Alternative to Statins?

[1234_6]

Hi All,

Just seen the attached article in a magazine & thought some of you might be interested seeing as there's been one or two posts mentioning cholesterol and statins.

I'll leave you to do your own medical research on it.

Regards

[Hidden]

what magazine was it in?

[1234_6 in reply to Hidden]

Hi fishface

It was just in last week's People's Friend. An oldies mag 😀. Contains just a few health bits & pieces and is not usually prone to jumping on to the lastest fad.

[Hidden]

MMMMmmmm Interesting mr Bond...............

[MichaelJH Heart Star]

A couple of points before you all rush to your GP on Tuesday.

a) it is only half as effective at reducing cholesterol compared to statins

b) It comes with its own potential set of side effects including gout and anemia

Therefore stations will remain first choice.

[Tinker2015 in reply to MichaelJH]

I am glad you said that as I was about to mention about the gout. I tried the drug Ezitimibe a few months back I had no side side effects for first five weeks then I got awful gout with them and other problems. So still searching for the right pill

[MichaelJH Heart Star]

If statins do not work (there is usually a type and dose to suit most people) the next drug to try under NICE guidelines is Ezetimibe before Bemopedoic Acid. At this stage injections like Inclisiran may also be considered. One problems statins have is the negativity on the Interweb and MSM much of it total rubbish.

Obviously not all people can ternate statins and I wish you luck in finding an alternative. If anyone has issues with their GP speak to another and if that doesn't work ask for a referral to a specialist or see one privately.

[Heather1957 in reply to MichaelJH]

I take both Statins and Ezetimibe, after my last 2 stents fitted Oct '21. My Cholesterol levels are absolutely fine but my cardiac nurse added Ezetimibe to my meds.

I am due to have a review on the 3rd July and I am going to ask that either they reduce the dose of statins (80 mgs) or remove the Ezetimibe.

[valeriep in reply to Heather1957]

My understanding is that the two drugs have different functions: statins help reduce cholesterol in the body, while Ezetimibe helps prevent the body absorbing what cholesterol is left. So they work together, rather than being an either/or solution.

[Heather1957 in reply to valeriep]

Thanks, obviously the nurse was concerned that my arteries were still becoming blocked even though my cholesterol was very low. It was so bad when I had the stents fitted they had to drill the arteries to clear them first.

[valeriep]

I have just been prescribed bempedoic acid (and told to drink a daily Benecol yogurt) by the lipid clinic in an attempt to reduce my LDL. (I have hypercholesterolaemia and already take 80mg Atorvastatin and 10mg Ezetimibe, as well as fortnightly Repatha injections.) I tend to note, rather than dwell on, the side-effects written in the accompanying leaflet, as I firmly believe that if you expect to experience side-effects from medication, you usually do. However, after 24 hours, I had an upset and bloated stomach, and felt nauseous and headachey. I stopped taking the tablets after 3 days, as I had a day-long journey with a funeral the following day after, which was enough to contend with, but I’ll restart them tonight, as I’ll be WFH this week. My specialist asked me if I’d ever suffered from gout before prescribing - I haven’t, and don’t want to, but my sister, who works in pharmaceuticals, advised me to drink plenty of water when I take them and I also noted that they have to be taken with my main meal of the day. On the plus side, the outside of the box says, ‘May cause dizziness’ and I didn’t experience that! I’ll report back once I’ve had the chance to give them a fair trial...

[Blearyeyed in reply to valeriep]

Did you continue drinking the Benecol yoghurt when stopping the tablets or stop it as well?Had you been having Benecol before having it with the new tablet without ill effects?

Just wondering , as I know a number of people whom have an upset , bloated stomach on the first few days/weeks of either drinking Benecol , Actimel or Probiotic products because of the way they can effect the gut as they rebalance the biome.

Just thought I'd mention it as it's not uncommon for people to stop a medication if they get side effects but it turns out a change in diet at the same time was the cause and the missed out on the benefits of the medication because of it. Good luck with your second attempt, Bee

[valeriep in reply to Blearyeyed]

Ah, that’s interesting! Actually, I ran out of Benecol - my local shop doesn’t stock it, so I have to remember to buy it when I go into town - so I also haven’t taken that the last few days. Although I've stocked up now, I might stay off it till I see how the next few days go with the tablets. (My sister’s GP told her that you’d have to drink a hell of a lot of Benecol for it to affect your cholesterol levels, so I’m a little dubious about it!) I took a tablet last night and so far, so good, but last time I didn’t start to feel the effects until 36 hours after the first. However, I’m trying to just crack on and not dwell on side-effects.

[Blearyeyed in reply to valeriep]

Not sure if they gave you the Benecol for its effect on cholesterol or to coat your stomach so you didn't have any excess stomach acid or pain when you take the pill.If it is to help protect your stomach you could substitute it with a little glass of milk, non live yoghurt , a small bowl of porridge or some banana instead while you test if the reaction was the pill or the Benecol.

If things go well with the pill without Benecol for a few weeks , you could try drinking the Benecol at a different time of day and seeing if it causes the same reaction.

Some people , like myself , need probiotics and plant sterols but have to have them alongside other foods to prevent the stomach gripes and often have a few weeks of trouble while the digestive system rebalances itself.

Hope things go well for you this time, Bee

[valeriep in reply to Blearyeyed]

No, the Benecol is definitely to help reduce the LDL, as the specialist said the pills would reduce it by X amount and Benecol by an additional Y amount (can’t remember the numbers!). I already take Lansoprazole to protect my stomach.

I had a fuzzy head and my tinnitus was quite loud yesterday, but only had to make one quick dash to the loo. Today I felt fine, so fingers crossed, and if it’s the same tomorrow, I’ll reintroduce the Benecol.

Thank you for your good wishes; I’ll keep you posted.

[valeriep in reply to valeriep]

I said I’d report back on the bempedoic acid, so here goes - I had a couple of false starts with a fuzzy brain and an upset stomach, so stopped taking them until I had a week where I wasn’t so busy and didn’t have any travel scheduled. I had one episode of a very badly upset stomach and thought I really wouldn’t be able to tolerate them, but as it only happened once, think it was actually caused by a curry I’d eaten the night before (which reminded me that we can’t blame everything on medication side-effects - sometimes other forces are at work!). Apart from that, my third attempt went smoothly and now they are just part of my pill-taking routine. Of course, I can’t report on their efficacy until I have my next cholesterol check.

[valeriep]

I think that’s true. My GP actually got very excited and rang me up when he received the letter from the lipid clinic, because he hadn’t heard there was a combined pill before (you can take bempedoic acid with Ezetimibe as a combined tablet or take the bempedoic acid separately), and said that Boots might have to order it in, as it wasn’t a routine medication for them to carry at the moment.

[Frogman53]

I take both Atorvastatin and Ezetimibe...my wife was put on statins twice and they made her quite ill, changed to Ezetimibe and she's been as right as rain on them.

[Ethel14]

I was referred to a clinical trial Orion4 after my 2nd HA last October for Inclirisan, now awaiting appointment with lipid clinic as the Consultant said it would be detrimental to be given a placebo my appointment is 06/07/23, I take ezetimibe.

[MountainGoat52]

Ezetimibe (on its own) did nothing for me... zero effect.

It is interesting to see alternative medications being developed as many people have major issues with statins. Thankfully Rosuvastatin works for me. Why my GP didn't prescribe it after Atorvastatin, Pravastatin and Simvastatin all caused problems I'll never know. It was the Clinical Pathologist at the local hospital that prescribed it initially.

[Wellington19]

When I saw my cardiologist she said she wasn't authorised to give a alternative to statins , would only allowed to offer me alternative statin, i have become prediabetec because of longterm statin medication

[HateMarmite in reply to Wellington19]

crikey, is that a thing? I had a HA and stent fitted 3 years ago. I have been on statins, different ones ever since and now I am being told I’m pre-diabetic too.

[Jencalverley]

thank you I will follow this up as I have defo had muscle pain on statins 😊

[Qualipop]

After my heart attack and being put on statins, I had to have atorvastatin swapped to simvastatin and all seemed ok until I realised I'd lost a huge amount of muscle. Someone posted about the possibility of statins causing this so I asked my GP about it. There is a simple blood test that can prove whether they are affecting a certain enzyme and therefore the muscles. It's usually done when people complain about pain ; the muscle loss is quite rare. I had the test last week and the results say that statins are NOT affecting my muscles. Maybe those who think that statins are affecting them badly should ask for this blood test before condemning them out of hand.

[Dogchasers]

I find all this chat interesting because despite complaining about pains in my legs my doctors have never offered an alternative to my simvastatin I did try other statins before settling on this one

There seems to be a big variation across the country in response on how to manage the problem