Statins & blood pressure?

[Pollyannna]

Hi, I’ve been told that I should go on statins to lower my Ldl cholesterol & was told that it would higher my blood pressure (as its quite low)

But I’ve never heard of that before, has anyone any experience of this.

[sandybrown]

What are your lipid levels?, did your doctor do any risk analysis? are you considering any life style change before medication?

Looking out for hidden, free sugar in and food and drinks can help towards a healthy life.

Different medication can give different side effect to different people therefore you can experiment this blood pressure test on yourself by daily three times home blood pressure checking for one month!

[Pollyannna in reply to sandybrown]

Hi my hdl is 2.89 & ldl6.7 I eat healthy and sugar is at a minimum and I regularly exercise.

The doctor didn’t do a risk analysis or should i say he didn’t share with me. I have beenndoing blood pressure readings because of how I have been feeling and its always low,

I can only think that its when it drops further I feel bad.

[sandybrown in reply to Pollyannna]

Below are the UK, NHS numbers:

Check what your cholesterol levels should be

This is just a guide. The levels you should aim for might be different. Ask your doctor or nurse what your levels should be.

Healthy levels for different types of cholesterol

ResultHealthy level

Total cholesterol5 or below

HDL (good cholesterol)1 or above

LDL (bad cholesterol)3 or below

Non-HDL (bad cholesterol)4 or below

Triglycerides2.3 or below

There is a man made formula, total cholesterol = LDL + HDL + Triglyceride/x

From your reply, LDL + HDL comes to 9.6 or more.

Human body make 80 % cholesterol on demand and 20% from what goes into the mouth.

You can ask your doctor to find out why there is high cholesterol? any other blood test necessary?

[Pollyannna in reply to sandybrown]

My last triglycerides were 0.9

I have had other blood tests and they show low white blood cells neutrophils and low iron and High potassium.. somehow Im convinced that thay are connected.

I have read that statins are bad for you and that any hdl over 1.5 should be treated the same as ldl.

What do you think ?

[arty_sax in reply to sandybrown]

What is the value of x Sandy?? Also do you mean ÷ when you use /??

[sandybrown in reply to arty_sax]

Very happy to answer this.

The measurement unit for cholesterol is different in some part of the world, like in Telecommunications!

For example, UK and USA.

Equation below gives x as 5. in mg/dL unit of measurement for USA.

For UK x is 2.61.

Divide by is /

"The Friedewald equation is the equation typically used to calculate LDL-C concentration when a lipid panel is performed. The equation is:

LDL cholesterol (mg/dL) = total cholesterol – HDL cholesterol – (triglycerides/5),

where “triglycerides/5” is used to represent very low density lipoprotein-C (VLDL-C). This equation provides a reliable estimate of LDL-C in most cases when the triglycerides concentration is between 1.13 and 4.35 mmol/L (100 to 400 mg/dL). It assumes the patient has fasted for ≥12 hours prior to specimen collection so triglycerides levels are stable and unaffected by a recent meal."

[arty_sax in reply to sandybrown]

Nice 1 Sandy....

Im going to do some Arithmatic now!!

[Pollyannna]

I ment to add that I have 26% fat but dont really want to reduce it incase I get ill ( in these uncertain times)

[Pollyannna]

Thank you for your replies

I will wait & see what happens after my next blood test ( appreciation hugs x)

[Choked1]

I have just stopped statins as it sent my blood pressure up to high

[arty_sax in reply to Choked1]

How do you know this??

[Pollyannna in reply to Choked1]

Well that could be a plus for me

It may be healthier than putting weight on, that always ups it too

[Marz]

Have noticed you have many symptoms and you are on many other Fora . Raised cholesterol can be a symptom of Low thyroid - as can pain and gut issues. Have you been correctly tested - TSH - FT4 - FT3. Also ruling our Hashimotos.

The NHS website even mentions sorting Thyroud levels before taking a statin. It was only around 50 years ago - before thyroid testing - that anyone with raised cholesterol had their thyroid treated ..

[Pollyannna in reply to Marz]

Thank you for your reply, I have had my TSH tested and it’s normal but not FT4 FT3. I will go and read nhs site on Hashimotos to see if any similarities.

I am on ms group because my sister & cousin & niece who have it & the fibromyalgia became of the pain I suffer but Im not officially diagnosed, however I am convinced that its due to my back injury now.

I am gluten intolerant however it would be good to know if i am celiac as I thought that could be the cause too.

I’ll keep searching as I Im not really happy just taking statins if the underlying cause could be eradicated. Thanks again

[Marz in reply to Pollyannna]

The NHS website does not specifically say Hashimotos - but low Thyroid. Hashimotos is auto-immune and the most common thyroid condition globally. So without testing the anti-bodies how would they know.

I have been on the Thyroid UK Forum since 2011 where there over 107,000 members. Lots of shared knowledge and experiences.

The NHS use the TSH as a diagnostic test which is far from adequate. Thyroid Stimulating Hormone comes from the Pituitary Gland and is not a Thyroid hormone.

TSH tells the Thyroid to produce T4 which is inactive. This hormone circulates in the blood and eventually converts into the ACTIVE hormone T3 - needed in every cell of the body. It is low T3 that causes a myriad of symptoms and lowered metabolism.

If you are able to have Private Testing through Thyroid UK you will have the correct tests. Used by 1000's on the Forum for diagnosis and correct treatment. Click onto ABOUT TESTING in the link below - Medichecks have offers on Thursdays. Ultravit is a popular bundle.

thyroiduk.org

If you want to check me out you can click onto my username and see my Bio and activity ...

Happy to help ... ( I once had raised cholesterol numbers and a Fibro diagnosis ... then had Hashimotos diagnosed in 2005 )

[Pollyannna in reply to Marz]

Thanks I’m happy to have a private testing to find out I will have a read

It’s definitely worth a look and it just may tie up the low neutrophils ect. As well

[Marz in reply to Pollyannna]

Always good to rule things out and to have the full story. Have you read Dr Kendrick's blog about ACE inhibitors and Covid ?

drmalcolmkendrick.org

He is a GP specialising in cardio conditions and has written several blogs of late - including his experiences in Care Homes.

Low blood pressure also linked to low thyroid as is raised blood pressure 😷

[Pollyannna in reply to Marz]

I will

I have watched his YouTube re statins, along with others who agree with him. Thing is we ended up watching a virologist degree series of lectures. Very interesting until it when right over my head lol got to the fifth though

Thanks I will go and read Dr Kendricks blg now

[sos007 Ambassador]

There is no evidence that statins raise blood pressure, in fact, available evidence points to the opposite effect. You can read more here:

nhs.uk/news/medication/stat...

[Pollyannna in reply to sos007]

Thank you thats good to hear, I would rather avoid my blood pressure dropping as it’s awful.

Every avenue I my research takes me has one common thread and that’s Vitamin D deficiency

Although mine is higher than it was (37) it now up to 67 but I think its maybe still too low, So I’ve been out in it at every opportunity.

[sos007 Ambassador in reply to Pollyannna]

If you live in the Northern Hemisphere you are likely Vitamin D deficient. 2,000 IUs daily in supplement form during the winter, and 1,000 IUs during the summer should help.

[Pollyannna in reply to sos007]

I tried it ( was prescribed it) for a while and it did raise my vit D but gave me stones in in my water very very painful to pass

[sos007 Ambassador in reply to Pollyannna]

Consider these foods: webmd.com/food-recipes/guid...

..and of course sunlight 20-30 minutes per day (avoiding the ours 11 am to 2 pm of course.

[Marz in reply to Pollyannna]

How are things - did you manage to have the testing done ?

[Pollyannna in reply to Marz]

Hi, when I had my blood count done I felt quite well & good news my iron and neutrophil are up a little however my white cell counts still low (below guidelines) however I am now wondering if they have gone down again as my hairs falling out again ( bold patches)and I’ve started to feel bouts of fatigue ( or I think thats what it is) again.

I also had a IgA serum test for coeliac but unfortunately I fluffed it because I counted oats as a glutin intake, I think Im afraid of the full 6 weeks twice a day wheat intake ad it makes me really ill.

Hay ho

Thanks for asking though 🙂

[Marz in reply to Pollyannna]

I meant the correct thyroid testing I detailed for you above !! Low thyroid could be the cause of hair loss - fatigue and so on. You were considering Private Testing above !

You can be gluten sensitive without being a coeliac. Lots of people with Hashimotos are and this can cause mal-absorption of vitamins and minerals

[Pollyannna in reply to Marz]

My TSH was 1.25 which is in the normal range of 0.3-5.0

[Marz in reply to Pollyannna]

Ooops - sorry only just spotted this. Yes your TSH is in range. See my reply below. If your T4 and T3 are low in the range as well it is possible you have a Pituitary issue. I am a great believer in ruling things out ....

[Pollyannna in reply to Marz]

I am too so I will go & read some more about Pituitary issues

Thanks

Oh and thyroid.org is no more ?

[Marz in reply to Pollyannna]

Did you click the link I posted above ? I just have and it works !

thyroiduk.org

If you are on a phone it is difficult to read all the detail

[Pollyannna in reply to Marz]

Thats strange.. mine says

SORRY if you are the owner of this website ect ect

I’ll try again later

[Pollyannna in reply to Marz]

Ahhh just tried again and it works

[Pollyannna in reply to Marz]

So doc said thyroids ok .. but somthing not

[Marz in reply to Pollyannna]

You must always obtain copies of your results. What did he test that was OK - above you said it was only the TSH. Well that is a Pituitary hormone that signals the Thyroid to produce T4 - so how much T4 are you producing. T4 is inactive in the body and must convert into the ACTIVE T3 - needed in every cell of the body. So how much T3 do you have ? OK/Fine/Normal are opinions and not results

[Pollyannna in reply to Marz]

The thing is according to my gp thats the end of the investigations

In thyroid and coeliac and even cholesterol as my hdls so high (even though some reports say that any hdl reading over 1.50 should be classed as ldl

???

[Marz in reply to Pollyannna]

On the Thyroid Forum here on HU - there are over 107,000 members who are very active and VERTY knowledgeable. Thousands of us have the Private Testing done by companies sending out Home Testing Kits - it is the only way to have the correct testing done and also to know if you are on the correct dose. At least you could take a look and type cholesterol into the Search Box once there and see the thousands of posts concerning it Your Doctor is VERY wrong to say that testing the TSH is the end of your Thyroid testing - what an arrogant person ... and ignorant. I know it is difficult to follow advice from someone you do not know - but you could click onto my username above - to learn more

[Pollyannna in reply to Marz]

I agree with you My docs are terrible, I thought of moving house just so I can get a better one.

Thanks for your insight, I will go & read & order a test kit I think.

[Marz in reply to Pollyannna]

Special Offers with Medichecks on Thursdays ! Ultravit is the popular test - shout if you need help !

I was diagnosed with Hashimotos in 2005 and have been learning from those who know more than me ever since !