Hi all,
I wrote earlier that I would report what my cholesterol numbers were after I had the blood work. I've been off Vytorin for two months. My last report, on Vytorin, showed a cholesterol level of 132, I believe. After being off the statin, my cholesterol level is 242 and my LDL is 158. Sooo, naturally the doc wants me to go on a new statin, Simvastatin. He's already sent the prescription to my mail order pharmacy.
I weigh 95 lbs. now and my BP is 110/70. Like many of you, I no longer eat any foods high in fat. I also ride a bicycle and walk on a regular basis. But both my parents had strokes when they were just a few years older than me and I've always been concerned about having a stroke. I never had any side effects from the prior statins I took, but am nervous about how Simvastatin will affect me and my MC.
Interestingly, when I told him I'm no longer taking Fosamax, he didn't seem worried at all. He's the one who insisted that I should take it a year ago. But I suppose he wasn't looking at my bone density numbers.
Gloria
Why Statins Scare Me
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Gloria,
That's an increase of 110 points in 2 months. That would be difficult for me to believe, except that mine dropped 45 points in 27 days, on Simvastatin, and my LDL dropped 65 points, in the same amount of time. I suspect that something weird is going on with numbers like that, but I have no idea why, of course.
I'm in the same boat that you're in, taking the stuff because they've got me spooked about a presumed stroke risk, (even though there's no history of stroke in my family). My BP is in the same range as yours, except that my diastolic pressure is usually lower, (occasionally in the 55 to 60 range), and I'm a bit concerned about the risk of an adverse event due to low diastolic pressure, (numbers below 60 are associated with an increased stroke risk). The doctor who was in charge of my case during the last TIA event, (on May 5th), said to check my pressure before taking the drugs, and to skip them, if my systolic pressure was below 100, (which has happened once, so far), but he didn't say a word about the diastolic pressure.
I'm also taking a beta-blocker, to suppress my heart rate and displacement volume, which, (IMO), could possibly put me at risk for brain, heart, or kidney cell death, due to insufficient circulation. My resting heart rate is now around 60 to 62, which is pretty low, for my age. Still, I haven't noticed any of the warning symptoms, so apparently everything is still working OK.
Tex
That's an increase of 110 points in 2 months. That would be difficult for me to believe, except that mine dropped 45 points in 27 days, on Simvastatin, and my LDL dropped 65 points, in the same amount of time. I suspect that something weird is going on with numbers like that, but I have no idea why, of course.I'm in the same boat that you're in, taking the stuff because they've got me spooked about a presumed stroke risk, (even though there's no history of stroke in my family). My BP is in the same range as yours, except that my diastolic pressure is usually lower, (occasionally in the 55 to 60 range), and I'm a bit concerned about the risk of an adverse event due to low diastolic pressure, (numbers below 60 are associated with an increased stroke risk). The doctor who was in charge of my case during the last TIA event, (on May 5th), said to check my pressure before taking the drugs, and to skip them, if my systolic pressure was below 100, (which has happened once, so far), but he didn't say a word about the diastolic pressure.
I'm also taking a beta-blocker, to suppress my heart rate and displacement volume, which, (IMO), could possibly put me at risk for brain, heart, or kidney cell death, due to insufficient circulation. My resting heart rate is now around 60 to 62, which is pretty low, for my age. Still, I haven't noticed any of the warning symptoms, so apparently everything is still working OK.
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.
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Linda in BC
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Gloria, I sure feel for you. I stopped taking Lipitor, the statin my doctor had me on, about a month and a half ago, when I read all the info on the links from our discussion on here. I had been thinking about going off it and had talked to him about trying to control it by diet. That reading cinched it for me. Stroke history, and heart attacks are in my family but it is the threat of stroke that scares me most. I have been on them for two years and my cholesterol levels have been good since starting them. I have not gone to have my levels checked again yet, but am afraid I wil have results like yours. For some of us, it seems, no matter what we do, our cholesterol is high.. it's jsut how we are. And yet, from what i have read , there is little evidence that high cholesterol levels actually do increase the risk of heart attack, although there is little mentioned in the literacture about risk of stroke.
Tex, all I take is one drug, a beta blocker (atenolol) to lower my blood pressure. Are you taking two blood pressure meds? (!) No wonder it is low!
Linda
Tex, all I take is one drug, a beta blocker (atenolol) to lower my blood pressure. Are you taking two blood pressure meds? (!) No wonder it is low!
Linda
"Be kind whenever possible. It is always possible."
The 13th Dali Lama
The 13th Dali Lama
Linda,
You're right - there is no research evidence showing that lowering cholesterol lowers the risk of adverse cardiac events. There is evidence, however, showing that using statins tends to lower the risk of adverse cardiac events. The key is apparently C-reactive protein, which is a marker for inflammation in the body. Statins apparently help to reduce the C-reactive protein level in the body, which reduces the risk of heart attack and stroke. The weird thing is, none of the doctors I am aware of, ever check C-reactive protein levels. Why? Why do they use an irrelevant test, instead, (cholesterol)?
I'm pretty sure that the answer is that they are simply repeating what the drug company reps have told them.
My primary BP med is an ACE-inhibitor, Lisinopril. The medical mindset on this sort of thing seems to be, if one drug is good, two are twice as good, and three are bound to be three times as good, etc.
Tex
You're right - there is no research evidence showing that lowering cholesterol lowers the risk of adverse cardiac events. There is evidence, however, showing that using statins tends to lower the risk of adverse cardiac events. The key is apparently C-reactive protein, which is a marker for inflammation in the body. Statins apparently help to reduce the C-reactive protein level in the body, which reduces the risk of heart attack and stroke. The weird thing is, none of the doctors I am aware of, ever check C-reactive protein levels.
Why? Why do they use an irrelevant test, instead, (cholesterol)?I'm pretty sure that the answer is that they are simply repeating what the drug company reps have told them.
My primary BP med is an ACE-inhibitor, Lisinopril. The medical mindset on this sort of thing seems to be, if one drug is good, two are twice as good, and three are bound to be three times as good, etc.
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.
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Linda in BC
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- Joined: Mon Apr 19, 2010 9:39 am
- Location: Creston British Columbia
I didn't know the second part of that story.. that there is evidence that statins decrease risk. thanks for clarifying.
You should be down to zero cholesterol in no time!
Linda
Ai yai yai!The medical mindset on this sort of thing seems to be, if one drug is good, two are twice as good, and three are bound to be three times as good, etc.
You should be down to zero cholesterol in no time! Linda
"Be kind whenever possible. It is always possible."
The 13th Dali Lama
The 13th Dali Lama
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wonderwoman
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- Location: Sun City, AZ
Has anyone here used Red Rice Yeast for lowering cholesterol? I know of several people who used it before the government became involved with it and it worked for them. Below is one of many articles on Red Rice Yeast. I think the doctors discount it because they want you to use the prescription meds. I would be interested in your thoughts on this Chinese herb or whatever it is, I don't remember.
http://heartdisease.about.com/cs/choles ... ol_rry.htm
http://heartdisease.about.com/cs/choles ... ol_rry.htm
Charlotte
The food you eat can be either the safest and most powerful form of medicine, or the slowest form of poison. Ann Wigmore
The food you eat can be either the safest and most powerful form of medicine, or the slowest form of poison. Ann Wigmore
As usual, once the FDA gets it's incompetent fingers on a product, it's impossible to tell whether it can be trusted, or not.
Tex
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.