Statin benefit underestimated

[weee]

I'm sure we all heard this on the news today.. Good stuff, I'm happy having been on statins now for almost 2 years... bbc.co.uk/news/health-37306736

[sandybrown]

As always there are two sides!, people in research do benefit from financial support for research. Looking back from history there has been many incorrect decisions in medicine.

Listen to human body and react accordingly.

Is blue top milk better than green top milk? what happens to the product that is made when green top milk is produced? Who is making the money from this?

Any medicine work for some people but not for every one!!!!,

If one is happy with medication then use it to get5 better. The other day I read on antihistamine, it dry the human body to stop water from the nose and eyes and many other organs!!!!, I have been on it for 35 years, Yes from experience. did not help me? No but because of family pressure I took it.

I could have had injection every year but my GP once said if I am going to see the Queen I can have an injection so that I do not have any sickness in front of the Queen but not for every day protection of food allergy, dust allergy, chemical smell allergy and summer allergy.!!!

[Bazza1234]

One Cardiologist says "this" and another Cardiologist says "that" . The bottom line is that they really don't know!! The final para of that newspaper article says this " London cardiologist Dr Assem Malhotra said: "There are serious question marks about the reliability of industry-sponsored studies on the side effects of statins, and essentially that's what this review is.

"And a lot of the scientists involved in the original studies were involved in this review. It is not an independent review."

We humans are great at finding things that support some belief that we have - whether that be a physiological belief or any other ( like religion)

[PeterWh]

Wasn't there another study or article recently that came to the opposite conclusion?

[Molsmum]

I listened to this news on TV yesterday, and at the very end they happened to mention that the the research was mainly funded by the drug companies. Could it be because there has been a huge drop in the use of statins in the past few years?? Let's face it they had to do something to carry on making vast amounts of money from statin sales

[DakCB-UK in reply to Molsmum]

Has there been a huge drop? I've yet to see a report of falling statin prescription rates, although the public statistics are a few years behind now.

[Hidden]

I still wont be taking them. My Cholesterol has not moved either up or down. Dr decided I might have congestive heart failure did BNP screening. Guess what ? nothing, nada, zilch. it was a hot day, I had injured my foot (broken a toe, was hobbling in pain and this caused the breathlessness as I was trying to move fast). Everything has settled, apart from the sore toe. What an eventful two weeks. my GP is determined to find something other than SVT , that has not had an event for over five years. he is amazed that my improvement is by NOT taking medication.

[sandybrown in reply to Hidden]

If your cholesterol has not changed, what are the numbers?

What is your GP looking for and what are the investigations in progress?

[Hidden in reply to sandybrown]

I can't remember the numbers because my GP now knows I am just not interested. I am in that age range of being over 60 so if over 60 prescribe statins was the vogue. I have been fighting the GP for years over this issue. They keep lowering what is the normal range for cholesterol figures , so to me it is not a level playing field. I started at 6.4 total.... it fluctuates now between 4 and 6.7. I said I don't even want another cholesteral test done. I do have SVT, even that has become a non event since I gave working in the NHS. Does that say something?

[sandybrown in reply to Hidden]

Relax and enjoy life. Regular exercise and food intake control, watch out for hidden and free sugar in food and drinks! This is what I am doing, Now days I go for blood test only once a year as the GP surgery wants to monitor numbers. I am not on any medication now. I still remember a doctor saying when I was in medical school the numbers were higher and why have they lowered it?

[Hidden in reply to sandybrown]

bala, this is what I have been doing for years and I also wont give my sugar, I use unrefined sugar, don't buy colas or drink soft drinks, also don't drink alcohol. My father says, stay away from the doctors, they will kill you without realising it. He is 95, healthy as a Mallee Bull and lives independently. My Mum's Death Certificate states, she died of old age. She was swimming twice a day up to the day she died. I eat red meat, plenty of fruit and veggies and have cut gluten out of my diet. No more digestive problems.

[sandybrown in reply to Hidden]

Thank you. I remember my grand mother and grand father both died of old age, never been to the doctors in Sri Lanka, no NHS!. I do not take sugar in coffee or tea but I like my alcohol, I have a daily drink in the evening. My GP gave me antihistamine that is supposed to help me with my allergy but this antihistamine can give the same reaction as food allergy!!!

You dad is a very god example who do not go to doctors,

[Hidden in reply to sandybrown]

I used to take antihistamine for my allergy, but found since removing gluten from my diet, my allergy this year was non existent. Where I come from there is no NHS, but we all have medical insurance. I can never remember not paying to go to the doctor. We also subscribed to the Ambulance service. Over here I prefer to go privately. NHS for extreme emergencies only.

[sos007 Ambassador]

The article at the end indicates that the sponsors of the study were not independent. That said, if a major lifestyle change including diet and exercise don't change a person's cholesterol levels, then they may not have a choice but to take statins. I made a major lifestyle change and I no longer need statins. However, my doctor didn't think the changes would have an impact, he thought I had familial hypercholesterolemia. So until you are prepared to make radical changes and see the results, even doctors cannot pin it on genetics.

[sandybrown in reply to sos007]

Life style change, excellent and it works for me!

[march1044]

I read as much of that research as I could, and could not find that the researchers made any distinction between those who use statins for primary prevention (i.e. no cardio events yet) and secondary (already had a heart attack or stroke). I know other studies say that statins clearly help in secondary prevention, but it is not clear that they help for primary prevention, esp. if the patient is female, and especially if she is over 60. Apparently statins are most likely to help young men who use it for secondary prevention. Since I'm an elderly woman, who has never had any heart issues, and who is normal weight with low to normal blood pressure, there is no way I'm ever taking a stain, even though my cholesterol has been high for years.

[youngalistai]

All i know is that because im a diabetic type 1 the nhs show more interest in me a i fit one of boxes "vulnerable" and for the last year they have been contacting me to come and see a doctor but giving no reason. so i went along and soon figured out it had nothing much to do with my diabetic control or how well i was but they told me on a recent blood test my cholesterol was a "little" high and asked me to start taking statins. when there is pressure it always puts me off until there is concrete proof then i will just alter my diet (dietary control was not mentioned until i asked if there was any other way of reducing my cholesterol)

[youngalistai]

The doctor never mentioned anything about cutting out saturated fat i personally dont know anything about the relationship between fats and insulin intake .... we had the ten minute slot most of this was taken up with the doctor fiddling with a printer to try to get me facts on cholesterol from nhs site. Anyway i just really wanted a prescription but she couldn't do that either because of broken printer so told me she would write a note so they would print it in reception when i asked there they told me i would have to come back at the end of the day as the doctor had not signed it and they didn't usually sign prescriptions until after lunch. So i went home back to my car under the careful watch of "parking eye" and i also had to sign in on a machine in reception that didnt work properly under the watchful eye of another receptionist that was full of helpful hints but wouldn't just sign me in herself she was too busy. I sent a similar "review" to nhs choices web site as i was enraged about york house woking community clinic but they refused to print it as it didnt contain enough helpful relative information?.

[youngalistai]

i dont need any changes to my medication the doctor said i have normal blood sugar levels for the past 3 months i just need to slightly lower my cholesterol

[sandybrown in reply to youngalistai]

Ok, you are looking to lower your cholesterol?

What are your cholesterol numbers at the last blood test?

Did your GP explain to you about the cholesterol numbers?

Broken printer.!!!

You GP should have given you a hand written prescription at that time. There is no excuse, may be no pen available.

What medication do you take at the moment? some medication can increase cholesterol!!!

Food intake control, drinks intake control, watching out for hidden and free sugar can help with regular exercise to lower cholesterol.

Blood sugar level, do you do blood test for 90 days or just blood glucose?

Sorry to ask many questions, but this is the only way to help you.

[youngalistai in reply to sandybrown]

I take humulin insulin 4units/4 units/6 units and lantas insulin 26 units i dont personally blood test but the clinic takes a Hb1 test around 3 months so i know how im doing generally waste of time taking daily blood tests i tend to run on the higher side but not really high thru my social lifestyle. In the hb1 blood test its one for all blood test covering glucose levels as well as cholesterol ect but they didn't tell me what no. it was you probably know more about it than me all i know is ive had it for 35 years and don't like it to interfere in my life even if that leads to a detrimental effect on my life eventually believe it or not. I come from a generation that does not wear its heart on its sleeve like today where everyone wants to live forever. I prefer to keep quiet about my condition as i get bored talking about it that's why im not really interested in finding out more about it. If i was diagnosed with cancer the last thing thing i would do is spend fruitless hours on the net looking into every aspect of my condition. Im sorry but too many people go on forums and dissect every aspect of their condition and seem to revel in it i just want to forget and live life while im still mobile

[sandybrown in reply to youngalistai]

Thank you for your response. Take care.

[youngalistai]

its measured in 3ml units so i take 4/4/6 of humilin insulin and 26 of lantas insulin

[sos007 Ambassador]

Whatever benefits statins provide, they nothing that proper nutrition and exercise can't accomplish naturally. Taking a pill is a band-aid, it does not address the cause behind the symptoms being treated by the pill.