statins

[Blooto]

This article in the sunday express says statins can cause heart disease.

express.co.uk/news/uk/63316...

what the hell is going on with these drugs?

[Thomps95]

The evidence against statins is accumulating! This seems very serious.

[jennydog]

It's 08.05 Sunday morning and this article has just ruined my breakfast. It's yet another example of conflicting information. My GP had a dicky fit when I stopped taking Simvastatin last year so I restarted them to restore peace. As such I do not have very high cholesterol so I'm now inclined to bin the things.

I did not like the link to VitK.

I'll be interested in all your opinions. As Thom says, it's serious.

[Hidden]

My cholestrol has been around 7 for 10+ years and due to AF I had my heart and carotid arteries checked recently, all clear. The medics tried to put me on statins years ago but I hold the view drugs are for emergencies only.

[BobD Volunteer]

It is all very much like the myth of man made climate change. It has become such an industry that large number of people make so much money from that real independent non biased studies are almost impossible to find.

In the case of statins, at the last HRC we were told categorically that they were safe and valued by one of our presenters. Since I know the man I have to believe that he believes what he says.

In the case of climate variation. well one Iclandic volcano put more CO2 into the atmosphere in one day than mankind is likely to save by all it's measure in the next fifty years. Since that fact doesn't help all the industry people to make money the report by an Australian vulcanologist was never widely publicised.

You pays your money and you makes your choice. Nobody can force you to take a drug.

[CDreamer]

Remedy - stope reading the Express - said by my EP.

In a recent talk we were told that our GP practice will only recommend statins for people with heart conditions that require it. Every drug that ever was produced will give you the symptoms you take it for, including anti-arrythmias.

I am surprised at Malcom McKendricks' comment in the article, considering his views against such studies and sensationalism - but he is quoted being against mass usage for prevention as well - he has a great website and has written several books about how to read these studies - well worth the time & effort as he is very easy to read. drmalcolmkendrick.org/

The Express is very well known for creating scare stories using medical studies that are usually years old and not news. There have been concerns about statins for 20 years. Look at the cholesterol forum on HU to see numerous threads & discussions on benefit/risk of taking them.

Personally I refused when my cholesterol exceeded 7 because I don't have FHC and was easily able to decrease it by diet & exercise - but if I did have FHC which is inherited, I would think twice.

If you have concerns - follow the original papers - look at the Heart websites & forums and consult your own doctors for information and advice and stope reading the Express!

[PeterWh]

Thanks for posting article - very informative.

There have been quite a few posts and a lot of comments on statins on the cholesterol support forum on HealthUnlocked. However I have not previously seen this.

Personally, only 5 months after taking simavastatin, it had sent my liver function out (4 times maximum). I was very lucky that it was picked up by chance. I had changed onto warfarin for an ablation. The initial supplies lasted a couple of months and then when I needed some from the GP's and picked up from chemists they said would I like a medicines review. I said yes and the next day saw the pharmacist for 20 mins.

She said that I was OVERDUE for blood tests because I should have had a full set 3 months after starting a statin or Apixaban (although Apixaban had been stopped for two months at that point). After receiving the test results there were multiple calls trying to get hold of me because they also thought I had started the amioderone that I had been prescribed to take one month before ablation. Taking the amioderone would have caused further damage. Fortunately I hadn't started amioderone because I didn't have a date and didn't want to be taking it for a few months "on spec". This was very fortunate because amioderone would have made things worse.

Fortunately after a few months it dropped back below normal (though gone up again a bit recently for some reason). GP wouldn't countenance prescribing another statin!!!

Obviously all these things relate to me an may not to others.

[Hidden]

So the advice of a certain biochemist I know might be correct after all. I changed to the Mediterrean way of eating years ago on his advice, not realising this is what my parents fed me when I was younger. Every time my GP suggested taking Statins, I refused. He wanted me to take them as a precaution. My cholesterol level is 4.6 now, I am now 71, and remaining as healthy as I can be without the help of prescribed medicatons. I am overweight, but that too is being reduced, by working on my addiction to chocolate, but that readers is another story.

My father says Doctors will kill you, he is a very active 96 year old. Lives on his own, and enjoys his glass red wine every day. Oh, he takes no medications at all.

[Beta44]

"Sunday Express" Well there's a reliable source!

[Hidden in reply to Beta44]

But this report was also in pub.med. study and it found the link to K2 and calcification and statin therapy. So wouldn't,this time, say it is media scare stories,they are just a little late in reporting it!!

[Beta44 in reply to Hidden]

Point taken. Nevertheless all drugs have negative as well as positive effects. In the case of statins the informed view seems to be that on balance they save many thousands of lives.

[heartmatters1]

I have just been told to double up on my dose after a review blood test - so I would definitely like to know what's going on. It seems to me you are damned if you do & damned it you don't. If you don't take them you have blocked arteries, but it seems now if you take them you have hardening of the arteries - medical profession please sort this out!

[MarkS]

I don't usually pay much attention to Sunday Express articles. However this one is very good and informative. I didn't know the relationship of statins to atherosclerosis to I looked up some references.

There are a number of studies showing that statins affect the synthesis of Vit K2 in the body.This has the effect of causing hardening of arteries. A similar effect can be caused by warfarin if old misguided advice to avoid Vit K rich foods is followed.

This research does show the importance of Vit K to the body.

The Chief Medical Officer would appear to have shot herself in the foot again with the advice to extend the use of statins. This is in addition to her recent advice to avoid alcohol, which has been rubbished by statisticians.

Mark

[Halpin]

Once we start taking medication we are on a downward slope. In general the air we breath and the water we drink is bad for us. With respect to statins my research in the States highlighted their findings that taking them can bring on dementure. My Surgery recently suggested I take statins because of my heart problem and I refused because of my findings in the States.

[Gaygay45]

I find it amazing that anyone believes anything written in the Sunday papers especially the Express. Newspaper sales are falling dramatically so they have to write such stuff and put scary headlines up to compete with their rivals. The so called experts may or may not be genuine. There is a difference of opinion about any topic not least in medicine. Similar things have happened with the oral contraceptive pill and with HRT.

I know whom I believe and that is the medics who look after me and whom I trust. I would urge people not to stop their medication because of what they have read in the papers

[Blooto]

I do not think the so called "experts" know the answers, they just have their own opinions..............I mean 2 experts can give an opposite view on the same drug!

Us the guinea pigs take them and hope they improve our health rather than the opposite......its very confusing

[jennydog]

Interesting. Thank you.

I Googled statin's side effects (again ) yesterday evening and decided not to take Simvastatin last night. My walking has been so intermittently difficult lately and having had doubts about flecainide I will now see if I can start blaming the statin. One of the posts suggested stopping statins for 2 weeks to see what happens. Unfortunately we can only imagine what some of these drugs, additives and preservatives are doing to our bodies.

[Kingsley09 in reply to jennydog]

I was on simvastatin for 7 yrs and now my balance is so bad I have to use a tri walker if I want to go out to town or I will fall over I have refused to take them again but the damage has been done to me now my dr has recently persuaded me to take 5 mg Crestor three times a week as I have afib but I am not sure if I will carry on as am getting joint pain and muscle pain there are so many conflicting opinions out there

[Hidden]

I am trying to think of simple way to explain this.

Research was done on the brains of dementia and on none dementia patients. Same group, same lifestyles, similar diets.

The dementia patients on statins were found to have were found to have more cheesy holes in their brain (my way of describing this) becuse of lack of cholesterol to feed the brain.

they repeated the research using two groups of dementia patients. Statins and non statins. Lifestyle and diet similar.

Statin group showed the same results and the dementia started at a younger age.

None statin group, did not have the same amount of cheesy holes, dementia onset was later.

This research was done in the States,

I wonder if similar research has been done over here?