Hello All!

Newcomer introductions, personal anecdotes, caregiver issues, lab results, and n=1 experimentation.
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nevetsosu78
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Joined: Sat Jun 04, 2022 6:49 am

Hello All!

Post by nevetsosu78 »

Happy to be here. I discovered I'm ApoE4 homozygous two years ago thru 23&me. I had embarked on a keto diet one year previous to that. I've transitioned to a Mediterranean keto diet which I believe to be best for both brain health and heart health. I took 40mg Atorvastatin for 12 years previous to finding out about my ApoE4 status. I stopped it when I found that lipophilic statins are suspected to cross the blood-brain barrier impacting cholesterol synthesis in the brain and raising the risk even more for Alzheimer's. My LDL-C promptly shot up to 280mg/dl from 100mg/dl. I'm in a secondary prevention status for heart disease, so needless to say this was a dilemma. I am now on a pcsk9 inhibitor drug plus low dosage rosuvastatin, a hydrophilic statin. I suspect there are others out there like me with a big concern for both Alzheimer's and Heart Disease. ApoE4 alters lipid metabolism by the liver resulting in increased LDL residence time in the bloodstream, thus increasing risk for heart disease. My ultimate goal is to get off cholesterol meds if possible, while maintaining a low risk profile for heart disease. This will be a daunting, if not, impossible task. Since LDL-P, especially small dense LDL-P are strongly correlated with heart disease, the trick will be keeping these numbers at reasonably low levels. In any case, I'm looking forward to learning what others may be doing or trying to control their risk for both heart disease and Alzheimer's. Cheers -Steve
Nicnac0526
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Joined: Fri Jan 14, 2022 11:51 am
Location: Kent, UK

Re: Hello All!

Post by Nicnac0526 »

nevetsosu78 wrote: Mon Jun 06, 2022 8:57 am Happy to be here. I discovered I'm ApoE4 homozygous two years ago thru 23&me. I had embarked on a keto diet one year previous to that. I've transitioned to a Mediterranean keto diet which I believe to be best for both brain health and heart health. I took 40mg Atorvastatin for 12 years previous to finding out about my ApoE4 status. I stopped it when I found that lipophilic statins are suspected to cross the blood-brain barrier impacting cholesterol synthesis in the brain and raising the risk even more for Alzheimer's. My LDL-C promptly shot up to 280mg/dl from 100mg/dl. I'm in a secondary prevention status for heart disease, so needless to say this was a dilemma. I am now on a pcsk9 inhibitor drug plus low dosage rosuvastatin, a hydrophilic statin. I suspect there are others out there like me with a big concern for both Alzheimer's and Heart Disease. ApoE4 alters lipid metabolism by the liver resulting in increased LDL residence time in the bloodstream, thus increasing risk for heart disease. My ultimate goal is to get off cholesterol meds if possible, while maintaining a low risk profile for heart disease. This will be a daunting, if not, impossible task. Since LDL-P, especially small dense LDL-P are strongly correlated with heart disease, the trick will be keeping these numbers at reasonably low levels. In any case, I'm looking forward to learning what others may be doing or trying to control their risk for both heart disease and Alzheimer's. Cheers -Steve
Welcome Steve, It sounds as if you have hit the ApoE4 ground running. Well done, that shows determination, positivity and a wonderful resilience.
As a welcome intern I will highlight a couple of areas that may speed up your search process.
The The How to Guide has a mass of information - a search function in the top right hand corner and it shows how to subscribe to topics of interest. This is one on cholesterol and statins;
https://wiki.apoe4.info/wiki/Cholestero ... ng_statins
It also explains how to quote members, using the "", which is often useful to get notifications about your post.

The Primer has been written by Stavia, a practicing M.D. with ApoE4/4. She is so knowledgable and like you, optimistic!

It's great to have you with us and please do shout if you need support in any way.
Warm regards
Nicky
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floramaria
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Location: Northern New Mexico

Re: Hello All!

Post by floramaria »

nevetsosu78 wrote: Mon Jun 06, 2022 8:57 am Happy to be here.

My ultimate goal is to get off cholesterol meds if possible, while maintaining a low risk profile for heart disease. This will be a daunting, if not, impossible task. Since LDL-P, especially small dense LDL-P are strongly correlated with heart disease, the trick will be keeping these numbers at reasonably low levels. In any case, I'm looking forward to learning what others may be doing or trying to control their risk for both heart disease and Alzheimer's. Cheers -Steve
Hi Steve, we are happy you are here, too!
Among the many tools that you will learn about in the “How To “ Wiki, one that you may find particularly helpful given your specific concerns related to cholesterol, statins and heart health is the Search Function. Just under your user name, in upper right hand corner of page, there is a search bar. By typing in a word or phrase there, you will see all previous posts that contain that word or phrase. ( I just typed in LDL-P and got over 4500 entries. ). By using the search function you’ll be able to locate specific threads where there is a lot of discussion of the topics that interest you. As you read about the successes others in this community have had in these areas, hopefully you’ll be encouraged.
Best wishes to you!
Functional Medicine Certified Health Coach
IFM/ Bredesen Training in Reversing Cognitive Decline (March 2017)
ReCODE 2.0 Health Coach with Apollo Health
Plumster
Senior Contributor
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Posts: 620
Joined: Mon Oct 30, 2017 6:19 pm

Re: Hello All!

Post by Plumster »

nevetsosu78 wrote: Mon Jun 06, 2022 8:57 am Happy to be here. I discovered I'm ApoE4 homozygous two years ago thru 23&me. I had embarked on a keto diet one year previous to that. I've transitioned to a Mediterranean keto diet which I believe to be best for both brain health and heart health. I took 40mg Atorvastatin for 12 years previous to finding out about my ApoE4 status. I stopped it when I found that lipophilic statins are suspected to cross the blood-brain barrier impacting cholesterol synthesis in the brain and raising the risk even more for Alzheimer's. My LDL-C promptly shot up to 280mg/dl from 100mg/dl. I'm in a secondary prevention status for heart disease, so needless to say this was a dilemma. I am now on a pcsk9 inhibitor drug plus low dosage rosuvastatin, a hydrophilic statin. I suspect there are others out there like me with a big concern for both Alzheimer's and Heart Disease. ApoE4 alters lipid metabolism by the liver resulting in increased LDL residence time in the bloodstream, thus increasing risk for heart disease. My ultimate goal is to get off cholesterol meds if possible, while maintaining a low risk profile for heart disease. This will be a daunting, if not, impossible task. Since LDL-P, especially small dense LDL-P are strongly correlated with heart disease, the trick will be keeping these numbers at reasonably low levels. In any case, I'm looking forward to learning what others may be doing or trying to control their risk for both heart disease and Alzheimer's. Cheers -Steve
Hi Steve,
Look into Dean Ornish's program for reversing heart disease. He has an older book on the topic, too, scientifically proving that a low-fat plant-based diet can reverse heart disease / cholesterol numbers. Ornish is currently conducting a trial for Alzheimer's using the same, or similar, diet. Read more here.
e3/4 MTHFR C677T/A1298C COMT V158M++ COMT H62H++ MTRR A66G ++ HLA DR
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