I really believe you hit the nail on the head Jude - lowering cholesterol below a 'healthy' level I think is the problem. Obviously a very high cholesterol level is a high risk factor but the body needs HDL - which in fact LOWERS the risk of heart disease. The problem with many cholesterol reducing drugs and is that they lower all cholesterol not just LDL - with disastrous consequences. Instead of lining the pockets of the pharmaceutical industry, funding should be put into getting the medical profession to help people find ways to raise their 'good' cholesterol. HDL removes the lipoproteins from the blood and takes them to the liver to be excreted. Statins are known to cause liver damage - making this process even more difficult. Thus - statins are actually working against your body dealing with cholesterol normally. I so agree with you about the dreadful procedure of prescribing statins to otherwise healthy people just 'in case', on the excuse of preventative medicine. Statins are dangerous damaging drugs - I will accept that in some cases the damage they cause is a necessary evil in people that would otherwise suffer major heart episodes without such intervention but to risk someone's health speculatively is criminally wrong.
One hundred percent agree with Jude and Loxie. I have regained my health after weaning myself off statins. Statin sales are an annual 20 billion dollar bonanza for the pharmacuetical conglomerates in America alone. There is also assertions that statins set the patient up for a life of illnesses, thereby ensuring users are customers for life. One must remember that the working model for pharma companies is to have every human being reliant on at least one medication because their purpose is not about health, it's money.
I would recommend the viewing of "Marketing Madness," a dvd re: the growth of pharma companies and their purposes. Alarming stuff.
It would also be sensible to remember that if anything ingested is causing great discomfort and multiple side effects, your body is telling you it is in distress.
I am very content in having wrested control off my doctor, who seemed intent on burning down the house to save the letterbox. Raised cholesterol and quality of life, or statins and a myriad of illneses all on top of one another? It's a no-brainer.
I totally agree with you jude, the side effects just aren't worth it. I have to muscle damage and long term pain and it is starting to depress me and has greatly affect my ability to enjoy life
I agree with you too wayne, I was at the podiatrist a few weeks ago and a new patient was filling out a form and she said to the receptionist that she was on cholesterol drugs but didn't know the name of it. She continued to say she didn't have high cholesterol but her Dr has put her on it just incase. I was totally gobsmacked
It most definitely a no-brainer for me
I'm sorry to hear that Jane: it was stories like yours that partly convinced me to stop taking the statins. How long were you on them and I assume you've now stopped taking them?
Well, in my opinion the doctor is irresponsible and the patient is far too gullible. I can't imagine taking medication without knowing the name of it and researching the side effects: it amazes me how many people do exactly that, especially if they don't even have the condition the medication is prescribed for.
I've been on a lot of different medications since a heart attack 4 years ago (before that I only rarely had to go anywhere near a doctor or a pharmacist) and one of the very few times I didn't do some googling BEFORE I had a script made up a new gp (now an ex gp) had prescribed a medication which according to the manufacturers should NEVER be taken by anyone who'd had a heart attack!
I honestly can't remember jude, probably 7 or 8 years.. I was origionally on Lipitor and had a shoulder pain and i told the Dr and he changed me to Crestor. I first noticed losing a lot of hair about 3 years ago and then muscle pain and about 15 months ago I was climbling the stairs from a train station and got nearly to the top and I felt that I wouldn't make it to the top. I mentioned this to my physio and she suggested I watched a documentary on statins, then I did more research and the penny dropped.Physio's see a lot of problems with people that are on statins. Yes I have stopped.
Then I'm even more glad I stopped taking them after a bit less than 3 years or I could've ended up with permanent damage as you have done
It's heartening (pun intended) to read comments from like minded people here. Jane, I'm so sorry to read that you are suffering long term effects of statins with muscle pain and depression - not to mention the anger that a medicine which should have assisted you has resulted in a diminished well-being. Here, have a big warm hug.
I too had shoulder pain - couldn't lie on the right side of body, also had hair loss, and the horrible discomfort of restless, aching muscles that I wanted to flex out of my body - a whole list of worrying ailments that had me baffled and that I did not connect to statins because they manifested some 12-18 months later. Then one day it occurred to me that a heart attack would not result in an avalanche of issues, and that it was not the heart attack but the drug that was the problem. The doctor had never once acknowleged this. Research opened my eyes. The arrogance of the doctor who kept insisting on the use of a drug that was poisoning my system infuriated me.
Jude, I was the same. I hardly knew how to spell the word doctor let alone need one in the fifty years prior to my heart attack. High cholesterol is a family trait in our tree - my father had heart problems and died aged 90 in 2012 - just months before I had my turn despite a good diet and daily exercise. Ignorance was bliss, and although I am more mindful of what I eat and continue to walk absolutely everywhere, I refuse to worry about 'what-ifs' and the fear-mongering of any 'expert.'
High cholesterol also seems to run in my family, my parents have very high cholersterol. I don't know aout gparents but my paternal g'mother died at 103 from old age/g'father from septic apendix and maternal g'father was 92 and didn't have a heart attack,g/mother cancer.
It's all the luck of the draw. So now I have to decide what to do about my pain. I have bad arthiritis in my feet possibily accerlerated because of statins. Don't know any Dr I would trust enought to follow this up.
Oh yes,they act as if they have never heard statins can cause problems..apparently they never research the drugs they so freely prescribe as it is all over the internet..people who've had a bad reaction to them.I had a bad reaction on after only taking 10 mg a day.for a year.i will never take them again.
And I wish I never had lee
Agree absolutely. I tried all different statins in the last couple of years. All of them have left me miserable with muscle exhaustion, fatigue symptoms and a challanged memory. I have given them up in favor of any unseen risks...better to live a shorter fit life than a longer but crippled one.
Have you tried anything else to get your cholesterol down? I tried non-statin cholesterol lowering medication and the same symptoms began to show up within a week so I stopped them too, but that may not be the case for everyone.
I also use psyllium husk powder: 4 tsps most mornings in my porridge. That might be worth a try for you too:: just be careful to NEVER take it dry, as it expands on contact with any liquid and if that does that in your throat or gullet you'll be in big trouble.
Good luck
Thank you for your suggestion Jude; will certainly follow it. Yes, my doctor did put me on some non statin drugs which did not go down well with me either. I must share some other observations of a cardioligst here. He says that it is not only the overall cholestrol levels that should be of concern. Levels of HDL and many other factors all together determine the risk factor. My HDL is pretty good as I make it a point to include walnuts, almonds, flaxeeds, melon nuts, raisins, oats, veggies etc in my diet. He says I can skip the statins- there is a lot of undeserved hype about them, with ulterior motives I believe.
I have read numerous articles how you need choelesteral to function properly. How long have you been off the statins Jane?.I felt somewhat better after being off them about 4 months,however it took a good 4 years for me to feel totally myself again. I made a list with about 15 side affects and handed it to my doctor. When it first all started after takeing a low 10 mg dose for one year,my main symptoms were that of neuropathy. My arms would tingle and go numb just when having the blood pressure cuff on. My feet burned and it felt like I was walking on cactus needles. It got to the point I had such muscle weakness in my arms that my purse was hard to carry, i could not drive,muscles hurt too much. I made my husband push a shopping cart, i couldnt vacuum. I felt 30 years older and I said I wont take anything that makes life this uncomfortable. I have read alot on the subject and mostly read its only necessary for those who have had a cardiac event. I dont even know if I believe that. Some New study has just come out and they say in that study if you have a 10 percent chance of a problem you should take a statin. Been there,done that,no way will I. My husband had a heart attack. He is still on a statin. He has numbness in his feet which he now calls wooden feet.
No damage that has been done to the body can repair immediately; but the symptoms do fade away with time, as per my own experience.
That's not necessarily true: even the manufacturers acknowledge that in what they call rare cases there can be permanent severe muscle and/or nerve damage. There are plenty of reports on this site of people who never recovered from statin use
OMG...that is so frightening. I did not know that.
It's a matter of balance really: most doctors believe statins save lives by controling cholesterol and therefore preventing cardio vascular problems. It's up to us to decide whether the short or long term negative effects are something we can live with, especially if we've already had a heart attack or stroke.
I decided I'd prefer to take the risk of another heart attack than live in misery and pain on statins, which doesn't mean I don't take other steps to manage my cholesterol levels: diet, exercise, psyllium husks and if you're going to try the latter, never take the powder in dry form as it expands on contact with liquid and if does that in your throat or gullet you'll choke.
My last cholesterol test showed the "bad" on as down slightly and I'll have another test in the next couple of months just to keep an eye on it. Our bodies do need cholesterol and low levels aren't healthy either and a possible cause of some dementias.