Refusing Statins...at least for a while

kareeta

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Being so high I can barely open my eyes :(
Morning Guys and Girls

Got a shock when I went to pick up my prescription on friday, a post it note on my strips saying cholesterol was up and I needed to take simvastatin for life!

Needless to say I was a bit shocked, not leastly because I was being told by the till operator and not a Doctor..who must have thought I was going to cry because its the first time she has ever smiled at me lol

So I went to the Nurse this am, and asked for an explanation. She told me that the way I was told was wrong. Also that the level was 5.2 (just over acceptable) and my previous from 3 months ago was 4.3 (fine) and three months prior 5.3.

I have made no dietary changes in the last 3 months , eaten no more or no less than usual. So I am confused. I asked her to give me three months to try and make a change myself before going on the meds and she agreed this was a good idea. So I said I would try to :

Exercise every day for at least half an hour (currently at my heaviest 12st :oops: ) in order to lose at least a stone

Take a Benecol drink daily

Sorry for the long winded post, can anyone else offer any suggestions? Or is anyone else trying/tried this method?

Thanks in advance

Karen
 

dragongirl

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349
Yes, I'm trying this way too. At dx in July cholesterol was 7.5 and she threatened statins (as in: "of course you'll have to take statins for the rest of your life as well as DB meds") and I determined to try low carbing to see if I could right the bg scores and also the cholesterol at the same time. Still in the 3-month trial period though. I am taking one benecol drink a day - not sure if necessary and worried about the 4.2g carb in it!

It does seem odd yours went up if you did nothing different. No idea what diet you're doing but it could help if you lose that extra bit of weight, for both the bg and the cholesterol. Not sure what other options you have as I'm inexperienced - but it does seem a good idea to try to avoid statins until absolutely necessary. My brother and s-in-l both have them and are both overweight a bit and say they can't lose it with the statins. They never thought to try anything else though they're watching me with interest!

Good luck anyway.
DG
 

kareeta

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Being so high I can barely open my eyes :(
Thanks for your reply!

My diet in the last three months has been pretty good , although not low carb as I fell off that wagon a bit back. I don't have anything fried, I don't have breakfast, basically I have a panina for lunch plus a pkt of crisps and then my dinner which is usually stir fry or chicken with a spoonful of rice and salad, plus a dessert of either sugar free jelly and squirty cream or lindt.

On a friday I have a day off, which means a bacon sandwich at lunch, a pizza or Chinese and a real dessert, a lemon tart usually. Plus two or three glasses of red wine. Not great I know, which is probably where I need to start the changes.

Spoke to my hubby about the benecol, ended up buying floras version as is it lower in carb. He says the plant stenols (sp?) in it are whats effective and you can't od on them , they stop working after so much

Today is the first day so have my fingers crossed, good luck with your plans too.
 

fergus

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If I were you kareeta, I'd keep refusing statins until someone can show you any properly conducted clinical trial which shows that they are of any benefit to women at all. You'll have a long wait!
Your cholesterol levels look absolutely normal to me.

fergus
 

MaryChristine

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I've heard that GPs receive a payment for every patient they prescribe certain medications to, including statins. Does anyone know if that's correct?

Best wishes
MaryChristine
 

kareeta

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Being so high I can barely open my eyes :(
Thanks for that Fergus, I hope I did the right thing in refusing them, at least until I know that I can't make a difference myself
 

sugarybibs

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hi all i was told to take statins two years ago and still have not took them .I am type 1 for 39 years my weight is really good 10 stone and i am 5foot 5ins my cholestral level was 4.2 and i said i am not taking them as well as my insulin.I was told even though my level was normal being diabetic it should be a little lower.I have a really good diet dont eat fatty foods or sweets or chocolate etc i only eat fruit protien foods and a low carb diet.i cannot see why i have been told to take these and i will not be bothering.I wonder if we ever ask doctors themselves do they take statins if they had high cholestral i wonder how many of them would say yes they do :roll: :roll:
 

jobean

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Re payment for prescribing, it certainly is correct in my PCT

If you are a Diabetic, bonus is paid for statins, asprin and blood pressure medication
 

mammacaz

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I was prescribed Atorvastatin when I was first diaganosed T2 40mg after a month couldn't understand why my arms and legs permanently felt heavy and ached my head was muddled and it was like I was wading through mud physically and mentally. I then googled them and it explained everything took myself off them and was prescribed Simvastin 10mg same problem, I now take Ezetimibe 10mg and this really does help. I have a genetic problem with cholesterol not just being overweight although that doesn't help either.

So you are right to refuse them, there are some real horror stories out there regarding side effects and the way my DN reacted when I told her of my aches she wasn't in the least bit surprised, says it all.

The majority of people have no reactions at all and it is like all meds some suit others but not you.

Besides I do not see a problem with your levels....
 

kareeta

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Being so high I can barely open my eyes :(
thanks mammacaz..after spending an hour or so research there are definitely plenty of horror stories out there

going to try my hardest to lose a stone and get back fit, can only help matters, between this and angina i feel geriatric! :oops:
 

stewcose

Active Member
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Hi

You have me concerned. I was pleased to be put on statins. Having read about the benefical benefits, mainly rejuvenating ones arteries, effectvely taking years off them. Have you taken these positive effects in to account?

Stewart
 

smillingjimmyc

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Type of diabetes
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Insulin
what are the concerns about statins? I have been on simvastatin for a few years,could google it I know but I would prefer the views of the wise and wonderful of this board. 8)
 

sugarless sue

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In some people it can cause muscle pains which can be quite crippling.This does not happen with everyone however.
 

cugila

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Here is a report which emphasise the importance of lowering cholesterol substantially with statins to produce larger reductions in the risks of heart attacks and strokes. Read the conclusions here.

http://www.ctsu.ox.ac.uk/search/results ... 091108.pdf

Here is a link to the British Heart Foundation website about Statins and Cholesterol.
http://www.bhf.org.uk/living_with_a_hea ... atins.aspx

I have been on both Simvastatin and Atorvastatin over the years. Never did me any harm and actually lowered my cholesterol levels significantly. So I like them. :D
 

Spiral

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This is a link to a very sound women's health website. The article isn't that long and isn't that complex.

http://www.ourbodiesourselves.org/book/menoexcerpt.asp?id=65

"Our Bodies, Ourselves" deals with the kind of things that our doctors don't necessarily tell us, like the fact that normal, at least so far as medicine goes, is male :shock: Most medications and medical trials are done on men. Women are different.

My understanding is that our cholesterol runs higher than male cholesterol and that the statins they are pushing may not be of benefit to women who don't have a history of heart disease.
 

cugila

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The British Heart Foundation website has this to say about Statins and Women.

Are statins as effective and as safe for women?
The evidence that we have so far indicates that statins are equally effective in both sexes. However, women who are pregnant, or who are planning a pregnancy in the near future, should not take statins.

Do I have a choice?
Everyone has a choice. If you have already had a heart attack, or are at high risk of having one, taking a statin will definitely reduce your risk of a further or first heart attack. If you get side effects, talk to your doctor. No-one will force you to take a statin if you don’t want to. Most people who are offered statins have at least a 1 in 5 chance of having a heart attack in the next ten years. This risk is substantially reduced by taking a statin. This statistic needs to be set against a 1 in 10,000 chance of having a dangerous side effect from statins over the same period. The choice is yours, but remember, the most common side effect of not taking a statin is a heart attack. For every person who reports a bad experience on a statin, there are hundreds more in whom a heart attack has been prevented. They are the silent, very large majority who never contact the newspapers.

It is a stark choice you have to make. I hope nobody gets it wrong ?
 

graham64

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What I can't understand is that I'm on a diet high in so called bad saturated fats and accordingly should have high cholesterol, but instead my lipid panel has actually improved, could it be going low carb made the difference?. Having suffered badly from the side effects of statins it will take a lot to convince me to try them again.

The link casts doubt on the effects of high cholesterol on cardiovascular risks.

http://www.bmj.com/cgi/content/full/337 ... eytype=ref

Graham
 

cugila

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Hi Graham.

Nice link. However, I wouldn't say it casts doubt on much of anything. It is just a link to a letter to the BMJ from an individual researcher Uffe Ravnskov,(independent) who disagrees with the experts. He also appears to have done that in virtually every subject he has written about ? There are over 240 English language papers he has had a hand in along with many foreign ones.

I'll give him his due, he can sure write a mean letter and article, always rubbishing the fellow 'experts' and putting his views as if they mean more ? There isn't any proof of anything. Bit like me disagreeing with you over Statins. I have no idea if you are right or if I am. We can both say what we like but it doesn't really mean much without some proof.

I can write letters to all and sundry saying we should all be on statins as they save lives ? It's only my opinion and holds about as much credence as the letter you have linked to.

Ken.
 

Jo123

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Ages ago when my mum was prescribed statins I was researching them online and read a very interesting article which stated that research had found that the main effect of statins in reducing heart attacks was that it reduced inflammation and also stabilized the soft plaque in arteries which is far more likely to break off and cause a heart attack than the hard plaque which was far less likely to break off. The article stated that the reduction of cholesterol was not so important in reducing risk. Can't find article now but it was interesting.