Hi everyone, first must say, this is a fantastic site and thank you to all the hardworking people who run it.
I am on walfarin, statins, levothyroxine,betmiga and was reading a post on Facebook saying that if you are thyroid medication and warfarin then you should not be on statins. The doctor prescribed statins so what is the right thing to do?
Thanks in advance for any info.
I am newly diagnosed and have only been taking levothyroxine for 3 days. Both my GP and pharmacist told me That I can't take statins with it. I would speak to you pharmacy and check with them.
If your doctor prescribed statins due to your higher cholesterol, normally after we've been on thyroid medication for a little while, the cholesterol drops without any medications.
A higher cholesterol is a clinical symptom of hypothyroidism, due to the fact that our metabolism has slowed down a lot. Excerpt:
If one of the signs of hypothyroidism is increased serum cholesterol, you might expect properly prescribed Levothyroxine to cause a reduction in cholesterol levels. In fact, that is exactly what happens. A study published in 2004 in the "Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism" demonstrated significant reductions in cholesterol levels as well as improvements in blood vessel integrity in subclinical hypothyroid patients taking Levothyroxine. Improvement in both cholesterol levels and vessel integrity may significantly reduce cardiovascular risks in these patients.
livestrong.com/article/4925...
I think many people would avoid Statins particularly if they read the book The Big Cholesterol Con by Dr Malcom Kendrick and listened to the video below:
drmalcolmkendrick.org/stati...
Thank you for that. It made very interesting listening. Think the right thing to do is go back to the doctor and tell her I am stopping them. Just really surprised that she has not said anything about it.
They like prescribing statins because theyvget a lot of funding points for doing so. Same with antidepressants. But they get nothing for prescribing Levo...
Your GP might not be aware and that's what they usually prescribe for a higher cholesterol. We have always to double-check as with hypo we can have many clinical symptoms and as long as we're given sufficient thyroid hormones any symptoms should gradually improve.
I believe that the whole cholesterol thing is a con - and I would also recommend reading The Great Cholesterol Con.
There was an article in the Daily Mail recently that included, "Now US government is to accept advice to drop cholesterol from list of 'nutrients in concern'". In other words, they got it wrong! To read the full article, go to -
dailymail.co.uk/health/arti...
Other books worth reading include -
The Statin Damage Crisis -
amazon.co.uk/Statin-Damage-...
Fat and Cholesterol are Good for You -
amazon.co.uk/Fat-Cholestero...
Hazel.
Thank you Hazel
There’s a new post on Dr Brownstein’s blog about statins –
The Great Statin Debate Continues
blog.drbrownstein.com/the-g...
Today (7.12.15), I received an email from Dr. C. You will see our correspondence below. Recall that Dr. C and I had a flurry of emails back and forth that I titled The Great Statin Debate (blog.drbrownstein.com/the-g.... Below this exchange, I will tell you about an interaction I had with another cardiologist about a patient of mine.
Please let me know your opinions on this.
DrB
Email from Dr. C:
Atorvastatin (Lipitor) 40 mg for 90 is $24 all over town. Cost of one beer. Suggest you stop saying it is expensive.
Dr C
To Dr. C:
When you factor in blood testing, side effects—pain, fatigue, muscle aches and pains, brain decline and the testing/treatment that goes along with these adverse drug reactions, perhaps I am not being loud enough.
And, give it to 30-40% of our population? That is expensive and ridiculous. One dollar per prescription for a junk medication is too much.
Perhaps we need some docs, especially cardiologists, to finally admit that a drug that fails 97-99% should be pulled from the market and use our limited health care resources for a better cause.
$24 for one month. Times 12 months. Times millions of people to fail 97+% is a lot of wasted money.
And, I just called CVS and here’s what I found out: Brand Name Atorvastatin 90 days, 40mg: $1118.00. Generic: $385.00.
That’s more than a few beers!
Dr B
And, this was my conversation with another cardiologist that occurred last Thursday.
My patient, 78 years old, moved to a western state. He had a small heart attack last week. I received a message from a cardiologist in that state to call her back about this.
I called and she tells me about the heart attack. She performed a heart catheterization which found no serious occlusions–about 40-50% plaque throughout my patient’s coronary arteries—which are considered normal for his age and not reflective of coronary disease ready to cause heart attacks. She said that she wants to put him on a statin but he won’t take it unless I agree. I asked her why she wants to put him on a statin. She said, “I want to prevent a future heart attack.” I told her that statins weren’t very effective for either primary—someone who has no cardiac disease history–or secondary—someone who has suffered a previous cardiac event–prevention. And, I stated, “His cholesterol levels are not high–his total was 175mg/dl with low levels of triglycerides and higher HDL levels.” She replied, “They aren’t very effective for primary prevention, I agree, but they are for secondary prevention.” I asked her how effective they are for secondary prevention. She replied, “About 50%.” I said those numbers are just not true as they are relative risk numbers which should not be used when making clinical decisions. I told her they were, at best, around 3% effective, in the most positive studies, for secondary prevention.
I asked her why anyone would prescribe a drug that fails 97% who take it and one that was associated with severe adverse effects. She replied, “Well, I have to do something.” I said, “Why don’t we search for why he had a heart attack in the first place? It could be a nutritional deficiency, infection, heavy metal toxicity, hormone imbalance, etc.” I also reminder the cardiologist that he just moved to a high altitude area and perhaps that was the cause of his small heart attack. She cut me off and said, “Well, I am willing to take the risk that he will be in the 3% group and benefit from the drug.” I told her I can’t support that. I told her that no doctor should prescribe a drug that fails at least 97% who take it.
Here’s what I don’t understand: How can doctors be so concrete in their thinking? Since when did doctors stop thinking? Even when they are presented with contrary data, it has no effect on their thoughts. It’s almost as if their brains are on shut-off mode. Like they are terminators or something like that. (Editor’s note: I love the Terminator movies, but have not seen the latest one yet. For some reason, no one in my all-female family will go with me.) Unfortunately, most doctors act like they know one treatment method for one problem and everyone is prescribed exactly the same drug, in exactly the same dose, for the same problem–even when the cause of the problem can be many different things. It is really pathetic.
What can you do? Don’t blindly follow any doctor’s advice, including mine. Do your research and always search for the underlying problems in order to develop a comprehensive, logical treatment plan. And, if the therapy fails nearly all who take it, perhaps it is wise to search for a different treatment protocol.
One last note. My children are going into medicine and I will use this exchange as a teaching tool.
DrB
Statins are a nightmare! They stop your levo from working.
healthunlocked.com/search/s...
Lots of reading in the above link 
Statins
Statins and Hashimotos
Cholesterol, Hypothyroidism, Statins
Statins and Cancer
statins & underactive thyroid
