Cholesterol deposits under skin beneath the eyes

[Needlewoman]

(Apologies if this is mentioned elsewhere, or even in PP. My copy has still to swim across the Atlantic, and searching under cholesterol is likely to bring up too many results.)

I have had pale creamy patches under my eyes for as long as I can remember. When I saw my GP about an eye infection earlier in the year she mentioned that these are deposits of cholesterol. They must be fairly obvious to people looking at me, as the nurse commented on them when I had a smear test done recently.

We don't seem to have bloodwork done as often as you do in the US, so I have no idea what my numbers are beyond that I did have a cholesterol test done several years ago, and I was told that the number was just above normal, but nothing to worry about. It is hard to get appointments to see my GP, and so I don't want to take her time up when I am feeling OK apart from heavy, and I don't want to tell her that I am eating fat on a LC WOE, as when I saw her last she tried to offer me those pills that stop fat being digested and carry it through the body :eek::eek:

I hope not to have to see her until I have lost a good bit and then go and tell her how I did it ;) possibly with a slice of full fat cheesecake served on a copy of Gary Taubes book :D

Does any one know if these deposits are likely to get reabsorbed and disappear as I progress down my LC journey?

[mcsblues]

As I understand it (I am not a doctor) these are called Xanthomas (a search for that will give you less options!)

http://www.merck.com/media/mmhe2/photos/10117cp.jpg

Not necessarily cholesterol it seems (could be triglycerides) Certainly low carb routinely does wonders for triglycerides and fairly rapidly too, but it still might pay you to have a blood test. That way at the very least you will have a benchmark to judge the great things low carb does for you!:)

[Needlewoman]

As I understand it (I am not a doctor) these are called Xanthomas (a search for that will give you less options!)
Certainly did, only one reference apart from this thread.

Not necessarily cholesterol it seems (could be triglycerides) Certainly low carb routinely does wonders for triglycerides and fairly rapidly too, but it still might pay you to have a blood test. That way at the very least you will have a benchmark to judge the great things low carb does for you!:)

I can't be bothered. I've been eating low carb without much guidance for about 3 weeks now, and I'm already sleeping better and I had lost 6lbs when I weighed myself last Monday. I am sure from the feel of me that I am going to have lost more on Monday morning weigh in time. This is probably more information than you really want to spoil your dinnertime, but bits of me that have been quite soild for years are now decidedly squishy :D:D:D I KNOW things are changing. I don't need numbers to prove it.

Fiddlesticks - postman has just been and my book is still swimming. Never mind.

[mcsblues]

Might help a bit more if I could spell - xanthelasmas - and yes I understand about the tests - but I still wish I had when I started!;)

[Needlewoman]

I tried about 4 times to reply on Saturday, but either this old 'puter froze and lost it for me, or my DH's logged me out before I finished. DS1 fitted a larger stick of RAM yesterday so fingers crossed for this time ...

I did Google your first spelling, and the answer to my original question seems to be that they may well disappear gradually. The recommended treatment is to sort out the underlying blood lipid problem. Well, DOH! No point in going to GP for that as we are not going to agree on the best way forward, and I would rather spend the prescription charges on some tasty meat :D

As I am now 3 weeks into LC eating I can never know what my numbers were at what should have been the worst anyway. I am not impressed with our supposedly wonderful National Health Service in general at the moment, as my son has had something fundamentally wrong with his digestive system for 18 months and we are still waiting for a diagnosis, let alone a solution. Now I discover that the medical profession and the government are advocating a way of eating that is causing the very obesity epidemic that they claim to want to stop, and chronic diseases to boot. I quite like my GP for specific problems, but I really do fancy the idea of staying away until I have shrunk a good bit (specific health problems permitting) and then trying to get her to understand LC eating by explaining that the only thing I have changed since my previous test is the way that I eat, and it ain't the way she advises.

[mcsblues]

Fair enough - I'm certainly with you on the staying away from quacks as much as possible - since I have been on low carb I have been sacked by the local medical practice - it seems they don't like having healthy people on their books (at least the receptionist thought that bit was funny) - but when I asked to be reinstated ... oh no I can't do that ... we aren't taking any new patients!:rolleyes:

Without knowing the nature of your son's 'digestive issues' - I suggest you read PPLP anyway - there a quite a few issues in that department that this way of life, with perhaps a tweak or two, cures as well!:)

[Needlewoman]

Without knowing the nature of your son's 'digestive issues' - I suggest you read PPLP anyway - there a quite a few issues in that department that this way of life, with perhaps a tweak or two, cures as well!:)
I do intend to try and reduce the level of carbohydrate in his diet as he is Type 1 Diabetic, and I assume that injected insulin behaves in the same way as naturally produced insulin in a non-diabetic. However he is 20 years old, and you know how stubborn young people can be :( It will definitely have to be done very subtly. I am hoping that as I lose weight and get fitter the implications will dawn on the rest of the family.

It isn't exactly a digestive problem as such, as 80+% of what he eats doesn't get beyond his stomach, and isn't even that far for more than 10 minutes. Poor lad was permanently hungry until I discovered a protein shake recipe in a book by Dana Carpender about a month ago. Fortunately he loves them. Despite the problems he has managed to shoot up about 3 ins recently, goodness only knows on what.

[mcsblues]

Sorry to hear of your troubles. If you haven't already you should read (and encourage him to do likewise) Richard Bernstein's book - he has been type 1 for 60 + years trained as a doctor when he realised that the standard treatment for diabetes was killing people ... incredibly it still is.

http://www.diabetes-book.com/

[Needlewoman]

Thanks. I started to read that the other day.

Problem is, since I discovered lo carb eating there are so many things that I want/need to read that it is difficult to decide the order of priority, and that keeps changing as I hear about yet more books and articles. And my copy of PP hasn't arrived yet! I think if it doesn't come this moning I will order a new copy of PPLP from Amazon - I intended to get one later any way.

[mcsblues]

Have you tried your local library? The gut rehab section of PPLP may help. I imagine he has had extensive allergy testing? Generally most programs like the PPLP one or SCD (Specific Carbohydrate Diet) start off with the basics (yes in PPLP it starts with protein shakes), giving time for healing and then gradually reintroduce potentially problematic foods (thereby isolating things that should be permanently left out). The type 1 complicates things of course and he will need to work closely with his doctor to match the much lower carbohydrate intake with similarly much lower insulin dosage to avoid hypos. I know he may be stubborn, but even a few good days might convince him that this is the way forward.

[Needlewoman]

Have you tried your local library?
The catalogue for the whole borough is searchable on line. Not a sausage.
I always try to borrow books before I stump up the cash :D

The gut rehab section of PPLP may help. I imagine he has had extensive allergy testing?
Nope. An endoscopy which showed nothing abnormal, massive doses of antacids, even though he never has heartburn type pain, followed most recently by tests at a London teaching hospital which measured pressure, and the acidity in his oesophagus over Weds to following Mon, via a transmitter inserted by endoscopy. He gets the results of those locally, but not until mid October. It is all the waiting between tests and appts that is so frustrating. Current view appears to be that the sphincter muscle at the top of his stomach is weak. If that is the case it is apparently a simple op, with almost instant results.

The type 1 complicates things of course and he will need to work closely with his doctor to match the much lower carbohydrate intake with similarly much lower insulin dosage to avoid hypos.
That wouldn't be difficult - he calculates his own meal time doses according to carbs eaten, although the background insulin might need to be adjusted and the nurse would probably have to help with that.

I know he may be stubborn, but even a few good days might convince him that this is the way forward.
Thanks for your interest and suggestions. It is hard to know what to do, or where to turn, sometimes, and he is getting so depressed. He lost his hard-won first job because of it, and given the state of the economy it will be jolly hard to get another one. At his age we are treated as 3rd parties, even when I have had to call an ambulance to get him to A&E because he was ketoacidotic - 6 times last year - and he gets discharged without us being consulted.

[Frank Hagan]

My 2 year old grandson was just diagnosed with excessive stomach acid after being a "failure to thrive" kid for most of his life. He had dropped off the weight charts they use, but is now back up onto the charts (still in size 12 month pants, though). They used the sensor in the stomach overnight to finally find it. The reflux happens when he is up and about, and less when he is resting on his back, which is unusual I guess. But he refluxed 86 times in a 24 hour period. Because he is 2, they can't prescribe pills for him (choking hazard) so they are giving him a powdered version of Nexium. She has the tests they ran on him in her blog at http://saywhatmunchkins.blogspot.com/2009/08/so-thats-why-he-wont-eat.html

Anyway, my adult GERD was pretty bad, and I was on both prescription and then OTC drugs for stomach acid for over ten years. When I went on PP, I also eliminated diet soda (three to four 16oz cans a day) and my GERD disappeared. Not sure if it was the elimination of the soda or the elimination of the carbs but whatever, I'll never go back to either one. Chronic pain from reflux isn't worth the "joy" of eating carbs or diet soda.

[maxlharris]

I consume a large amount of diet coke.

It's the carbs.
And the weight loss.
That killed my reflux.

[Frank Hagan]

I consume a large amount of diet coke.

It's the carbs.
And the weight loss.
That killed my reflux.

My doc thought it was probably the carbs too, and especially the fact that I cut out late night snacking of carbs.

[Needlewoman]

Thanks Frank and Max. I am sure that it would be better for his Diabetes control generally to be eating far fewer carbs, even if he doesn't cut them out entirely. I suppose if I can find more satieting (?spelling) meals that the whole family can/will eat he might reduce his intake without realising it. Oh, so much to read, so many things to do :rolleyes:

[Frank Hagan]

Increasing fat and protein in the diet helps lower carb intake. Of course, if he is anything like I used to be, he won't eat anything green. Even my veggies were high carb ... corn and carrots ... or I had a side dish like baked potato or rice.

I now love some foods I never gave a chance before. But I don't think I would have changed without a push from a new WOE.

[Needlewoman]

Of course, if he is anything like I used to be, he won't eat anything green.

I now love some foods I never gave a chance before. But I don't think I would have changed without a push from a new WOE.
Top marks, Frank. I have another son as well and they compete to see who can be the most disparaging about any vegetable.

My standard line is the more foods you are prepared to eat, the less often you have to eat any of them. They are getting better at trying new things, but they reject most of them.

[SandyHanson]

There may be hope. We used to say that our son was allergic to anything green. Now (he's 33) he's eating things that we never have :lol:

[nougat]

my eldest boy would resist veggies - now at 24 he 'loves' salad...
his brother (14) is still in the resisting stage... tho he will eat occasionally some raw cabbage with cheese!

[Needlewoman]

Must be a "boy" thing then ;);)

[mcsblues]

Must be a "boy" thing then ;);)

Umm, nope ... but nice try!:p

I try not to say it but I think it is an age thing. Back in what I hate to call 'my day' you didn't have choice - well you did - you ate what you were given ... or you didn't eat! Certainly no dessert if you hadn't eaten all those veggies!:rolleyes:

This is obviously a double edged sword - some people went a bit silly when they did have control over what they ate, and to this day I can't stand over cooked veg of any kind - but I love them all - well pretty much. These days, if the supermarket checkout kids are any guide ... or some of my friends' kids ... most of them couldn't even name half the green things! And if they never try them - they will never know what they are missing.

Right off the soap box ... back into the wheel chair ... ;)

[Needlewoman]

I just knew that some one would rise to that piece of bait. I didn't expect it to be you, though!

[nougat]

i remember my dear mum 'eat the boiled stuffed zucchini or no sweeties'
yuck
i can't bear any cooked veg unless it is pureed into soup! tho i eat a lot of them raw.
the same tactic tried on my son was 'ok then i won't eat'....:)

[SandyHanson]

I have a couple of foods that I was "forced" to eat as a kid, that to this day I'll seldom eat. I'll eat them in social situations, concede even to myself that they taste just fine, yet I never eat them at home. I tried to remember that when urging my kids to eat certain foods - which was a real challenge with my son!