statins

[Sanga]

hi

Wondering whether anyone has experience of going on statins ?

I was diagnosed with polycythaemia 2017, until 2022 was on aspirin and venesections, then as my white and platelets and symptoms got worse they put me on Pegasus for a year but was not well on it and triggered possible other autoimmune conditions which are being investigated currently.

sm now on Rux since April 24 and all seems well, feel best I have for 5 years and would almost say since pre diagnosis!

other than putting on of weight on my middle (5/6kg) I’m very happy.

however my cholesterol over the years has crept up and although I have lots of good cholesterol the GP is recommending statins.

My BMI is good I’m slim and exercise regularly. I have levelled out weight gain over the last 5 months but can’t shift it. I live healthy life. Eat an anti inflammatory diet and so on.

I don’t like taking drugs but am thinking statins may be a good option based on what I’ve read on here ?

Really appreciate your thoughts as my haem consultant has none ?

thanks

[Lemonverbena]

hi sanga,

have limited experience of rux, only just started but seems good but have run the gammet of all statins bar the injections. in reality most people take them with no side effects at all ( cholesterol can be a s/e with rux i believe) so would be worth exploring.

unfortunately my system hated them all and am currently exploring chinese mushrooms but with very little data to go on.

but i am the exception i think.

good luck

[hall2]

I was put on statins a few years ago and I’ve had no problems. I am also on Pegasys.

[Jomalile]

hi

I am taking a minimum dose of statins since about 2 years now and my cholesterol is perfect now. I do not experience any side effects at all. I thought that rux was known that it can increase the cholosterol. You can give it a try…Good luck!

[PepeYoung]

I have been taking 20mg atorvastatin for 12 months with no side effects. At the recent MPN voice patient’s online forum, a paper presented at the latest ASH meeting was mentioned which suggested that statins may improve response to standard MPN treatments, possibly by reducing inflammation

[Arami]

Hi, I am keeping my cholesterol within the accepted range with Red Rice Yeast pills. They work great for me, no side effects. The active ingredient is Monakolina K, with 2.9 mg in each pill. I took 3 pills/day the first 3 months to bring down the cholesterol, and now I am on 2 pills/day to keep it at the safe level. Hope this helps.

[AndyT]

I started low dose statins over 20 years ago, following my ET diagnosis, as my cholesterol was a bit high and it seemed sensible to reduce that additional risk.

I haven’t had any problems that I can attribute to being on statins but did swap to a newer version a couple of years ago on my GP’s advice.