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Alternatives to statins?

Sobeit

Sobeit

Well-Known Member
Messages
228
Type of diabetes
Type 1
Treatment type
Insulin
I would be very interested to k+ow has any1 brought their cholesterol levels down significantly through anything other than statins,any supplements of any kind or whatever ...Please tell :)
 
Mediterean diet...

Hubby was put on 40mg atorvastatin now off them totally.

He not diabetic.

I'm diabetic. Not had outrageous cholesterol levels. Tried statins due to GP but intolerance. HDL and LDL improved with meditereanean eating. Hubby significantly improved.
 
I had high cholesterol 10 years ago and lowered it by eating smoked mackerel for lunch chilli made with kidney beans for dinner and oats for breakfast.
it did work but it was very hard work and when i told my GP he just said take a statin .
i dont like statins i get bad joint pain and i cant eat citrus fruit any more .
please do try the diet method before the drug company.
 
Supplements are just that.. Why not try diet? If you are going down the supplement route you need to look at plant sterols and the ubiquinol version is best... But so expensive. These did nothing for hubby.
 
I think it depends on how bad your lipid levels are and whether you have a genetic condition that increases your lipid levels. Not everyone gets the bad side effects from statins... I think you won't know until you try them. If your lipid levels are really high, then advice to try diet first could be risky. Diet can certainly help in many cases but I don't know whether it will be enough if your levels are higher than the usual slightly elevated levels that most people offered statins seem to have.

I suggest discussing your concerns with your doctor as they may have ideas for reducing the side effects. There are probably several different types of statin - they could suggest the one with the least side effects first and you could work up to the full dose slowly. There may be drugs that can help with the side effects, enabling you to keep taking the statin you need.

For example, I take a drug for my chronic depression and anxiety that causes restless leg syndrome, so I take another drug that treats the RLS. The first drug is too important to miss out on due to a side effect.

In a perfect world we wouldn't need drugs but they can improve quality of life and extend our life, so I feel lucky there are drugs available that can help at all.
 
Thanku all for your tuppence worth :-)! I hear u Cat Lady and I might be saying the same thing next week or two if diet and excercise has made no impression on my numbers .Its nust I think I would like to give it a go! Im the youngest of 10 and at half of us have high cholesterol. One sister isnt on meds although her last r3ading was 7 and the others are n meds and by the looks of it doing fine! I was nust never one for taking drugs or even for going to doctors..but that all changed with this condition :(!
 
Sorry for the miss spellings ,and this might be too!
 
donnellysdogs said:
Supplements are just that.. Why not try diet? If you are going down the supplement route you need to look at plant sterols and the ubiquinol version is best... But so expensive. These did nothing for hubby.
Click to expand...
Yes might try plant sterol supplements Donnelysdogs thanks for your reply...It might be worth giving a go!:)
 
caretaker said:
I had high cholesterol 10 years ago and lowered it by eating smoked mackerel for lunch chilli made with kidney beans for dinner and oats for breakfast.
it did work but it was very hard work and when i told my GP he just said take a statin .
i dont like statins i get bad joint pain and i cant eat citrus fruit any more .
please do try the diet method before the drug company.
Click to expand...
Thanks for your reply Caretaker. I really like veggie chilli so that wouldnt be difficult for me but Im a veggie and dont eat fish! My sis just reminded me about oats today so I will definitely incorporate that into eating plan! I have been suffering from body aches anyway so dont want to go on statins and for that to get worse God forbid!And thanks for your advice re.trying the dietary approach first .I feel like I want to give it a go thanks a bunch :)
 
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