I don't want to take Statins. Advice please.

Changing your diet will help for sure. My mum was prescribed Statins aged 82 and she too was only about 7 stone, however she also had Alzheimer's and Cancer she said the Statins didn't agree with her and after speaking with mums GP because of her other health problems she didn't need to take the Statins. I would definitely speak with your GP.

Point One The whole cholesterol thing is misleading - read What Doctors Don’t Tell You. Nearly all ‘medical knowledge’ comes from research sponsored by drug companies. We need cholesterol
Point Two statins are almost completely useless and often harmful - check out cardiologist Dr Aseem Malhotra
Point Three many, many people live with drug side effects and never report it, or if they do report it, it isn’t logged, or it’s put down to old age.
I would never take statins and would need a lot of convincing to take any regular drug
Please eat a good diet with lots of vegetables-as much organic as you can, avoid UPF like the plague and enjoy lovely organic butter cheese and a little red wine - oh, and fresh air, laughter and walks a-plenty, preferably among trees

I tried to lower my levels by diet but it didn’t happen so I have been on statins for over 8 years, no problems at all! See what your next blood test shows and go from there! There is more than one statin available !

I have refused statins. This is partly down to the fact that I am already on 31 pills a day of which several have unpleasant side effects. Also I know two or three people on them and they say they wish they had never started taking them. My GPs seem to be trying to palm them off on every other patient at the moment. I won't be changing my stance on them.

Have a look at what Dr Aseem Malhotra a consultant cardiologist has to say about them. You will find a lot about him on the internet. From family experience I will be refusing to take them.

If you were to try the statins and found they did indeed disagree with you, you might then consider trying nattokinase.

But why not give the statins a go first; surely it cannot be true that lightning would strike anyone who started and then decided they didn't want to carry on.

I haven't read all the posts so can't be sure it hasn't already been mentioned. However I was diagnosed with hypothyroidism last year and learned that high cholesterol is (along with many other things!) a symptom of hypothyroidism. Since being treated my cholesterol has returned to normal levels as has my glucose metabolism (no longer type 2 borderline) and my kidney function. I have also become aware that thyroid issues are often poorly understood and treated in general practice.

I did notice the point about GPs being paid to prescribe statins and that there was a misleading response. As far as I'm aware the NHS still offers GP practices financial incentives to boost the rate of patients given statins following the introduction of the Quality and Outcomes Framework

cangran

Vintagegirl

Sorry I have not read thru all replies... I also have always had high level up to 7.8 But this figure needs to be broken down into the LDL and HDL amounts and then a ratio worked out between the two to get a better figure. When I queried this, it seemed I had the healthiest rate in the practice. I would refer you to a book called The Cholesterol Myth tho not sure if still in print?

I've always thought that it was the proportions of LDL ('Good') and HDL ('Bad') rather than the overall figure in a cholesterol test (which can be high without being a problem) is what's important but it sounds from many replies that these figures aren't always looked at unless you are aware of them and ask the doctor. Having said that, I can't remember what those proportions are and whether this changes with age and other factors. Can anyone shed more light on this please?

You're right. It's the ratio of total cholesterol to HDL which is important. Divide total cholesterol by HDL. Any result over 4.5 is considered high risk.

The other figure which is important is the triglyceride level, which should be below 1.7 for women.

I think it depends on the reasons for high cholesterol. If it is diet, then it is fairly easy to address, if it is genetic (which I have) then it is to. Statins has saved millions of people from dying of cardiac disease, and there are many different drugs on the market. I think you should shop around, and find one that suits you rather than going on what other people tell you. Also, increasingly, we know that the ham-fisted approach to cholesterol is almost useless. "the cholesterol discussion you receive at your annual medical ..... is misleading and oversimplified to the point of uselessness." The best longevity drug is exercise. Quote is from an excellent book which I recommend OUTLIVE: THE SCIENCE AND ART OF LONGEVITY, Peter Attia. Good luck.

As a statin user for nearly 9 years, I am pro them. I tried diet, but my cholesterol went up, not down (mine was over 8 at its highest), so I paid to see a female heart specialist and she said given my fam history and the fact that I wasn't overweight she recommended going on them. Just recently, as my mum died at 69 which I will be next month, I went back to her and paid to have a coronary angiogram which showed quite considerable calcification, so the specialist suggested I up my dose from 20 to 40 mgs which I've now done. I feel absolutely fine on them - I did have some aches and pains in my legs at one point but they were nothing to do with the statins, they were arthritic. I feel so good that I've taken control of my health and only wish my mum had been able to. The specialist I saw was Dr Laura Corr. Good luck!

I resisted. I'm a vegetarian and thought it shouldn't be high. I went on a diet and upped the exercise. I'm averaging 20,000 steps a day. They said my blood pressure had come right down and obviously the diet was good as I'd lost weight. But my cholesterol had gone up! They think it's a family thing. So I'm having a low dose and checking again in a few months. I'd had loads of side effects! Luckily they're wearing off now. Only reason I agreed to take them is there's heart attacks in the family.

I was advised to take statins and have been taking them for 3 weeks. I thought id give them a try but they are causing me to wake very early and I’m not then able to get back to sleep. This then causes symptoms of tiredness and feeling generally unwell. I have researched natural ways to lower my cholesterol which at the moment is 5.8. I found the portfolio diet and started following that today. Basically its nuts , green veg,fruit and oats.

I have always kept an eye on my cholesterol, having had both parents suffering high blood pressure and cholesterol, heart problems, stroke and worse. I have paid for tests when the doctors used to be less than accommodating. It has always been in the 3 to 3.5 range with a good balance of HDL and LDL. I recently asked my GP about statins as I have aortic stenosis and a heart murmur. He agreed that to take them as a preventative measure might be a good idea. I have read widely about this subject, both for and against, and concluded that this is right for me. I take 10 mg of Atorvastatin daily- the lowest dose- and have not noticed any side effects at all, for which I am grateful. Now, more than ever, with the health and social services in such disarray, I am trying to remain as healthy as I can into my old age. My mother suffered a stroke from which she never fully recovered and Dad had vascular dementia, from which his sister and mother also suffered. The memory of my father, particularly, has spurred me on to take better care of myself these days.

My cholesterol was 7.5 and I chose not to take statins bc of what I had heard about them. Instead I changed my diet and went on the low GI diet. I followed the one by Rick Gallop and I managed to get the cholesterol down to a normal level and also reverse (pre) sugar diabetes. I stuck rigidly to it and it took a while for the weight to come off (I had put on 3st during menopause) but the GP was amazed at my progress. Now I am back to my normal weight I can indulge a little more.

My sister was given statins, she didn't do well at all with them. She takes Q ensyme 10 instead and she's doing fine. worth a try.
good luck with whatever you choose.

I think you should ask for a referal to a clinical dietrician, as you obviously have two problems and to me, a layman, it sounds as if solving the one is going to increase the other.

You need to put on weight and won't be able to do so on the diet you describe that you are following to reduce your cholesterol levels. I gather this is a diet you have put together yourself and not one that a doctor or dietrician has suggested.

So please do get qualified advice on your diet from a health professional.

Your body your choice your health Your Dr is just doing the job that they trained for. If i go to drs with a medical condition and they say we recommend you take this I take it after a few questions they not asking you to take them for fun they obviously feel like you need them and I’ve been on statins for few years couldn’t tell you if I’ve any side effects because I take that many pills.

My very good friend was told by his doctor that his results suggested he should take statins. But, as the doctor also said he’s a nearly 70 year old man (albeit with a very healthy diet and weight) and being a neatly 70 year old man is by far the largest precursor to any heart problems and the amount of risk reduction by taking statins was so negligible that he really needn’t bother! So he didn’t. This does not mean that you shouldn’t, but that they’re not essential for everyone.

I think before taking any medicines into the body it's best to make changes to lifestyle if you can. These substances are known to have side effects, some worse than others. And unfortunately some doctors prescribe them almost automatically... easier that lots of chats!!
Just eat a balanced diet... Protein, starch, vegetable fat, a variety of vegetables and some sugar in the form of fruit.
Meditation has a very positive health giving effect on the body, not just the mind. It's been scientifically proven.Why not try that? Also don't rule out acupuncture.
Why not have a plan to make some changes and reassess in December?

I had a TI A (mini stroke) about 15 years ago & I've taken ststins ever since. I have a regular review of my meds & the type if stating has changed a few times but I don't have any side effects nor problems taking them because of their image.

I was asked to take statins at 6.5. Women can have higher cholesterol naturally without any issues and if you look at the history of statins the figure of five was chosen randomly. My dr actually said they wouldn’t take statins if they were me. Anyways, not wanting to be irresponsible I googled research on how to lower cholesterol naturally. Found quite a bit on avocados which I love so upped my intake , along with maintaining my reasonably healthy diet and exercise . My next results were wonderful and everything had been reversed. No problems since…

I had the same problem, bad reports on Statins. GP was pushing, I did a deal with him. I undertook to take a bowl of Porridge Oats ie proper old style oats none of your Ready Brecks ever morning for a month (made with water, no sugar in the microwave, not as bad as you would think) then would return to the surgery for a repeat blood test. Long story short …..results down over 2 points therefore one slightly uncomfortable GP and Statins never mentioned again. That was ove 10 years ago and repeated routine blood tests have shown cholesterol levels fine, I’m 70 yrs of age with type 2 diabetes, and eat a normal healthy diet. I still love my porridge and allow myself a smug little chuckle now and again.
😉. I offer this up to one and all as a ‘Give it a go, a month won’t make that much difference’ Of course if cholesterol levels are dangerously high fair enough. However there are less scary drugs on the market for high cholesterol. The words Statins! Big Pharma Companies, hand in hand & profits spring to mind 🤨

A few years ago my cholesterol was 7 point something. I tried lowering it with diet but it had no effect - perhaps because I was still eating some chocolate, having my evening glass of wine and gluten free bread isn't exactly healthy.
I was prescribed atorvastatin and take 10 mg once a day. My cholesterol level quickly reduced to 4 point something. I've had no problems with them.

My cholesterol was a bit lower than yours but I asked to be prescribed a statin as I'm diabetic. I take a tiny tablet called Pravastatin each night and fortunately I've been fine with it. No side effects - and it doesn't cause a problem if I eat grapefruit either . It has helped to lower my cholesterol over months. Maybe see if you can reduce your cholesterol by your diet first and if that doesn't work, then have a chat with your doctor.

I didn't read the side effects and suffered for months until the doctor took me off them. On a much lower dose of a different kind and so far ok.