Statins - “People are taking this drug to prevent a problem and creating a disaster.”

[DavidGrahamJones]

So they wanted to replace your pipes x 3 and they turned out to be fine?

I got talking to an American couple in the departure lounge at Los Angeles airport and they told me that there has been a series of high profile lawsuits where M.D.s have been referring people for surgery that basically wasn't required. The surgeon involved was giving the M.D. a back hander and some poor person was having to pay for surgery they didn't require.

My bill came to US$16000 which I discovered because despite having the insurers details they kept sending me invoices, in fact I received another one a couple of weeks ago. That fact is annoying me more than anything, 9 months after my stay in their hospital and they're still sending invoices for something or the other. My insurer did kick up a stink about the cost and I don't know how that went.

My suspicion had been aroused because the M.D. was telling me I was actually having a heart attack which 3 hospital troponin tests proved I wasn't, plus before going on holiday I had dug the foundations, 16 ft by 10 ft by 1 ft, for a shed and filled it with 2500 kgs (100 bags) of pea stones. I bought them from Wickes and carried 15 or 16 at a time in my car which I had to load and then unload at my home and wheelbarrow down the end of the garden and fill the hole. I'm no cardiologist but I've got a feeling that if I was going to have a heart attack it would have been then and not three weeks later while relaxing on holiday, who knows?

 

[maxine212]

I got talking to an American couple in the departure lounge at Los Angeles airport and they told me that there has been a series of high profile lawsuits where M.D.s have been referring people for surgery that basically wasn't required.

I haven't heard this!
Sorry for your ordeal.
Glad for you it's AOK. What if you hadn't said your insurance wouldn't cover the surgery? Triple bypass is no joke!

 

[cdpjpharmacist]

I found choosing CoQ10 supplements a little tricky because they all claim to be the best, the purest etc etc. My understanding is the Ubiquinol is a purer form rather than ubiquinone.

I did take them while taking statins although no clear guidance on how much except for on the bottle. They didn't make a noticeable difference to my muscle pain, brain fog or poor sleep and I have read several discussion about absorption, it's possible I didn't have the CoQ10 that was water/fat soluble.

I've see some informal research done by a guy called Dr. Sinatra who found that CoQ10 levels increased the same for ubiquinol and ubiquinon and that his opinion was it was good for heart health. I think the Japanese obviously take that advice.

I'm taking them now because I know from a blood test that my CoQ10 levels are low, more than can be accounted for by aging. I'm looking at the bottle which doesn't mention if it's water/fat soluble although it claims to have a rapid absorption formula containing vit. C and E and black pepper extract "to increase absorption and ensure none of the CoQ10 is wasted."

To be honest, that could easily be a load of old flannel and I'd never be able to prove it.

BTW, are you a pharmacist?

Yes, I am a pharmacist.

CoQ10 with black pepper extract (piperine) has been shown to improve absorption by up to 30%. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/10715596


However, water and fat soluble CoQ10 has been shown to improve absorption by up to 300%.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/9565826

 

[DavidGrahamJones]

CoQ10 with black pepper extract (piperine) has been shown to improve absorption by up to 30%.

However, water and fat soluble CoQ10 has been shown to improve absorption by up to 300%.

Thanks, that's very useful. I'm just checking the CoQ10 that I've got Pureclinica is on the bottle and I think I was tempted by the 3 for 2 offer. Just found a claim that "5mg of black pepper extract, which has been shown to increase the absorption of the CoQ10 by up to 2000%". A claim that I would have found difficult to believe in the first place, although saying "up to" might cover them, at least I now have some further details. Thank you

Edit: Looked at your link thank you, just reported the inaccuracy in the description to Amazon, lets see what happens. Not overly worried, I know better next time.

 

[donnellysdogs]

I wpuld recommend that people follow Dr Aseem Maholtra on facebook if you are a member.
He is really plugging away at the statins not being good meds... he confronts NICE etc..

 

[donnellysdogs]

You can always use his references as a cardioligist who is anti statins to convince GPs...

 

[DavidGrahamJones]

Just returned from a lovely holiday where I got talking to a US physician staying at the same hotel. He was telling me how, as a physician, he is now ultra cautious when prescribing statins because of the possible litigation from patients experiencing cognitive impairment (I call it brain fog).

 

[zand]

My Dr. said (fondly) he remembers when patients came in and said, "Whatever you say, Doc. Tell me what to do." That was BG, I guess. Before Google.

lol yeh my last dr (pity he has left now) used to ask me what Dr Google said first to save time.

 

[lindisfel]

Problems arise when patients have very low HDL and high trigs. Perhaps there is a case for statins then since they lower the very bad LDL. But for those of us on Low carb good fats our HDL and trigs are pristine and we do not have the dangerous kind of LDL just the fluffy cuddly LDL, hopefully anyway, if the Gurus are not fallible! Derek