Taking statins with high platelets

[Dbh1962]

Hi , I have high platelet count , et , I take aspirin only at the moment , I’ve just been prescribed statins from my gp ,I’ve been searching for info and it seems that statins can actually lower platelet count , has anyone experienced this . Thanks in advance for any info

Debbie

[Cookiebaker]

I have taken Hydroxyurea for 2 years . My platelets decreased at first . I have taken a statin for nearly 2 years . My cholesterol is much better but my platelets in the last year are rising... I expect my doctor to change dose or change drug when I see him in June . So I don’t think that statin lowers platelets. Good luck.

[Dbh1962 in reply to Cookiebaker]

Thankyou for reply , was getting a bit over exited I think.

[Pte82 in reply to Cookiebaker]

Cookie, research red palm tocotrienol benefits, . My wife reduced her platelets using 50 mg twice a day with food when they would't budge while on Anagrelide after comming off Hydrea. Her oncologist approved the red palm use and adjusted the medication as the platelets came down. Compare statins with curcumin for anti inflammatory control. A plus for curcumin is it is a JAK2 inhibitor and a STAT3 blocker. CurcuWIN is a good one to check out also evaluate the liposomal form. Talk to your doctor before using any supplement.

[Dbh1962 in reply to Cookiebaker]

Thankyou for teply

[Wyebird]

I’m on statins. I got diagnosed 10 years after starting them.

[Dbh1962 in reply to Wyebird]

Thankyou for your reply

[JT_Marlin]

I was put on 20mg atorvastatin after a mild myocardial infarction in 2016. Presumably caused by a clot - as they actually never knew the cause but saw some level of early blockage (20-30%) hence being put on a statin. At that time all my blood numbers were in range - as Ive learned that doesnt matter from the perspective of having an MPN and clotting risks. Anyhow over the next 5 years you could see my platelets and rbcs rising out of range. I was on a statin the whole time.

I know some people experience fatigue easier on statins. You can try taking CoQ10 to help with that daily or try a different statin - there are many.

[Dbh1962 in reply to JT_Marlin]

Thankyou for your reply Martin , I guess it seems it was a thought that was too good to be true

[AndyT]

My cholesterol wasn’t very high when I was diagnosed with ET 18 years ago but a bit above the ideal level, so my GP prescribed a statin just to minimise any other risk factors in view of my then high platelets and associated clotting risk.

Still on statins today and together with diet they keep my cholesterol under control but I’ve recently switched from Simvastatin to Pravastatin to see if it lowers my blood glucose - that’s been a bit high for the last couple of years despite weight loss and exercise and there is a theory that some statins can raise blood glucose levels. Blood test late May to see if the change has worked..!

[Dbh1962 in reply to AndyT]

Thankyou for reply

[Cja1956]

I’ve only had high cholesterol once in my life about three years ago. When my doctor re-checked me four months later, it was normal again. He put me on a statin before but then he said I could go off of it. But my hematologist wanted me to stay on it. I don’t know why. I can tell you the last time I had my blood work done a couple of weeks ago,my cholesterol was actually pretty low so I took myself off of the statin and I told my hematologist that I was doing that. She was okay with it this time. One more piece of information is that my platelets were at an all-time high, over 1 million, so evidently the statins are not doing anything to keep down my platelets.

[Dbh1962 in reply to Cja1956]

Thankyou for your reply

[Buggerbear]

Thanks Debbie as I didn't realized statins can affect your platelets. Never in my life have I had high cholesterol or high triglycerides until I started taking ruxolitinib about a year ago for PV and ET. My cholesterol went from 179 to 273 and my triglycerides from 117 to 158 which both are high now. I was immediately put on statins (rosuvastatin calcium) which I really didn't want to take but high cholesterol can cause plague in your arteries. I guess it is a trade off ...side effects from meds that helps one situation but causes others. Hope it is making my platelets go down....I will find out Monday when I see my hematologist/oncologist.

[Dbh1962 in reply to Buggerbear]

Thanks for reply , hope all goes ok for you , be interested to hear your results , from what I’ve read it does seem like it does slow aggregation of platelets but from others replies on this site it seems the contrary , every bit of hope helps .