Lp(a) through the roof!!! Help!

[weldo]

I have recently (six weeks ago) been diagnosed with CVD and my Lp(a) reading is 240 mg/dL (2.4g/L)

YES YOU ARE READING THAT CORRECTLY Higher than any I have seen on this site and 20x greater that what Linus Pauling said would "begin to deposit plague causing atherosclerosis". I have spoken with the lab (in Australia) and they assure me this is measured not calculated.

So, what to do? I am taking 10g day VitC and 6g lysine. I figure that the first step is to stop any more Lp(a) binding to the existing plaque sites (correct?) However, I am wondering, with such outrageously high Lp(a) levels, if I should be trying to get them down and, if so, what you folk here would recommend? I have seen conflicting information on this site regarding whether or not this is actually possible.

In "Practicing Medicine Without a Licence" Owen says there is early anecdotal evidence to suggest that adding Proline may help to bring down Lp(a) levels. My naturopath says L-carnitine "has been shown to reduce Lp(a) levels". I think I also read that Niacin may be effective?

I would really like to get some feedback from this Discussion forum before deciding which route to embark upon.

Thank you to all the wonderful contributors for this amazing and informative site,

Love and light,
Karen

(Tasmania, Australia)

[pamojja]

I have seen conflicting information on this site regarding whether or not this is actually possible.

Whether or not this is possible individually can only found out by trial and a lot of patience. Since with some agents like high-dose fish oil it may take 2-3 years till Lp(a) comes down.

It's definitely worth to try, and not let yourself be discouraged. Especially since the main purpose of Pauling therapy patent states, that it would make Lp(a) less sticky, lowering it only as second.

[Johnwen]

WELDO;
You got some problems brewing!!
First!
Crank up to BT on the V-C!
There’s plenty of info on this site on how to do this properly!

Did they give you your homocysteine levels?
If so could you please post them!
Then we can give you a better idea of what other supp.s may help you out.

You also said they diagnosed CVD could you share with us what they found to say this?

ADDED: Read your other post! I'm still working on "HIGH GRADE STENOSIS!" their elusive little buggers. I'm thinking when they looked at your pic's they saw something and didn't know what they were looking at. ie Shadows???
Anyway they found some clogs and this is the problem.

[ofonorow]

Note:B-T is "bowel tolerance" (per http://vitamincfoundation.org/www.ortho ... itrate.htm )

I think johnwen also pointed to experiments showing the NAC (n acytl cesteine) can lower Lp(a) too.

The interesting thing about proline is that the collagen strands that make up the collagen helix are made from lysine, proline (and from memory glycine). So if an arterial wall cracks (the root of the problem, and that Willis thought was caused by the physical stress of the heart beat in the absence of vitamin C in the diet (leading to lower production of collagen).. whew.. Anyway, if the arterial wall cracks - strands of both lysine and proline would be available for the sticky Lp(a) molecules to attach to.

The Unv. ofChicago work that discovered the proline binding sites on Lp(a) (analogous to the lysine binding sites on Lp(a) ) was published after Linus died. I suspect that if he knew this (as Rath found out), especially based on the results of products like Heart Technology and Cardio-C, that Linus would have also recommended adding proline to prevent the build-up of arterial plaque. Our experience with all the products we have sponsored over the years (save one) always included proline at about 1/5 the amount of lysine. The reports have generally been spectacular which of course makes them harder to believe.

Rest of my thoughts in your other post.

[weldo]

Thanks fellas

Homocysteine was 10.8 umol/L (reference 0 - 15) Is that good, bad or indifferent?!

CVD diagnosis through CT scan - "70% blocked in one artery, 50% blocked in another and a high-grade stenosis in another". When I asked to see the images, he blustered a bit and referred me to some very sketchy diagrams that he had drawn for my file. Hmmm. Probably a good idea to get a look at these!

I think my BT is around 11g VitC but I am finding it hard to get that amount into me in one day!! Have ordered Proline tabs as an interim measure until I work out if I can afford the Amercian concoctions and if it is doable to ship to Australia I can see that there is a whole forum for this which I will explore.

Happy to report good changes in my lipid stats after just one month - although this may be the result of my amazing new diet as much as anything (that is, no sugar and consequent weight loss of over 8lbs)

[Johnwen]

In 1999 jama had a study on homocysteine where they tried to lower the upper limits to 10.4umol/L because they had proof that lowering it from the 15umol/L top reduced the incidence of Heart disease by 50%. However it never got acted upon. I mean REALLY!! Imagine what a loss of 50% of their patients would do to their bottom Line$$$$.

So a 10.8 umol/L is just getting into a gray area but not un common for a person in the 60+ age group which just happens to be where 75% of cardiac events happen. Can anyone see the forest thru all them trees???

Anyway, since you LP(a) is through the roof it would be advisable to try and get your homocysteine levels down some also. Since these studies also found that reducing homocysteine levels 1umol/L equals about a 10 to 15% reduction in heart disease it seems it would be a good idea for you Now!

In addition to Pauling therapy you should also add about 400Mcg of folic acid (folate) and about 500Mcg B-12 per day. These supplements come in some wide ranges on the folate most are 800Mcg which is OK. On the B-12 1000Mcg is the common which is OK since excess will just be tossed out by your body with no problems. Folate higher doses may cause some GI issues but that’s rare in the 400 to 800Mcg range. These are pretty cheap supp.s but like anything else there is some expensive ones out there.

I believe if you get your homocysteine levels down to the 5-6 range and take a good dosing of Pauling therapy daily, the rest should start a downward movement also. On you diet also Keep an eye on your Carb intake as while as sugar’s.

[weldo]

Thanks guys!
This forum is amazing

[ofonorow]

Last post was October - can you tell us what has been happening in your case? Thank you.