Three weeks ago I was going to bed and I had a odd sensation in my right eye , I couldn't focus and I had a zig zag line in my eye .so I closed my eye and went to sleep next morning my vision was ok but had a mild headache.a friend told me to see a doctor which I did that night and he said it could be a Tia or a eye problem .i had appointment with the eye clinc and they said I am fine and pasted me on to the Tia clinc.i had a appointment on Monday and had test that all came back normal,blood .cholesterol was 5.6 had a ultra sound on my neck arteries and that was clear .but the doctor said he was unsure if it was a Tia or a migraine,which I have never suffered from either , but rather safe than sorry he would treat me as if I have had a Tia and prescribed statins and aspirin .since Monday when I started taking the statins I have felt nauseous and had a mild headache in the afternoons.i have read about side effects would I get them that quick or am I making myself ill with worry .i am going on holiday on Tuesday .as anybody had a similar case problem they could help me with or at least put me at rest .
Making my self ill: Three weeks ago I... - Cholesterol Support
Making my self ill
Have you had your eye checked by an ophthalmologist just to rule out anything sinister emanating from the eye itself. They need to look at the back of the eye to check the optic nerve etc.
I am a male age 54 never smoked or drank .played semi pro sport and I try to eat healthy . Cycle 100 mile a week or try to . i had blood test and he said they were all fine . Thank you
Can you tell me the supplement you suggested what benefits are they to me . I really don't want to be taking the drugs prescribed by the doctor for the rest of my life if I don't need them , reading about the side effects.
I’m not a doctor - but I would say that what you experienced was a migraine, this is a spasm of the optic nerve always followed by a headache. These headaches can be severe in younger people but are usually mild in older people. It is basically a harmless disorder unless it occurs very often, then you might want to have a checkup of the eye or the brain. I’ve regularly had this myself and don’t worry about it. At a time it happened fairly often and then it turned out that it was simply due to my wearing the wrong glasses for reading! As soon as I switched to different glasses, it stopped.
Anyway, statins are completely irrelevant in this case! They are extremely strong and often harmful drugs which are basically prescribed in cases of high cholesterol (although this is also debatable) or a pre-existing heart condition. Side effects can range from muscle issues (which may be permanent) to kidney failure, liver failure, dementia and various forms of cancer in cases of long-term use. I would stop taking them ASAP, but of course it’s your decision! In any case from what I can see from your post, you are perfectly healthy so I wouldn’t worry too much. Just my 2 cents....
Go back to your doctor explain the side effect tell him her that it is causing anxiety and you want off them. You have to decide at this early stage whether you want treating by your doctor or the internet. On here you will get lots of conflicting advice from people. We have no qualifications just experience. It might be true or not but it will make you worse if you are a worrier as you post title suggests.
The doctor as called me back and said stop the statins for a couple of days to see if the headache stop if they dont it’s probably stress related .and also told me to get back in contact with the tia clinic and try and get a definitive answer on was it a tia or something else . The only symptom of a tia i had was the vison in my right eye , I didn’t feel weak or my speak wasn’t affected .
It sounds as though you are being well monitored. Hopefully, it will have been a one- off.
Please go back to your GP or doctor and ask for explanation!
TIA, more information available on this link:
stroke.org.uk/what-is-strok...
Migraine, think back on any different food you may have eaten?
You eye test clinic, I take it, it is in a hospital. Di the fully explain the photo of the back of your eye to you?
Going on holiday? may be you need to think on this not all holiday destination has full medical cover and depending on when you took your travel insurance you may have to declare your latest medical condition, you premium may go up!!!
Take care.
Thanks i have taken out extra insurance. Yes it was at the hospital . And they said my eyes are fine .
A strange thing happened to me the other day at work, I am 71 and I work part time. I was pushing a metal cage with goods the one supermarket use.
As I was pushing the vertical bars appeared like mirror image in front of the cage and the images were moving left to wright as I pushed the cage!!!, at that time I was in a confused state and I carried on to the destination.
It took me few minutes to recover from this strange thing, I just got on with my work, I was concerned. I did not want to go for any investigation. I have had cataract operation on both eyes and only a month ago I had a referral eye test at a NHS clinic.
What a strange condition, I am working next week and if the opportunity arise I will try to push the metal cage!
Please take a look at this post 5 years ago:
Has anyone had TIAs but nothing showed on the MRI scan?
I get this occasionally - my optician called it a migraine shimmer. I get no other symptoms than the affected vision, usually in one eye. It often occurs when I’ve been staring at a computer screen for too long. I try and rest my eyes for 10 mins and it gradually disappears. I mentioned it to my GP and she wasn’t concerned, particularly as I had no other symptoms.
TIA - is a type of stroke. Strokes and heart attacks are usually caused by blood clots, not elevated cholesterol. If your Total cholesterol is 5.6 mmol/l, that is slightly elevated but unlikely to have triggered a TIA. Therefore taking a statin is probably over-kill.
You should provide us with your complete blood-work details including:
total cholesterol
LDL
HDL
Non-HDL
Triglycerides
Tests that measure the stickiness of your blood platelets that can give you a clue as to blood clot risk include:
Fibrinogen
Homocysteine
You should also find out if you have inflammation in your arteries. Add this test to your next blood work:
MPO - Myeloperoxidase
Blood clots can also be caused by sitting for long periods such as when on a flight or a long drive. Did you recently go through such a long period of immobility?
In your response to us you should also indicate your:
Gender
Age
Height and weight
Frequency of exercise
To avoid the risk of blood clots you should have a diet high in folic acid sourced from any of these greens on a daily basis - spinach, kale, arugula and broccoli. You should also take the following supplements: B6, B9 (folic acid) and B12.
Foods that are inflammatory to the body include:
- fried foods - including potato chips or any packaged snack food that is fried
- sugar, honey, agave, maple syrup, or any other form of sugar
- soft drinks including diet sodas
- white flour products - white bread, pasta, and pizza
- other simple carbohydrates foods: rice, potatoes
You can lower your cholesterol naturally without a statin by taking high doses of vitamin C (start with 3 x 1,000 mg per day) and Niacin (vitamin B3) 500 mg.
Niacin causes a flush - read this: healthline.com/nutrition/ni...
To minimize the flush take it on a full stomach and drink a full glass of cold water. Take the Niacin after breakfast.
Fish oil supplements can also help you lower cholesterol naturally.
You should also eat foods that are high in fibre - whole fruits and vegetables, as well as oat and bran foods (make sure they are very low in sugar or other sweeteners).
You can replace aspirin with Fruit Flow fruitflowplus.com/. In addition to keep your blood thinner you should take curcumin supplements as well as vitamin E. Aspirin can have negative side-effects: mayoclinic.org/diseases-con...
I take both vitamin C and Niacin daily in higher doses than I've recommended.
For the record I had a triple bypass and stenting in 2015 but due to side effects of statins and other drugs I modified my diet and lifestyle which resulted in normalizing my body weight by the summer of 2016. I stopped all medications by October 2016.
I now take only vitamins. My blood work is now optimal.
Good luck!
Thank you .you seam to have a lot of knowledge. I am a male aged 54 and 5ft 8in tall and 179lbs i cycle 2/3 times aweek coving 100miles A week i try to eat healthy i have lost 21 lb since August last year . I just want peace of mind with the doctor not being Certain it is left me Anxious I don’t have any of the normal symptoms for a TIA all I had was a weird sensation in my right eye and a mild headache the next day I didn’t lose any feeling in my limbs speech was fine.
Like I said, to me it sounds like a migraine: in my experience this means a flashing pattern in front of one eye for 20 minutes or so (gradually widening until it is gone), followed by a -usually mild- headache on one side of the head.
Thank you that sounds like it . I have never had one before but that sounds exactly how it felt for me .
Yes, thank you, I had to learn the hard way, unfortunately. I'm trying to help others avoid my fate. Congratulations on your weight loss - keep up the good work.
Your body weight and height implies that you might be above your optimal weight and may have excess body fat. If you have a waist size greater than 36 inches or 91.4 cm, based on your height, it would indicate too much abdominal fat which is dangerous.
Although you are exercising, which is good, you should keep in mind that exercise creates internal inflammation in the arteries and increases blood pressure.
The body increases cholesterol synthesis to repair inflammatory damage which can trigger the accumulation of arterial plaques. Taking high doses of vitamin C will provide the body with an alternative repair tool called - collagen. Collagen will not cause plaque accumulation. Therefore I suggest you get started on the vitamin C dosage I recommended. I take over 10,000 mg of vitamin C daily. It is harmless up to 15,000 mg as long as you don't have excess iron.
It is a good idea to get a blood test to measure ferritin or iron. Men over the age of 50 tend to have excess iron which oxidizes the blood and organ tissues. This accelerates the aging process and can trigger major illnesses including cancer and heart disease.
The solution to elevated ferritin is to drastically reduce red-meat consumption and to donate blood every 2 months until levels return to normal.
If you do the blood tests I've recommended and initiate the dietary modifications, you can have the peace of mind you desire.
Doctors think statins are harmless and recommend them far to quickly. They have potentially some very serious side-effects so it is best to avoid them - as long as you address your dietary issues.
Good luck!
P.S. I just put up a new post on my latest blood work - 'Coming Off Statins - Update June 28, 2018' - I suggest you read it.
Can i ask are you a medical professional because you are very clued up . I am going to take you advice regarding the vitamins and to be honest i don’t really want to be taking statins if i can help it
I am not a medical professional. After having the bypass surgery and stenting, I was given a cocktail of medications including statins that caused severe side-effects. I made it my mission to address the source of my illness rather than just treat the symptoms.
I AM a financial professional - a career that requires a great deal of analytical work so I have a tendency to do a lot of research and approach problems in a systematic fashion.
Since my surgery I have read well over 100 medical studies and journals and have developed a fascination with cardiovascular illness. I have also initiated relationships with medical researchers to satisfy my curiosity with cardiovascular disease. I have identified many advanced cardiovascular-oriented tests to help me get a better picture of my overall health.
I monitor my health quarterly with blood tests and periodically with endothelium function tests. Monitoring forces me to remain disciplined with my diet and exercise regimen.
Feel free to message me privately if you need any other help.
We humans are all very different, what works for one ay not work for another person!
A doctor or a GP, in UK, NHS is the best place to get medical advice. Given today's environment, try this first if it does not work, try another one and so on.
Hi there, just to add my bit. I occasionally get what the doctor referred to as a migraine without the headache. I can’t see very well out of 1 or both eyes. It is as if looking through a kaleidoscope. It makes me feel a bit nauseous at times and I usually take an ibuprofen and go to bed. When I get up again everything is back to normal.
I would imagine if all your blood tests etc have come back ok then you could very well have had a similar experience and all the horrible statins are for no reason whatsoever. (I had a horrible experience with statins but as all my tests and scans came back fine was told they were superfluous). If there is no indication you need them I’d stay well clear.
I would like to thank everyone for your input
I absolutely had the exact problems. The zigzag lines in my eyes ( but that has been happening for years now off and on ) I also had all the checkups including all the eye exams ( paid extra for special equipment exam ) the neck scan and even a sleeping disorder test where I had to sleep one night in the hospital with stuff attached to me. Everything came back OK. I have to watch what will happen over the next few weeks but I am not going back on a statin again. I don't think you have anything to worry about if it all came back clear. Hope you have a good trip!
I had about three opthalmic migraines last week. I've had them infrequently over many years and when one begins I realise that I have been feeling a bit tired beforehand. I went into my opticians to wait for the first one to pass which they do in about 20 minutes. Seems that's all you can do really, I'm wondering if it's the hot weather as well as being in front of the screen. My first one occurred when I arrived at work and sat down in front of my screen, I managed to get to the Dr's where they said I shouldn't worry about it and I've just gone on from there. I don't have them often usually.
Thank you for your input, I have learned something! What a confusion, GP nor other health check did not mention this "opthalmic migraines". I Goggled "opthalmic migraines " and read a lot of information for future reference, thanks.
Amazing news
RELUCTANT TO TAKE STATINS 
My Cholesterol Experience
I understand I need to take statins (cholesterol 7.8) but now (?) aspirin? Differing doctor's opinions?
New member - any similar experiences?
