Big question - statins or not

[PatsyB]

sounds like many are against taking these tablets for many reasons, can not say they have given me any side effects but was on them for a year before developing Diabetes..... so am not to worried about what i die off but WHEN ..want to stay around a bit longer

 

[Clivethedrive]

I know 3 people that had taken Statins and all 3 had problems ..aches , pains and general un wellness and one guy a loss of muscle tone .I was prescribed then as soon as I was diagnosed with type 2 I have high blood pressure too I haven't taken them and won't be doing . Doctors are too handy at handing out meds especially when there are other things that you can do to help lower your cholesterol . Needless to say dr wasn't very happy and they still come up on my repeat prescription, wish they would give me BG testing strips instead might try and banter for them on my next visit .Not holding out much hope tho .

They get a nice little extra payment for each patient prescribed.......but its up to you .

 

[Daphne917]

Me too.

To be honest though... We will all die if something...so I worry that people taking statins are giving themselves tbe increased possibilty og getting a different lifetime disease like diabetes and even depression is listed now as a side effect.

Why are we just so worried about what we are going to die of though? Even good old age has to have something like cancer or heart failure to finish us off?

Why do people not see the horrible side effects that taking these statins can cause.

My side effects were horrendous. No GP listened. I wouldn't take even if I was paid to.

I think a lot of patients are still of the mind set that 'Dr knows best' and they wouldn't prescribe them if they were not necessary! My mother had terrible problems which she put down to statins but each tme she complained they just changed the brand and she would continue to take them until another side affect appeared. Eventually she stopped taking them but the damage was done and she got berated by her various consultants when she told them she wasn't taking them anymore. On this forum we are probably unusual in that, by wanting to control our condition, we have become better informed than many patients and, as a consequence, are prepared to ask questions and take an informed view about our treatment.

 

[Mike d]

It's an amazing debate is it not? Differing opinions on diets don't come close to this as the perceived side effects of statins are a bone of contention for many as they KNOW something their doctors do not. I'll control my cholesterol by the means I choose, NEVER thru these blasted pills.

 

[mojo37]

They get a nice little extra payment for each patient prescribed.......but its up to you .

Clive I'm not taking them or getting them its just they keep coming up on my prescription form and I never tick the "want box "!

 

[Clivethedrive]

Clive I'm not taking them or getting them its just they keep coming up on my prescription form and I never tick the "want box "!

I understand, just tell doc' save nhs some money and stop issuing them lol

 

[carty]

When I was having my confrontation-sorry -consultation with my GP on the phone and I put in my usual plea for strips I said that as I wasnt taking the statins and asprin that I had been prescribed when I first was diagnosed I was saving money but the GP said that statins was a cheap drug and they didnt prescribe asprin any more !
CAROL

 

[mojo37]

I understand, just tell doc' save nhs some money and stop issuing them lol

I did tell her that I didn't want them (fell on deaf ears ) Have put a note on my repeat prescription but was disregarded I'll try and cross them off and see what happens

 

[MikeZ]

I guess my feeling is that if I believed that I could not overcome my cholesterol problem on my own... I would reconsider just dropping the statin. But as I take control of my health I will wean myself off of the meds. Then I don't have to be concerned of whether they are good or bad.... just that I am not even a candidate. If my GP starts to give me any sh*t about where I want to head... then I will plow forward on my own... or at least change GPs. But so far he has been very open to the changes that I've suggested and the results have been more more than acceptable.

I'm very thankful to this forum for giving some foundation to my fears about the statins. I realize that it is fairly hotly debated... and I see that as a good thing. As Mike D says... I will find my own way.

 

[donnellysdogs]

Aspirin by the way has been stopped as a prescribed drug for certain heart telated conditions.. It wan't just your GP off his own back doing this.
There are other drugs to be prescribed instead if necessary.
In our CCG, consultants wrote to GP's advising them to contact their patients with "x,y,z" conditions and to withdraw aspirin from their meds and to prescribe different meds if necessary.

 

[catfan]

I had a Heart Attack last year & also PAD.
Prescribed 80mg Atorvastatin since without issues, in my case they are essential.

 

[mrs gimli]

I've started Taking atorvastatin 20 mg once a day as my dad had heart probs and high cholesterol. He was slim guy mind. Dr says at 7.4 my cholesterol not coming down with weight loss.. Any symptoms of pain and there gone

 

[Poppy62]

I had to come off statins because they were damaging my liver.

 

[mrspuddleduck]

I resisted them, then caved in and was automatically prescribed Simvastin 40 with no rationale from the GP. Took them for three months, horrendous side effects but also raised my blood sugars considerably. Now I refuse to take them. Like many other women on this forum I have no family history of heart disease, my cholesterol was slightly raised (in current UK guidelines terms that is) and I have a very healthy diet and exercise. Im now reading Doctoring Data by Dr Malcolm Kendrick and unless I am given a sound clinical reason to take them, I have no intention of every popping a statin again! Sue xxxx

 

[oldman1954]

Hi i was diagnosed with type 2 last week and have been useing my mares spare machine to check my bs because my gp said i dont need to self test, bs is up and down like a yo yo so made an appointment to see him tomorrow morning , today i recieved a letter and a prescription for 20mg tablets of atorvastatin the prescription was dated the 14th/5 the day after i was diagnosed.