Statins

[Man of Harveys]

 

[Man of Harveys]

"Pisses me off having to take those bloody pills every day...and that's just to get it up so I can crank one off with the duvet cover when they've gone out..."

 

[glasfryn]

I'm 34 and am on statins because of my diabetes. Think they're more preventionary, rather than reactionary, if that makes sense.

me too 3.3 last test but still have to take the bloody things along with a shit load of other tablets.

 

[chip]

You are lucky. A more serious form of this genetic condition can lead to atherosclerosis by age ten and heart atack/stroke at 12. GSK have spent $500M on developing a lipid based treatment to metabolise the LDL properly outside the liver as the risk of fatty liver disease is so much higher. Nature alone cannot fix this one for you, but cutting down on the fat and booze will help along with more exercise. You also have a higher probability of metabolic syndrome/diabetes as your microvascular function and insulin sensitivity are impaired by raised fatty acids. The statins are long-term preventative care as others have said. Don't be pissed off, you have probably extended your life considerably.

 

[withdeanwombat]

I take statins.I am old.

My cholesterol is pretty low,though.

Up the Albi..............aaaaaarghhhh.

 

[RexCathedra]

risk/benefit ratio so favorable that there's talk here of making some statins available OTC (over the counter, no Rx needed).

I've heard one public health specialist say that he'd put them in the drinking water if he had his druthers...

 

[Lord Bracknell]

oh and I forgot to say - don't feel bad - lifes too short!!

I'm trying to get my head around this message. Is it supposed to cheer people up?

What if it said this?

oh and I forgot to say - don't feel bad - lifes too long!!

I'm still not sure.


Best I check it out again in the morning.

 

[Porky]

Took Pravacol a few years ago, but had muscular aches and pain as a side effect. Switched to Lipitor, good cholesterol counts ever since.

 

[dougdeep]

Mines in double figures, but what the hell.

 

[tedebear]

I'm trying to get my head around this message. Is it supposed to cheer people up?

What if it said this?


I'm still not sure.


Best I check it out again in the morning.

I knew someone would decide to take that the wrong way, just suprised it was you Lord B., my message of course was meant in the nicest possible way.

 

[DIFFBROOK]

Have you tried taking Maxepa, which is basically omega3 fish oil. Totally natural, but it is known to lower your cholestoral and also help revent arthritis amongst other things.

Its usually found in fish. So totally safe and very beneficial.

I would ask your GP about that. If nothing else it might lower the dose of statin.

Good luck. I know how you feel as Im on tablets for colitis which can have side effect for cancer. So I fell cheated as well.

 

[Trufflehound]

Have you tried taking Maxepa, which is basically omega3 fish oil. Totally natural, but it is known to lower your cholestoral and also help revent arthritis amongst other things.

Its usually found in fish. So totally safe and very beneficial.

I would ask your GP about that. If nothing else it might lower the dose of statin.

Good luck. I know how you feel as Im on tablets for colitis which can have side effect for cancer. So I fell cheated as well.

I was already taking omega-3 pills for all their promised benefits for your joints, brain etc. I'd never had a cholesterol test before, so I don't know if they were helping that as well (perhaps it was even higher a year ago before I started taking them).


Thanks for all the support peoples.

At least they haven't given me the shits - the highest risk side effect according to the packet. That's got to be something to be grateful for!

 

[rool]

My cholesterol was over 6 before Christmas with the bad stuff at 4.7 and I was put straight on 10mg lipitor. I had a blood test last week and I was 3.7 in total with the bad stuff at 2.3.

I asked if I could try and see if I could keep it down myself as I didn't have a bad diet anyway and they have agreed to let me try it for 8 weeks. The problems I had with Lipitor is my right shoulder seems to be painful a lot of the time and although I don't eat a great deal I have been putting on weight. I stopped last Wednesday and have already lost 5 pounds.

Anyway, I heard some geezer on the radio saying niacin is a good alternative with no side effects but haven't had a chance to look into it yet.

 

[BrightonCottager]

Resurrecting this thread (17 years later) as opinions and prescribing policies have moved on and I'm now on them. I asked the Dr about side effects and she said that research on muscle aches indicated that a lot on the placebo were complaining of them as well!

I've been told to take them before I go to bed and warned off grapefruit juice, but not grapefruits. Result!

Any other side effects to be wary of? Is farting still a problem or was that only in 2007?

 

[Herr Tubthumper]

Resurrecting this thread (17 years later) as opinions and prescribing policies have moved on and I'm now on them. I asked the Dr about side effects and she said that research on muscle aches indicated that a lot on the placebo were complaining of them as well!

I've been told to take them before I go to bed and warned off grapefruit juice, but not grapefruits. Result!

Any other side effects to be wary of? Is farting still a problem or was that only in 2007?

Common side affects should be listen in that folded up piece of paper you get with meds.

 

[vegster]

So here I am, a young(ish) 45. I think I'm pretty fit. I eat a healthy diet - not too much meat, lots of fibre and all that. I'm not overweight. I exercise regularly. I don't smoke or do any other drugs. OK, so I probably drink "a little" (insert ironic smiley here) more beer than a doctor would recommend, but besides that I thought I was doing pretty well.

Then this morning the doctor tells me I've genetically-inherited high cholesterol from my parents and has put me on statins, probably for the rest of my life. Previously I'd always considered them an old people's drug.

Am I justified in feeling as cheated and pissed off about it as I do? Or is everyone else on them too and just manfully getting on with life with a stiff upper lip and all that?




Sorry for grumbling...

I had Mrs V's close family stay over for three days at Christmas, they all have " problems " of one sort or another, two smoke, one heavily, 2 out of 3 are pretty much alcoholics...offering scrambled eggs as a breakfast option to the one that's on a bottle of vodka a day....." no, I'd better not, I had an egg yesterday and I don't want to increase my cholesterol levels..." hope this puts things in perspective ?...take the statins !

 

[Harry Wilson's tackle]

Resurrecting this thread (17 years later) as opinions and prescribing policies have moved on and I'm now on them. I asked the Dr about side effects and she said that research on muscle aches indicated that a lot on the placebo were complaining of them as well!

I've been told to take them before I go to bed and warned off grapefruit juice, but not grapefruits. Result!

Any other side effects to be wary of? Is farting still a problem or was that only in 2007?

I have been on them since around 2005. Simva gave me muscle ache (thighs). Atorva doesn't. The 'stool' is a bit glisteny, but there are no other gastric issues.

Statins are good for the symptomless middle aged to reduce the rate of atheroma development.

I think they are brilliant meds, and combined with diet will make some of us last maybe 10-15 years longer. I would recommend anyone over 50 taking them regardless of health issues. All my cardiology pals are on them as a 'no brainer' exercise. Official data is also pretty clear. For example :

Statin Use for the Primary Prevention of Cardiovascular Disease in Adults: US Preventive Services Task Force Recommendation Statement - PubMed

The USPSTF recommends that clinicians prescribe a statin for the primary prevention of CVD for adults aged 40 to 75 years who have 1 or more CVD risk factors (ie, dyslipidemia, diabetes, hypertension, or smoking) and an estimated 10-year CVD risk of 10% or greater. (B recommendation) The USPSTF...

pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

Real-world data show the effect of statins in primary prevention

This editorial refers to ‘The effect of statins on mortality and cardiovascular disease in primary care hypertensive patients without other cardiovascular

academic.oup.com

The latter reports a 20% risk reduction. By contrast I have recently writtin a press release for my institution about a the risk of adverse effects of medicinal cannabis, where the risk goes to 1%. I dismissed it as bollocks (or 'noise' as I put it).

Happy to explain any technical terms in the above, with the usual proviso that I am a scientist not a clinician.

 

[Harry Wilson's tackle]

I had Mrs V's close family stay over for three days at Christmas, they all have " problems " of one sort or another, two smoke, one heavily, 2 out of 3 are pretty much alcoholics...offering scrambled eggs as a breakfast option to the one that's on a bottle of vodka a day....." no, I'd better not, I had an egg yesterday and I don't want to increase my cholesterol levels..." hope this puts things in perspective ?...take the statins !

Spot on!

 

[thedonkeycentrehalf]

Resurrecting this thread (17 years later) as opinions and prescribing policies have moved on and I'm now on them. I asked the Dr about side effects and she said that research on muscle aches indicated that a lot on the placebo were complaining of them as well!

I've been told to take them before I go to bed and warned off grapefruit juice, but not grapefruits. Result!

Any other side effects to be wary of? Is farting still a problem or was that only in 2007?

I'm Diabetic so already on Metformin and then was given statins last year. Seems like this is fairly standard practice now for any diabetic who has even slightly raised cholesterol levels.

As for farting, Metformin is known in the diabetic community as Metfartin but since being on statins it does feel at times that I have a full brass band having a concert in my jeans at times!

 

[Eeyore]

I take statins everyday. This reminds me, I need to have my blood checked. Good old NSC.

Has anyone noticed how the NHS online now uses slang words ?

I've been getting slight dizziness and tension in my head. It may be the statins. But one of the side effects they list is 'farting' and stools are now 'poo'.