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Question

My c holesterol went down, hdl is over 100, ldl is low, trigyercides are low but my c proreactive is 5.8, why would that be. 3 years ago is was below l.0, one year and halft is was a little over l.00 and all other levels are normal but I am worried about 5.8 c reactive. I am on xanax and am under a lot of stress. Am going to a cardiologist next week but can y ou answer this question

Submitted: 43 days and 21 hours ago.
Category: Health
Value: $30
Status: CLOSED
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Optional Information

Gender: Female
Age: 59

Posted by Dr. Douglas, MD, PLLC 43 days and 21 hours ago.

Info Request

Hello,
Your HDL is over a 100 - are you sure, this is very high - also very protective. What is your LDL exactly?

43 days and 21 hours ago.

Reply

yes I am vrey sure sorry about the typing new keyboard it is 112, h dl ldl is 91 trig are 131 but am taking xanax my husband died 2 months ago and am taking xanax. also have some swelling in ankles which doctor said was from inactivity but going for vein testing and heart scan next week and stress test. what I do not understand is when my ldl was high and trigl were high my c reacative was under l.00 and last year it was a little over 1 but everything else was a little high but c reactive always lower than 1 and then just a little over 1. Now is is 5.8 could it be from stress, or the xanax I am taking

I saw the cardiologist two weeks ago and said because my hdl was so high it over came my ldl being 130. Now everything is lower than 1 1/2 year ago but the c-reactive is so high. I am worried even though I am going to a cardiolgist next week. Could it be the stress. Everything else on my blood works was normal???



Edited by XXXXXXXXXX on 10/10/2009 at 12:49 AM

Posted by Dr. Douglas, MD, PLLC 43 days and 21 hours ago.

Answer

WOW - you have GREAT cholesterol numbers - the HDL is actually compensating for the LDL - and although the LDL is very good, you might want to have it lower to about 70 (but only if you have high blood pressure, or have a cardiac condition, but otherwise it is very good). The CRP is okay - it is not that elevated - but CRP is something that says that you have some 'inflammatory' process going on - and that can be stress, you also state your ankles are swollen - that is another inflammatory process - but your CRP is not that high such that I would be concern for a heart condition - although ankle swelling usually occurs because of Decreased flow Back to the heart - and this is a compensatory reaction because the heart can not accommodate the flow of blood. The xanax as a benzodiazapine can do this - so, for anxiety, there are much better medications that are available and I would suggest possibily switching to a medication such as Lexapro or even Welbutrin. I hope this helps, please take care.

43 days and 20 hours ago.

Reply

thank you! The doctor that did the blood work is an oncologist/hematolgist who checks on a blood condition I have called MGUS. Have too much protein in my blood but so far no myeloma. I do also have a very high RA factor which my doctor thinks I am fighting off rheumatoid arthritis which is an inflamatory condition. But even when I had higher ldl, trigercided, (splg?) why c reactive was always under 1 or just a little over 1. That is why I am shocked over the 5.8. I have heard that that is a better indicator than cholesterol. Why would that go up??? I will see about getting off the xanax. My total went from 270 last year to 220 have lost weight and eating much better but am not active like I used to be because of depresssion, myu husband's death etc. But I was always told that my total cholesterol is so high because the hdl is always over 110.

Posted by Dr. Douglas, MD, PLLC 43 days and 20 hours ago.

Answer

Hello,
Well, your HDL is protective for you and that is wonderful, I wish I could get my HDL even about 35! Take care and thank you. Please don't forget to click on ACCEPT as this would be appreciated.

43 days and 20 hours ago.

Reply

Ok, I am going to accept and give you an extra tip, if that is what it is called. But can you just elaborate on why my c reactive would have gone from under 1 3 years ago, and from 1.1 1 year and 4 months ago. This worrries me.

Accepted Answer

Hello,
A few things - first off, it could be the Rheumatoid arthritis, however, since you are 59, the further away women are from the start of menopause, the lower their levels of estrogen get, hence the imbalance of testosterone and estrogen occurs and hence women do start to get susceptible to more heart disease - hence what I was talking about above with the ankle swelling, although I did not mention this outright - this could be a possible sign of CHF - congestive heart failure such that your heart is not producing enough 'power' - and the way to figure this out is with both an EKG AND an ECHO - basically a dynamic ultrasound of the heart and then what can be figured out is an EF (Ejection fraction) and from someone your age - it should be about 50 to 60% - hence this could be a very good reason why your CRP went to about 5. CRP was a big thing about 5 or 6 years ago, and it has since fallen out of favor, although many doctors still use this to look towards possible other testing such as the ECHO and EKG.
A few other things - since you are over 50 - I hope you have been getting annual mammograms and that you had at least one colonoscopy so far (I had mine yesterday)! Please take care.

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Expert: Dr. Douglas, MD, PLLC
Pos. Feedback: 98.2 %
Accepts: 
Answered: 10/10/2009

Doctor

Board Certified in 2 Medical specialties and US Medical School Graduate

43 days and 20 hours ago.

Reply

ok, i had a normal ekg and the echo is next week and a vein check, doctor said he thought I just had veins that were not in the best shape but nothing earth shattering. Mother had the vein problem But I just got the test results from my other doctor and the 5.9 c reactive scared me and did not wait til tuesday to talk to him. Yes I have had my colonoscopy, 7 years ago and a yearly m ammogram. They do not think it is congestive heart disease, no problem breathing even with e xercising. You were great and will give you great feedback and an extra tip. Thanks for being so kind to all of my many questions.

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