Not a PMR question but I’m hoping someone here can help. Sorry it’s a long post.
I have been off pred for a couple of months and all is well, fingers crossed.
I was offered, because I am now 70, a health check by the local surgery and asked for ESR and CRP to be checked too. They are good but my total cholesterol was 6 and my risk factor of stroke/heart probs given as 13.5%. I was very surprised as I walk an average of 3km a day, do Pilates excercises 4 or 5 days a week and have a healthy diet - lots of veg, not much red meat or fat. I’m 165cm and weigh just under 63kg. I do like a glass of wine 5 or 6 times a week and like a piece of chocolate sometimes after a meal. I also like cheese but do’t overdo it. Could this be my issue? Do I need to cut out chocolate, cheese and wine?
GP has suggested statins. What does the collective mind think about these? I’ve asked for an appointment to discuss this.
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Sweetpeasoprano
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Your situation sounds similar to mine: active (walking, gardening), not overweight, healthy diet etc. No matter what I did, my cholesterol remained stubbornly in the naughty zone. Eventually, it was decided that I have “familial hypercholesterolemia” and I reluctantly decided to take the statins, which did bring the level down.
Unlike some, I haven’t had any adverse effects from them, but as has often been said, “We’re all different!”
Thanks for the reply. It’s good to hear from someone in the same boat. The nurse who went through the results with me did suggest it could be inherited. You have reassured me about side effects and I will probably agree to the statins because if the results aren’t just a blip I’ll feel like a walking time bomb!!
Why not try some of the plant based sterols such as Benecol drinks etc first. If that doesn’t work then statins are an option. That’s what I did …..worked for me. Good luck.
my cholesterol is good but being a type 2 diabetic(in remission) doctors like cholesterol to be really low. I take Atorvastatin which has given me no I’ll effects at all
Just reading some of the links to posts on statins it seems that some statins may be worse for PMR sufferers than others. Mine is currently in remission (I daren’t tempt fate and say it’s gone), and I don’t want it to return. It gives me some questions to ask the GP.
There are so many different statins that if one doesn’t suit you it is easy to change. Many say Atorvastatin can cause muscle aches so I tried not taking them for a few months and there was no difference in my PMR symptoms so I restated then
Now you have posted, you can see related post… and probably as many different views as you can wave a stick at… you have to make decision on your personal circumstances.
If you go to a post of mine earlier this year, you'll see how I reduced my cholesterol from 6.2 to 4.2 through plant sterols. Look up the info online on sterols including on one of our UK heart sites you'll see evidence that sterols work in a similar way to statins (I believe statins are made in some way from sterols).
Fine with pred. I took mine at night but I don't think it matters. There's loads of other brands online. I took Benecol drinks at first cause they taste nice but I didn't want the additives. The other thing I was taking at the time was a homemade oat, seed and nut muesli. Oats are supposed to help.
I'm a bit like you.....off the steroids but now on statins. Under the lipid clinic for telephone appointments and guidance.....been told I have familial hypercholesterolemia. So am pretty much up against it. I decided to give statins a go to protect long term heart health. Atorvastatin didn't suit me, I'd been on it 5 months , gave me muscle aches in my upper arms (I'd had enough aches with PMR so I stopped them, cholesterol level shot straight back up!) So I'm now on Rosavastatin, 3 x weekly, and suits me much better, and waiting for bloods next month to check my cholesterol level. I think often with any new drug our bodies need a couple of weeks or so to adapt, but we're all different. Good luck finding the right statin for you, if you do decide to take them. Some people can't tolerate them....I think a few on this forum, including PMRpro, can't .
I think it is a case of finding the right statin or alternative. Like you I didn’t tolerate Atorvastatin. My LFT went haywire. It’s taken time with a month off them then starting at 5mg Rosuvastatin, now on 10mg after bloods three months on at 5mg showed slight raise in cholesterol. All ok so far.
I have managed to resist the offer of statins so far as I also have an underactive thyroid which can show raised cholesterol. But was thinking about trying plant sterols first as a supplement but can't find anything about if they're OK to take with pred. I would prefer to try them first. To be fair they are not pushing me, but my diet has changed dramatically since LVV and so my dairy intake of yoghurt and cheese has gone up ten fold.
I also have an under active thyroid and take 100micro grams of levothyroxine every morning. Should I be looking at a link between this and raised cholesterol? Dr Google again maybe.
I’ve read up on plant sterols but I’m happy to take statins if one can be found that doesn’t create more aches and pains, but given the increased risks of high cholesterol that may be the least worst option!
Thanks. That’s interesting. I have taken mine in the morning for many years but if that’s the case I’ll switch to before bed. Is there a physiological reason for night time to be more effective.? Another job for Dr Google.
Thanks. An interesting set of studies. It seems that it's important how close one eats before or after taking the tablets. Since it's easier to leave a bigger gap in the evening than it is in the morning it may be worth taking the tablets in the evening. (I'm glad I used to teach statistics!)
My cholesterol fell on Ezetimibe and then rose again. The rheumy was puzzled - the only thing I can think of is that my go to when I can't be bothered to cook is a bite of cheese. Maybe I've eaten a lot more than I thought - certainly can't be arsed to cook. Not off food in that sense - put it in front of me and I'll eat anything. But all my no cook options seem rather laced with animal fat.
I love cheese and it’s also my go-to if husband isn’t eating at home and I want something quick. Pasta + cheese, cheese on toast etc, but that isn’t so often these days.
I’m envious of the freedom to eat whatever, whenever… I have a very healthy meat & dairy free diet (but with fish & seafood included) for helping to keep my MS acquiescent but it gets so tedious cooking all the pulses and veggie things from scratch all the time, so I’m more and more often eating some veggies raw with a bit of salad, nuts. seeds etc which really grows on you eventually 😉. Prawns only take a couple of minutes to steam and lots of tasty fish, clams etc can be straight from a can which appeals to my lazy streak too 😊
Sounds like my kind of eating - and with you all the way on the tedium of always cooking from scratch as I do too. It is the fetching of the fish that adds to the pain here and I haven't got my head around canned clams etc yet - not even sure they exist here, Many things don't!
The thing is when you don't eat carbs you need something to fill you up and yoghurt and cheese are the ones that work for me. My cholesterol last time it was taken was 5.5 but that was May last year. Don't think it's been done since then.
I do eat carbs in whole grains, pulses and root veggies etc but not in processed junk. But I also use quite a few nuts and seeds in meals too as well as the fish & seafood, pulses, beans, tofu, tempeh etc. Apparently/allegedly beans are one of the best ways to help with cholesterol levels?, although I think pulses have a lower proportion of carbs than beans? Can’t remember where I got that all from though as I don’t really have an issue with carbs and don’t count them or calories since I’ve been on the OMS diet 12-13 years - weight just pretty much takes care of itself since I started that - one major beneficial ‘side effect ’ 😂😂😂
Most cholesterol is genetic so you can only influence a fairly small part of it. You can get natural supplements that lower cholesterol naturally which I’ve taken myself and was very surprised that they actually worked!
As others have mentioned there are a number of types of statins and just as many varied reactions for some with PMR. I have taken simvastatin for close to 15 years with no issues. Works so perfectly for me that I could probably be an advertisement for it lol. But I have read of others with PMR who have had terrible issues and either needed to switch to a different statin or have ceased taking them totally. It's a roll of the dice - can't hurt to try one type.
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