Cholesterol and all that gubbins...

[LMT]

statins, those are last resort in my mind.

Why?

Because prevention is far better than cure.
And it costs less.

[hellymedic]

<Anecdata>
My Mum took statins for years, as advised.
She had various aches and pains but put those down to age etc.
Her bestest friend told her that her aches and pains vanished after stopping statins.
Mum stopped statins. Aches & pains were no more.

Mum's cholesterol is a bit high but she won't go back on statins.
Mum is 82.

Most of the epidemiological work supporting statins has been done with a younger population.

Mum does not expect immortality but rather enjoys an ache-free life.

Mum is currently on NO medication.

[JonJo]

Well if I had the choice between giving up my favourite foods or going on statins I know which I'd pick.
I made the choice about 15 years ago and haven't regretted it.
Statins every time.

Giving up my favourite foods hasn't left me feeling deprived. Apart from high cholesterol levels my favourite foods (including alcohol) were responsible for frequent night time acid reflux which was scouring my oesophagous badly enough to give me a persistent cough. I've also been treated three times to eliminate Helicobacter pylori which is linked to stomach ulcers, duodenal ulcers and stomach cancer. Irritable Bowel Syndrome has also been, quite literally, a PITA

Something had to change and the cholesterol blood test results were the wake up call I needed. As soon as I changed my diet my gastric symptoms disappeared and I feel great. It's not just about the statins.

[nicknack]

I see your point. 

[Frank9755]

<Anecdata>
Mum stopped statins. Aches & pains were no more.

More anecdata:
My mum had extensive muscle wastage from statins after she carried on taking them and ignored the pains for a period. 
I have tried half a dozen of them but couldn't tolerate any. Several made my liver enzymes go crazy and one led to memory-loss.  The memory-loss one is scary as it is very hard to monitor and quantify.

[hellymedic]

The 'Mustn't Grumble' generation might well tolerate almost intolerable muscle pains, which may be under-reported.

[chrisbainbridge]

I would not take statins unless I had a very high risk of major cardiac disease (not just a high cholesterol). The true analysis of numbers needed to treat suggests no real reduction in mortality and over 200 needed to be treated to avoid one non fatal heart attack.

 BUT 1 in 22 may report muscle pain and 1 in 200 develop diabetes!

[hellymedic]

Well, quite CB!

Mum did a fair amount of reading, knew her heart was fine, BP was fine, has no convincing family history of heart disease and could find no convincing reason to go back on statins.

[Frank9755]

I was never keen on strains but would have taken them if I could have tolerated them.

Had my bypass this morning, stents tomorrow

[sojournermike]

My Mum was hospitalised for something over a week as a consequence of a creeping paralysis caused by her statin. She called the doctor when she couldn’t get out of bed on her own. She is now not taking any statins and has managed her type 2 diabetes pretty successfully through diet, also leaving those meds behind. It would be false to suggest she’s a paragon of health and fitness, but she has become a much more informed and engaged patient and has taken some clear decisions about how she wants to address these issues. She is also 82.

[hellymedic]

I was never keen on strains but would have taken them if I could have tolerated them.

Had my bypass this morning, stents tomorrow

Get well soon!

I take it autocorrect/fat fingers/powerful medication have changed your intended post...

[JonJo]

I was never keen on strains but would have taken them if I could have tolerated them.

Had my bypass this morning, stents tomorrow

Hope it's all gone well @Frank9755. Take it easy and get well soon.

[Frank9755]

All finished and expecting to come out today.
Thanks all for good wishes.

[T42]

All finished and expecting to come out today.
Thanks all for good wishes.

Been avoiding this thread because I'm bored shitless about cholesterol etc having been gobbling statins since 1990 with no problems, but a bypass is something else. Glad you're through it.

Have they got you down for a re-education/readaptation course?  The Inlaw Paw got a buckshee month in the country after his bypass.

[Frank9755]

No, nothing like that, I'm afraid. Just spending some time at home and going for a few walks...

[hellymedic]

[Not specifically cholesterol-related]

I think that's a difference between British and Continental healthcare; my late grandmother had three weeks' residential R&R and physio in some country retreat when she had a fractured patella in Denmark. Methinks here in GB post-op stays are minimal...

[Phil W]

No, nothing like that, I'm afraid. Just spending some time at home and going for a few walks...

Best of luck with recovery and future health.

[ElyDave]

JUst had a second test with high cholesterol, don't know the exact numbers yet but the diabetic nutritionist/pump specialist has been in touch.  She is very helpful in that she also takes an interest in the athletic diabetic types such as me.

We had a good discussion at my last appointment about my low carb diet, I've been keeping a food diary and hopefully with more discussion we can resolve the issue successfully by diet changes.  One thing is for sure, statins are not going to be entertained, and an overall low carb approach is not up for discussion - methods of achieving that are.

[nobby]

<Anecdata>
My Mum took statins for years, as advised.
She had various aches and pains but put those down to age etc.
Her bestest friend told her that her aches and pains vanished after stopping statins.
Mum stopped statins. Aches & pains were no more.
Mum's cholesterol is a bit high but she won't go back on statins.
Mum is 82.
Most of the epidemiological work supporting statins has been done with a younger population.
Mum does not expect immortality but rather enjoys an ache-free life.
Mum is currently on NO medication.

I'm nearly 70 and have been on statins since 1999 after the doctor's advice that it reduces the risk of stroke and heart attack in elderly males. I always feel tired, listless and lethargic and have many odd aches and pains.
I spoke at some length with my doctor about it a fortnight ago because of reading about cases like your mother. During the conversation about symptoms he started to check me over for lymphoma.
He referred me to a consultant haematologist (80 days wait on our nhs but only three days with a £250 bung) who also told me that he regards statins as essential at my age and brought my diabetes into the equation.
I've decided I'll stick with the statins. I wait for blood test and scan results on the 24th July for the maybe lymphoma.
My prostate cancer was caught early during a discussion with my doctor about something else. If I have lymphoma, which is unlikely in the consultant's view, it will have been caught early because of statins. Got to be a bonus.

[T42]

[Not specifically cholesterol-related]

I think that's a difference between British and Continental healthcare; my late grandmother had three weeks' residential R&R and physio in some country retreat when she had a fractured patella in Denmark. Methinks here in GB post-op stays are minimal...

Anyone planning a heart attack had better have it in France, before next March.

[Frank9755]

I've been put on Alirucomab, the (hideously expensive) new treatment for high cholesterol.
It's a two-weekly self-administered injection.
After one round, my cholesterol had halved, to just over 3.  It had never been so low with any statin. 

[T42]

How low do they want it to go?  3 is already in the cellar.

[Frank9755]

They are happy with that. The target was bad / LDL below 1.8, and it is.

It's clearly a strong drug: 25 years of me messing around with statins, fibrates, Ezetimibe, diet, exercise, etc never got close, but this did it in one shot.

[T42]

Different approach from statins. I see what you mean by hideously expensive, though - $14,300 p.a. in the US.  I guess they'll wait for the generic here.

[Frank9755]

The rationale for the pricing is that they are saying that the alternative was for people to have a form of dialysis which involved a hospital visit, and they have priced relative to that. 
Obviously it would be more widely used if it was priced lower but the drug company is free to set its prices.
My doctors had to make a special funding application to get it for me.