Sweet Sixteen

When I was 16 years old, I was diagnosed with familial dyslipidemia. Searching the web, it's defined as an abnormal amount of lipids (e.g. cholesterol and/or fat) in the blood.  Even though I'm on meds now, I still feel lucky as I was able to find out that I have it at the very early stage of my life.  Having it discovered on maybe my 30s, it could have been more harmful to my body as I may have cholesterol build up in my arteries and could be on the verge of a heart attack now.

Anyway, 14 years after my diagnosis, I'm still fighting this battle of lowering my cholesterol through drug maintenance, a healthy diet and lots of exercise.  Here's a list of the things I do in order to stay alive and healthy:

1. Maintenance Medication, today I'm taking Crestor and Fenoplex as my doctor may have finally gotten the most effective combination to decrease my bad cholesterol and triglycerides.
2. Exercise.  I'm lucky to get a high discount on one of the best gym clubs in Manila.  I hit the gym and take some cardio classes or do some resistance training maybe at least thrice a week to keep my heart strong.
3. Diet.  This is one of the hardest to maintain.  There are times where I allow myself to indulge on the not so good food but most of the time I stay true to my strict diet of high-fiber carbs and low fat food intake.
4. Regular checkups.  I undergo a stress test once a year and monitor cholesterol levels at least four times a year.  This includes lipid profile plus my liver enzymes as my doctor says that this high cholesterol goes with fatty liver.

Just want to share with you my journey on trying to maintain my cholesterol levels by showing this chart.

My goal is to stay close with the normal levels within then next 6 months.  Take note that after 14 years of my battle with cholesterol, it's only now that I'm getting closer to the norm.

Stay tuned from more news, tips and stories on how we can stay fit and stay away from the harmful effects of bad cholesterol in our body.