I am on statin, but my cholesterol is still high

[KarinaN]

My GP is not willing to increase my dose of Atorvastatin which is 10 mg. I have no side-effects and would feel safe if I could get higher dose. My cholesterol is still round 6 and I have been taking statins for many years. Has anyone been in same situation?

[daisyd]

What time of day are you taking your statin. I know someone who didn't realise it works better at night

[MumwithFH in reply to daisyd]

Depends which statin, I was told that Simvastatin is best at night but some others are meant to be in the morning.

[YvonneD]

Are you taking any exercise? Have you amended your eating habits|? Have you looked at what other ways that members of this forum reduce their levels with natural substances? I would consider all these before increasing your statin levels.

[stopgo]

A Statin is only a part of the treatment,excersise and more importantly Diet are both key factors. !!

[Mike262]

I was on a high dose of Atorvastatin which caused side effects, so on the Cardiologists recommendation I was put on a graduated dose of Rusavastatin initially at 5mg every other day and I am currently on 10mg per day. Be careful some statins do work better at night because that when the body produces cholesterol, Rusavastatin is not one of those and can be taken in the morning. The cardiologists like to see total cholesterol below 4 now, so your GP should be prepared to try different statins and doses to reduce yours further. Have you modified your diet - cut out cheese, crisps, pastries etc and introduce oily fish at least twice a week. Also try oat bran sprinkled on your high fibre cereal and eat plenty of fresh fruit and vegetables and take regular exercise even it is only walking every day. Good luck.

[Chris-S]

I have been on atorvastatin 40 for many years but my cholesterol was still higher than was safe. Since losing a stone in weight on a healthy diet and having porage every day for breakfast all my blood tests have improved and cholesterol is under 5.Probably would have been better if I could exercise but am not able to do so .

(Shame I have now developed A Fib )

Good Luck

[patch14]

As mentioned above, diet and exercise has to be incorporated into your lifestyle, with, or without statins. This doesn't mean you have to live on lettuce and run marathons every day! All you do is review your intake of sugars (these are worse than fats), watch your carbohydrate intake as well (potatoes, pasta, rice, bread etc.) and eat a well balanced diet of fish, meat, fruit and veg. (Watch your fruit juices, even the "natural" ones are high in natural sugars - so eat the whole fruit) Cut out smoking, cut down on alcohol, (you don't need to cut it out completely but watch your weekly intake) Exercise can mean walking the dog, swimming, taking the stairs and not the lift, walking up an excalator, not riding it, etc., so no need to pay needlessly for gym membership! all the best to you and keep well.

[sindy]

rear karinin.

i'm on 80 atorvastatin. trying to reduce it, i think i'm on very high dose dont know any one on 80. is any one out there on this amount?

[stopgo]

Hi sindy,I have been on 80 for over 2 years with no problems. Have lost a lot of weight and changed my Lifestyle but the Doc says stay on them cant do any harm.

[KarinaN]

Hi all and many thanks for your answers. My problem is that I am actually doing all the right things. I am taking my statin in the evening. I have lost 10 kg (22 pound) since Nov last year. And I have never smoked and I don't touch alcohol (religious reasons). I have also joined our local gym and trying to go there on Sat and Sun, because my week days are too long and there is not enough hours in a day. I don't understand that GP is not giving me higher dose of statin. If the treatment has been proved to be necessary, why to treat with ineffective dose? I am on the lowest possible dose and if I am taking tablets, so why I can not take right dose which would help me.

My family tree is quite sad when it comes to cardiac diseases. Both mother and father suffered from high blood pressure and high cholesterol all their lives. My mother had her first heart attach when she was 65 years old. It almost killed her and left scar in her heart. Later on she had ischemic stroke and was paralyzed and bedridden last 3 years before she died in nursing home.

Father had stroke also and lost his memory and mobility. He died 4 weeks after my mother.

I have been always struggling with my weight. I had opportunity to get my neck line arteria veins checked with ultrasound. This was many years ago and it showed fatty arterias and beginning of narrowing.

I am so worried that I get same destiny as my parents did. Think about healthy people for ex Andy Marr who started to exercise and woke up almost paralyzed. He had silent stroke at night after he had come from gym. Now he is recovering but saying that stroke almost killed him.

I think GPs are generally blaming people and making us feel guilty about high blood pressure and cholesterol. I have tried all I can and my cholesterol is not changing. How long should I wait to be heard? I am 52 now and would like to enjoy healthy years ahead and not to be vegetable and dependent on other people's help.

[Aliwally]

Your story strikes me as unusual as most GP's wouldn't have much hesitation in lowering your cholesterol a bit more if that's what you want.

I don't think you can do any more than you are doing diet and exercise wise, you could take sterol enriched products if you wanted too, which might lower it a bit more.

Could you try another GP in the practice and explain that you are worried? Could you approach it by saying could you try a higher dose for a trial period and see what effect it has on your levels?

[volvodave]

Don't rely on statins to reduce levels without making some dietary changes .. get rid of meat and dairy (if you can).. definitely do not drink milk.. dont eat white bread.. keep alocohol on a very tight lease or dont drink ideally.. watch cheese consumption.. dont use anything but virgin olive oil.. eat porridge oats (no milk/sugar or fruit) every day. . and stay off processed foods.

[sluggerpk in reply to volvodave]

Are you doing all of that? How long did it take you to start staying away from all that food?