Nancy,
Good point. I was taking Co-enzyme Q10 while I was taking Simvastatin, and I'm still taking it, (just in case it can help with any damage that might be lingering).
Ant,
Thanks for the links. I'm a big Dr. Briffa fan. IMO, he has all his ducks in a row. That's an interesting article by Dr. Hyman, about statins causing diabetes by generating increased insulin levels. I was unaware of that. Thanks for pointing it out.
Tex
Statin Update
Moderators: Rosie, Stanz, Jean, CAMary, moremuscle, JFR, Dee, xet, Peggy, Matthew, Gabes-Apg, grannyh, Gloria, Mars, starfire, Polly, Joefnh
Update - not big news, but another month has passed
I'm almost a week late thinking through how the past month has gone - which is probably a good sign that I've been very busy and engaged with other things, including work, singing, and preparing for our travels. I guess gluten-intolerance has gone from the central, astounding theme of most waking moments to a background awareness. PHEW!
I feel more relaxed and more vigilant at the same time, if you know what I mean. I'm not at all distressed that I cannot eat gluten; and I'm feeling no inclination to take a chance if I can avoid it. I think this is the right place to be - not fearful, but not foolish, either. I think, if anything, I'll continue getting stricter. There's no way to know what the consequences of getting glutened might be. If I didn't even know I had this problem, because my symptoms weren't at fire-alarm level of loudness, I'm sure I could develop or exacerbate any number of gluten-related issues without realizing it. No thanks!
I have just started lifting weights a little bit, to accelerate regaining my strength (which really plummeted in that first month, with rapid weight loss and inactivity). My energy is mostly good, but not consistently great (and maybe that's unrealistic). I catch myself running up our stairs (3 flights, total of 39 steps... not an Olympic-caliber workout and I sure am feeling it when I reach the top floor). I hadn't noticed any balance/coordination issues, until those things improved. I would bet that I have a ways to go. I also imagine that many people only discover their balance issues when they first have a fall, sometimes one with a serious consequence. So it's a relief to get that on my radar.
I'm still eating grain free, other than small amounts of rice pretty infrequently. I don't have much of a rationale for this choice, but it seems to be working. I may have dropped about a pound this past month, but no more - and I've also been much more active, so I think fluctuating by a pound or two at this time of year is nothing to worry about. I'm also avoiding legumes, though I plan to have green beans the instant I spot 'em in Paris.
I'm packing almond butter and rice snaps, and am confident I'll be able to find plenty to eat in Paris. I have some GF travel info pulled together, and need to sift it more thoroughly (maybe on the plane - I am running out of time). I am comfortable with a week of pommes frites, wine and coffee, but hopeful for a tastier adventure. I had a friend check my revisions to a French chef card I found on a celiac travel site.
I feel more relaxed and more vigilant at the same time, if you know what I mean. I'm not at all distressed that I cannot eat gluten; and I'm feeling no inclination to take a chance if I can avoid it. I think this is the right place to be - not fearful, but not foolish, either. I think, if anything, I'll continue getting stricter. There's no way to know what the consequences of getting glutened might be. If I didn't even know I had this problem, because my symptoms weren't at fire-alarm level of loudness, I'm sure I could develop or exacerbate any number of gluten-related issues without realizing it. No thanks!
I have just started lifting weights a little bit, to accelerate regaining my strength (which really plummeted in that first month, with rapid weight loss and inactivity). My energy is mostly good, but not consistently great (and maybe that's unrealistic). I catch myself running up our stairs (3 flights, total of 39 steps... not an Olympic-caliber workout and I sure am feeling it when I reach the top floor). I hadn't noticed any balance/coordination issues, until those things improved. I would bet that I have a ways to go. I also imagine that many people only discover their balance issues when they first have a fall, sometimes one with a serious consequence. So it's a relief to get that on my radar.
I'm still eating grain free, other than small amounts of rice pretty infrequently. I don't have much of a rationale for this choice, but it seems to be working. I may have dropped about a pound this past month, but no more - and I've also been much more active, so I think fluctuating by a pound or two at this time of year is nothing to worry about. I'm also avoiding legumes, though I plan to have green beans the instant I spot 'em in Paris.
I'm packing almond butter and rice snaps, and am confident I'll be able to find plenty to eat in Paris. I have some GF travel info pulled together, and need to sift it more thoroughly (maybe on the plane - I am running out of time). I am comfortable with a week of pommes frites, wine and coffee, but hopeful for a tastier adventure. I had a friend check my revisions to a French chef card I found on a celiac travel site.
interesting
Tex, glad to hear you were able to deduce what was causing your discomfort.
This is all interesting to me as my son has been diagnosed with high blood pressure and cholesterol, he is only 14, but predisposed on both sides of the family tree. They recently had an ekg, echocardiogram and echo of the kidneys done, to rule out any defect. The results were all good. The kidney dr recommended niacin for the cholesterol and magnesium for the blood pressure. Then if it is not down in six months he wants to put him on something for the cholesterol. He is not overweight, and he is active, and maybe these levels are his "norm". I am glad to get as much information as possible, as I am concerned about starting him on meds with long term side effects, and myself having mc that they tell me was possibly brought on by med use. I worry, knowing why they call it "practicing" medicine....
any thoughts??
Carol
This is all interesting to me as my son has been diagnosed with high blood pressure and cholesterol, he is only 14, but predisposed on both sides of the family tree. They recently had an ekg, echocardiogram and echo of the kidneys done, to rule out any defect. The results were all good. The kidney dr recommended niacin for the cholesterol and magnesium for the blood pressure. Then if it is not down in six months he wants to put him on something for the cholesterol. He is not overweight, and he is active, and maybe these levels are his "norm". I am glad to get as much information as possible, as I am concerned about starting him on meds with long term side effects, and myself having mc that they tell me was possibly brought on by med use. I worry, knowing why they call it "practicing" medicine....
any thoughts??
Carol
If you want to change the world, you must start at home.
Carol,
Other than the amount in a multivitamin, I have never tried a niacin supplement, so I have no personal experience with it. As GrannyH pointed out, though, I've read some reports of less-than-satisfactory results, by some people who have tried it, while others think it's a wonder drug.
I have a theory about why magnesium works to lower blood pressure, and I have a hunch that the same theory might apply to niacin. IMO, (and this is strictly my opinion), magnesium lowers blood pressure for many individuals, because it helps to restore a state of homeostasis in the body.
IOW, it's known that a huge percentage of the population today has a magnesium deficiency, (presumably because of modern eating habits). Doctors are aware of this widespread deficiency issue, but just as with the vitamin D problem that existed for so long, they don't seem to be very concerned about correcting it - in fact, they don't seem to be concerned at all.
Anyway, my theory is, when that magnesium deficiency problem is remedied, our blood pressure returns to where it should be. If I'm right, then taking a magnesium supplement when we are already ingesting plenty of magnesium in our diet, will not have a significant effect on blood pressure. If we are deficient, though, taking a magnesium supplement will typically result in a reduction in BP.
From personal experience, I can tell you that it works for me. I have to measure my BP twice a day, before I take BP meds, to make sure that I don't take the meds if my BP is already too low, (I'm not taking BP meds because of high BP - I'm taking them in order to lower a possible stroke risk). If my systolic pressure is 100 or below, I'm supposed to skip the meds. Anyway, when I first started taking the meds, there were a few times that I had to skip them, because of a low reading. Thinking back, that apparently coincided with a period when I was taking a 250 mg magnesium supplement, roughly every other day.
After a couple of months, though, I stopped taking the mag supplement, and tried to replace it by adding nuts into my diet. This rocked on for quite a while, until I got to the point where the minor occasional D that I attributed to the nuts, eventually became a much more significant problem, so I stopped eating nuts, and started taking the magnesium supplement, again.
A few weeks ago, I noticed that my BP was declining, and it went down by an average of somewhere between 10 and 15 points, so that once again, I have to be concerned about my BP possibly becoming too low. I wondered why, until I read your post, and "Bingo" the light bulb came on - the BP decline coincides with my resuming taking a magnesium supplement. It's possible that taking more might lower my BP reading even more, but since magnesium is a laxative, I haven't tried taking more. Maybe I should - that might be a good experiment for evaluating the effect that various dosages might have on BP.
Anyway, that's my experience with magnesium supplementation.
Since your son is not overweight, and his vial organs seem to be performing normally, you're right - that does appear to be his norm. IMO, the BP issue is much more important than cholesterol level, but of course, they are probably connected.
Tex
Other than the amount in a multivitamin, I have never tried a niacin supplement, so I have no personal experience with it. As GrannyH pointed out, though, I've read some reports of less-than-satisfactory results, by some people who have tried it, while others think it's a wonder drug.
I have a theory about why magnesium works to lower blood pressure, and I have a hunch that the same theory might apply to niacin. IMO, (and this is strictly my opinion), magnesium lowers blood pressure for many individuals, because it helps to restore a state of homeostasis in the body.
IOW, it's known that a huge percentage of the population today has a magnesium deficiency, (presumably because of modern eating habits). Doctors are aware of this widespread deficiency issue, but just as with the vitamin D problem that existed for so long, they don't seem to be very concerned about correcting it - in fact, they don't seem to be concerned at all.
Anyway, my theory is, when that magnesium deficiency problem is remedied, our blood pressure returns to where it should be. If I'm right, then taking a magnesium supplement when we are already ingesting plenty of magnesium in our diet, will not have a significant effect on blood pressure. If we are deficient, though, taking a magnesium supplement will typically result in a reduction in BP.From personal experience, I can tell you that it works for me. I have to measure my BP twice a day, before I take BP meds, to make sure that I don't take the meds if my BP is already too low, (I'm not taking BP meds because of high BP - I'm taking them in order to lower a possible stroke risk). If my systolic pressure is 100 or below, I'm supposed to skip the meds. Anyway, when I first started taking the meds, there were a few times that I had to skip them, because of a low reading. Thinking back, that apparently coincided with a period when I was taking a 250 mg magnesium supplement, roughly every other day.
After a couple of months, though, I stopped taking the mag supplement, and tried to replace it by adding nuts into my diet. This rocked on for quite a while, until I got to the point where the minor occasional D that I attributed to the nuts, eventually became a much more significant problem, so I stopped eating nuts, and started taking the magnesium supplement, again.
A few weeks ago, I noticed that my BP was declining, and it went down by an average of somewhere between 10 and 15 points, so that once again, I have to be concerned about my BP possibly becoming too low. I wondered why, until I read your post, and "Bingo" the light bulb came on - the BP decline coincides with my resuming taking a magnesium supplement. It's possible that taking more might lower my BP reading even more, but since magnesium is a laxative, I haven't tried taking more. Maybe I should - that might be a good experiment for evaluating the effect that various dosages might have on BP.
Anyway, that's my experience with magnesium supplementation.
Since your son is not overweight, and his vial organs seem to be performing normally, you're right - that does appear to be his norm. IMO, the BP issue is much more important than cholesterol level, but of course, they are probably connected.
Tex
It is suspected that some of the hardest material known to science can be found in the skulls of GI specialists who insist that diet has nothing to do with the treatment of microscopic colitis.
opinions and experiences
Thanks
Such a valuable wealth of knowledge contained in opinions and experiences, I am grateful to everybody that shares. It teaches me so much, I have learned more about my condition in a couple weeks, than I have in several months.
And I have been worried about the treatments for my son, they say he should be just fine, but more and more I have heard about apparently healthy young men dying, on sports fields or basic training. Maybe we just have more media outlets, or maybe that rate is on the rise, which ever there is not much comfort in it.
I think they have made huge mistakes industrializing agriculture, and all these preservatives, etc, and chasing out smaller farms, taking away livelihood, offering cheap "junk " food in exchange.
It doesn't help that medical care is becoming more of a "cosmetic" industry.
Hope I am not being too "drab" as the point I was really after, is that it definitely helps to have a few allies on the journey, and to be "armed" with information.
Knowledge is power, Thanks for sharing
Carol
Such a valuable wealth of knowledge contained in opinions and experiences, I am grateful to everybody that shares. It teaches me so much, I have learned more about my condition in a couple weeks, than I have in several months.
And I have been worried about the treatments for my son, they say he should be just fine, but more and more I have heard about apparently healthy young men dying, on sports fields or basic training. Maybe we just have more media outlets, or maybe that rate is on the rise, which ever there is not much comfort in it.
I think they have made huge mistakes industrializing agriculture, and all these preservatives, etc, and chasing out smaller farms, taking away livelihood, offering cheap "junk " food in exchange.
It doesn't help that medical care is becoming more of a "cosmetic" industry.
Hope I am not being too "drab" as the point I was really after, is that it definitely helps to have a few allies on the journey, and to be "armed" with information.
Knowledge is power, Thanks for sharing
Carol
If you want to change the world, you must start at home.
iceburg,
This site and my supportive family doc were the only things that kept me going when I got CC. The family doc only had me on one medication at a time until we knew I could take the things I needed. There were times I went off everything when there was a problem since we didn't know which two caused the problem... and started all over. In the end, it all came down to benefits vs side effects...
grannyh
This site and my supportive family doc were the only things that kept me going when I got CC. The family doc only had me on one medication at a time until we knew I could take the things I needed. There were times I went off everything when there was a problem since we didn't know which two caused the problem... and started all over. In the end, it all came down to benefits vs side effects...
grannyh
Carol,
I'm not a fan of statins, (especially not for older people), but in someone so young, with high cholesterol and high BP, there is little doubt that in some cases, statins can save lives, (provided that they don't cause worrisome side effects). One of my college roommates, (through both undergrad and graduate school years, died of atherosclerosis, at the age of 38. He was a brilliant electrical engineer, with a great future - fate can be mighty cruel, sometimes. His father had also died at an early age, from the same problem.
Tex
I'm not a fan of statins, (especially not for older people), but in someone so young, with high cholesterol and high BP, there is little doubt that in some cases, statins can save lives, (provided that they don't cause worrisome side effects). One of my college roommates, (through both undergrad and graduate school years, died of atherosclerosis, at the age of 38. He was a brilliant electrical engineer, with a great future - fate can be mighty cruel, sometimes. His father had also died at an early age, from the same problem.
Tex
It is suspected that some of the hardest material known to science can be found in the skulls of GI specialists who insist that diet has nothing to do with the treatment of microscopic colitis.
Good wprk, Tex,
I was on pravistatin for a while. My cardiologist said i would not be able to lower my cholesterol enough without it. Mind you I am 5'-10' and 140 lbs soaking wet. But i also have a family history of heart issues. Well not only did it cause GI distress in me, but i felt strange while taking it. So i stopped. And since going gluten free, all of my heart numbers are well within the normal range. Statins are over-hyped as usual by the drug reps. I have a clear disdain for these people.
Rich
I was on pravistatin for a while. My cardiologist said i would not be able to lower my cholesterol enough without it. Mind you I am 5'-10' and 140 lbs soaking wet. But i also have a family history of heart issues. Well not only did it cause GI distress in me, but i felt strange while taking it. So i stopped. And since going gluten free, all of my heart numbers are well within the normal range. Statins are over-hyped as usual by the drug reps. I have a clear disdain for these people.
Rich
"It's not what I believe. It's what I can prove." - A Few Good Men
Rich,
I usually have to be restrained when I get on my statin rant, so I'll skip that part ;) Great news that your numbers went back to normal when you fixed your diet. I am convinced that they are barking up the wrong tree - they are measuring what they know to measure, but it doesn't mean what they think it means. And they keep finding it out - OOPS, it's not total serum cholesterol, it's a ratio between 2 kinds. OOPS, there's more than one kind of LDL. OOPS, what about homocysteine, and C-reactive protein? But every time they find out they've been (somewhat) wrong, they conclude that they now have it right.
And - they conclude that if the numbers are up, the trick is to force them back down with a drug. I think it's likely that the elevated cholesterol itself is a response to inflammation, as they believe elevated homocysteine & C-reactive protein to indicate. It would make sense that taking out food that enrages the gut immune system would let that inflammation settle down.
Hope it happens to me, too - 'cuz it will be a frosty day in a very hot place before I take a statin drug. (Unless, of course, I am persuaded otherwise - but so far, I'm more up to date than my doctor - and that would be true if the only thing I read were Tex's posts! But even relatively conservative publications seem to be getting on board with some uncertainty about the miracle of statins.)
Makes sense that the heart problems were also family issues, given the genetic nature of so much gluten sensitivity.
I usually have to be restrained when I get on my statin rant, so I'll skip that part ;) Great news that your numbers went back to normal when you fixed your diet. I am convinced that they are barking up the wrong tree - they are measuring what they know to measure, but it doesn't mean what they think it means. And they keep finding it out - OOPS, it's not total serum cholesterol, it's a ratio between 2 kinds. OOPS, there's more than one kind of LDL. OOPS, what about homocysteine, and C-reactive protein? But every time they find out they've been (somewhat) wrong, they conclude that they now have it right.
And - they conclude that if the numbers are up, the trick is to force them back down with a drug. I think it's likely that the elevated cholesterol itself is a response to inflammation, as they believe elevated homocysteine & C-reactive protein to indicate. It would make sense that taking out food that enrages the gut immune system would let that inflammation settle down.
Hope it happens to me, too - 'cuz it will be a frosty day in a very hot place before I take a statin drug. (Unless, of course, I am persuaded otherwise - but so far, I'm more up to date than my doctor - and that would be true if the only thing I read were Tex's posts! But even relatively conservative publications seem to be getting on board with some uncertainty about the miracle of statins.)
Makes sense that the heart problems were also family issues, given the genetic nature of so much gluten sensitivity.
Dear Carol
Absolutely agree!! I just heard a BBC 'Newsnight' debate with Bill Gates about his focus, as a philanthropist, on using billions of his Microsoft $$$, through the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation (+ of course Buffet's money) to subsidize drugs companies so prices where reduced for poor people in under-developed (but often resource rich) countries . Nothing wrong with his motivation, but does he also look at the long term issues? Using his monopoly earnings to support the monopolistic drugs companies and agri-farming is commendable as a short term tactical panacea. But, I would have hoped that "visionaries" like Gates and Buffet could also look at the strategic issues facing humanity, not just the short term fixes. (But apparently true medical/healthcare visionaries on not PC these days.)
Best, Ant
I think they have made huge mistakes industrializing agriculture, and all these preservatives, etc, and chasing out smaller farms, taking away livelihood, offering cheap "junk " food in exchange. It doesn't help that medical care is becoming more of a "cosmetic" industry.
Absolutely agree!! I just heard a BBC 'Newsnight' debate with Bill Gates about his focus, as a philanthropist, on using billions of his Microsoft $$$, through the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation (+ of course Buffet's money) to subsidize drugs companies so prices where reduced for poor people in under-developed (but often resource rich) countries . Nothing wrong with his motivation, but does he also look at the long term issues? Using his monopoly earnings to support the monopolistic drugs companies and agri-farming is commendable as a short term tactical panacea. But, I would have hoped that "visionaries" like Gates and Buffet could also look at the strategic issues facing humanity, not just the short term fixes. (But apparently true medical/healthcare visionaries on not PC these days.)
Best, Ant
----------------------------------------
"Softly, softly catchee monkey".....
"Softly, softly catchee monkey".....
Feel free to ignore the following political rant!
Now that they have experimented in the open with genetically modified crops here in the US where things are supposed to be regulated and supervised... only can only guess what the "elites" will do with all of the farmland they are scarfing up in Africa for agriculture!
End of rant!
grannyh
Now that they have experimented in the open with genetically modified crops here in the US where things are supposed to be regulated and supervised... only can only guess what the "elites" will do with all of the farmland they are scarfing up in Africa for agriculture!
End of rant!
grannyh