diabetes is incredibly stringent compared to the level for people without diabetes.

So if you're living with diabetes and fighting cholesterol levels, please know that it's not your fault! Do your best, but know that you might need a little help along the way from medication. As someone told me, it's often part of the journey of having Type 1 diabetes. 

But I also know that is much easier said than done. While knowing all of this helps me feel better about the situation, part of me still feels like a failure. I've been trying as hard as I can over the last few years to eat as healthy as I can and to be as active as I can. My partner and I were eating a lot healthier over the last year, but it wasn't enough to keep my cholesterol at a lower level. :(

Ultimately though, I chose to accept the help that I need. I would much rather be taking another medication than risk a heart attack or stroke due to elevated cholesterol levels. And hopefully, with the aide of exercise and diet, I won't have to be on too large of a dose of cholesterol meds.