Looking for advice really before a follow up with my GP. I’ve been in BP meds for a year but in the last 6 weeks they’ve stopped working and my BP has been high. Doctors have been changing meds but we’re not there yet.
im also getting really swollen ankles.
Just had some blood tests and my cholesterol is off the scale - 10.2 total!
I have an appointment next week with GP. I really really do not want to go in to statins.
I’ve got an under active thyroid which I take levothyroxine for.
I eat healthy, don’t drink excessively (currently haven’t had a drink for a month). I need to exercise more and I’m also about 20 pounds overweight. So I know there are things I need to do myself.
10.2 is very high though isn’t it? Im only just 50.
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Whatnow1973
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I would suggest you read up on statins there is a lot of research out there and they are a great tool to have in your kit especially with a cholesterol level that’s so high
I have been on statins since November plus the usual cocktail of drugs following a HA I didn’t have or have high cholesterol, yes I had a few side affects which could have been the statins most likely was due to all the new medications I started taking. The side affects wore off after a few weeks and they weren’t intolerable I also take levothyroxine for an under active thyroid
Remember we are all unique individuals and not everyone has every single side affect of every tablet
Lifestyle changes will undoubtedly help you but medicines give you another very important string to your bow
If your Dr suggests statins give them a go if they don’t suit you there are different types available
You owe it to yourself to at least try, you are young with many years ahead of you, absolutely your body, your choice, inform yourself so you make an informed choice whatever you decide to do
thanks for you ur reply. I will read more about them but I’ve heard really bad things especially if you have a thyroid issues & are menopausal. I already get bad joint pains but I will be open minded.
Are these 'really' bad things from friends who have heard that from a friend of a friend? Do some research of proper science papers. They are effective especially for your high levels of cholesterol. Losing weight is also a very good idea.
I’m sorry to hear about the issues you are having with your BP and cholesterol.
My mum also suffered with high cholesterol before being put on a statin called Atorvastatin. This has reduced her cholesterol levels and brought her back within a normal range. I appreciate there is a lot of information out there regarding the side effects of statins however, it is important to remember that almost every medication causes some side effect anyway. I would say don’t knock it until you’ve tried it. You might find that it does help you.
thank you for your message. I hope your mum is feeling good now?
You’re right I could try statins and see how I get on. I’ll read up more before I see the doctor. I just feel like I’m not in control of my health anymore x
haha, nope! I don’t eat gluten so no Maccys for me and I detest milk.. I do eat a lot of eggs though, 2 -3 a day. I thought eggs were ok now?
I don’t want to go on statins because of all of the awful things I’ve heard and also I just don’t don’t want this life of taking loads of medication it my body seems I have other ideas 😭
None of us want a life of lots of medications but the way I look at it, if it's a choice between taking a few pills everyday or no life at all, I'll settle for the pills and the odd side effect.
At that level you need statins. The first i took didn't suit me; the second ones were fine. They honestly don't cause as many problems as you read about. Think about it; of the thousands of people who take them, who are the ones who post and complain? ONLY those who think they have problems. I recently suspected that after 5 y rs mine were causing problems. Had a simple blood test which proved that they are not. You really can not get that level down on lifestyle changes alone. Leave it untreated and what's the result? A heart attack or stroke.
When my cholesterol was high I was automatically put on statins - I was neither up nor down with them... however the cardiologist noticed I had been taking levothyroxine so suggested I get my thyroid checked again to ensure I was on the correct dose, as an underactive thyroid can cause metabolism issues leading to high cholesterol.
It wasn't linked in my case in the end... but it's always worth exploring if you've not had your thyroid checked in a while.
I take the statins. They work. No side effects that I’ve noticed. In fact I take loads of tablets, medicines, drugs, pills and injections. I’d probably be dead without them.
Go on statins. Try different sorts, one of them will suit you. They'll save your life. No amount of diet change will alter your levels enough to be healthy. However I do think 2/3 eggs a day is a bit over the top. I've just done cardio rehab and we were told 1 or 2 at most some days. Good luck, let us know how you get on. X
I take statins, without any problems. I also resisted starting them as I wanted to control my health myself.
For some years I tried really hard -I went to the gym, I had a personal trainer once a week and did various classes on the other days. I walked an active dog twice a day. I ate no meat, no eggs, no cheese,low alcohol consumption , loads of oats and fresh veg and fruit . I’ve never smoked . If it were possible to control my type of high cholesterol through lifestyle choices I would have had the world’s best balanced cholesterol. It wasn’t. My cholesterol came down by a small and insufficient amount.
I attended a lipid clinic and even there it was thought maybe I could delay starting statins, I appeared even to them to not be high risk I’m female, was not large around the waist, was fit and very aware of saturated fats/diet/health -until one of my sons was also found to have high cholesterol at 27 . Suddenly my cholesterol situation seemed to be taken more seriously. I had a carotid artery scan which did show higher than average for my age thickening.
I gratefully accepted that I needed pharmaceutical help for an inbuilt issue. My cholesterol level has decreased to under 5 (but over 4). It had been up to 9.2 only recently when I had to stop taking statins for 6months whilst I had a course of meds for something unconnected. It shot up dramatically without statins but has come back down now.
I was also advised to take Vitamin D. Not because it has any bearing on statins but because a deficiency can cause aches and pains which people attribute to statins.
Statins are not addictive. You feel nothing when you stop taking them. I would suggest you try statins . Evaluate how you feel. Ask for a blood test after 3 months or so to see how your body is adjusting.
Don’t take up smoking now or work to give up if you do. Exercise, eat well and drink only in moderation . Good lifestyle will assist your quest for a healthy life. Statins could and should hopefully be a positive contribution to that goal.
With best wishes.
Dear You,
Please take statins, you seemed to have read all about how dangerous they are, have you read about how dangerous it is to have such high cholesterol and what it is doing to your body?
The chances of just doing it by diet is extremely low, this is life threatening , please please get it sorted.
You have a longtime ahead of you don't spend it in illness when you have a chance now of doing something about it.............but that time , without worrying you , is ticking away.
You day your diet is good so I would suspect you have hereditary high cholesterol - Familial Hypercholesterolemia. Diet and exercise will never solve it so you need stations now as the condition often is diagnosed after a heart attack from around 35 upwards. Don't worry about the negative comments as there are many stations and doses. The negative comments often come from have tried one statin and one dose for a few weeks. There used to be someone on here who claimed because he has taken stations for a month he could no longer perform at 75 as he did at 40. I think it was on a bike rather than in bed!
I had to go on BP medication and statins four years ago. My BP medication was gal rd after I lost the weight.
My diet is good, I am genuinely not kidding myself. We rarely eat take out and I cook from scratch- each week we have at least 2 completely vegetarian meals with lots of veg & pulses, plus oily fish x 1, chicken etc. I try to use whole grains and stay away from too many starchy carbs. We’re not perfect, but it’s pretty good. In the last month I’ve cut out snacking, alcohol & sweeteners/sugar in coffee. I’ve been quite unwell, I had a Covid and my BP was so high and the new meds make me exhausted 😩
Hi.. I was 50 a few weeks ago when I had my HA. Been on BP meds for over 8 years. BP had been creeping up. Cholesterol warnings over last 5 years.. this year 6.7 and told to consider Statins as this was high. 4 months later I had the 'event' and 3 stents. Now no choice 80mg Statins. After first 6.7 I had 3 months dry, everyday at gym, lost a stone and ate healthy. Retest showed no improvement.Test last week... 2.3 level! Heart shows no sign of long term damage. I think I should have taken Statins a lot sooner! Oh and now zero alchol still and cut salt, sugar and sat fats. Another stone down. Basically doing everything I can medically and lifestyle to live the longest and best life I can.
Wow I’m sorry to hear this but glad you’re on the mend. Considering how high mine is I’m lucky so far! Ok this and a of the other messages have convinced me that the medication plus losing some weight is the way to go!
Do the statins. I had a cholesterol of 10, turns out for me it is genetic and have ended up having to have bypass surgery, which has not been a wonderful experience but necessary. Wish I had of had statins sooner
Gosh really. Do you mind me asking how old you are? I didn’t know my cholesterol was high and I only had a test because I asked for it, my GP have never offered despite my BP & Thyriod. I’m worried about what damage has been done now.
I am a 58 year old women. I had AF and had an ablation which scared me. Thought I was getting chest pain from anxiety. I was very fortunate as I have private health insurance through work so decided I needed to get my heart properly checked as the outcome was high cholesterol and had a CtT angio which showed triple vessel disease. Went for angio the Dr said I probably needed stents but there was too much narrowing in my LAD for them to stent so the only way forward was bypass. It has been a very scary time for me but I do feel I am getting there now.
Thanks for all the advice and comments. I’m going to go on medication. I’ll do all the other things too but it’s clear I can’t changing this via lifestyle alone. I’m sure I’ll be back for more advice. Have a lovely BH weekend x
I don't usually check in more than a couple of times a week but had a thought whilst waiting for my omelette. I am also on a mini Aspirin (75mg) after breakfast to reduce the risk of a clot. Why not pop into a pharmacist to discuss it today. They also advise that if you think you are having a heart attack to take 300mg. I am no expert but I think a couple of days loading at 300mg might be worthwhile. Again ask the pharmacist.
Thanks. because I’m an idiot ( there is no cure for this 😂). I took 600mg of aspirin before my PT session today and then googled ‘how much aspirin should I take’ - opps.. so I’m good there! However I will now start 75mg from tomorrow!
Most comment on chholesterol. What about BP. Mine is v high, usually around 165/90. On a cocktail of ever chaning meds, low salt, low alcohol, decaff, reasonably active. Cardiologists dont seem to have a solution. Any views
mine has been like this lately but this morning it was129/78 which is the best for ages. My GP keeps tweaking my meds but the downside is the directic makes me wee up to 3 times a night 😩
My GP wanted my diastolic BP down from 105 to below 96....
Struggled for a long time until final lot of meds = 10mg Ramipril, 10mg Amlodipine, 4mg Doxazosin & 2.5mg Bendroflumethiazide each day = just below 90 diastolic.
I will say from experience that i have seen activity & weight loss can help reduce BP as can significantly reducing stress BUT as I've been unable to maintain any of these over recent years (for various reasons that i wont go into here) the BP meds have had to be increased to the above doses.
Then heart arrthymia was found just over a year ago & i was put on 1.25mg Bisoprolol per day on top of my BP meds ..... so now my BP fluctuates widely! Some days diastolic is only 78, and other days its 90 & sometimes it's up higher than it was before I went on BP meds in the first place (+120). I'm not sure if this is an issue or not as I'm still waiting for follow up / 2nd appointment with Cardiology .... so I'm just monitoring it at present.
To be honest I think they just have to keep playing around with the meds until they get the right combination for you.
do you never have alcohol now? I’m not drinking currently, for a month now but I don’t want to give forever. I love wine! If I could I’d spend these sunny days drinking Rose in the garden.
Hi, as much as i enjoyed alcohol all except whisky 😉 baileys, Malibu and coke and rose was my favourite tipple 🙂 but unfortunately i stopped drinking alcohol because i found it was pushing my bp up further at the time, i now drink non alcohol drinks for a few years now, my choice ☺ to be honest i now don't miss the alcohol 😅 had a lovely non alcohol rose in the garden yesterday 😄
I just wanted to add all of my results because the 10.2 is total cholesterol. This won’t change the advice given but I wonder if it shows a different picture?
HDL 2.0
LDL 7.3
TG 1.9
Non HDL 8.2
So my LDL is v v high. But I think the HDL is good and TG are ok? ( I had this test in the morning. I hadn’t eaten but I’d had coffee with milk).
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