Aps and high cholesterol

[Katielavender]

7 years ago I was diagnosed with APS after being admitted as an emergency with multiple DVT,s and had multiple stents put in . I’m 59 now and have just had routine bloods taken and have since been told I have very high cholesterol at 8.7 and have been prescribed Atorvastatin 10mg. I am slim and exercise regularly and eat a healthy meat free diet so was very shocked by this , but I would like to know if this drug is suitable to take with APS and if anyone here suffers from high cholesterol? Many thanks

[sailorbaejon]

Hi,

I'm on Atorvastin, am told it's one of the more compatible statins we can take alongside Warfarin (have assumed you're on Warfarin for your APS?).

It's interesting that you're only on 10mg/day of statin, when I was diagnosed with APS a couple of years ago they whacked me straight up to 80mg/day, reason being not for cholesterol, but rather to help condition my blood vessels to help blood flow more smoothly throughout the system thereby minimising the risk of any small clots sticking / catching on anything. Or something like that...

The 80mg/day statin is great, like you I'm also pretty fit and well, and diet very controlled nowadays, and my cholesterol is around 2.5. So far so good in terms of liver function etc.

I guess the unanswered questions are around smoking and alcohol intake, both of these could impact cholesterol levels.

Cheers and good luck with it all.

SBJ

[Katielavender in reply to sailorbaejon]

Hi , thanks for your reply , yes I’m on warfarin , don’t drink or smoke . Was wondering if it affected your INR , I self test which is helpful.

[Star13]

Have you by any chance had your thyroid tested? It’s well known that having a low thyroid or even an autoimmune thyroid disease along side APS is very common.

When I say check your thyroid I mean a full thyroid panel not just a TSH test which is useless and tells you nothing. You also need to know what your FT3 and FT4 is and the two thyroid antibodies too.

The reason I mention this when you talk about high cholesterol is because when your thyroid is low it will cause your cholesterol to go up. Once your thyroid is controlled your cholesterol will go down.

[Katielavender in reply to Star13]

As far as I know I haven’t, the nurse just telephoned me to say my blood test showed high cholesterol at 8.7 and she would prescribe atorvastin , I have asked for a copy of the results so I can fully see and notify my consultant at guys and st Thomas’s as he had requested the tests originally but still waiting. But if not will certainly get it checked , thank you so much for your reply it has really helped and brought it to my attention to get that checked.

[Star13 in reply to Katielavender]

Be warned that the NHS rarely test FT3. You will be lucky to get an FT4 along with TSH. Normally it’s only endocrinologists that can get the correct tests done otherwise the labs chuck them out.

If this happens I’d suggest testing privately such as with Medichecks or other private companies where you can do a finger prick test to fill up a vial. If you need to go down that road let me know and I’ll let you know a few companies who often have offers.

Also if your thyroid is found to be a bit low you should also test, b12, folate, ferritin and Vit D as without these at optimum levels again the thyroid doesn’t do well or thyroid meds won’t work as well.

[ste1000]

Hi there I have aps and same level of cholesterol no statin worked I was given repatha cholesterol gone from 8 down to 5 expectation 4 this month is expensive though but works

[Katielavender]

Thanks for the advice, will let you know how I got on .

[Mermaidatheart]

I take a statin, rosuvastatin, while also taking warfarin, no issues at all. I have no health issues for high cholesterol (thin, no smoking, good diet, exercise, etc), doctors just want LDL low.

[JanetL]

I also am on Atorvastatin. I have 3 stents in my heart as well. I have had 2 heart attacks and 2 TIA's. I don't eat alot of meat , gravies, sauces, or dressings or rich foods. I am not sure why my cholesterol is high. I don't take warfarin, but I am on an aspirin regimen each day. I seem to manage well on Plavix, aspirin, Micro K (potassium), bisoprolol, coversyl, and nexium. They seem to work well together for me. I also have salbutamol, and Advair as I have allergies and asthma.