More confusion thenYes, the total is meaningless without the breakdown. You need your HDL/LDL and triglycerides, then you can work out your ratios if the lab didn't do this for you. Without that information you can't really make a decision on statins (and neither should your doctor for that matter)
More confusion then
I was one that had very bad experiences with statins and if that wasn't enough they tried four different kinds out on me before they were convinced. I didn't mention it because I didn't want to influence the decision of the OP.According to the poll on this forum, most users have bad experiences with statins. Some of the complications are severe including memory loss. Statins raise blood sugar, so are not good for diabetics. They also make it more likely you will die of heart disease or cancer, especially for women. So, not advisable to take unless you are male and have had a heart attack.
@bulkbiker put a video up the other day where Salim Yusef (?) said that too much salt was bad for you and too little salt was bad for you and the optimum amount was 3-5 gms per day. There is a WHO graph showing total cholesterol in many people from 168 countries where more people die with low cholesterol and more people die with high cholesterol than die with the optimum total cholesterol of about 5.6.
My point is that anyone who seeks ever lower readings should know when to stop. No salt might kill you as would a very low cholesterol figure. No-one has ever proven the link of cholesterol and CVD anyway.
My GP prescribed me Antorvastatin 20mg along with my Metformin last week - I've only seen negative opinions on statins . Does anyone believe that they work ? My cholesterol was 7 .
I have 20mg Artostatin - I'm pleased to see one positive reply - so Thankyou .Statins certainly work, my brother had a total cholesterol of 9 and took a statin to lower it, he was prescribed Simvastatin at a high dose of 80mg which was then lowered once his cholesterol reduced (he eventually lowered it to below 4 and came off statins and now controls his cholesterol by exercise and diet).
Regards to Artovastatin, I'm sure that I read it is effective in a lower dose as Simvastatin is at a higher dose, something like a 20mg dose of Artovastatin works the same as a 40mg dose of Simvastatin, didn't save the article but a google search may say whether this is in fact true or not.
My mother also took Simvastatin but don't recall her cholesterol levels, both her and my brother didn't suffer side-effects but some people do, if you do @Debzz_ be sure to mention it to your gp and report it to the MHRA Yellow Card Scheme:
https://yellowcard.mhra.gov.uk/the-yellow-card-scheme/
I'm pleased to see one positive reply
Does anyone believe that they work ? My cholesterol was 7 .
Statins certainly work, my brother had a total cholesterol of 9 and took a statin to lower it, he was prescribed Simvastatin at a high dose of 80mg which was then lowered once his cholesterol reduced (he eventually lowered it to below 4 and came off statins and now controls his cholesterol by exercise and diet).
Regards to Artovastatin, I'm sure that I read it is effective in a lower dose as Simvastatin is at a higher dose, something like a 20mg dose of Artovastatin works the same as a 40mg dose of Simvastatin, didn't save the article but a google search may say whether this is in fact true or not.
My mother also took Simvastatin but don't recall her cholesterol levels, both her and my brother didn't suffer side-effects but some people do, if you do @Debzz_ be sure to mention it to your gp and report it to the MHRA Yellow Card Scheme:
https://yellowcard.mhra.gov.uk/the-yellow-card-scheme/
I have 20mg Artostatin - I'm pleased to see one positive reply - so Thankyou .
I having been taking Rosuvastatin (Crestor) for three years without any ill effects, and it has pulled my cholesterol levels down to normal.I have 20mg Artostatin - I'm pleased to see one positive reply - so Thankyou .
Summed up succinctly!Statins work to lower your cholesterol levels, but not to improve your health.