BF and Cholesteral

[wtchyhlr]

I would almost swear I read somewhere that the only times as an adult that we needed to worry about Cholesteral were when pregnant and when BFing. Can anyone confirm/deny the BF part? I had a cholesteral screen when i donated blood last week come back at 254....

[Vermillion]

I know when you are breastfeeding your cholesterol is higher than it normally would be… I never thought it was something to be worried about though. My doctor told me not to bother with the screening as I was nursing and it would come back high.

Here, I just found this link-

http://parenting.ivillage.com/newbor...rlbox%252Clnk4

[wtchyhlr]

Thanks.... it was a freebie when i donated blood or i probably wouldn't have bothered with it, just wanted to make sure i remembered correctly

[psyche]

Oh, wow! I'm glad this topic was brought up. My cholesterol came back high a couple of weeks ago and I've been feeling rather stressed about it.

[milk_maker]

Wow, I've never heard of that. I'll file that away for future reference.

[wendy1221]

I had bloodwork done about a year ago cuz I thought I was having thyroid issues (still not onvinced, but the doc said I was low normal and it was probably still going up after having a baby, but whatever). My cholesterol was really high and the doc just said it was normal b/c I was nursing. He also said I might be happy to hear my blood calcium levels were high, also because I was nursing. The doc was a jerk all in all, but he did know his stuff. LOL!

You probably read the only time you DON'T have to worry about cholesterol is while pregnant and nursing.

Oh, and babies need cholesterol for proper brain development. I guess they make it if they don't get enough, but there has to be a reason why bm is so high in it (formula has none--it's all taken out and not added back in )

[ExuberantDaffodil]

OK - I am officially firing my doctor. Three months ago I had some blood work done and my cholesteral came back pretty high. My doctor freaked me out. He ordered more blood work, tried to talk me into meds, and told me all the risks of high cholesterol... yada yada yada.... I really wish I had known higher cholesteral was rather normal during nursing (why didn't the dr know this?! Why didn't he educate me?! arg!!! : ) because I have just spent the last three months obsessing over natural ways to lower my "problem" - I've consumed enough plant sterols to become a plant myself! An occasional glass of red wine, a side of oatmeal with every meal, and "healthy heart" orange juice, yogurt and cereal... *sigh*

Of course, this is the same doctor who was completely confused over my lack of a period 11 months post partum...

[Vermillion]

Of course, this is the same doctor who was completely confused over my lack of a period 11 months post partum...

Yikes. Definitely time for a new doc.

[anhaga]

This is very interesting. My dr was trying to get me to quit BF so I could take cholesterol meds. I don't really want to do the meds, and I certainly wasn't ready to wean dd. Dr. didn't really fight me and did agree to let me try non-med things first (exercise, less sugar, lots of oatmeal). Even with bf I did low it about 50pts which got me to 210 and at least got dr off the "medicine train" for the moment. She doesn't understand ebf, but at least she is not arguing with me about it. Glad I stood my ground.

[wtchyhlr]

Originally Posted by wendy1221

You probably read the only time you DON'T have to worry about cholesterol is while pregnant and nursing.

Oh yeah. That. Duh. Glad you all understand frazzled mommyspeak.

[callmemama]

I eat a whole foods, plant-based diet. My nursling was 2 when my cholesterol was last checked. It was 104...

[Ravin]

It never ceases to amaze me how ignorant medical professionals tend to be about normal female human physiology!

[KittyKat]

Please read this:
http://www.westonaprice.org/moderndi...s_cholest.html

High Cholesterol has NEVER been proven to cause heart disease.
Cholesterol lowering drugs are dangerous...

There are SO many myths out there about nutrition, not just feeding babies, but ALL people. Most of them are of course, made up by big corporations who want to use US as cash cows.

Kathryn

[ZeldasMom]

I am pregnant and nursing. I see a family practice doc. Since high cholesterol is an issue in my family I actually requested a cholesterol test early on in my pregnancy and he advised waiting til I am not pregnant or nursing since there isn't good research on what should be considered normal cholesterol levels for pregnant/lactating women. He advised just focusing on getting good nutrition instead.

[Tine]

My cholesterol tested high when DS was about 1yo and still nursing a lot. (It had always been normal previously.) My family practice doc told me not to worry b/c I was nursing, and said to get tested again when we were done nursing.

I did so right about the time DS weaned (19 mos.). My cholesterol was still high. Doc said lack of exercise was probably the culprit. (I'm vegetarian and otherwise healthy--and she was right: it was winter here in MN and I was finding it very hard to exercise w/ nasty weather, a FT job, and a toddler.) She said exercise more and retest in 6 mos.

I have tried to exercise more (though it's still difficult), but haven't retested yet. I'm not sure whether to hope for lower cholesterol or not, given the conflicting research/apparent lack of consensus on the effects of high cholesterol.

At any rate, weaning didn't seem to lower my cholesterol. Just adding another story, FWIW.