Cholesterol

Lorraine I read a lot of these sites 10 years ago and it was one of the reasons I was never keen on taking statins. I aso have a slight medical condition, dating to childhood that makes me very careful about taking any medication regularly in case it interferes with my management of this mild condition.

But on this occasion the GP says the high cholestrol I have is probably genetic and on the side of my family that has this, 2 first cousins have had strokes that led to their deaths before they were 60. I am 75. Whether the cholesterol story is a myth or not, in this case, I would rather be safe than sorry, so I have decided to take statins.

My DH has always had the regular "MOT's" when offered by our GP. They found nothing wrong and he was given a very low chance of a stroke or heart attack. Since then he has been diagnosed with heart failure, has had two stents and been in hospital for some weeks. I'm not really sure that the tests are worthwhile, cost effective or accurate for many of us.

Since having a mild heart attack in 2006 I've had regular blood tests, for various things, and take statins. Never any bad effects.
The results give 2 measures - one for "good" cholesterol and one for "bad" cholesterol. Which I don't understand.

I think there are a couple of separate issues here:

1. The poor attitude and unhelpful comments of the phlebotomist and the practice manager.

2. Whether or not your GP practice, in your NHS area, routinely have MoTs, blood tests, etc, for older patients or anyone else deemed to be at risk.

Both of the above could be checked online or discussed discretely with the CQC, Age UK or your local patient participation group.

Both issues need to be sorted out, and hopefully you have found replies from people here at Gransnet helpful ??

PS And yes, it’s quite intimidating having a grumpy phlebotomist - I had blood taken at our local hospital by a phlebotomist who was in a VERY bad mood because she was working on Christmas Eve, and she inadvertently damaged my vein because at the critical moment of taking blood a friend of hers popped into the cubicle with a cake while singing Happy Christmas!

I think you were very badly treated and should raise a complaint about the office manager. www.which.co.uk/consumer-rights/advice/how-to-complain-if-youre-unhappy-with-your-gp-or-gp-surgery No one should speak to you or behave like that towards you whatever the circumstances, and if the test has been ordered the phlebotomist has no business commenting or reacting towards you in any way. In addition, you have not been given the health checks required www.nhs.uk/conditions/nhs-health-check/what-is-an-nhs-health-check-new/#how-will-the-nhs-health-check-help-me and so the entire practice is at fault, in particular the practice manager who has an admin tole and has no business giving any opinion about medical procedures.

I had a test recently which was 5.8. I was not offered statins. I was told 5.8 was good.

That does sound like unnecessarily rude and aggressive treatment, and it's not as if you were asking for a nose job or a triple heart bypass. I wonder if sometimes medical staff lose sight of the fact that we are their bread and butter, and, in truth, their 'employers'. Without sick people they would be jobless. It sounds as if that phlebotomist needs some re training! Hope your results are ok.

I'd agree with reading 'The Great Cholesterol Con' by Malcolm Kendrick

Statins have been really pushed over recent years by the manufacturers who also undertake the research that they say indicates statins are of benefit.

It is true that cholesterol is in abundance when people have heart attacks but recent independent research has shown it is there to heal the damage rather than its there causing the damage.

Of course the manufacturers won't want anyone to know that but statin advice is rapidly changing. The fabulous thing is that we can all eat a lot more fat. Because fat doesn't make you fat anymore than a tomato will make you a tomato. It's the carbs & sugar that are the real baddies. Bring on the butter!

Supermarkets tend to have a free week for testings every so often. So perhaps you can keep an eye on the pharmacy area posters, and take advantage?

Can I just add to my previous post that Statins make very little difference to your triglyceride levels but Dr's still prescribe them even so. Statins have some really nasty side effects for some people and can actually damage the muscles. In our family, where our main problem seems to be the ability of our body to produce decent insulin, statins actually make us quite ill so none of us take them any more.
However, for the right people for the right thing, they are probably worth taking.

sundancecowboy can you give evidence for your belief that it is statin manufacturers who undertake research indicating statins benefit? I work at Oxford University and the clinical trials unit here has been involved in research which is not funded by manufacturers. In

"Interpretation of the evidence for the efficacy and safety of statin therapy" published in The Lancet for example, they say "Large-scale evidence from randomised trials shows that statin therapy reduces the risk of major vascular events (ie, coronary deaths or myocardial infarctions, strokes, and coronary revascularisation procedures) by about one-quarter for each mmol/L reduction in LDL cholesterol during each year (after the first) that it continues to be taken. "

When my husband hit 70 he was sent an appointment for an MOT at our medical practice. Numerous tests were done including an ECG and cholesterol. All came back normal. But he was still prescribed Statins as a 'preventative measure' because of his age. He was fine with them for about a year, then he started to suffer horrendous pain in his muscles and joints. From being a fit and active man he became a cripple who struggled to walk from room to room and slept on the sofa because he couldn't face climbing the stairs. I would see tears in his eyes when he was trying to dress himself. He was becoming depressed and reclusive. All our GP offered was a different brand of statins. It didn't matter which brand he took he still suffered. So he just stopped taking them. It was about 18 months before the painful side effects subsided completely. The GP told him he was taking a terrible risk not taking them. When we moved house and registered with a new GP he couldn't understand why my husband was prescribed them in the first place, "You're fitter than I am" he said. DH is once again a happy and active man and each year he passes his MOT with flying colours. Clearly these medicines are necessary for some people, and we have friends who have taken them for many years without any problems, but if I am ever offered statins without good reason I will most certainly refuse them.

Here in Sweden we have an annual test which includes everything, cholesterol is one of the important blood tests, we pay £10 for everythig, that is including a talk with the Doctor at the surgery when the tests have come through. Every time we visit the Doctor it costs £10, so the tests once a year and a visit to the Doctor is not expensive and it is thorough. Contact your Practise Manager ask why she grudgingly made an apointment, it is your right to have an appointment.

I have been on 2 different Statins & both times within days my muscles ache & I feel really ill. I will resist taking them if I'm offered them again. My DF had high cholesterol, produced by his body, very strict diet, he had a fatal heart attack at 49. I am now almost 62 with a strong heart (numerous ECGs) although I have Type 2 Diabetes which I am still struggling to control by tablets. My Blood Sugars have come down to an acceptable level but I have a blood test in 2 weeks & will have to wait for results to see if Diabetic Nurse is happy with the control.

I have never encountered the level of rudeness you received from Surgery Staff, a complaint is definitely in order. Wishing you good health

legs given your fh it would be good if you could reduce your cholesterol (you don't say, but I'm assuming it's high since you tried twice already?) Maybe a different type would help, things are changing all the time.

humptydumpty if Legs is diabetic, her triglycerides are almost certainly the reason her overall cholesterol is high and statins don't really help much with that. She will have a greater success by bringing down the blood sugar levels.
Legs, have you tried looking on the Diabetes UK site and looking at their low carb diet? They are having great success and research is starting to show that it is a much better way of controlling diabetes if you are able to stick to it.

My cholesterol was 6.something. GP looked it up and said 22% chance of stroke etc in next 10 years. If I took statins only 19% chance. So don't take any.

Like MOnica, my doctor says my high cholesterol is genicic. I resisted statins for a long time, however my cholesterol kept rising so a few months ago I had to begin taking them. Luckily no side effects.
I have been taking tablets for high blood pressure for a few years, however I do wonder what my levels would now be without these - I have retired from a very stressful job and think perhaps that was why my level was so high.

I came across this article today and thought those worried or considering Statins would find it interesting:
www.diabetes.co.uk/blog/2018/04/killing-profit-dr-aseem-malholtra-discusses-dark-world-big-food-big-pharma/?utm_source=Communicator&utm_medium=Email&utm_content=Untitled4&utm_campaign=Hurtful+Workplace+Comments&utm_dispatch%20ID=6897038&utm_email%20name=DCUK+NL+-+19%2f04%2f18

Thanks ichtb
“We have a complete healthcare system failure and an epidemic of misinformed doctors and harmed patients,” – Dr Aseem Malhotra, 2018.
Those are strong words , aren’t they?
(I’m actually an Aseem Malhotra fan)

Indeed they are strong words *Janeainsworth” and the more I read the more I wonder. It was my sister’s endocrinologist who told her that she needed to cut the carbs and stop cutting all the fat years ago which made me sit up as I was recently diagnosed as a diabetic. It has always seemed a strange thing that the current advice is to make sure you have carbs such as pasta and rice which turn to sugar and to cut fat which slows any sugar spike down. It doesn’t seem like rocket science until you realise that the research that our advice is based on was apparently funded by the wheat industry.

m.youtube.com/watch?v=dBnniua6-oM
Robert Lustig’s video ‘Sugar -the Bitter Truth’ - just in case you haven’t seen it already ichtb

Thank you janeainsworth, I have. Very interesting.

It is interesting seeing the comments from other countries......I would willingly pay £10.00 for ablood test or to see a doctor...but you can’t in this stupid country, You are either NHS or Private. Private consultations are usually about £85 and blood tests are hundreds of pounds. Prescriptions on the other hand on NHS are very often more expensive than private prescriptions...... our whole system is outdated and ridiculous. If doctors could charge for extras tests that weren’t essential and the money went back to the NHS, I wonder if the latter would not be in such crisis.