Statins

[Br1234]

Niacin was the original medication used for lowering cholesterol but big PHARMA introduced Statins and to me they are poison.I asked my GP for niacin but you cannot get it on the NHS and as we all know GP s are on the payroll of big PHARMA whom introduced statins.

[CultureVulture25]

I managed to get my cholesterol reading to around 5. I had been experiencing severe muscle cramps and pains in my stomach, so my doctor took me off statins. I feel so much better. Eat plenty of fruit and veg and take on of the cholesterol-reducing drinks each day. Wish I'd done it earlier.

[Hidden]

I have Familial Hyperlipidaemia - the genetic defect that Heart UK specialises in.

Niacin did very little for me. Increasingly stronger statins along with Ezetimibe have worked for me very well - I'm still alive > 20 years after diagnosis, which without statins I'm pretty sure I wouldn't be.

Sure, for some people, some drugs don't work or cause side effects (as did Niacin for me). Some people also read the leaflet inside the pill packet and experience many of the possible side effects mentioned therein. Those people even experience the same side effects with placebos in double blind trials (called the nocebo effect).

I was taken off a high dose of one statin because there was a problem with it in a higher than expected number of patients. The drug I was moved to was even stronger but had less side-effects, none of which I experienced.

To sum up - not all drugs work well for all people, but some do work exceptionally well for some people. I get the odd leg cramp at night, but to me its a price worth paying for being alive.

[Floozie in reply to Hidden]

Your story is very similar to mine. I, too, have familial hyperlipidaemia,(although have not had genetic testing to confirm this) being found to have a cholesterol level of around 11 mmol/l & elevated betalipoprotein at the age of 28 in 1973. I was treated with Atromid-S and Questran until the advent of statins, and, like you, I now take Ezetrol 10 mg. daily + Crestor 40mg. I was never offered Niacin. On the advice of a friend I started to take a Benecol drink each day which, to my surprise, brought my cholesterol down further, and I think it is now about 4 mmol/l, despite eating just what I want.

Like you, I have no side effects on my current regime & I also believe I wouldn't be here now, at the age of nearly 70, without this therapy, as both my parents died, aged 63, from cardiovascular-related incidents.

I get the occasional leg cramps in bed, which are very painful, but I haven't especially blamed statins for this, as I know there are other reasons for them to occur.

Before Crestor came on the market, I took Zocor 80mg. (simvastatin) without problem & would be interested to know if this is the statin you were taken off because of this, also what is your exact experience of niacin, and which drug were you substituted?

I believe simvastatin is the cheapest of the statins & Crestor (rosuvastatin) is the most expensive, hence most people are given simvastatin, at least to start with, unless they have the genetic form of the disease, whence they are deemed to merit the more expensive drug.

[DakCB-UK in reply to Floozie]

One taken off the market was Lipobay (cerivastatin). I don't know if that's the one being mentioned here.

[Floozie in reply to DakCB-UK]

This is one statin I have never heard of. When was it being prescribed?

[DakCB-UK in reply to Floozie]

I don't know because I didn't take it myself but a relative told me about it maybe ten years ago?

[Hidden in reply to Hidden]

Statins were made for you, and you have had the benefit, i'm happy for ye.

[lillywhites]

sorry but your wrong me and my family get our niacin of the nhs but your right about statins there are poison

[DakCB-UK]

Yes, this is well-known to anyone who looks into them, as well as older similar treatments like Red Rice Yeast.

Ask why Niacin isn't available on the NHS any more. It's also toxic in the sorts of doses needed to affect cholesterol levels, by the way.