This is my first posting even though I have been on Atkins for 4 months. I am doing great and am almost to goal. I feel wonderful (except for my hair falling out) and want to continue this WOE.

I recently had my cholesterol checked. We have heart disease in my family history. It was very difficult to make myself add the fat to my diet... but I did it and everything worked just as advertised.

Well, today my Doctor called me (what a switch) and was very concerned over my lab work which he just received. He only seemed to focus in on the total cholesterol and LDL. Aren't we supposed to look at a bigger picture? Please let me know what you think of these results. He said I need to start immediate medication and wants to do a full physical. I welcome the physical but absolutely don't want to go the prescription med route.

Age - 44
Toal Cholesterol - 342
Triglycerides - 68
LDL - 264
Cholesterol/HDL ratio - 5.3
LDL/HDL ratio - 4.13
VLDL - 14

I went to the Atkins site and read what they had on cholesterol. It sure seems that my Triglycerides are great and my ratios are within range... is my Doctor over reacting? What does he see that I don't?

Thank you for any information you can share.