Statins

[linda321]

I have an appointment with my GP on Friday because I have high cholesterol levels and she wants me to take statins. I would like to find out as much info as possible before I go. Can you suggest some good websites for impartial information?

I am wondering if my 1 year on LCHF has had an effect in making them higher? I eat plenty of dairy products, cheese, cream, creme fraiche, milk, (too much saturated fat?) and nuts. I always cook with olive oil and eat oily fish at least once a week. I also eat loads of salad and vegetables. I exercise a lot, 3x at the gym and 2 walks a day with my dog.

Despite all this I have not had brilliant control of my blood sugars. I am often 10+mmol/l but still have regular hypos! I am still on mixed insulin (Novomix30) but have an appointment next week to change to MDI (that is, if they don't cancel it again, I have been waiting since April...but that's another story!)

 

[Totto]

You need the actual numbers, that is LDL, HDL and trigs in order to make an informed decision.

 

[ButtterflyLady]

One option might be to ask for a 3 month reprieve, then go all out to get your levels down and then you can show you don't need to consider statins?

 

[Daibell]

Hi. Yes, total cholesterol has little meaning; it's the LDL/HDL ratio etc that matters. There are endless discussions on the web about statins. The more suspcious of us believe big pharma influenced the research data on heart risk and that cholesterol goes up as you age anyway as it is vital for repairs to the body. You just have to make up your own mind but it's the ratio that matters not the total. Note that the limits on max figures for the total are plucked out of the sky; not that I'm biased! BTW a low-carb diet for many appears to move the HDL/LDL ratio in the right direction so your figures may have improved.

 

[ButtterflyLady]

Here are a couple of articles from a website that I usually find quite good - the authors are all either senior medical doctors or other health professionals/scientists who take a skeptical and science-based approach to medical issues. I don't know much about statins, so the details don't make much sense to me, but if you're interested in reading these and following some of the links, you or your doctor might find them helpful.

https://www.sciencebasedmedicine.org/statins-the-cochrane-review/
https://www.sciencebasedmedicine.org/update-on-cholesterol-and-statins/

 

[Indy51]

There are some good videos on Youtube by Prof Ken Sikaris on lipid analysis/assessing cardio vascular risks:

 

[linda321]

Thanks for these articles! Off to read them now

 

[Sobeit]

I have an appointment with my GP on Friday because I have high cholesterol levels and she wants me to take statins. I would like to find out as much info as possible before I go. Can you suggest some good websites for impartial information?

I am wondering if my 1 year on LCHF has had an effect in making them higher? I eat plenty of dairy products, cheese, cream, creme fraiche, milk, (too much saturated fat?) and nuts. I always cook with olive oil and eat oily fish at least once a week. I also eat loads of salad and vegetables. I exercise a lot, 3x at the gym and 2 walks a day with my dog.

Despite all this I have not had brilliant control of my blood sugars. I am often 10+mmol/l but still have regular hypos! I am still on mixed insulin (Novomix30) but have an appointment next week to change to MDI (that is, if they don't cancel it again, I have been waiting since April...but that's another story!)

Hi Linda Im interested in your post since Im in the same boat.have posted under ask a question.Have a prescription for statins but want more info before I take them .Just would like to know is there any alternative to reduce cholesterol.Best of luck

 

[linda321]

@Sobeit, I decided to take them. After reading the articles I feel that having 2 risk factors for heart disease, ie diabetes and high cholesterol. The advice is very confusing! I have been doing LCHF for 1 year so eating saturated fats. My experience is that my cholesterol (LDLs in particular) has gone up. NHS advice is to limit saturated fat, but the book 'Eat Fat' says that it won't make any difference to cholesterol levels!!!

 

[AndBreathe]

@Sobeit, I decided to take them. After reading the articles I feel that having 2 risk factors for heart disease, ie diabetes and high cholesterol. The advice is very confusing! I have been doing LCHF for 1 year so eating saturated fats. My experience is that my cholesterol (LDLs in particular) has gone up. NHS advice is to limit saturated fat, but the book 'Eat Fat' says that it won't make any difference to cholesterol levels!!!

Linda - Do you know your lipid profile breakdowns, because a high total doesn't necessarily mean things aren't good.

My last total was 7.4, to which my GP (who has been on the AndBreathe and Ken Sikaris learning programme ) said, You must be absolutely delighted with those numbers.

It took a while to get her to focus on the components, but she got there in the end.

 

[SunnyExpat]

'You must be absolutely delighted with those numbers.'

You were delighted weren't you?

But possibly she may not be advising the remainder of her patients to try to achieve as high a number as you wish to see.

A bit like,
'May you live in interesting times'?

But as to the op's question, there are no impartial websites, everyone has a number they are happy with, and there are equal numbers of websites and studies to say why it's good, and equal numbers as to why it isn't.

 

[Celeriac]

Jimmy Moore of livinglavidalowcarb.com wrote a book called Cholesterol Clarity: What the HDL Is Wrong With My Numbers ? with Dr Eric Westman MD and you can get it on Amazon for under £10 and it will give you the whole picture

 

[Bagpuss Lives!]

I've found WebMD useful- it's Boots's. Patient.co.uk have reliable info too. Pharmacist can provide patients with written info on meds and any patients' feedback that they've had.