Hi all. Today i have been discharged from the hospital as i refuse to take statins. I was blatantly told that their job is to prescribe medication and if i refuse to take it, they will refer me back to my gp who can monitor my cholesterol via blood tests. Fair enough but before they completely remove me from their list, i was offered ezetimibe. I have only just started reading up on it but wanted to ask others if they have any experience, advice, comments on this medication?
My numbers are coming down, albeit slowly but the hospital want me to take medication to bring them down quicker (which i refuse to). They accept its my choice but i hope i dont end up making things worse for myself by maintaining the “anti pharma” attitude! I had a very bad experience with statins years ago and the thought of taking them and suffering muscle pain etc causes me anxiety as i would struggle to live my life comfortably. My previous results are in an old post but to compare where i am now vs 4 months ago, i will list the results:
Nov 2017 / Feb 2018
Total 6.5. / 6.3
HDL. 1.35 / 1.37
LDL. 4.56 / 4.20
Triglycerides 1.3 / 1.6
Ratio 4.81 / 4.60
Non HDL cholesterol (from recent test only) 4.93
I am currently taking (and have been for the last 6 months):
2000mg niacin (quick release),
3000mg vit c chewable,
Co Enzyme Q10 CoQ10 100mg,
Vitamin K2 MK-7 Natto 100mcg,
Vitamin D3 1000iu,
Magnesium 375mg,
Omega 3 Fish Oils 1000mg.
Do I continue as is? Any advice appreciated.
Thank you
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You can get a farmacogenetic test before taking the ezitimibe. Dont know if the hospital do this or your gp could arrange it, but private labs definately do it. You only have to tell them the drug components and they will test your blood and see if it is comatible with your genetic makeup and will do you good or do your body harm. Then you are forearmed and can show the hospital docs the info and prove you are not just being 'difficult' ( in their eyes!!) Private tests are not too expensive.
This is the road i am having to go down because I am so drug intolerant, and they are keen to fill me, too, with allsorts!
Keep on the natural/herbal stuff and i wish you all the best!
I will speak with my gp about the test. And thank you for your best wishes. Like i mentioned, the numbers seem to be going in the right direction and i feel fantastic! Good luck to you too on your journey.
I didn’t have my vitamin d tested recently but in many previous tests, i was informed i have vit d deficiency and thats the only eeason i take it, not necessarily for FH. Next time i have a blood test, i will ask.
If vit d was not ticked on the recent blood test form, i guess they wouldnt have tested for it so assume it wouldn’t show on the printout anyway? I will get tested and if levels still low, i can up my dosage.
Ezet' Some 5 years ago I was referred to my hospital lipid clinic where the chief honcho discharged me from the hospital because I would not take statins. I thought this was a disgrace, especially by the way considering my GP has not asked me to attend his practice once during the last 5 years despite me having a heart attack 5 years ago. My discust at literally being thrown out of the hospital by a very bullying doctor prompted me to contact my local MP. She took up the case and wrote to the hospital board who convened a hearing which I attended. The bottom line was that they simply wanted to pacify me and get me out of the building. There was a kind of half hearted 'well it could have been handled better' but no retraction or real apology. Personally I would take it up with you MP, do not be bullied.
How awful! To think we can be bullied into doing something we don’t feel comfortable with. I sense they don’t like it when we attend armed with knowledge and just try to scare us into taking medication that a) isn’t necessary and b) will do more harm than good.
What an awful experience! If any doctor is unwilling to work with you and listen to you, than it is time to part company.
Post this on Kidney Disease, one of the other sights on healthunblocked. I think it would be invaluable.
You will be helping many people.
I, too prefer not to take harsh statins as I had a violent reaction to one and the other my endocrinologist keeps pushing, is not recommended for people like myself who spill protein. How can they distinguish whether it is the kidney or medication.
I will be discussing Zetia a non-statin based drug to reduce LDL with my GP this week.
Hi thanks for replying. I have decided to continue my own journey without the consultant’s support as i can see it is making a difference and like you, cannot tolerate statins. If i get time, I shall have a look at the kidney forum you mention and see if i can post some information. Take care
The best thing you can do now is to eliminate all sugar and simple carbohydrates in your diet. If you haven't already done so, start to walk daily for at least 30 minutes. These two changes alone will result in lower LDL cholesterol and triglyceride values - you will also lose weight.
Pursue a whole foods, plant-based diet. This means cooking your own food from fresh ingredients and focusing on vegetables, legumes (beans, chick peas, lentils) and fruit - ideally blueberries and other berries. Apples and oranges are also good.
You can read about my experience in coming off statins here:
I echo ss007 and recommend focusing on your diet. I adopted a very strict WFPB diet as recommended by Caldwell Esselstyn and lost 15kg and my blood markers came down to well within range. I was taking statins at the time but have since stopped them. I re-introduced fish and lean chicken and now daily olive oil on my lunch salad- so essentially the Mediterranean diet. My blood markers are still very good and although TC is slightly high at 5.2 my LDL 2.1 and HDL 2.61and Triglycerides 1.06 are all good without medication. I exercise everyday too. My body weight is now optimum whereas I had been overweight before.
Well done for getting off the meds. I totally believe diet plays a massive part in affecting cholesterol numbers. Although i have been told i have FH based on family history of heart issues, i dont agree as i dont think my numbers have ever been high enough to diagnose FH. I was also told diet will not do anything as its genetic but plan to adopt better eating habits and see what happens.
Have you been genetically tested for FH or are they just basing it on your numbers? I would insist they test you. Regardless a healthy diet is really important and exercise but if you do have FH this is highly unlikely to reduce your numbers - just knowing a proper diagnosis means you feel less like a failure when the numbers don’t go down! You are obviously doing something right if you feel fantastic - surely that’s what life is all about?
No genetic testing yet, i have asked for it. Only based on family history, my brother had a heart attack at 40 but survived, my dad at 60, survived but his brother died at 55. Both my brother and father had been told they had sticky blood and i have been told i have elevated lp(a) which causes sticky blood. They refuse to test again as they believe there is no need and are adamant that lp(a) levels remain the same but i have read different. Essentially they are not helping me on my own journey unless i take their medications. Unfair but what can i do? As a previous poster suggested, maybe i take it up with my MP as without another test for lp(a) they cant say for sure that the levels are the same and numbers havent improved which i think is most likely the main factor in heart disease in my family. I will continue with what i am doing as i feel confident it is the right way to manage this, and my cholesterol numbers are definitely going in the right direction 😊
Thank you and yes that is exactly what was said “our job is to prescribe medication”, didnt even acknowledge that i have found an alternative. An alternative that suits me better, no muscle pain or anything, i can enjoy life not wake up in misery! But instead this is what was said “these kind of numbers fluctuate so i dont think your method is working”. Oh well i beg to differ so discharge away! Its like their way or no way!!
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