RX for statins

[bobmane]

Diagnosed as having high cholesterol at age 59. Was given RX for Statins. Otherwise in good health. Was about 20 pounds overweight at time of blood test. Hoping to avoid Statins if loosing the weight (have lost 10+ so far). Doctor said it wont matter even if loosing the weight and said "must not take Statins for the rest of your life". I have seen other docs online saying that is not always the case. Seeking some feedback on that.

UPDATE: The initial idea of trying to first do lifestyle came from various sources but this in particular: youtu.be/C_qQ7-Rkbak?t=201(Not working as expected?) He mentions 2 groups that seem to mean pre event and post event. In pre event group he seems to say lifestyle RX could be an option and that in some cases if it did work the drugs could be avoided. (Note: mayo clinic #2 for heart stuff in the USA...he is Director of the Statin Intolerance Clinic - but doesn't seem to be saying all RX of statin is bad so seems like a relatively good source)

[Hidden]

Hi, about four years ago my cholesterol was 5.3 Altered diet to more plant based (reduced meat by about 80%) Joined a gym and my last check up last month was 3.3. Must admit that Atorvastatin was prescribed but have lost a reasonable amount of weight.

[bobmane in reply to Hidden]

Yeah that is one thing I was worried about the drug masking whether or not the lifestyle stuff was helping

[Hidden]

It depends on the root of your high cholesterol, but losing the weight on its own won’t automatically bring it down, nor stop it from continuing to go up. If it’s lifestyle driven, then those changes need to be made i.e. reducing saturated fat intake, exercise etc. My cholesterol was well within normal when morbidly obese. I completely overhauled my diet, dropped 10 stone to get down to a healthy weight, and have been maintaining that and exercising regularly for the last 3 years, but my cholesterol started going up regardless about 2 years ago and I was diagnosed with mixed dylslipidaemia, where the numbers are also out of whack with each other. In the end, with literally nothing else I could do for myself, a statin was the only option to get the numbers - and the relationship between the numbers - back within normal. There is extensive family history of heart attacks and cardiovascular disease at a young age, so there probably is a genetic component to why my cholesterol became abnormal even with a very healthy and clean lifestyle.

[bobmane in reply to Hidden]

Glad to hear it is working better for you...it sounds like you tired the natural route first and ended up opting for the drug

[bobmane in reply to Hidden]

Thanks! Yeah it is more just due diligence for me at this point. I am going to update my original post to include a video where it is discussed.

[Hidden]

I spent about 3 months on a very determined trial to try and bring it down by sticking to a plant based diet and eating all the right things, using prior knowledge and additional research. Sorry to say it went back up to pre-event level. Why are you hoping not to take Statins? A lot of the bad press is not warranted IMO and I look on it as something beneficial.

[bobmane in reply to Hidden]

Mainly since yes I have heard about possible muscle pains. Even asked my step-mom if she was on them and she said yes, and said they caused pains for her.

[PhilGM in reply to Hidden]

Think it correct to have some scepticism about statins rather than just accepting their beneficial aspects. Should be remembered that they succeed by artificially altering the chemical balance in the liver causing the reduction of cholesterol. In doing so this interference causes muscle pain and is implicated in increased diabetes rates. It should also be noted that doctors are recommended to closely monitor liver and kidney function in patients taking statins. Having said all this I am taking my statin as prescribed but taking CoQ10 to try to mitigate any problems!

[firstlight40]

Clearly no-one likes to be told they need to take a drug for the rest of their life. My cholesterol was 5.6 before my HA. Statins reduce cholesterol but they also reduce inflammation. After an HA the acceptable levels are reduced a lot. Like most people I don't have side effects from having high dose atorvastatin (80mg) and my cholesterol is now 3.5. While I definitely eat less cheese than I used to I haven't had to otherwise change my diet although it wasn't too bad to begin with.

[bobmane in reply to firstlight40]

When you say 3.5 or 5.6 I dont see the same numerical data on my findings. All I see on a Lipid Panel page of my report is Total Cholesterol; 227, HDL Cholesterol 46, LDL Chol Calc (NIH) 151, Triglycerides 163.

[firstlight40 in reply to bobmane]

Because you use the Rx terminology and US measurements for cholesterol (mg/dl not mmol/l) I assume you are in the USA. We welcome everyone from wherever they are but this board is UK based (British heart foundation being the sponsor) so the measurement units for cholesterol may be different to what you are used to. Conversion formulae are here:

ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK3...

[Alison_L in reply to firstlight40]

Thanks for that, Firstlight, I was wondering what Bobmane meant by RX for statins

[Hidden in reply to firstlight40]

Ah, cheese. Used to love the stuff. Happy days, no more though!

[firstlight40 in reply to Hidden]

We used to have one cheese fondue every week, alas no more!

[bobmane in reply to firstlight40]

For me a big one was coconut milk (and of course coconut ice cream)

[JennyRx]

I had high cholesterol and very high lp(a) and that’s an independent risk factor for HA and strokes. I’ve lost weight, I exercise but I need a statin and ezetimibe to get my LDL down to where the lipidologist wants it. Can’t reduce lp(a) so you go big guns on everything else - cholesterol, exercise, weight management, smoking. I didn’t know I had this factor but it’s genetic and my mum had her first HA at 52 and various other blockages in her legs in her 40s. So I think I know where I inherited it from ….

[bobmane in reply to JennyRx]

Oh yeah after reading your post I did read about genetic factors. I should look into that as well...glad to hear you are doing better...thanks for the feedback!