Menopause Matters Forum
Menopause Discussion => Other Health Discussion => Topic started by: ellie on June 10, 2017, 08:13:45 AM
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I have been advised by my doctor, that I should think about taking a statin. I did try them many years ago, and stopped because of the side affects. ( I had muscle pain in my calfs) . Just wondered if anyone else on MM takes them, and what if any side affects do they have. I think the one I tried was called Sinvastatin .
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morning ellie, did your doctor say why he advised you to take this? Is your cholesterol level cause for concern or do you have a family history of heart disease due to cholesterol?
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Hi ellie - a friend's mother took them, but she also had to stop them because of muscle pain.
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Family history, plus my chosterol was 6 :-\ . I take a lot of other tablets including blood pressure tablets, and I suffer from chronic back and knee problems......hence the reason I am reluctant to add more tablets......
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Friend was telling me she's stopped hers as she was in agony with shoulder pain. Her GP has given her 3 months to lower cholesterol naturally. She said the difference off them is amazing. No more pain, better sleep etc.
On the other hand my GP says that although my cholesterol is higher than it should be, he's not in a hurry to prescribe statins & appreciates my feelings on their benefits. Being on them might extend my life by couple of years, or I could get knocked down by a bus tomorrow.
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They are dreadful, I am sure they do more harm than good. My OH was also advised to go onto them, he made lifestyle changes by cutting out carbs, sugar and eating more healthy fats, full cream milk, butter, nuts, veggies etc and of course started walking a lot, his last blood test showed hugely decreased levels and no need for medication, the Dr did not quite know what to say so merely advised for him to keep doing what he has been. And as an aside, he could ditch his BP tablets that he had been on as his levels normalised.
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do you have the option of trying lifestyle changes first ellie, despite your back problems?
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Yes babyjane , I will have to cut out the obvious naughty things. In fact last year I went on a low carb diet because I was pre diabetic, and lost over a stone. My suger level is now normal....
I had my cholesterol checked last week at my request , but admit my diet has slipped a bit lately.
Excersise is the one thing I cannot do.
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Please, please check out this website especial the section on 'the great cholesterol con'
https://drmalcolmkendrick.org/
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Ellie my cholesterol was 7.5 or something but my doc ran the Q test ( or whatever it was) to look at my risk factor for stroke and said I had nothing to worry about - no need to change my diet or anything. She just said that some people process cholesterol differently in the liver and carry higher blood levels.
I will have a look at that link when I'm less tired breeze - thanks for posting it!
Hurdity x
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My DH has higher BP, than what is supposed to be healthy. His GP said that no one really knows whether that is ok or not, as he is slim, eats healthily and is active. There were no lifestyle changes to follow in his case. He managed to keep his BP lower through exercise, but as he gets older, it is impossible to keep up the level of activity necessary. His BP started rising and he has resorted to statins. But as with all medications, there are side affects. In his case, the cheaper ones gave him a persistent cough, which is less pronounced with a more expensive brand. In his case, his higher BP maybe genetic, but difficult to research as he has hardly any family.
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My BP is very low so maybe that's why doc said no action needed in my case?
Ellie - did your doc do the Q test thing?
Hurdity x
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Not sure what the Q test is? But she worked out something about me having a 19 percent risk.
I also have strange red blood cells, they are ' fat' and have been like that for many years. I don't drink , but if I did that would explain the blood cells. I have been tested for everything and nothing explains it.......But it has nothing to do with chosterol.
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It is this ellie https://qrisk.org/2016/
So much they don't understand about how our bodies work, isnt' there?
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She didn't ask me ALL of those questions , but maybe it would be on there records.....she did tell me my risk rate was 19 percent....I get very fed up of being asked how much I drink,especially when seeing a new doctor or when I am in hospital........maybe a TATTOO on my forehead would shut them up ;D
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Apart from the Q risk score the other really important question is your ratio. As long as your ratio of cholesterol/triglicerides is 5% of below then you are fine and don't need statins. So someone can have a high total cholesterol of say 7 but if they have low triglicerides and lots of good cholesterol then their ratio can be low.
I worked in a GP surgery and know what the incentives are for them to put patients on statins and blood pressure drugs. it's always wise to bear this in mind and question the Dr closely on your risks and scores etc when considering these types of drugs.
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Maybe that's the difference - re the qrirsk test as mine was about about 6% I think or maybe lower? One time when my cholesterol was 6.5 my ratio (Total to HDL) was 3.82 which was apparently OK (although my LDL was high). I presume this is what you are referring to countrybumpkin? Did you have all these other lipids measured as well ellie?
Hurdity x
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I really must look into it hurdity, because the answer is...I don't know..
I had a phone call from the my own doctor telling me my chosterol was 3.9 , and yet when I went in to see another doctor about different blood tests, she said it was 6! And did I want to try a statin :-\
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This is what I find so annoying with Dr's as most people are not medically aware enough to question what results are what. I have had startled looks off GP's when I question them so I understand exactly what they mean and have been asked if I am a Dr ;D ;D
Your 3.9 could be hdl or ldl cholesterol result, I am guessing your 6 is total cholesterol. You could phone your surgery and ask for a print out of your result. to find your ratio you divide the total result by the hdl result and it should be less than 5.
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That is interesting
My original 'high cholesterol' was 6.5, but with a ratio of 2.6 and a 'Framingham risk' of 1 %
With a lot of diet changes I got to 4.8 with a ratio of 2.6 and a Qrisk of 3%
The latest (strict diet lapsed and went back to normal healthy eating) 5.86 and ratio of 2.4 (no risk done).
All I can say is cut out the butter (and any substitutes) and eat more beans ;D
Ellie - If you can do on-line appointments/prescriptions etc (SystemOnline), you may now be able to get online records (summary) too. I got this with my new surgery and my husband managed to get it sorted for himself (eventually). Now I have a list of all the tests ever done and everything I have ever been prescribed.
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Everyone has their own opinions as to what reduces it and I was told butter is fine, margarine is bad for cholesterol, full cream milk also fine, but to cut out refined sugars and to cut back on carbs, this certainly helped to reduce my hubbys cholesterol.
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When I tried to get mine down (which you can see that I did, but did not change the ratio at all) I found it very hard to stay within the recommended guidelines for fats, and get all the non-processed carbs in.
I just could not get the calories in. The only treats ended up being sugar based, or alcohol. Chocolate is all the wrong kind of fat and messes the whole thing up ::)
When I relaxed it and ate more beans, it got better :) Butter is better than marg, but I save myself for cheese.
You also have the avoid tipping your omega 6/3 balance by replacing saturated fats with omega 6s (sunflower oil and chicken are mostly omega 6). This is a whole new can of worms with some people claiming omega 6 is worse than saturated.