Statins and low LDL

[Xtorti0n]

I'm wondering if LDL can be too low and have a negative impact on heart health. My statin is only 20mg. After a major lifestyle change a couple of years ago my cholesterol is 2.3 total, HDL 1.4, LDL 0.9. Any thoughts?

[nellie237]

Wow, Ive just read your Bio. What an amazing achievement. 😊😊😊

I think you should talk to your Dr. With a bit of luck, He/She might be happy for you to come off them.

[Xtorti0n in reply to nellie237]

Hi Nellie, I'll talk to her at my annual review and see what she thinks. Although my LDL is now low, I'm aware that the other big benefit of statins is the stabilising of plaques.

[GB2021]

Hi Xtort0n, Your figures are very similar to the levels I was at. My LDL on statins was 0.8. My cardiologist suggested there was research trials which looked at LDL levels of 1.8 to 2.2, and these delivered positive outcomes. He went on to say that he was unaware of any research around levels as low as 0.8. In discussion with my GP it was agreed I would stop the statins (as I was having some adverse reactions) and move to regular monitoring (which I’m happy with). In my case there was no valid cholesterol readings prior to my MI in June 2020, and it wasn’t measured at the time to understand if this was a contributing factor. Good luck with your recovery.

[dharkan]

Hi, really nice to hear and congratulations on the fantastic achievement. What life style changes did you make to make such a great impact?

[Xtorti0n in reply to dharkan]

Hi Dharkan, My lifestyle changes were quite drastic when I started fixing myself, but now is as follows:

Careful sugar intake to reverse away from diabetes (I was 1 point from being diabetic!)

Have a high fibre breakfast

Follow recipes from Hair Bikers diet books adopting a flexitarian diet

Massively cut down alcohol

Walking - around 40 miles a week

I started this path early 2019. Now my BP is great and I lost 8st to now be just over 10st - had to downsize my clothes a few times!

[Auiron]

These levels given by the NHS are the ones we should go by. America and some other countries have different figures that can be misleading to anyone comparing who lives in the UK.

nhs.uk/conditions/high-chol...

NHS statin side-effects:

nhs.uk/conditions/statins/s...

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My doctor halved my 20mg Simvastatin to 10mg. He said the 20mg tablet can be split into two as I have several boxes spare.

I have an increase in bilirubin in my blood and though the doctor did not say statins caused this he did say that my cholesterol figure is at 3.5 taken about 5 months ago, so it seemed wise to reduce this to 10mg.

britishlivertrust.org.uk/in...