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Sat, 10 Oct 1998 18:43:17 EDT |
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Concerning the mom who MUST go on a cholesterol lowering drug.
Does the MD know that cholesterol levels go way up during pregnancy? My
cholesterol is usually borderline 205-215, and I have a family history of
heart disease. So when Columbia University and Columbia Presbyterian Hospital
in NYC were offering free screenings to students and staff, I waddled up the
hill to take advantage of this. (I was a student at Columbia at the time and
8 months pregnant with my second child.) My level was 325. I rationalized
that this was due to the salad with eggs and cheese that I had just consumed
for lunch. The following week I skipped breakfast and had it done again.
385!
I had resigned myself to the necessity of taking medication when I finished
breastfeeding, but I did look into what normal cholesterol values are during
pregnancy. Well, 40% above baseline is normal. (Found this information in
the section on fat metabolism in Williams Obstetrics. I have the 17th
edition.) Neither my OB nor my professor of maternal and infant nutrition
were aware of this.
I never had a cholesterol level done while I was breastfeeding, but in recent
years it has again been 205-215. Not taking any meds, but losing some weight
and giving up those trips to Dairy Queen would probably help :-)
Kim
Kim Block RNC, MSN, IBCLC
Westfield, New Jersey, USA (suburb of New York City)
[log in to unmask]
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