Sarita, can I pick your brain?

I'm not Sarita, but I thought I might jump in here because I wrote a report about triglycerides a few years ago. I'm wondering if you might have one of the familial lipid disorders. Even your normal level (around 200) is considered high by US guidelines (normal is under 150, up to 199 is considered borderline high, and anything 200 or over is unequivocally high). I know you you don't know of a family history of this, but maybe some relative did pass it on to you. The hereditary conditions that can cause high triglycerides are all a bit of a mouthful, but you could google each if you are curious: familial chylomicronemia syndrome, familial hypertriglyceridemia with chylomicronemia, familial dysbtalipoproteinemia, familial combined hyperlipidemia, familial hypertriglyceridemia, and hepatic lipase deficiency. Kidney disease can also cause high levels of triglycerides. This is not something I know anything about , barring the fact that it is a known risk factor, but if the genetic conditions are definitely ruled out, it is something you might want to consider seriously. Any chance of getting another nephrology consult? Hope things start looking better soon. PS: Sorry for the weird font changes. This message board does not play nicely with my voice-recognition software.

Writer & Sarita, may I just say thank you so much for your input, it is greatly appreciated.

Firstly, I'm unaware of any family history of either high triglycerides or cholesterol, but bearing in mind I'm 56, so my
parents, aunts, uncles and the like were probably not really screened. My father did die from a MI, but his was caused
initially from a valve problem.

Now to the kidney problem, I have had 24 hr urine collection, but that was a few years ago in conjunction with stones, it was
unremarkable, but I still continue to spill protein, but I actually gave up on the whole idea, as I became more sick with Chrohns
and now chronic pancreatitis. BUT I have to say, these triglycerides have me worried in more ways than one.

I think I will mention the nephrology consult again, although I don't rejoice in the idea....

Vicky,

If it is inherited, you're already doing all that you can do. The medications that you are on are exactly what the guidelines would recommend: a fibrate (of which TriCor is one) plus omega-3 fatty acids (that's the Omacor), in conjunction with a low-fat diet (<15% of calories from fat). I suppose you could talk to your doctor about whether it might be worth adding another lipid-modifying drug in another class, but the trouble is, the more drugs you add, the more risk of drug-induced side effects such as -- you guessed it --- pancreatitis. Frustrating, I know, that there's not more you can do to change things. However, if the high triglycerides are caused by another condition (something kidney-related, for instance), it's possible that controlling that condition will help bring them down. But I can't really helped with the kidney/triglyceride issues because my report focused more on the different medications to lower triglycerides rather than some of the rarer conditions that can cause high triglycerides.

As to why I wrote the report, as my screen name suggests, I am a writer by trade, and I've done quite a bit of medical writing. The report (all 85 pages worth!) was a work-related project. I lucked out in the genetic lottery when it came to cholesterol and triglyceride levels, so I can't apply anything I learned in that project on myself, but I did find it quite interesting.

Best,

Writer