Hi All, I am astounded so please give me your thoughts. I have high Cholesterol 8.1, and refused to take statins untill I am given time to get it down by diet and excercise, I am still working on this. This is opinions needed for my husband. My husband has PD, and takes quite a few meds for his condition, some of the meds can cause blood pressure levels to rise and fall. When he recently went for a blood pressure check he was high, on second check normal, third check 170/90, it was decided there and then he must have tablets for high blood pressure which he started yesterday. He had some bloods done yesterday as well for the usual things like we do. He was unhappy yesterday to think along with all his meds for PD he now has to take more for blood pressure. So you can imagine my feelings when he received a phone call this morning to say his blood tests show a high cholesterol level and he must come to the surgury now to collect the meds for his high Cholesterol ???????
The doctors surgery is a 12 mile round trip and hes not in the best of health, plus the cold weather, so off he goes panic stricken that he has to collect them straight away. He is so upset as he now has to take even more meds. Here is the part I don't understand? please tell me if I am missing something, but my husbands reading is ONLY 5.5 ????????????? I wish mine was that low!!!!!!!! I feel annoyed that it seems no thought or consideration is given to the large amount of meds he is already on. Any opinions, advice etc would be most welcome xxx
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ask for a Lpa blood test 5.5 is not high go and research niacin B3 supplement read up on Dr abram hoffer niacin is fantastic for cholesterol if your worried about your numbers and see all the other benefits niacin will give you both good luck
Hi, no you are not missing anything, it is absolutely ridiculous to prescribe you husband statins as a matter of urgency for a cholesterol reading of 5.5.
Unfortunately the government after taking so called professional medical advice, offer GPs a cash incentive for every patient on their register with a cholesterol level of 5 and under.
I am not saying for one moment that any doctor prescribes statins for financial reasons, I'm simply saying that the guidelines are so wrong and a level of 5.5 is definitely nothing in the grand scam of statin taking ( not a typo error I meant scam)
It's believed that paying GPs a small sum to get their patients cholesterol level to recommended guidelines of 5 in healthy patients and 4 if diabetic etc, that this is a small price to pay to prevent heart disease stretching the NHS, it's bascially pay now to save later. Nothing wrong with that..... Except this is leading to masses of patients taking statins, which in turn cause severe side effects which then leads to NHS paying again to treat.
As you can probably tell by my post I am anti statin and do not believe in cholesterol being so called ' evil' our bodies need cholesterol and all statins do is fill the pockets of drug companies.
My husband was put on statins when his reading was only 5 a few years ago when doctors were dishing out these new 'wonder drugs' like sweets - he died in 2005 and through investigation since I strongly believe they were his cause of death at the young age of 68. He was getting leg cramps and eventually his organs gave out. If anyone says they are on statins I always advise them to take Q10 tablets which helps the liver as the statins can reduce the enzymes and as you get older sometimes the liver can naturally get short, his kidneys deteriated and eventually his heart gave out - if only I had had access to todays' wealth of information on the internet I believe he would have been here today, he used to be a good rugby and cricket player and would have loved to be here to see his grandchildren grow up and also two lovely little great grand daughters. I get cross when the doctors try to put us on statins, why don't they suggest a good diet first which, I am sure, would do the trick without drugs.
Sorry to go on but next month will be the tenth anniversary of loneliness without him.
By the way my cholesterol went up for a while and the doctor wanted me to go on statins and kept nagging so in the end I gave it a try and after about a month I was getting pains in my legs and then I started getting problems with my bladder being overactive so I stopped immediately, the doctors have not offered them again!!!
Extremely sad trownail my heart goes out to you, I have told my husband not to take them, I refused to take them and my count is 8+ i will continue to excercise and eat healthy, I think our livers get enough bashing from meds and every day living alone. I am so glad you have your family they sound loving and caring xxx
Life's a beach at times. Mine went thru the roof also @ my last visit. I'm taking the statins but I also take ubuiquinol daily to fight off the side effects till I can control it with diet alone. Do some research on ubuiquinol and it will astound u. It helps me tremendously. Good luck. Hope this helps. Peace
Tend to agree with Sonyajba and would definitely be sceptical about 'urgency' of need to start statins. Does depend, though, on degree of cardiovascular risk and should be discussed in depth with GP anyway. Increased exercise may be difficult if PD a problem, but diet worth looking in to anyway. Good luck.
I've had some experience with PD and those who have it, during clinical trials I coordinated. My feeling is that additional meds should not be added to those patients are already taking unless absolutely necessary. Statins, in particular, can have many side effects related to muscles but also frequently cause problems with cognition...memory, concentration, etc. A person with PD does not need that. The docs may poo poo this but it is a fact.
You might like to read this, and to find out more about the writer, who is an M.D., click on "About" at top left of screen.
Regarding your husband's hypertension...You both probably know that patients with PD often have orthostatic hypotension, a significant drop in blood pressure when going from a sitting or lying down position to a standing one. This can result in fainting, falls, etc. It can also occur after a meal. I hope that his physician is well experienced in treating PD patients and that s/he has made sure that blood pressure is always taken in both sitting and standing positions, and that several readings are taken before decisions are made about adding B/P meds.
Statins for levels of 5.5 is ridiculous! If he lived in France they would not even consider it until his levels reached 6.7. With a level of 5.5 you could easily get that down by diet to under 5.0, see the "Portfolio diet" or even the "dash" diet for hypertension.
It does seem really unnecessary when your husband is already on a lot of medication. Who knows what medicine will react with another.
Plant Stanols / Sterols can be a helpful way of lowering CH without resorting to a statin (Benecol and Flora Proactive). Not sure if they would interact with any medications used for Parkinsons.
Bile Acid Sequestrants can also work as a first resort, though years ago I found the 'crunchy plastic powder' quite unpleasant to consume - and as they have to be taken with a defined 'no other drugs' slot around them, scheduling them can be difficult (it lead to poor compliance in my case).
You have good reasons to be annoyed; it is this silly yardstick that nobody should have total cholesterol above 4, regardless of the mix (LDL< HDL< TRIC)
It is truly worrying that many GP's are just relying on their Qrisk assessments, without looking at the bigger picture.
Hi Being on a dozen tabs I understand where your husband is coming from. With respect to the statins and the 5.5 it is not the reading per se that is the issue it is what parts are hdl ldl vldl tryglcerides etc. and the ratios, for instance my reading is 4.2 you may say yippee (I did) however as that 4.2 is made up of ''bad'' lipoproteins and there is less than .6 of ''good lipoproteins even with a reading of 4.2 I am at serious risk of heart disease stroke etc. If unable to increase exercise enough especially with PD or other issue that limits amount you can do with diet exercise in a reasonable timeframe along with irregular blood pressure then a statin is the best course. However a couple of days here or there does not really make too much difference and whilst quite important to have treatment the urgency to go that day should have been balanced against the risks. Statins do have an occasional effect of also lowering good cholesterol. use should be monitored and regular quarterly blood tests done along with enzyme checks (can indicate muscle issues with statin) Lived with Heart Disease for some time now which started off with irregular High blood pressure and cholesterol problems even though had healthy diet etc and high levels of exercise I have had some good and bad experiences. Most of what is reported in press is exaggerated, wrong or skewed and generic or they have taken a few instances and made it applicable to all. Do be cautious not only with what you read but also what GPs per se may say - Ask for a lipid clinic check and regular reviews of all the medication to iron out inconsistency or contra- indications along with incompatibility. Good site to look at is British Heart foundation if they do not know they say so - quite honest they are. Also most good Pharmacies can do a medicines review for you
I understand and empathise with your predicament, however the guidelines that indicates whether or not a statin is required states that the patient (in this case your hubby)'s risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD) ought to have been calculated. If his risk over the next 10 years of developing problems with his heart or having stroke are over 10% then a statin will be 'offered'. I would suggest you make an appointment (a telephone apt will do) to discuss with your GP or practice nurse.
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My husband has just returned from his GP with a prescription for statins. He's feeling confused about whether to take them.
The dr wants to see my husband about going on statins! Wonder what others here think?
Given in to statins!
