Statins

[Matt1959]

what are peoples thoughts about taking Statins? Seems to be a bit of a buzzword these days. My Doc has advised I do so due to family history of heart issues on fathers side plus I've just tested at 5.1 for cholestral but it was down from 6.8 in february whatever these figures are supposed to mean

I hate taking medication unless absoloutely necessary. I believe in self help and have changed my diet drastically and now have bought a bike so will do alot of cycling. Up until now no excercise whatsoever!

thoughts on Statins?

 

[sirearl]

If you have a history of heart problems in your family you should take the statins.

The body will not always fix itself ,hence why medicine has made life expectancy 78 years in the UK as opposed to 23 years in roman times or about 45 years in Victorian times.

 

[Paul Brooke]

Getting it down from 6.8 to 5.1 is a good start. However 5.1 is still high. Your doctor will be looking to get it down to at least 4.0 or even under ideally
I was diagnosed as diabetic at the age of 52 and I have been taking one day before bed every day.
If the doc has prescribed them then take my advice is to take them

 

[Matt1959]

Getting it down from 6.8 to 5.1 is a good start. However 5.1 is still high. Your doctor will be looking to get it down to at least 4.0 or even under ideally
I was diagnosed as diabetic at the age of 52 and I have been taking one day before bed every day.
If the doc has prescribed them then take my advice is to take them

Paul, do you get any side effects from the statin?

good advice from you and oldearl I think.....

I got it down from 6.8 to 5.1 through a not too drastic change of diet. (also got blood sugar down from pre diabetes 42 to 36) As I said I do NO exercise including hardly any walking. I made the decision to change the diet first to see if that made a difference on its own so now will start cycling on my bike to make even more difference...

 

[Paul Brooke]

Nope. No side affects at all from taking them. I am type 2 diabetic and it is controlled by diet. I haven't changed a lot apart from substituting Sweetex for sugar in my tea, miss out on the odd biscuits I may have had and try to have my food grilled instead of fried, oven chips etc. No great shakes really. The bike riding will help you too I am sure.
But like I said, the doc did not prescribe them without reason I am sure. So all I can say is take them. If they affect you in anyway then go back and I am sure the doc will prescribe you another sort. There are loads available. Good luck with it all. I am sure you will be fine. Just remember, you can still have that sticky bun or that burger every now and then. It's all about everything in moderation that's all

 

[Ian J]

Nope. No side affects at all from taking them. I am type 2 diabetic and it is controlled by diet.

I also have type 2 diabetes which is controlled via medication and I have also been taking statins for a few years without any effects at all

 

[KM-Tiger]

Yes, another member of the Type 2 diabetes club, though I'm marginal and only have that label as the NHS recently moved the goalposts as regards acceptable blood glucose level.

As regards statins, have been taking them for years without side effects. They definitely do reduce cholesterol, I know because I stopped for a year and the level went up. But some aspects of diet can also reduce the level. The lowest I've ever had was when I was taking a statin and having porridge for breakfast every morning.

Some people do get bad side effects particularly from high doses. GPs tend to prescribe whichever one is cheapest for the NHS, according to NICE guidelines. It may well be that you need to insist on trying a more expensive one if you are getting bad side effects.

Many years ago I had a scare that saw me carted off to A&E. Turned out it was really bad indigestion, but the blood test showed I had a cholesterol level of 12! It was after that that I started on statins. I became a bit of a celebrity at the GP practice: "Oh, you are the man with the cholesterol level of 12", sort of thing.

 

[Excel Expert]

Has done my father a world of good.

During his semi-retirement he gained a few pounds, the cholesterol built and he became borderline diabetic. Doctor put on him on Statins and he has been like a new man ever since. He is now fully retired and far more active than me. The statins didn't do all of this on its own though. There was a change and diet and lifestyle at around the same time. The weight loss and cholesterol drop meant exercise was easier and things gathered speed from there.

I don't believe there are any known side effects, if there are my father hasn't experienced any

 

[KM-Tiger]

I don't believe there are any known side effects,...

http://www.nhs.uk/Conditions/Cholesterol-lowering-medicines-statins/Pages/Side-effects.aspx

 

[Matt1959]

some great replies here, thanks! Re. lowering the cholestral - does lower cholestral on its own make you feel better?

 

[deniser]

I know nothing about statins but read an article the other day which said that, for women at least, a higher cholesterol level (over 7) was better than a low one - which seems to turn everything upside down.

I will see if I can find it......

 

[Scott-Copywriter]

Statins only inhibit the enzyme which produces cholesterol, so providing that the statin doesn't reduce cholesterol too much (your body still needs some cholesterol for cell and hormone production), then there shouldn't really be any side effects. At least none of any concern, anyway.

 

[Ian J]

Statins only inhibit the enzyme which produces cholesterol, so providing that the statin doesn't reduce cholesterol too much (your body still needs some cholesterol for cell and hormone production), then there shouldn't really be any side effects. At least none of any concern, anyway.

I was put on statins when diagnosed as diabetic a few years ago despite the fact that my cholesterol levels were OK but after my recent blood test I was told that my levels were now too low so the dosage was halved.

 

[Scott-Copywriter]

I was put on statins when diagnosed as diabetic a few years ago despite the fact that my cholesterol levels were OK but after my recent blood test I was told that my levels were now too low so the dosage was halved.

Yes, that can happen.

People automatically assume that cholesterol = bad, but it's actually an essential lipid which the body uses for cell membrane production, vitamin D and the production of natural hormones like testosterone. You need it for a healthy body, but not too much and not too little.

 

[MOIC]

Take the advice of your doctor and take the statins.

Your doctor is in the best position to know all your details and has based his advice on this.

The positives of taking statins far outweigh any potential side effects.

 

[Matt1959]

just to say everyone here is saying take the advice of the Doctor as they know best and I'm absoloutely not disagreeing with this as a general principle and especially re. Satins BUT no one should ever blindly follows doctors advice and regard them as god like. I went to Doc with severe acid reflux and they put me on Omprezole (which does have very negative side effects and addictive tendancies) I pulled myself off it after 10 days and changed my diet to cut out sugar (sugar, cakes, puddings, chocolate, pepsi etc) and my acid 99.9% cleared up. Havnt touched an antiacid tablet for 12 mths and have next to no acid reflux now. If I'd listened to my Doc I'd still be on Omprezole. Doctors do have a tendancy to be pescription trigger happy imo...but I do accept Statins are a different thing....

 

[MOIC]

just to say everyone here is saying take the advice of the Doctor as they know best and I'm absoloutely not disagreeing with this as a general principle and especially re. Satins BUT no one should ever blindly follows doctors advice and regard them as god like. I went to Doc with severe acid reflux and they put me on Omprezole (which does have very negative side effects and addictive tendancies) I pulled myself off it after 10 days and changed my diet to cut out sugar (sugar, cakes, puddings, chocolate, pepsi etc) and my acid 99.9% cleared up. Havnt touched an antiacid tablet for 12 mths and have next to no acid reflux now. If I'd listened to my Doc I'd still be on Omprezole. Doctors do have a tendancy to be pescription trigger happy imo...but I do accept Statins are a different thing....

I would agree with you regarding ALL advice given by doctors.

My son is a doctor and I don't always take his advice, although I am sure he is offering the correct advice.

Every person reacts differently to medication and sometimes it's the case that you know best how your body is reacting to what has been prescribed.

However with statins the benefits far outweigh any possible side effects.

 

[KM-Tiger]

I went to Doc with severe acid reflux and they put me on Omprezole (which does have very negative side effects and addictive tendancies) I pulled myself off it after 10 days

You would have been on that because it's the cheapest of the PPI drugs and that's what the NICE guidelines say to prescribe. I found that Lanzoprazole worked a lot better but the doctors don't like to prescribe it as It's very much more expensive. Also NICE guidelines say a month on PPI before considering other treatments.

So agree with your general point that to treat a doctor as God is naive. All courses of action and treatments have pros, cons and costs. The internet is full of information so why not use it to better understand? I'm perhaps lucky in having a highly enlightened GP who encourages me to do exactly that.

 

[MOIC]

The internet to better understand?

Not sure I would do that and ignore the advice of my (trusted) GP.

 

[Matt1959]

well I have to say re. using the internet that if you research Omprezole there are numerous horror stories about how insideous this drug is with many many accounts of how it has affected people. Cold turkey coming off it etc. I certainly wouldnt treat internet info as gospel but take the view theres no smoke without fire and that if enough independant sources are saying the same thing, there must be something in it....

 

[MOIC]

well I have to say re. using the internet that if you research Omprezole there are numerous horror stories about how insideous this drug is with many many accounts of how it has affected people. Cold turkey coming off it etc. I certainly wouldnt treat internet info as gospel but take the view theres no smoke without fire and that if enough independant sources are saying the same thing, there must be something in it....

Pharmaceutical companies must cover themselves.

American litigation can cost them millions, if not billions!

 

[deniser]

just to say everyone here is saying take the advice of the Doctor as they know best and I'm absoloutely not disagreeing with this as a general principle and especially re. Satins BUT no one should ever blindly follows doctors advice and regard them as god like. I went to Doc with severe acid reflux and they put me on Omprezole (which does have very negative side effects and addictive tendancies) I pulled myself off it after 10 days and changed my diet to cut out sugar (sugar, cakes, puddings, chocolate, pepsi etc) and my acid 99.9% cleared up. Havnt touched an antiacid tablet for 12 mths and have next to no acid reflux now. If I'd listened to my Doc I'd still be on Omprezole. Doctors do have a tendancy to be pescription trigger happy imo...but I do accept Statins are a different thing....

This is one of the classic cases of symptoms being your body trying to tell you something!

The medical profession seems only interested in prescribing meds to cover up the symptoms and not looking at the cause. Too much sugar doesn't agree with me either - in my case it manifests itself in terrible joint and muscle pains. At first I went to the doctors who prescribed anti inflammatory drugs and mild antidepressants which I refused to take. It was only when I went on a Weightwatchers diet and cut most sugar out that the pains resolved themselves and I could see the link. I must change my profile pic haha!

A lot of medical ailments are caused by the wrong diet. But doctors are not interested in diet - they just want to push more and more pills.

If I had high cholesterol I would also want to try and address it via diet before taking any pills. If that doesn't work, then the pills might well be beneficial.

 

[MOIC]

A lot of medical ailments are caused by the wrong diet. But doctors are not interested in diet - they just want to push more and more pills.

.

I agree that many medical ailments are caused by the wrong diet.

Any good doctor would point this out at the same time as prescribing the medication and encourage a suitable diet.

Sometimes the problem requires immediate attention in which case a prescription is necessary.

 

[Matt1959]

This is one of the classic cases of symptoms being your body trying to tell you something!

The medical profession seems only interested in prescribing meds to cover up the symptoms and not looking at the cause. Too much sugar doesn't agree with me either - in my case it manifests itself in terrible joint and muscle pains. At first I went to the doctors who prescribed anti inflammatory drugs and mild antidepressants which I refused to take. It was only when I went on a Weightwatchers diet and cut most sugar out that the pains resolved themselves and I could see the link. I must change my profile pic haha!

A lot of medical ailments are caused by the wrong diet. But doctors are not interested in diet - they just want to push more and more pills.

If I had high cholesterol I would also want to try and address it via diet before taking any pills. If that doesn't work, then the pills might well be beneficial.

agree with all you say here. Re. last para, I asked the Doc if I could have another 6 mths whereby I would do alot of exercise etc to see if that could bring my Cword down - he said no, take the Statins

2 tablets in no side effects yet!

I hate messing with the human body....

 

[Matt1959]

been on statins 3 days now and blood pressure has dropped from 140 to 120, no idea why but a notable side effect!

 

[Thermodynamic Man]

Blood pressure fluctuates all the time. You could have a reading of 140 and take another reading straight after and it read 130. I doubt your drop is to do with the statins to be honest. Pretty normal

 

[paulears]

Statins are on or off the flavour of the month list - High cholesterol is bad, I think most people accept that, but I was up to 9, and started on statins. After a year of no nice food (I love curries and other sloppy food), exercise and the statins I had more aches and pains than before, despite trying three kinds and my final test was 8. My doc said I was just one of the few people who have naturally high cholesterol. I'm back on the curries and less exercise, and it's now 8.5, and nobody bothers. My lifestyle seems to suggest after the docs questionnaire that not drinking and smoking ever mean my life expectancy is pretty good, despite the high cholesterol - so the statins were stopped and my aches and pains vanished. For me - no statins makes me actually feel better, and blow the actual number!