I am about to give in to my doctor's strong recommendation that I take statins to reduce my cholesterol. But first I wanted to do an informal survey of local folks to see who has taken them and how has it gone? Any bad side effects? Glad you are taking them? Etc. Feel free to reply publicly or privately.
Thanks,
Marty
P.S. I know I will not succeed with a purely vegan diet so please don't recommend that or other options. I really just want to know about your experience with statins. Thanks.
wbreitman
12-21-2009, 05:20 PM
I've been taking statins (Lipitor) for more than twenty years. No side effects. Cholesterol under control. Certainly more conscious of animal fats than I used to be. Still an omnivore, however!!!
Cheers, and much success.
W
CadFactor
12-22-2009, 06:58 AM
Also been taking Lipitor and it's generic equivelents for 20 years or so. No problems at all.
Also look into Niacin, it's helped as much or more than Lipitor to reduce cholesterol and triglycerides.
Juggledude
12-22-2009, 08:45 AM
Ditto to the other replies, though only 8 years of experience here...
Royce
I am about to give in to my doctor's strong recommendation that I take statins to reduce my cholesterol. But first I wanted to do an informal survey of local folks to see who has taken them and how has it gone? Any bad side effects? Glad you are taking them? Etc. Feel free to reply publicly or privately.
Thanks,
Marty
P.S. I know I will not succeed with a purely vegan diet so please don't recommend that or other options. I really just want to know about your experience with statins. Thanks.
stuartdole
12-27-2009, 02:47 PM
My dad started using statins after his heart attack, and they did indeed lower his cholesterol, though he still had a mild stroke a few years later (recovered, thankfully!). However he had muscle pain and leg weakness as a side effect - at the time he was still bicycling a lot and it really slowed him down. It turns out each statin is different and each person reacts differently - he switched and got one that had less side effects. Diet and exercise didn't help him much, but he never did anything as extreme as the Dean Ornish program. Good luck!
erinsheff
12-28-2009, 07:01 AM
I started simvastatin and had to stop due to debilitating muscle pain when I woke up in the morning.
So now I have a supply that I don't know what to do with.
Erin
Imagery
12-28-2009, 10:44 PM
I started simvastatin and had to stop due to debilitating muscle pain when I woke up in the morning.
So now I have a supply that I don't know what to do with.
Erin
We're coming up on my first anniversary - of my heart attack 1/3/09 - and I've been on simvastatin ever since. No real side effects that I can feel - but then again, they put me on half a dozen meds. Having a heart attack before the age of 40 seemed to get them pill-happy.
scamperwillow
12-28-2009, 11:09 PM
Wow that is scary - good luck and thanks for the reply!
We're coming up on my first anniversary - of my heart attack 1/3/09 - and I've been on simvastatin ever since. No real side effects that I can feel - but then again, they put me on half a dozen meds. Having a heart attack before the age of 40 seemed to get them pill-happy.
CSummer
12-28-2009, 11:32 PM
I was just reading about alfalfa as a supplement for a different condition and saw that it was effective in lowering cholesterol levels in animals: Alfalfa Herbal Remedies for High Cholesterol - altMD.com Article (https://www.altmd.com/Articles/Alfalfa-for-High-Cholesterol)
Might be something to try before using prescription drugs.
To health!
Wow that is scary - good luck and thanks for the reply!
Juggledude
12-29-2009, 12:17 AM
Cheers, kudos, and a toast to your health...
My advice, don't mark the anniversaries, but fight the growing feeling that you are a normal healthy human... truth is, you have heart disease and paying attention to that fact will benefit you and all who love you.
I've just passed the 8th anniversary of my heart attack, 11/9/01... I was 34 at the time. Get used to the pills, I've been told. Well, 8 years later, my cholesterol is 122, with an LDL of 47 and an HDL of 60... according to every book I've read, those numbers should be reversing my disease...
How are you numbers?
I'd enjoy connecting more directly, and sharing the experience of being a young heart patient.... shout out if you share the sentiment :)
Royce
We're coming up on my first anniversary - of my heart attack 1/3/09 - and I've been on simvastatin ever since. No real side effects that I can feel - but then again, they put me on half a dozen meds. Having a heart attack before the age of 40 seemed to get them pill-happy.
caberens
12-29-2009, 10:25 PM
Hi,
My doctor put me on a natural statin - red yeast rice. I found it had the same side effects - joint aches. She then suggested Metagenics Insinase (https://www.google.com/url?q=metagenics+insinase&url=/aclk%3Fsa%3Dl%26ai%3DCRehQffE6S9nQMtuXngeiiZW4A-7FsUKsxPP3BJmSt8gRCAAQAigDUJvy877______wFgyYaHi7ykoBqgAeig7P0DyAEBqgQXT9AFKRfUTPsF1-lyOBe_66xwFMiSUa4%26sig%3DAGiWqtzuE9f14Z4gMC8EzYs0RH9RlNxS5g%26q%3Dhttps://www.luckyvitamin.com/brandListing/sort/name/offset/0/vendorKey/5939/hits/100&rct=j&ei=ffE6S5XxMcqpnQeR-_HxCA&usg=AFQjCNGHofFKB2446lc3eJOBauUesUGN_A)
Been on it for 2 years and it seems to keep my cholesterol. down.
You might check into it.
C Berens
Sciguy
12-30-2009, 12:10 AM
A few years ago I heard Mary Enig on Your Own Health and Fitness on KPFA and I bought her book, Know Your Fats. You can find a cached Google review of it here: Thumbs Up Review: Know Your Fats by Mary Enig, PhD (https://74.125.155.132/search?q=cache:j8WIBR88em4J:www.westonaprice.org/bookreviews/know_your.html+know+your+fats&cd=3&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=us)
One of her claims that struck me was that she was present when the cardiologists were discussing the acceptable levels of cholesterol. She records that they were going to set it fairly high (over 200? I don't really know the number anymore) but then they mused that if they set it that high they wouldn't get enough "sick" patients for their studies. So they lowered it.
An interesting perspective which I report without comment. Personally I mostly ignore the cholesterol and saturated fat hysteria, as per her discussion, figuring it's an essential molecule. They say that more of your body by weight consists of cholesterol than any other organic molecule. It's the basis for most of your hormones and lots of your structural tissues (not bones obviously). I've gotten pretty far, much older than you young guys, without any cardiovascular problems at all. It's probably due more to genetics but I also like to think it's due to the protective value of gobs of sour cream.
Paul Palmer
Cheers, kudos, and a toast to your health...
My advice, don't mark the anniversaries, but fight the growing feeling that you are a normal healthy human... truth is, you have heart disease and paying attention to that fact will benefit you and all who love you.
I've just passed the 8th anniversary of my heart attack, 11/9/01... I was 34 at the time. Get used to the pills, I've been told. Well, 8 years later, my cholesterol is 122, with an LDL of 47 and an HDL of 60... according to every book I've read, those numbers should be reversing my disease...
How are you numbers?
I'd enjoy connecting more directly, and sharing the experience of being a young heart patient.... shout out if you share the sentiment :)
Royce
scamperwillow
12-30-2009, 10:21 AM
Would you be willing to share what your cholesterol level is - especially the LDL? I suspect that cholesterol is not actually a true predictor of heart disease, but my LDL is pretty high.
An interesting perspective which I report without comment. Personally I mostly ignore the cholesterol and saturated fat hysteria, as per her discussion, figuring it's an essential molecule. They say that more of your body by weight consists of cholesterol than any other organic molecule. It's the basis for most of your hormones and lots of your structural tissues (not bones obviously). I've gotten pretty far, much older than you young guys, without any cardiovascular problems at all. It's probably due more to genetics but I also like to think it's due to the protective value of gobs of sour cream.
Paul Palmer
Juggledude
12-30-2009, 10:47 AM
Scamperwillow,
why do you suspect that cholesterol is not actually a true predictor of heart disease?
Sciguy,
You are a lucky man... to have gotten a biochemistry which actually works well enough to protect you from the typical American diet. I envy you...
Royce
Would you be willing to share what your cholesterol level is - especially the LDL? I suspect that cholesterol is not actually a true predictor of heart disease, but my LDL is pretty high.
scamperwillow
12-30-2009, 12:52 PM
I guess I've heard that if you don't have other risk factors and are generally healthy with a healthy lifestyle, high cholesterol does not mean you will have heart disease.
Here is one article:
"Bad" Cholesterol May Not Be the Best Predictor of Heart Disease Risk in Generally Healthy Individuals
"Bad" Cholesterol May Not Be the Best Predictor of Heart Disease Risk in Generally Healthy Individuals - New York Presbyterian Hospital (https://nyp.org/news/hospital/ldl-heart-disease-risk.html)
Nonetheless, I am taking the statins for now to be on the safe side.
Scamperwillow,
why do you suspect that cholesterol is not actually a true predictor of heart disease?
Sciguy,
Juggledude
12-30-2009, 02:16 PM
True, there are many cases where high cholesterol does not mean you will have heart disease, and there are many cases where people with low cholesterol do. Some additional research has been done by Dr. Robert Superko of the Berkeley Heart institute, doing subtyping of LDL and HDL based on size...
Either way, the overall statistical picture clearly shows that cholesterol, while not foolproof, is the best indicator we have at this time.
I wouldn't gamble against it with my life. Sounds like you wouldn't either. Welcome to the statin club...
Royce
I guess I've heard that if you don't have other risk factors and are generally healthy with a healthy lifestyle, high cholesterol does not mean you will have heart disease.
Here is one article:
"Bad" Cholesterol May Not Be the Best Predictor of Heart Disease Risk in Generally Healthy Individuals
"Bad" Cholesterol May Not Be the Best Predictor of Heart Disease Risk in Generally Healthy Individuals - New York Presbyterian Hospital (https://nyp.org/news/hospital/ldl-heart-disease-risk.html)
Nonetheless, I am taking the statins for now to be on the safe side.
someguy
12-30-2009, 08:11 PM
Here is an article that might be of interest:
Cholesterol: Friend Or Foe? (https://www.westonaprice.org/Cholesterol-Friend-Or-Foe.html)
ILift
12-30-2009, 11:13 PM
Some alternative perspectives to the mainstream medical establishment regarding statins and cholesterol:
Sally Fallon and Mary Enig of the Weston A. Price Foundation (mentioned in another post above) "Dangers of Statin Drugs: What You Haven’t Been Told About Popular Cholesterol-Lowering Medicines" (https://www.westonaprice.org/Dangers-of-Statin-Drugs-What-You-Havent-Been-Told-About-Popular-Cholesterol-Lowering-Medicines.html)
Mark's Daily Apple, "Statin Insanity" (https://www.marksdailyapple.com/statin-insanity/) and "The Definitive Guide to Cholesterol" (https://www.marksdailyapple.com/cholesterol/)
Good Calories, Bad Calories (https://www.amazon.com/Good-Calories-Bad-Gary-Taubes/dp/1400040787) by Gary Taubes (available at local bookstores) or the article he wrote for the NY Times Magazine preceding the book, "What If It's All Been a Big Fat Lie?" (https://www.nytimes.com/2002/07/07/magazine/what-if-it-s-all-been-a-big-fat-lie.html?pagewanted=1)
By the way, my dad is a physician and on statins. But from this stuff I've read, I sure wish he wasn't.