Statins? Scares

[TheOpalFox]

The doctors said my cholesterol is 7.5 and I’m at high risk pf
heart attack. But then I have heard horror stories about statins? Shall I take them or not
:( I’m scared to do either
thanks

Take them if your doctor prescribes them and don’t google.

Have a read of this.

www.nice.org.uk/guidance/ng238/resources/patient-decision-aid-on-should-i-take-a-statin-pdf-243780159

I’ve been on statins for two years. My cholesterol has come right down and I feel fine. No issues at all.

If your doctor advised you to take them, It’s probably a good idea. My cholesterol levels were lower than yours and are now normal.

Are there other things you coud do to reduce your cholesterol before you take statins? Reduce alcohol consumption, weight loss, change of diet reducing LDL cholesterol (fatty meats, bacon, sausages, cheese, milk, cream) and increasing HDL cholesterol (oily fish, oilve oil, avocado oil etc), using plant sterol products such as benecol or flora?

You could try this strictly for 6 month and have your cholesterol re-tested.

Only you know whether those are change that would make a difference. If you are already a healthy weight, exercise regularly, don't drink much, and eat a healthy diet then it might be familial hypercholesterolemia. In which case statins would be well advised.

I have been taking statins for 27 years, since I became diabetic. I have had no issues with them. My cholesterol level was always ok but is even better now. Some people do have issues but your gp can always try another brand. Hope this helps OP.

I've tried every brand available (high cholesterol due to hypothyroidism) and all of them have given me either heart palpitations, or really weak and sore muscles.

They're still trying to find something to suit me.

I've been on statins for about 3 years. My cholesterol has halved and I have zero issues or side effects whatsoever. Worth trying them - better than a heart attack or stroke.

My husbands been on them for years due to hereditary high cholesterol. No issues at all.

that is a very high level

Agree with others - not everyone responds to diet, but my cholesterol did and came down fast with weight loss, diet change and exercise. I am no longer advised to take statins.

So - agree with PP. Great link to statins and Q risk.

Are there things you can try as listed above by previous PP? 6 months is sensible time to agree with doctor, and to give it a real shot.

If you are not up for that, it is probably a very good idea to take the statins, monitor side effects and ask to change type if you have ones that concern you

I've been on statins for years without any side effects other than that my cholesterol levels have come down.

I was put on them for genetic cholesterol and also a history of small heart issues.
i don’t drink alcohol at all, and eat well and am at the gym 3 times a week.
However, I couldn’t manage the side effects. My legs were so painful I couldn’t work out properly and struggled to get out of bed and walk!
I waited 2 months in the hope it would improve but it didn’t. I hope you find something that works for you.

I have been taking statins for several years. I did have muscle aches for the first couple of weeks but they passed. Other than that, I have had no side effects whatsoever. The doctor did tell me, when I started taking them, that they could change me to another if they didn't suit me.

I've been taking them for a few months, and have had no side effects at all, but you aren't condemned to suffer awful consequences if they cause problems. A friend started taking them and was quite badly affected. They changed to a different type and she's now fine with them.

Another friend had a serious stroke in her 50s and is still badly affected by loss of mobility. There's no coming back from that.

I was put on statins and a few months later told to stop taking them as they were adversely affecting my liver (blood tests revealed this). Blood tests after I stopped taking them returned to normal.

I have been on them for several years, the first one I tried gave me some side affects so the doctor switched to a different one and I have had no problems.

My dh takes Ezetimibe which is a cholesterol lowering drug but not a statin. He did try different statins and was so unwell the doctor prescribed these and he's fine now.

I have been taking a high dose of statins for over a year due to familial high cholesterol levels. Mine were 8.75.

My only side effect has been the odd nightmare.

My cholesterol is now 3.5

I have been on them for a few years and have had no issues. My sister and I were told we had high cholesterol at around the same time, very similar levels. My Dr put me on statins as a precaution because of family history. My sisters dr agreed that she could attempt to bring it down with her diet. She has since had a stroke that has affected her eyesight and while she is fine, she can no longer drive, and has had to go on statins anyway. Take your doctors advice, statins are a miracle drug imo.

I started on them two months ago because of hereditary high cholesterol. Had tried for years to sort it with diet etc but I nothing helped. I’ve had no side effects. Will have another blood test in a few weeks time to see how they are doing.

So you're scared, so instead of listening to the Dr who is aware of your medical history and has vast experience, you're seeking the validation of mumsnet??

7.5 is really not very high to be honest, depending upon your other risk factors.
Your GP like the rest of the NHS is out of date,

Firstly a Total Cholesterol number means nothing. Even 30 years ago doctors were only concerned about the LDL number - which is a volume measurement.

Nowadays the experts (for example if you got yourself a private consultant cardiologist in London like I did) they would be more concerned about the number and size of the LDL particles than the volume. Small LDL particles being worse than large LDL particles and obviously more small particles is worse than less. The LDL-p test that shows all this can only be had privately - you can’t get it on the NHS, whereas more medically advanced countries like Australia and Denmark provide it routinely. It’s possible to have a large voume of LDL and be very healthy if all the particles are large. But selling statins makes money.

That said, I’ve been on maximum dose statins for 6 years (80mg Atorvastatin) and am now also on Ezetemibe and still my cholesterol is above the NHS target. I’ve never had a side-effect from the statins but I have been religiously taking CoQ10 and Magnesium ever since starting the statins - to purposefully try to avoid side-effects.

You can’t out-medicate a bad lifestyle, so if you don’t exercise that should be your first port of call. Second is not eating processed food.

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