While strictly not a PMR issue I know there are a few whose cholesterol has risen markedly since being diagnosed. I am one of them. I have always had high-ish cholesterol but my last fasting blood test showed everything else perfectly normal but my cholesterol was up. I haven't seen the results but my GP mentioned 300 for my LDL (bad cholesterol). Interestingly my good cholesterol (HDL) was also high which she found quite surprising. She mentioned taking statins. I declined for various reason which she understood. She suggested that I try a 3 month course of natural supplements and gave me a freebie Cholesfytol which contains among other things red yeast rice.
Has anyone else taken a course of a natural supplement to reduce high cholesterol and found it worked?
Thanks
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"Ingredients per tablet : Bulking agent: microcrystalline cellulose • Red rice yeast powder (Monascus purpureus) 240 mg (equivalent to 10 mg of monacolin K) • Bulking agent : magnesium oxide • Starch • Olive fruit dry extract (Olea europaea) 25 mg (equivalent to 5 mg hydroxytyrosol) • Anticaking agents : silicon dioxide ."
I use the Benecol yogurt drinks - no idea if they work, haven't had my levels checked since I started. I now also get an alternative prescribed: ezetimibe. will see week after next if they have done anything,
I got call from my GP recently - yes, he actually called me - asking if I would "like" to go on statins, as if they were some kind of sweetie. I though about it for a nanosecond and then said no.
My cholesterol has gone up since I've been taking pred. I'll be very interested in your replies.
In the UK they do a calculation that takes into account non-HDL (bad) levels against the HDL (good) levels. I've been researching and this is a change to the way they used to do the calculation using only LDL and HDL. They now include more than just LDL as non-HDL baddies (hence the name)!
Interestingly, the British Heart Foundation has details of a large study they funded where each participant was given a period of time on a statin, a placebo, no medication, in a randomly assigned order (over a year I think). The results showed that participants were just as likely to report side effects when taking the placebo as they were when taking the statin. I've only read the promotional summary so far, but intend to look into this a little more.
All I know is the first time I took a statin I was unable to walk more than 50m without feeling I was going to collapse after about a week on a half dose and the second time I had a massive PMR flare after about 3 weeks - since it presented in its usual way with a meltdown of my myofasical pain syndrome back issues and I ended up on the ED because I couldn't move and live alone I have no desire to repeat the experience.
You'd have skewed the results of the BHF study! This is why I'd like to see more details about what brand they used, dose, how many participants didn't report side effects with both, what side effects, etc. In other words, are they using selected elements of the study to suit their purpose!
I took a statin for 3 weeks and the only side effect I had was an unbearable level of tinnitus, so I'm considering trying again.
You would expect that the bad aspects would start soon if it were nocebo effect. After 2 weeks of the last attempt I actually said it was looking good as I felt fine. The back spasms started the following week and I was having neural therapy treatment to stop it getting worse. On the Friday I was fine but then had 2 days over the weekend without the neural therapy and could feel the difference but on the Monday morning it was absolute meltdown. I had to call 112 (our 999) and they took me to the ED who didn't achieve much - but the session with rheumatology afterwards did. The frst time round I probably expected muscle aches - but it was weakness and breathlessness walking up the slightest slope.
Either they didn't select people like your good self who'd previously had such a severe reaction, or you would have been in the 10% they don't focus on when summarising the results to promote the placebo effect.
Your experience sounds very scary and would definitely have put me off trying them again if I'd experienced anything similar.
That first time was scary. I didn't really think about this time as I have had similar episodes before without no identifiable reason other than MPS as part of PMR. Either way - it's a pain!!! And has taken a long time to get over since the magic treatment is no longer an option as the i.v. diazepam DEFINITELY causes a reaction, triggering a long and severe episode of a.fib. The last time was after I fainted with a slow heart rate (7 second pauses) and hit my head, I had also had a TGA (transient global amnesia), was amnesic, agitated and confused in the ED and at the time my reaction to i,v, diazepam wasn't documented on the computer so they used standard protocol. To be fair - it scared them more than me!
You've just put a picture in my head of panicking medical staff running around the room shouting 'what do we do?' I'm glad they got everything under control and you have recovered from that episode.
You, like a few others on this forum, have been through so much healthwise. Your posts put my ailments into perspective and make me feel so grateful that my health isn't worse than it is.
They also remind me just how wonderful our medical people are in supporting us and, if not able to make it go away, they help make it easier to live with - often supported too by advances in medical science of course.
The first a/f episode I do remember several standing at the foot of the bed looking decidedly concerned which doesn't often happen here! A nurse beside me grabbed me a few times - the tachys were followed by quite dramatic bradys and there must have been fairly long pauses so she obviously expected me to lose consciousness. I told her not to worry! Watching the ECG monitor was quite interesting
after long periods of severe a.fib. Caused by my use of Prednisolon, I got cardiac ablation treatment, It took quite a while for my heartrate to improve, but I am fine now. The bad thing was that I had to take Amiodaron for a lengthy period, which made it totally forbidden to be out in the sun, as my skin would turn gray. This was not a nice prospect. 2 years without the sun was difficult . vit.D3 had to be replaced to be able to absorb calcium.
My neighbour had a heart attack about 10 years ago, on statins was fine........they chnged his prescription about a year ago, he could hardly walk for pain.....they had tried a cheaper statin, he is fine now, back on old statin..... obviously different types. What is the reading they suggest statins do you know?.....it used to be 6 years ago, but most people I know have reading of 7 and not on them!.....
Similar to me going up a slight hill.. had chest pain, radiating down my arms and dreadful sciatica. I stopped them pronto … told GP and never looked back. About 10 years ago.
Agree pmrpro i have whats now been call familiary high cholestrol due to family history was given stains at ist 17yrs ago spent 4 days of my 1st holiday abroad in bed the leg pains was so bad i would have gladly cut them off now i cant even take the child strength ones due to side effect was put on ezetime and have been great on them but bad ldl still not low enough due to heart problems so now on duel meds of bempedoic/ezetimibe so far so good . Sorry for long rant guys take care all.c
Interesting - personally my view is I'm not desperately worried so any lower is fine! Will find out towards the end of the month if the ezetimibe is working.
A guy I used to play tennis with was on statins. He became so unwell he could no longer play. He decided to stop taking them and within days he was fit again. I would regard them with huge care and much research!!
My sister had shockingly high cholesterol levels (familial hypercholesterolemia) and was on statins for some time. Eventually she developed a good dose of our deathly fatigue. So she stopped taking the statins and within just 2 days felt normal again. I don't think they would have wanted her on their study, either!
I've been doing a lot of research about statins, cholesterol etc. I've realised that most of the trials are financed by the drug companies and are skewed to give the results they want.I can recommend 2 books. 'Put your heart in your mouth' by Dr Natasha Cambell McBride, and ' A statin free life' by Dr Aseem Malhotra.
Both advise high fat, low carb, no rubbish diet. Dr Cambell talks a lot about how we need cholesterol and that the body knows what it's doing.
Stress plays a big part as cholesterol is needed for stress hormones. And I suppose when we're replacing pred with our own cortisol we need cholesterol to do it. Cholesterol is used for repair, so I think it patches up our damaged arteries too, causing problems with PA D ( that I now have).
It's all fascinating. There are many doctors who don't agree with statins and think we're better off without them.
Thank you for your suggestions, I'll look into it a bit more.
When I didn't get on with the statin I was prescribed, and found out that oral steroids can raise cholesterol, my plan was to wait and see what happens once no longer taking steroids.
Because of my current health tests, and the fact that I might be on a low dose of steroids for another couple of years, I've been reconsidering this decision - still not sure though, which is why I'm interested in this post.
Interestingly I read a similar article several years ago that said much the same thing and, in particular, that it was better for older people's health (70+) to have higher cholesterol. I think the jury's still out but I'll stick to eating healthily and winging it! Thanks for the reply.....
My Cholesterol did go up significantly which after doing a bit of research found can be caused by the steroids. I refused Statins but as my Prednisolone dose has reduced so has my cholesterol level so I am glad I did not take them.
I tried Red Yeast Rice for months and it did nothing. I can’t take statins so I was prescribed Rapatha which is not a statin. It reduces cholesterol in a different way. My total cholesterol came way down but not enough but I have no choice right now since I’m on Actemra which raises cholesterol
I have a long history of raised cholesterol and done much research over the years on both the condition and statins.
It's important to say that I have always avoided all medications unless I've been presented with evidence that's suggested I genuinely require them so I had to be convinced I really needed statins before I decided to take them.
Early on, after being diagnosed with high cholesterol I attempted to control it myself through dietary changes, regular exercise and believe it or not...a daily Benecol yogurt. Within 3mths my overall reading dropped from over 6.0 to 4.3 but I was told by my GP that you couldn't influence your body's own natural cholesterol level and I was re-tested. The reading was exactly the same though proving that I had indeed brought about a significant improvement.
During this time, I discovered that if any one of the 3 elements (diet, exercise, yogurt) were missing from my 'regime', then the next blood test would show that my cholesterol level had increased again.
Unfortunately, in order to maintain this low cholesterol reading, the amount of self discipline required was unsustainable and impacted on my life too much.
Over the years I've been on and off statins a few times but as I've got older my metabolism has become less efficient and the ageing process has meant my body has found it harder and harder to keep my cholesterol level within safe perameters without some help from medication.
Absolutely nothing 'alternative' that I've ever tried has made any effective difference whatsoever but thankfully I've never experienced any adverse side effects from statins either.
My steroid medication seemed to cause a fast & significant rise in my cholesterol level again (I wasn't taking a statin at the time) and so I'm currently taking Atorvastatin 40mg daily and now have a much safer cholesterol level.
Everyone is different and I can only speak of my own experience. You will have to decide for yourself what the way forward is but whatever you decide I wish you well and success.
Thank you for taking the time to reply, Kendrew. Several years ago I visited a herbalist here in Cyprus about my high cholesterol levels. She put me on a strict diet together with some herbs, mostly oregano. It was really a detox. I felt wonderful, the weight fell off (which I didn't need) and I felt so fit. However, friends told me that I looked pretty dreadful but nonetheless I kept it up until one day I had double vision for several hours which was scary, and it re-occurred during the following days. I stopped taking the herbal remedy and everything went back to normal. My cholesterol did drop, not massively, enough to satisfy my GP at the time but the overall cost was too high.
I think we have to be really careful when considering whether or not to include herbal remedies in our arsenal against the various health issues we're continually trying to combat.
I definitely think they can be very effective in lots of circumstances and would never dismiss them, but it's so important to know how they might interact with anything else we're taking and what complications or side effects they themselves might inflict upon us.
Herbal practitioners are usually very well educated in their craft of herbal medicine, but if they have little or no understanding of specific conditions, medications and possible contraindications of merging conventional medicines with herbal medicine, then there could be some serious consequences.
We need to be certain of their competency, knowledge and experience and that's not always easy to determine ...... particularly if we haven't done our 'homework' also.
I have recently had the blood test for cholesterol, where the results were given over the phone, where o find it difficult to think clearly in the time available. GP summed up saying for my age, 71, my risk of heart problems or stroke, was running at 13.5% over the next 10 years. He said if it was his Mum with this reading, which is just below average fir my age, he would not be strongly advising her to take statins. I am considering the situation, and he has agreed to book annual tests, or more often if I choose. Right decision do you think Kendrew?
My total cholesterol rose from 4.5 up to 7.5 over two years likely pred related. In Sept 22 my GP discussed it with me, she was happy for me to try alternatives to statins. I took Psyllium husk with food and plant sterol capsules. I had a repeat blood test after two months and it had reduced to 6.3 this seems to be working for me and from what I have read is a safe alternative that is worth trying
Not sure what units your Cholesterol is being measured in but when I was on 30mg pred my fasting LDL was 5 mmol/L which is very high (very bad). However my HDL was 7.8mmol/L which is also very high and very good. They now use a ratio which is the Total Cholesterol divided by the HDL (the Total is another figure which is not the LDL and HDL combined as it also includes other bits). If the resulting ration is under 5 then it is considered to be OK as the HDL "clears out" the LDL (or so I am told).
I have been using red yeast rice for many years...1200 mg with no side effects...( Everyone is different) it did keep my cholesterol under control but not since GCA and PMR and prednisone and Actemra. I was prescribed Repatha injections once a month.....won't know if it helped until bloodwork in a couple weeks...I also use Zedia.
Hi, I have been in satins for many early without any problems. I take it at night. My cholesterol has recently gone up due to, I think the Actemra . I have been watching everything I eat.
Steroids do increase overall cholesterol. Fortunately they increase HDL component too, so the ratio does not change much. As I reduced pred, cholesterol went down too. Now that I am at zero pred, cholesterol is back to normal. I was offered statins too, but I refused especially when I read that there were some cases of PMR as side effect of statins!
Very sensisble to not take them. Husband had severe muscle pain. Were your triglycerides measured. If they are normal you should not worry about total cholesterol.
I don't know, to be honest, but in the past they have always been above normal so assuming that's still the case I think I'll carry on as I have been all these years. Thanks
I heard that walnuts ,roasted garlic or just yeah roasted garlic when you chop the top of the clove off and toast in the oven or a red fish oil pills where you can get from like a store like Costco or something help high cholesterol issues and also salmon because there's a lot of Omega threes in there
If you use garlic for lowering cholesterol but my mom and I used to do this you would take the tops of the cloves off then you would put some olive oil on top of the top of the garlic cloves just make sure you don't brush your teeth right after having the garlic
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