I was diagnosed with PMR in November 2023. Initial dose was15mg now after a few ups and downs and with the help of a very supportive doctor now down to 9.5
This morning I received an email from the doctors surgery suggesting that I might benefit from some statins to reduce my risk of heart attack or stroke. Apparently I don’t have to take this up now and can defer it for some time in the future. I have my review with my own GP at the end of April and feel it would be good to wait until I’ve discussed it with him.
Any advice would be gratefully received
Thank you ❤️
Written by
Yorkgirl2
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Hi like you I was advised I should consider taking statins - something I thought I would never do. However in my case my blood test did show my Cholesterol level had risen to what was considered just above the borderline. I was quite miffed as by choice I have always maintained a very healthy diet and exercise regime. This forum as always offered a lot of support interms of experiences. but I also had a very good conversation with the GP practice pharmacist who suggested I try the minimum dose of 10mg (instead of the normal 20mg) Having weighed up the risks of aneurism, stroke etc I also have with inflammation of my arteries from this illness, I decided to go with it and have been fine. My cholesterol level quickly fell below 6 to take me under the threshold and I've just had my 3 monthly check and it's down around 5.2 Not as low as they would like but taking everything into account the pharmacist suggested I stay on this dose at present. So many decisions we have to make and not always easy to know what to do for the best but hope you find the one that's right for you.
Has this been prompted as part of a general/annual review or have you recently had a blood test that shows raised cholesterol? It is a side effect of pred.
It very much depends on the person - some people find statins worsen their PMR symptoms and may even have triggered it, others are able to take any statin without problems and some can take one statin but not another. A few have tried as many as 4 before finding one they tolerate well.
Now you have asked you will see related posts -and probably get as many different replies as members. Really it depends on your medical history -so do some research. There a lot out there, much conflicting.. but at the end of the day it’s your decision,
I have started reading this from Amazon "A Statin-Free Life: A revolutionary life plan for tackling heart disease – without the use of statins" Heart specialist who trained in Edinburgh wrote it. Like you I didn't think statins were my thing and even though I have just started the book I still don't! There seem to be a lot of myths around cholesterol etc.
Phil Hammond - that well known comedian. Gosh - hadn't realised he was that old!
I think the main point though is that statins do SOMETHING that reduces the risk of CVD - and lowering cholesterol is a marker for its effect. Not sure cholesterol itself is always the evil thing it is claimed to be. Except in the hereditary hypercholesterolaemia disorder. But that is another story.
Ach yes - the link I got when I search it was confusing and it looked as if it was PH but I was lazy and didn't load it. Mea culpa!!!
I used to be very impressed by Aseem Malhotra in his early days but then he seemed to stray and become conroversial for the sake of being controversial. And some things don't match with the available evidence.
I'm sure I read an NHS article a few years ago that said most women probably don't need to take statins but I can't find it now. Whist searching for it I found this instead, which seems a useful read from a reputable site and presents different side of the argument. Looks like the Jury is out to me
Looks like the Jury is out to me. I've personally decided not to take statins on top of all the other things I'm on and the complications of statins including they can actually bring on or exacerbate PMR. I'd probably feel different if I had any heart problems or was male
I would have agreed with you a few years ago but there has been further work that disagrees with both sides. It is however undisputable that for the majority of patients they do reduce risk.
Thanks for the info. Way beyond me so I'll procrastinate and put in on the back burner/kick it into the long grass for now. On a possibly related topic or posssibly not, I just heard that yet another male friend about my age (early 60s) has had a sudden heart attack, that's about the 5th man I know who's had one and had stents put in etc. Yet none of my my female friends have had a heart attack, as far as they know, although one, like you, has Afib and one has high BP even though skinny as the proverbial stick insect. Maybe that's why I'm being complacent
Hi there, just wondered if anyone had discussed the full lipid profile with you? Total cholesterol ( which you probably know) is made up of ‘good’ cholesterol (High density lipoprotein - HDL..which is protective ) and ‘bad’ cholesterol (Low density lipoprotein - LDL), you also have those other factors of Triglycerides which statins are not really effective at sorting if the count is high. Just a suggestion but maybe you might want to discuss with your GP the ratio of HDL to LDL cholesterol. It may shed some light on whether or not you decide to go on Statins. All the very best 😊
Thank you to everyone for your replies. Statins seem to be a very divisive subject. I’m going to keep investigating it and then speak to my GP at my review. I haven’t had a recent blood test for cholesterol so not sure what prompted this latest text from the practice. I’ve also heard that doctors practices were being encouraged to prescribe statins and getting paid extra to do this so will take my time to decide
They aren't paid to prescribe the statins - they are paid for doing the checks that might lead to a decision that it would benefit you to take them. Not the same thing.
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