Print

Please login or register.
1 Hour 1 Day 1 Week 1 Month Forever
Login with username, password and session length

[Ayesha]

My journey through the cholesterol minefield is years of it being high. Now I am aged over 70 the readings have got higher, I had forgotten that I tried statins years ago but must have given up because of side effects.
This time I decided to try statins again, I gave it nine months of muscle pain agony (a ruined summer) that I eventually gave up only to be told after yet another blood test, my levels had not moved, they are still high.

I am bewildered by it all, years and years of having high cholesterol and for my age I am as fit as a fiddle, healthy diet, 5ft 1” weighing under 8 stone all my adult life. In fact I was the butt of jokes once when out to lunch with friends I always said no to the cakes, I was the healthy geek within the group of friends and how they laughed when I was the one that had the high cholesterol results and not them.

I honestly think that some people are naturally prone to having a ‘so called’ high cholesterol figure and no drug given will help,  but saying that I know statins work for most people.

[Jules]

My journey through the cholesterol minefield is years of it being high. Now I am aged over 70 the readings have got higher, I had forgotten that I tried statins years ago but must have given up because of side effects.
This time I decided to try statins again, I gave it nine months of muscle pain agony (a ruined summer) that I eventually gave up only to be told after yet another blood test, my levels had not moved, they are still high.

I am bewildered by it all, years and years of having high cholesterol and for my age I am as fit as a fiddle, healthy diet, 5ft 1” weighing under 8 stone all my adult life. In fact I was the butt of jokes once when out to lunch with friends I always said no to the cakes, I was the healthy geek within the group of friends and how they laughed when I was the one that had the high cholesterol results and not them.

I honestly think that some people are naturally prone to having a ‘so called’ high cholesterol figure and no drug given will help,  but saying that I know statins work for most people.

I think you're probably right. Genetics comes into most things. Then we have the menopause factor. I'm going to try tightening things up a bit, if nothing else it will help my acid reflux.  I remember a time when I didn't think about any health checks, a long time ago...

[fiftyplus]

I have to avoid cream which I love as it increases my cholesterol 

[Taz2]

There are so many things on the cholesterol naughty list. It makes me quite despondent and reach for a bar of chocolate and a glass of wine to cheer me up 

[Dierdre]

Taz2, do you know why she was anti-statin?

If a doctor is against them, it doesn't look good.

It's like with a lot of medication in that some people can develop problems from the thing that's meant to be doing them good. As Deidre says they can cause a muscle problem called Rhabdomyolysis. It is rare whereas muscle pain is quite common and a different statin often gets rid of it. It's like with PPIs. I need them to control my hiatus hernia reflux which causes ulceration of the oesophagus  but I know I have a risk of developing stomach cancer if I take them. Fors and againsts! There's loads of stuff online about statins.

Deidre. I agree that diet and exercise are the first things to try and you've done amazingly in just three months. How long do you think it will take to get down to usual target of under 5?

Taz x

I wasn't told I had to get below 5.
It was worked out by my weight, blood pressure and cholesterol and I was 10.4 on the scale. Over 10 and you're prescribed statins as you're at a 10 year risk of heart attack etc.
After my cholesterol went down to 6.2 and I lost weight , my blood pressure was ok before anyway but was lower on the day, I was then 9.4 on the scale so no longer at risk.
The nurse said I didn't need statins and carry on what I've been doing.
The whole thing caused me a lot of stress to be honest so I don't think I'll be going to anymore yearly "wellbeing" checks.

[Taz2]

The figures are confusing and you are right that it is stressful. The guidelines seem to be that cholesterol should be below 5 but I'm not sure how that all equates with individual readings. I suppose, for me, getting the cholesterol down was the one thing I could do as my blood pressure, at the time, was good. Since having covid for the second time (now dealing with it this week for the third time) my blood pressure has remained raised.


It's difficult to do our best to stay as healthy as we can but also enjoy life. I have been keeping a diary this week of what I am eating and the different values etc and I've found out that my total calorie intake is under 1200 which I didn't realise - this sounds good but is too low apparently and eating chocolate isn't the answer apparently  . I've got a friend who is very overweight but her BP and cholesterol are spot on and another one who is really slim, exercises and eats well with no alcohol and her readings are dire.

Taz x

[Ayesha]

I had another blood test today and if the readings come back high, I told the nurse I am done with it all. I've missed out a lot on my 'so called' healthy diet over the years. I mean lets face it, getting below a reading of 5 in the elderly is a joke. This whole milarky is causing me a lot of stress and I intend to have a good Christmas eating what the hell I like!

[Taz2]

My (almost ex) husband recently had a TIA (mini stroke) at work. He was taken into hospital and his BP was fine and his cholesterol was 4.8 but he was put on statins purely because they can't find a reason for the TIA. His cholesterol is now 3.2. His weight is just right for his height. He plays golf, walks, has an allotment and a garden to sort out. His diet is quite poor, probably, he enjoys a pint and an occasional cigar. I don't understand how his "levels" were good but he had a TIA? Sometimes we just can't fathom what we need to do! On the other hand my close friend's husband had a cholesterol of 6 and pre high blood pressure aged 55. He asked for statins as his family history was not good on cardiac problems but was told they weren't necessary and then he had a heart attack a few months later and had to retire from work. No rhyme or reason it seems.

Taz x

[Dierdre]

High cholesterol can be generic so not much you can do about that I suppose.
Read this on the internet so that's me scuppered!!

High levels of cortisol from long-term stress may be the mechanism behind how stress can increase cholesterol. Adrenaline may also be released, and these hormones can trigger a “fight or flight” response to deal with the stress. This response will then trigger triglycerides, which can boost “bad” cholesterol.

[Jules]

High cholesterol can be generic so not much you can do about that I suppose.
Read this on the internet so that's me scuppered!!

High levels of cortisol from long-term stress may be the mechanism behind how stress can increase cholesterol. Adrenaline may also be released, and these hormones can trigger a “fight or flight” response to deal with the stress. This response will then trigger triglycerides, which can boost “bad” cholesterol.

Oh well that's probably done mine then. I've had the most stressful year and I stress anyway. I will report back when I've asked my doctor tomorrow

[Ayesha]

Read this on the internet so that's me scuppered!!
High levels of cortisol from long-term stress may be the mechanism behind how stress can increase cholesterol. Adrenaline may also be released, and these hormones can trigger a “fight or flight” response to deal with the stress. This response will then trigger triglycerides, which can boost “bad” cholesterol.

I'm a lost cause then!! 

[Jules]

I've had a useful conversation with a very good GP. He's explained about the calculation of risk, what the threshold of risk is (10%) I'm on around 7%. He said I don't need statins, but some with lower cholesterol will because of their risk factors. Basically I'm a non smoker, I don't drink anymore,  I'm not overweight,  I don't have high BP and eat fairly healthily. Age and funnily postcode comes into it and yes post menopause can affect it. Exercise helps to reduce so I'm going to work on that.

[flutterby]

I was very anti statins. Very sceptical thinking they were only prescribed so much because they were cheap. My total cholesterol went up over the years from 5.3 to 6.
In May I went for a healthy heart check and TC was 7.3 and LDL 5.3. I have a healthy diet but suffer from anxiety plus the weird sensation (caused by cortisol?) when I have a hot flush wasn’t helping. Plant sterols only work on reducing dietary cholesterol so i finally asked for atorvastatin ( friends said they’d had no side effects ) and I haven’t had any noticeable ones.
I was delighted to get my cholesterol down to 5 and LDL 3
However message from GP she was doubling dose to 40mg.
Armed with excellent advice from a nurse at the British Heart Foundation I went to see GP to ask why when LDL was 3 ‘we use 2.5 now’ she told me
According to BHF on 20mg cholesterol would reduce on average 43% and 40mg only 49%, doubling dose not doubling effect. Anyway she was quite happy I watch my diet and exercise so I’m still on 20mg
Flutterby x

[Taz2]

Thanks Jules. It's good to have it explained. I really miss being able to see a GP face to face and discuss this sort of thing. Just trying to decide what to do by text messages seems so impersonal to me.

I'll check my LDL Flutterby. Can't remember what it was! My weight is fine. BP high last week but not too bad now (125/72 today) I don't smoke and drink around 14 units a week but I think my age (69) must change the percentage.
Taz 

[Jules]

I stopped drinking in April due to a diagnosis of Barratts. 
Someone on this thread mentioned regular use of omeprazole increasing a risk of stomach cancer. He said that's not true. It increases you risk of osteoporosis because you need stomach acid to absorb calcium. It can also make you more vulnerable to bugs because acid protects against it which I already knew.