Reluctant to start a statin…

Shelflife

I was put on statins as a presentative measure . I developed nerve pain in my feet . Tried too sorts! Eventually I was prescribed Ezetimibe 10mg - this is not a statin and not quite as effective. However I have been fine with it.
In your situation I would definitely give the statins a go- you will probably be fine ! Most people are. In the unlikely event they have side effects ask your GP about Ezetimibe. Good luck.

I, too, am on Ezetimibe because regular statins gave me severe abdominal pain. My (only slightly elevated) cholesterol level has plummeted and I’m very happy to benefit from the protective effects against dementia.

This is a cautionery tale. I'm 81 and have been taking Amlodipine for hypertension for about three years. The GP suggested a statin at the time. I was averse to being medicated and the GP didn't press it.
Earlier this year I was experiencing aches in my upper arms and the need to stop walking or cycling at a normal pace - angina in other words. I went to the GP and after various tests I had an "elective" angioplasty with one stent inserted to unblock a coronary artery. I've been fine since and the cardiac rehab exercises are fine too.
My point is: probably possibly I wouldn't have needed to have the angioplasty if I'd agreed to the statin three years ago. And I feel rather guilty about using the resources of the NHS.

dogsmother

Having seen the devastating effects of stroke if I am advised I will continue to take statins.
However I’m trying to manage my cholesterol by diet. I dealt with pre diabetes so why not cholesterol too.
The fewer the medication the better in my mind but against medical advice.

Thrilled to say I’m in great health without them diet has done the trick.
Now reducing migraine prevention meds as generally known migraines decrease with age too.

I was put on 80mg daily dose of Atorvastatin after a small heart attack in February. I was dreading the side affects but can honestly say that I have none. I am in my sixties and a recent blood test has shown my cholesterol has now decreased significantly so hoping to reduce the dose now! I hope you get on with it too. As others have said, if you don’t, request an alternative.

No problems been on atorvastatn 20 mg for years with no side effects

Hi. I too tried Atorvastatin and Rosuvastatin and had muscle aches and sharp nerve pains. Already suffer with these pains so this added to them. Was put on Ezemtimbe and things have settled down. But it all comes down to trying them and see which suits you.

Yoginimeisje

Maybee not the same as when we were young, no multi doctor surgeries then, just the one doctor that the whole family knew well and he us.

Cannot make an appointment via the phone anymore, need an account and even though all your details are there have to put them in again when you do the request form for an appointment. I've thought; if you were really ill with something like gastroenteritis it would be a nightmare.

It would make a big deference to see the same doctor each visit, so they get to know you. The last doctor I saw, I thought I would like to keep seeing her but not going to happen as she was a locum.

I’m not even talking about when I was younger, though. But when I retired 12 or so years ago. I watched something on instagram yesterday saying how many dispensing errors there are and how everyone should check their prescriptions. We always double checked prescriptions because mistakes were made but that no longer happens.

Maybee not the same as when we were young, no multi doctor surgeries then, just the one doctor that the whole family knew well and he us.

Cannot make an appointment via the phone anymore, need an account and even though all your details are there have to put them in again when you do the request form for an appointment. I've thought; if you were really ill with something like gastroenteritis it would be a nightmare.

It would make a big deference to see the same doctor each visit, so they get to know you. The last doctor I saw, I thought I would like to keep seeing her but not going to happen as she was a locum.

The last time I had a conversation with a doctor in which I actually felt that my concerns were being taken seriously was, strangely enough, with the consultant about my knee ( my physio had warned me that knee consultants weren’t very chatty but he was the opposite, and it was a surprise given that consultants have a reputation for having superiority complexes). I just want to be spoken to as if I’m an intelligent human being with an interest in their health and well-being. When someone phoned me about a blood test about my iron levels I raised the subject of diet and she all but put the phone down on me. Nothing about my surgery inspires confidence these days. We used to provide a caring, personal service pre pandemic.

I would love to see the same GP but every time I ring for a second appointment I am told they are on annual leave or training.

I would dearly love to see the same doctor each visit but always see a different one. Hardly ever been to the docs throughout my life, but this last year been for little things, i.e.; request from them to have my 70yr check-up.

I remember when I lived in South Africa, always saw the same doctor, lovely guy. We would see him in local gathers, like the 'Banana marathon' at the finish line where we all stayed for a Braai/BBQ. He told me he was so disappointed when I flew back to UK to have my first baby as he wanted to oversee it all, not sure if that meant helping me give birth. That made me disappoint that I hadn't stayed as I was crying on the way to catch the flight home to the UK as my husband was following in 6 weeks' time. I was supposed to be my sister's chief bridesmaid [another reason to fly home] but when she saw me, she said I was too fat to be her bridesmaid. Sorry to digress .

Yes, Maybee When I visited my doctors about my toe and then after asking her to clarify my cholesterol readings, I had one more question and she said Sorry your time is up I answered that she had taken 10mins to log in and had problems with the uploading my details for a referral [my toe].

So, I had to book an appointment for next week, but as she is an expert on what I was requesting I wanted to see her, she was a locum so even though I said I would travel to her regular surgery they wouldn't do that.

I think they [doctors] do [want everyone on statins]. I told my friend all about it yesterday and she said her doctor told her she must go on them for life otherwise she will have a heart attack and die! My friend has no idea what her readings are, she is slim, fit & healthy, swims a few times per week.

All my friends are on statins!

Not any more. All the GP’s are part time. I haven’t seen the same one twice although I must admit to not really seeing my GP for many years until I made an appointment to discuss my knee last year and I’ve only had three appointments since, one was to have a steroid injection.I have to wait nearly a month to discuss my b/t results with a nurse. Having worked for the surgery for twenty years there is nothing about the place that I recognise now; it’s totally impersonal. Prescriptions are never ready on time. If I did start taking statins and had a problem with them I wouldn’t feel confident that I could get an appointment with a doctor to discuss it.

MayBee do you know your gp? I know it’s more difficult now to get continuity of care. I’ve been unfortunate to be ill since Feb. The upside is I’ve had two gp’s fixing follow yo appointments, obviously I’d rather it wasn’t necessary but appreciate continuity.
I do not feel the practice sees a pill for evegtything. I’ve no reason not to trust the doctors want the best for their patients, hope you feel supported. My mum went on a fat free diet, her cholesterol increased. A factor seems to be genetics. Mum was a skinny woman, never ever over ate or indulged, did t eat cakes, chocolate or biscuits. Her cholesterol increased when she followed the diet aimed at reducing it,p

I sympathise with your concerns *MayBee70. I have a lot of painful arthritis and statins have not increased my pain. I think some people take a magnesium supplement which they say helps with muscle cramps.

The evidence shows that it is not common for most people to suffer muscle pain from statins, but if they do statins can be changed to a different one which can be taken less frequently.

Over the years there is extensive evidence and clinical data to show that statins effectively lower LD lipoprotein cholesterol and significantly reduce major vascular events. Benefits are consistent, regardless of age, sex or baseline cholesterol levels.

It’s unfortunately more difficult to lower LDL cholesterol by diet when we are older. I don’t believe that most doctors “have a pill for everything attitude”.

Statins are cost effective if strokes and hearts attacks are reduced.

I don’t want to be thought of as someone trying to persuade people to not take statins. I probably will end up taking them (discussing my blood test results next month). My problem was that the doctor saw my b/t results and immediately wanted me to start taking them. No questions about my diet or lifestyle. Complete dismissal of my concerns over muscle pain ( I said I was struggling so much with arthritic pain and was didn’t want to add another pain to it as I wouldn’t know if any of the measures I’d been taking to improve that were working; his comment was just ‘but it’s a different kind of pain’).As with eg ozempic I’m worried that doctors just have a ‘there’s a pill for everything’ attitude which bypasses any attempt to encourage people to adopt a healthier lifestyle. Which takes up time that they no longer have sadly.

Well done Luckygirl13.

There has been some unresearched nonsense posted on this thread.

You are right about this. It is a big problem on a forum such as this as there are those who are influenced by conspiracy theories and other inaccurate information and express this forcefully and convincingly. It can be dangerous.

I reported one post which was instructing someone to stop taking their statin and, to their credit, Gransnet immediately took it down.

Thank you for those posts foxie48 and Iam64.
There has been some un researched nonsense posted on this thread.

Foxie48
I will certainly tell my husband about reading your post as it may help him feel differently about taking them
Thank you

* I take my statin every night and thank the nhs for their care *

So do I foxie48. We have a family history of high cholestoral. Mum never over ate, high fibre, low fat diet. Cholestoral 8.5. She stopped butter, cheese, red meat, her levels increased.
A series of tia’s then a devastating stroke.

My rheumatology consultant told me 5 ok for other people, not for me as heart problems the main cause of death with RA patients. I feel seen and supported. I have faith in my consultant and GP’s rather than being suspicious of expert advice

80% of the cholesterol in our body is made by the liver so although dietary changes can reduce cholesterol levels it may not be by enough. OH and I have always eaten a low fat, high fibre diet but OH has familial high cholesterol and mine increased as a result of getting older (which is quite common). It's a great idea to try to reduce cholesterol by eating a better diet but it won't work for everyone and having a BIL who lived for 20 years after a catastrophic stroke when he was 60 which robbed him of his personality and mobility, a father who developed vascular dementia because of atherosclerosis (linked to high cholesterol) and a SIL who died recently of a stroke I take my statin every night and thank the NHS for their care.

I have been taking statins for years and cannot say that I have had any aches and pains. I have a fasting blood test every year to check the levels which can vary .

Truffle43

My husband has been advised to take statins, he is so against the idea he has completely changed his diet. He is looking at every way he can to lower the cholesterol himself. We hope it works as he has tried so hard. We await the next test.

That’s what I’ve done. Will be seeing the nurse to discuss the results of the new test next month. My concern is that test results are quite complicated and I’m not sure that the nurse will understand the complexity of it. I’m prepared to pay to have some sort of testing done to see what the state of my arteries is before I commit to taking statins. I’m taking plant sterols, switched to Benecol. Eating lots of flax, nuts, chia seeds, protein etc. Have lost weight even though I feel that I’m eating more than I used to. It’s the lack of exercise I’m most concerned about because of my arthritis.