The stress of not being able to tolerate Statins

[Pollypuss]

The stress of not being able to take Statins. This subject comes up often as to whether I should be on Statins. Some people tolerate them well and I have friends who can. That’s fine. However for some of us who have been tried and tested on Statins and proved unable to take them it doesn’t exactly present a happy picture when I read the dire warnings of what will happen if we don’t take them. I despair of the findings that some people are brushed aside and almost ignored if they have side effects. Well I can recall many times when they tested me after my bypass when I just made it to the lavatory after post op which was horrific and very embarrassing in hospital. It wasn’t all “in my head” . In my case I would like to know about people who managed to survive without Statins please

[Pollypuss]

thank you

[Batty1]

I’ve taken 3 different types of statins and could not tolerate any of them one actually caused me to bleed and become anemic. Hypothyroidism can also be a cause high cholesterol have you have your thyroid checked?

[Pollypuss in reply to Batty1]

thank you Batty. No my cholesterol isn’t high, in fact it wasn’t when it was discovered I needed a heart triple bypass. I was advised Statins was a good precautionary measure. I was told my heart condition was hereditary . It’s all very strange because all my blood tests and Ecg’s came back normal

[Batty1 in reply to Pollypuss]

So you actually don’t have high cholesterol, is this correct? Strange.

[Pollypuss in reply to Batty1]

no I was really fit for my age and only had symptoms in the last two years which was thought to be muscle pain because I played a lot of tennis. This is the problem of being a women because quite often symptoms aren’t that dramatic

[Pollypuss]

well I always eat a healthy diet and my weight was fine. But over 40 years ago I smoked. The cardiologist said this could be a major factor.

[Pollypuss]

I rarely eat junk food . Loads of fish hardly any red meat. Lots of fruit and vegetables. If I hadn’t eaten a healthy diet the cardiologist said I would have gone the same way as my parents and (brother who died at 49 .)I eat food as it comes no sauces etc it’s dull but I eat to live not live to eat . However I have had a lot of stress just before my op . It is this I attribute my heart problem

[sandybrown]

Please take a look at the link below:

bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-336...

"Which oils are best to cook with?"

[Pollypuss in reply to sandybrown]

Thank you very much for you reply . I made a study of foods to avoid long before my bypass and I think diet helped. Both parents died aged 70 and my brother died aged 49. Heart disease is rife throughout my family on both sides. I only went to A&E after one night of unusual indigestion (and even that disappeared with Gaviscon) but after tests - an angiogram etc they discovered I needed a triple bypass🥺. I was 77 years old. All previous tests came back normal. I was fit . Today I am 80 years old and shouldn’t be writing this no doubt. I still play tennis and think exercise helps as much as diet. How modern medicine has evolved when a bypass is considered “routine”

[sandybrown in reply to Pollypuss]

Thank you for your response. I have avoided medication for the last 10 years. Only time will tell.!! eighty ears old, healthy. Please take good care of your health.

[Pollypuss in reply to sandybrown]

thank you and well done !

[Persevere99]

Hi pollypuss

Some points to consider -

- Excessive calcium in your diet (over 1 g a day) may have been a factor of your atherosclerosis? Calcium is 1 of the 5 possible ingredients of artery plaques

- Are you using Vit K2/Mk7 ? this takes calcium out of the blood and deposits it in the bones where it belongs

- cholesterol may not have been a factor of your atherosclerosis?

however, just to be sure, consider adopting a plant based diet, which as you know, has nil cholesterol? Then the liver will make the cholesterol that you need

All the best!

Persevere99

[Pollypuss in reply to Persevere99]

Yes I have thought of calcium actually I drink one cup of hot milk per day. Also I sometime wonder about the excessive hard water we have here - but I’ve been told sometime ago it is an advantage

[ALB38]

I was put on statins (against my better judgement) after I had a stroke. I had the same side effects as you. I tried three different statins with the same result. I am now on an anticoagulant and plant sterol tablets. No more strokes and normal cholesterol levels are the result. I would not touch statins with a barge pole nowadays.

[Pollypuss in reply to ALB38]

Thank you for your reply and I’m so glad you have managed to get treatment that you feel happy with and seems successful . I do get stressed out on this site with people who have no problems with Statins and insist that they are paramount to keeping us alive. I don’t think they understand that they can produce some very unpleasant side effects - not just jointpain - but continuous stomach and bowel problems. When people ask me what was my operation like - a triple bypass- I can honestly say what I now remember most was the drugs I had to take and the side effects .