Type 1 diabetic, high cholesterol and triglycerides page

[heatseeker]

Hey all. My SIL was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes last year. She's actually got "Type 1.5", but it's been confirmed that it's an autoimmune condition. She went in for tests recently and it was found that her triglycerides were over 400 and her HDL in the 30s. Her LDLs were apparently unmeasurable because her tris were so high. She was on Metformin at first and eventually went on insulin and Glimiperide several months back, and has been controlling her blood sugar with those. She's also been on a dairy-free, VLC Paleo diet for nearly a year now, which has been extremely helpful in controlling her blood sugar--it's not like she's cheating ever, not even with so much as a piece of fruit.

So, does anyone know why her tris and her HDL are so out of whack? We googled around without much success, and most of the info out there is about Type 2 diabetes. Her doctor says there may also be some thyroid involvement happening, and they're doing further tests next week to explore that. But, for the meantime, she needs help with figuring out how to get her triglycerides and cholesterol under control.

Any ideas?

[Omni]

Don't have any particular detail on the Type 1 DM and cholesterol, but 1 year is probably just the start of the healing process.

My partner has Autoimmune thyroid, it took over 5 years for her thyroid to resume full function, our approach was multiprong, medication, toxins, diet, supplements, yoga, meditation, sun exposure, exercise, stress reduction etc, etc. anything that may be of benefit should be encouraged and anything that may harm should be eliminated.

So along with diet, I would suggest she look at all those other areas as well, good diet will be negated by emotional self sabotage or other negative aspects in her life.
My sister went through a difficult emotional period in her life, she ate healthy and heaps, but could not gain any weight just because of the stress.

[brookesam]

heatseeker, since it hasn't been too long since she's been diagnosed, you should look into low dose naltrexone. I have had type 1 for 28 years now. I just recently came across an article on LDN and it look very promising for any autoimmune disease. From what I understand, it works to stop the autoimmune attack on the body. So whether it's hashimotos thyroid or type 1 diabetes I think it's worth looking into. I'm currently searching for a doctor that uses the right protocol for it.

As for cholesterol and triglycerides I'm in range for these things which is somewhat surprising because I also deal with thyroid issues.

[magicmerl]

So, does anyone know why her tris and her HDL are so out of whack?

Generally trigs are high because of too much carbs in the diet, and HDL is low because not enough animal fats. That's in general, not specifically for T1 diabetes.

Her doctor says there may also be some thyroid involvement happening, and they're doing further tests next week to explore that.

Omni's suggestions are great for helping your thyroid (which also helps your cholesterol, since it drives the hormones that result in cholesterol leaving your bloodstream). Iodine and Selenium are two minerals that it couldn't hurt to boost your thyroid with. I take a sheet of nori (sushi seaweed 'paper') and a Brazil nut each day for thyroid health.

[heatseeker]

Generally trigs are high because of too much carbs in the diet, and HDL is low because not enough animal fats. That's in general, not specifically for T1 diabetes.

Yeah... not really what's going on here. She eats zero carbs besides green vegetables. She doesn't even eat squash. And she eats a ton of animal fat. She eats probably double the amount of fat that I eat. Also, she has a very skinny build and tiny frame, and is always hungry. It's like her body is not absorbing the food she puts into it.

Really, I'm just wondering if anyone had any ideas for getting her triglycerides down. The cholesterol, I feel, will fix itself when her hormones get sorted. But triglycerides above 400 is scary, and she needs some help figuring that out.

[Dr. Bork Bork]

I'm T1.5 and in a very similar place as your sis. My cholesterol is crummy on primal/paleo, but we (doc & I) think it's due to my gimpy thyroid and awesome *note sarcasm* genetics.

[hunteark1]

I also deal with thyroid issues.