Atorvastatin

[Casino60]

Can anyone point me in the right direction.2years ago I had a heart attack and prescribed 80mg of the above ever since taking them I have suffered numerous stomach and bowel issues. IBS and 3 cases of diverticulis . bloating and constipation.

[Emma2017]

One of the very common side effects of atorvastatin is gigestive problem, i e bloating, constipation and quite clearly more serious ones like you described. First ask if there is still any point taking it. If there is ask to swap to a different one. You can look up the side effects of all of them on line and in your case try and look for one where the common side effect is not digestive problems

[Casino60 in reply to Emma2017]

Thanks

[Casino60]

Yes

[Stu888]

Hi

I was on 80mg Atorvastatin for 6 months and found it effected my energy levels particularly in the morning and while swimming. I had a chat with my doctor and Cardiologist and have now changed dose and have found the side effects have subsided. I would recommend that you also chat with your doctor and Cardiologist and tell them your symptoms and get their recommendation.

[Patient007]

I take 10mg a day and I have a bloated stomach and passing wind all the time. Awful things but they have brought my chol down from 5.6 to 4 within 7 months.

[sandybrown]

You were given statin as a secondary medication after your heart procedure to help with the blood flow and also bold velocity. You can ask your doctor to try different station or other medication that are available now.

[Patient007]

Ive only just had the results of my latest chol test. I havent spoken to my GP yet. When my chol went to 5.6 my GP said it was too high as I have AF and more risk of a stroke. I offered to change my diet to get it down but then when I tried to get Travel Insurance and had to declare that I had high Chol they wouldnt cover me because my GP had advised me to take statins and I had gone against her advice. I started taking the statins as advised. My GP still insisted that because of the AF I needed to get chol down .

[Markl60 in reply to Patient007]

Repeating what has been said many times before on here that is quoting your total cholesterol levels is pretty much as meaningless as telling us your inside leg measurement and asking if you are at risk. The best piece of insight that you can derive, according to current research, is from your Total to HDL ratio or your TG/HDL ratio. If you need further clarification just ask or quote your LDL HDL Triglyceride numbers and someone will surely comment on them.

[Patient007 in reply to Markl60]

My results show

Serum Cholesterol 3.5mmol/L

Serum HD Chol level 0.87mmol/L

Serum Chol/HDL Ratio 4

Se non HDL Chol level 2.6mmol/L

[Markl60 in reply to Patient007]

Personally I would not be happy with a Cholesterol to HDL ratio of 4. My choice would be to try full flush Niacin instead of Statins and see if the ratios improve. I would also take a long look at my diet and exercise regim.

[sandybrown in reply to Markl60]

What is the range you are looking for total cholesterol to HDL ratio?

[Markl60 in reply to sandybrown]

Below 3.5 is usually quoted as the desired range

[Sparky3333 in reply to Patient007]

I found the statins CAUSED my abfib. Statins affect your muscles, the heart is a muscle. Since i stopped statins I haven't had one episode of abfib. My Cholesterol is currently at 7.2 (which used to be the healthy range until big pharma started making the rules) and I still have no afib. its up to you, however I would also suggest take magnesium, hawthorn and please remember, most GPs do not read up an the latest research on statins, cholesterol ect, they just belive what the drug companies push.

Its only people who have been adversely affected and who have got no answers from specialists and Drs who have done the exhaustive research to get answers.

[Patient007 in reply to Sparky3333]

Thanks for that. Also GPs get good money for prescribing statins.

[sos007 Ambassador]

A heart attack and heart disease in general, as well as high levels of LDL cholesterol, are all, primarily, symptoms of a sub-optimal diet and lifestyle.

I had triple bypass surgery in March 2015 that required an additional 5 stents afterward because one of the 3 bypasses failed within 30 days, while the other 2 were sub-optimal.

I changed my diet and lifestyle and eventually came off of all medications in October 2016 after dropping 40 lbs.

If you want to know how to lose weight permanently without having to be hungry, read one of my previous posts here:

healthunlocked.com/choleste...

In the meantime, understand that statin drugs have significant side effects and you should do everything in your power to change your diet and lifestyle so that your blood lipid values among other bio-metrics become optimal, without the need for statin drugs.

Vitamin C - yes, Vitamin C, will lower LDL cholesterol.

After reading about the Linus Pauling Protocol - jeffreydachmd.com/heart-dis... -

- I decided to give it a try but at a reduced initial dosage.

I took 1,000 mg of vitamin C, along with 1,000 mg of Lysine (an amino acid supplement) 3 times per day. A total of 3,000 mg of each daily, along with 1,000 mg of another amino acid supplement 'Proline' (once per day).

I did this for 3 weeks prior to my October 2017 blood test. I do blood work every 3 months as part of my accountability process to ensure I maintain my healthy diet and lifestyle.

My blood work was already very good and specifically the 'bad' LDL cholesterol was in the optimal range for those without heart disease prior to me starting on the Pauling Therapy. However it was not in the optimal range recommended by cardiologists for those with existing cardiovascular disease like myself.

The 3 previous blood tests each showed incremental improvement due to my ongoing emphasis on a healthy diet and lifestyle, but then I got the results of my October blood test after 3 weeks on the Pauling Protocol and...my LDL dropped 18%! It is now within the desired range requested by my cardiologist.

I then decided to get a copy of a book written by Linus Pauling in 1986 - 'How to Live Longer and Feel Better'.

(He is a double Nobel Laureate - winning once for 'chemistry' and then again for 'peace'. He is considered the father of chemistry and his chemistry books are the textbooks read by those studying in that field.)

While reading this book (NOT a chemistry textbook) he stated 'if you take 1 mg of vitamin C, 3 times per day for 3 weeks, your LDL cholesterol should drop by...18%'!. I read this passage a few weeks AFTER I got my blood test results. I was floored!

Needless to say, I'm now a believer in Vitamin C and Linus Pauling's prescriptions for health.

For clarity, I repeat, I came off of statins in October 2016 - I did this on my own and against my cardiologist's advice. I did this because of the significant side-effects the statins had on my muscles (I was on 30 mg of Crestor - the strongest of all statins). All muscular pain symptoms gradually disappeared and now I am in full health.

In order to be healthy you need to address the root cause of the disease FIRST. That is - change your diet and lifestyle (click on the link to my post on diet and lifestyle referenced above). Take at least 3,000 mg of vitamin C daily, spread throughout the day, along with Lysine and Proline.

I've worked my way up to 5,000 mg daily as Pauling recommended for people with heart disease. Vitamin C has no toxicity and the worst that will happen is bowel intolerance (loose stools). For many people this won't happen until they get way above 6,000 mg per day (Pauling himself took 18,000 mg daily - he lived to age 94 and only started this dosage AFTER reaching 70 years of age).

By the way, get a lipid value called 'Lp(a)' measured at your next blood test - this is actually the atherogenic component of cholesterol, and not necessarily the LDL measure. You may have to pay for this test, and your doctor will unlikely be familiar with it. The Pauling Protocol helps to reduce this value which mainstream medical science says cannot be done as it is a genetically determined value.

My Lp(a) declined by 15% after initiating the Pauling Protocol.

Critically important is to eliminate all sugars in your diet - avoid packaged foods - and eliminate simple carbohydrates (read my post).

Good luck.

[Patient007]

Hear hear. Awful.

[Patient007]

I did originally refuse and because you have to tell your Travel Insurance if you have high chol and if I had gone against GPs advice to take statins then the Insurance would have been void. Unfortunately I checked and on my medical records it said that Patient has high chol and has refused statins . So I ended up taking them. It looks like my chol down to 4 now, so I will be speaking to GP again.

[sandybrown]

I am sure you have links that take one to look at insulin-stimulating foods.