Statins please share your experience/knowledge

Sago

Growstuff I am a size 12/14 eat a very healthy diet, exercise, our hobby is hiking and we don’t eat any processed foods.
I have very high cholesterol, this is familial.
I cannot tolerate statins, my side effects have been; severe constipation, muscle pain and cramps, an aggressive rash all over my body, tendinitis and a shoulder pain that kept me awake for many nights.
Should I keep my mouth shut and just suffer the side effects?

No, just don't take them and accept that your risk of heart problems is increased.

pably15

I don't think it's the nurse who needs to do some research

We'll have to agree to disagree then. Personally, I'd prefer to believe the results of thousands of research studies rather than a random nurse.

pably15

Growstuff...there's a lot of truth talked about statins ,if you don't have diabetes but have high cholesterol...take the statin..it might give you diabetes...but hey ho..it will lower the cholesterol.....seems to be all that matters. and you don't have to be overweight to have high cholesterol

Agreed, but high cholesterol and obesity are risk factors for heart problems. Statins are prescribed because they lower risk. Some factors, such as age and genetics, can't be changed. Weight and lifestyle could be changed, but so many people seem reluctant or unable to do much about them. Cholesterol is another factor which could be changed.

I’m pleased to hear it BigBertha.

I don't think it's the nurse who needs to do some research

Growstuff...there's a lot of truth talked about statins ,if you don't have diabetes but have high cholesterol...take the statin..it might give you diabetes...but hey ho..it will lower the cholesterol.....seems to be all that matters. and you don't have to be overweight to have high cholesterol

pennywhistle, what a lovely receptionist, how does she manage to keep her job, I hope you reported her...and you were quite right to ask for a test ..

Growstuff I am a size 12/14 eat a very healthy diet, exercise, our hobby is hiking and we don’t eat any processed foods.
I have very high cholesterol, this is familial.
I cannot tolerate statins, my side effects have been; severe constipation, muscle pain and cramps, an aggressive rash all over my body, tendinitis and a shoulder pain that kept me awake for many nights.
Should I keep my mouth shut and just suffer the side effects?

Skye17

BettyBoop49

Oh dear - so, statins raise the risk of Type 2 Diabetes! Sadly then so does Bisoprolol ( beta blocker) another frequently prescribed drug for atrial fibrillation
Im on both so no wonder I can’t bring my blood sugar into normal range!
Grrrrrrrrr!

Have you considered trying a low carb diet? There is a GP called Dr David Unwin who has had considerable success trying this with his diabetes patients. His GP practice spends about £68,000 a year less on medication than the average for GP practices in his area.

‘British doctor pioneers low-carb diet as cure for obesity and type 2 diabetes’, The Guardian
www.theguardian.com/society/2023/apr/09/british-doctor-pioneers-low-carb-diet-as-cure-for-obesity-and-type-2-diabetes

Some people find that their cholesterol and/or triglycerides fall on this diet, too.

‘What’s at the heart of healthy eating? Dr David Unwin discusses low carb and its cardiovascular benefits’, Diabetes.co.uk
www.diabetes.co.uk/in-depth/whats-at-the-heart-of-healthy-eating-dr-david-unwin-discusses-low-carb-and-its-cardiovascular-benefits-2/

I do have a low carb diet ... and have done for years. For me, it's a healthy diet and, I'm sure, the main reason my diabetes is controlled. Nevertheless, my triglycerides are still too high.

My personal opinion is that good health is the result of many factors, including healthy lifestyle, some medication ... and luck. If medication helps and doesn't cause intolerable side effects, use it. There's so much absolute garbage written about statins and uninformed people who open their mouths when they should keep them shut. There is no doubt that they reduce cholesterol at a population level. If you're one of the minority who can't tolerate them, try them and then stop, but be aware you're increasing your risk, especially if there are no lifestyle changes.

About 75% of the UK population over 60 is overweight or obese. For me, the big question is why don't they do something about their weight. I'm sure if they did, the need for statins and other medication would reduce.

pably15

singingnutty, that's very true, I take thyroxine for an underactive thyroid, and I had...probably still have high cholesterol, I never had high blood sugar before my gp started me on statins, I don't have it now since I stopped them, and I'll never take them again, and what your pharmacist told you about gp's being paid by drug companies to prescribe them, I was also told that ,by a nurse...I was also told that your body makes cholesterol to compensate for statins reducing it, because every organ in your body needs it..

The nurse needs to go on a retraining course and/or read some research.

Taken for five days so far not noticed any problems.

tictacnana

I was called in after my blood tests as a matter of urgency. Scared the heck out off me. The doctor wanted to know why I wasn’t on statins. Did I have high cholesterol? No… but most people of my age are on them . I asked our friendly pharmacist about this and he explained that GPs are PAID by drug companies to get patients on them whether they need them or not. I don’t take them. I don’t need them.

I wonder if there is a misunderstanding here. I think GPs may receive financial incentives from the NHS for hitting certain targets, e g giving a certain percentage of their patients a particular vaccination, or prescribing statins to patients with a risk over a certain level of having a heart attack or stroke within the next 10 years.

In 2018 The Telegraph stated that 'NHS bosses currently offer GP practices financial incentives to boost the rate of patients handed the cholesterol lowering medication [statins].'
www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2018/05/21/gps-paid-handing-statins-puts-patients-review-finds/

This was also reported by diabetes.co.uk three years earlier.
www.diabetes.co.uk/news/2015/jan/gps-could-be-given-incentives-to-prescribe-statins-under-new-nice-proposals-97906949.html

I don’t know if GPs are still offered financial incentives by the NHS to prescribe statins, but if so this could be what the pharmacist was talking about.

I'm not usually the slightest bit bothered about scare stories, but there is a lot of anecdotal tales of people almost losing their mobility due go statins.
I do take them, but I'm not at all happy about it.

singingnutty, that's very true, I take thyroxine for an underactive thyroid, and I had...probably still have high cholesterol, I never had high blood sugar before my gp started me on statins, I don't have it now since I stopped them, and I'll never take them again, and what your pharmacist told you about gp's being paid by drug companies to prescribe them, I was also told that ,by a nurse...I was also told that your body makes cholesterol to compensate for statins reducing it, because every organ in your body needs it..

BettyBoop49

Oh dear - so, statins raise the risk of Type 2 Diabetes! Sadly then so does Bisoprolol ( beta blocker) another frequently prescribed drug for atrial fibrillation
Im on both so no wonder I can’t bring my blood sugar into normal range!
Grrrrrrrrr!

Have you considered trying a low carb diet? There is a GP called Dr David Unwin who has had considerable success trying this with his diabetes patients. His GP practice spends about £68,000 a year less on medication than the average for GP practices in his area.

‘British doctor pioneers low-carb diet as cure for obesity and type 2 diabetes’, The Guardian
www.theguardian.com/society/2023/apr/09/british-doctor-pioneers-low-carb-diet-as-cure-for-obesity-and-type-2-diabetes

Some people find that their cholesterol and/or triglycerides fall on this diet, too.

‘What’s at the heart of healthy eating? Dr David Unwin discusses low carb and its cardiovascular benefits’, Diabetes.co.uk
www.diabetes.co.uk/in-depth/whats-at-the-heart-of-healthy-eating-dr-david-unwin-discusses-low-carb-and-its-cardiovascular-benefits-2/

Never noticed any side effects

tictacnana

I was called in after my blood tests as a matter of urgency. Scared the heck out off me. The doctor wanted to know why I wasn’t on statins. Did I have high cholesterol? No… but most people of my age are on them . I asked our friendly pharmacist about this and he explained that GPs are PAID by drug companies to get patients on them whether they need them or not. I don’t take them. I don’t need them.

The pharmacist is a sh*t-stirring liar!

cholesterol level

I also have familial high cholesterol levels. Have been on 20mg daily statins for several years with no side effects and my cholesterol leading has come down to normal levels. Both my brother and sister are also on statins with no side effects.

Statins keep cropping up here. I was reluctant to take them but then assessed my risk of not doing so - high number of sudden deaths in one line of my family. In three months cholesterol fell from over 8 to 4. No side effects at all. 20mg of Avorstatin daily. Only downside - not having my daily grapefruit for breakfast! And I watch my intake of saturated fats.

'What many people including doctors don’t realise is that elevated cholesterol is a symptom of an under active thyroid.'

This is quite important. DH had raised cholesterol and also other symptoms of underactive thyroid, but due to the fact that apparently it's normally women who have this problem, the diagnosis wasn't made for a couple of years. Eventually, after a blood test for something else, someone in the lab suggested testing for underactive thyroid and that was what it was. His health changed beyond recognition when prescribed Thyroxin and actually, even though he was only in his 40's, he was immediately on free prescriptions.

I took a low dose statin (Atorvastatin) for a few years. I have arthritis in my hands and knees so was not surprised to have pain in both, but I also realised that I had muscle aches all over my body and on some days I was more or less exhausted with aches. DH then read the leaflet that comes with the medication and pointed out that this is listed as a side effect in 10% of people. I stopped taking them after talking to my doctor and the muscles aches stopped. After a blood test I was advised to go back on them again, trying a different type, but I decided not to, having discussed it with one of the GPs. At the moment I am eating very healthily, due to another health matter, and am losing weight at about a pound a week. (not a diet, just cutting down and avoiding sugar) so I am hoping that the next blood test will show that my cholesterol is ok again.

I was called in after my blood tests as a matter of urgency. Scared the heck out off me. The doctor wanted to know why I wasn’t on statins. Did I have high cholesterol? No… but most people of my age are on them . I asked our friendly pharmacist about this and he explained that GPs are PAID by drug companies to get patients on them whether they need them or not. I don’t take them. I don’t need them.

I've been taking Atorvastation for at least 10 years with no side effects at all. I'm 69 with a family history of stroke.

Oh dear - so, statins raise the risk of Type 2 Diabetes! Sadly then so does Bisoprolol ( beta blocker) another frequently prescribed drug for atrial fibrillation
Im on both so no wonder I can’t bring my blood sugar into normal range!
Grrrrrrrrr!