Menopause Matters Forum
Menopause Discussion => Other Health Discussion => Topic started by: Donnadoobie on May 01, 2025, 08:01:10 AM
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I am going for a blood test in a few weeks, A1c, liver and kidney function and cholesterol. My cholesterol is always high, 6.6 on the last one.
I have bought some Red Rice Yeast capsules, 2 doses are 800mg, 10mg of Monacolin K but I am scared about taking them as I have tried to avoid statins, for many personal reasons and know these are basically the same. The info online says it can cause liver damage in some people.
I just want to take it for a while to get them off my back but feeling it is a bad idea now. I have not started yet, test is in 6 weeks.
Does anyone have any experience with this supplement? All views are welcome.
Sorry this post seems to have been added twice!
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Why not take statins :-\ which have been thoroughly tested and approved by NICE? DH and I have taken them for years to avoid stroke risk with no side effects.
6.6 is high and statins are designed to ease this. What ever capsules you have bought there maybe more fillers than active ingredient, also who has tested this product? R there scientific data sheets ?
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Hi,
Have not tried the red rice, so can't help there.
Most GPs recommended dietary changes before they prescribe statins, so don't panic.
My levels have been high, off and on, but statins have never been mentioned.
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I believe that GPs get paid per patient on statins.
Mine pushed hard!
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Donnadoobie. If you can get a TFT added to to your bloods then please do it. Thyroid levels can have a direct effect on cholesterol levels.
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Statins are fine and do a good job, I am envious of people who can take them without suffering side effects.
I've tried them all but the side effects are crippling and they never made a difference and didn't lower my cholesterol, I am weird like that with some drugs.
They put me on Ezetimibe instead and I am getting on very well with it but with a note to say use alongside a statin, which I can't.
A lot of people refuse statins because of the side effects, don't feel pressurised into taking them if you don't want to, your body!
I honestly don't like the sound of red rice yeast as a supplement, not on an aging stomach.
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Ayesha: Is that perceived side effect possibility or experienced problems? Fortunately we have both been OK.
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Statins gave me crippling muscle pain. A doctor said that side effects will clear after a year, I gave it nine months because my quality of life was disappearing fast and after a ruined summer suffering pain, I had no option but to give up.
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:thankyou: That's what I have heard from others.
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I am going for a blood test in a few weeks, A1c, liver and kidney function and cholesterol. My cholesterol is always high, 6.6 on the last one.
I have bought some Red Rice Yeast capsules, 2 doses are 800mg, 10mg of Monacolin K but I am scared about taking them as I have tried to avoid statins, for many personal reasons and know these are basically the same. The info online says it can cause liver damage in some people.
I just want to take it for a while to get them off my back but feeling it is a bad idea now. I have not started yet, test is in 6 weeks.
Does anyone have any experience with this supplement? All views are welcome.
Sorry this post seems to have been added twice!
Hi Donnadoobie
Did you have a breakdown of the cholesterol in terms of HDL/LDL and triglycerides? Some doctors argue high triglycerides are more of a risk factor than total raised cholesterol. I also have high cholesterol but levels of good cholesterol (HDL) are also high, making the HDL/LDL ratio OK and triglycerides are low, so I don't worry about it too much. I have elected not to take statins, as my other risk factors are low.
If you want to take something to reduce it, you could try plant stenols as a supplement or fortified food (Benecol etc). The book 'A statin free life' by Dr Aseem Malhotra gives lots of diet and lifestyle alternatives to reduce cholesterol levels without the use of statins.
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Dr. Malhotra is excellent.
He has a website but I haven't been on it for a long time.
https://doctoraseem.com/the-great-statins-divide/
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Thank you everyone.
My cholesterol has been high for a few years and I fight every time about the statins. It has come down from 8.3 a few years ago to 6.6.
My mum had higher cholesterol and was out on a statin aged 83. She said they made her head feel funny and stopped taking them, shortly after this she developed Alzheimer’s. There may, or may not be a connection but to me I cannot see it any other way and many years before I also was diagnosed, did lots of research on cholesterol. I also know that many cardiologists are changing their minds about the use of statins and the causes of heart disease, which I won’t bore you with here. I also worry, that as a pre diabetic, well controlled though diet, statins can increase the chance of diabetes and also for a fit and active 63 year old the thought of muscle and joint pains and being unable to run, exercise and go for long walks would leave me depressed.
I digress.
Chop suey. My HDL is always low and my triglycerides are always a little high but I have discovered that the blood pressure medication that I take, Propranolol, causes the lowering of HDL and rises in triglycerides by around 25%, so I am on a reducing programme at the moment which is long and hard as I have been on it for 38 years, more than half my life! So hard it has increased my anxiety and it may be that I will have to try and find a better beta blocker if I can’t beat the anxiety ( blood pressure has remained low throughout the withdrawal)
I am a very fit and active person who walks, runs, treadmill, dance…….. and an agile 63 year old, size 8/10, eat a good diet ( low carb to control diabetes), so I can never understand why I have an issue with cholesterol. I have tried plant sterols, through tablet form and it makes little difference, which is why I thought I would try the red rice yeast this time.
Through diet and exercise I have managed to lower my weight, reduce my blood pressure, put my diabetes in remission but the control of cholesterol defeats me.
No, I won’t take the statins. Through my research about them, I have spoken with many people who have suffered severe side effects, some have remained permanently debilitated, with joint issues, kidney damage and diabetes, long after stopping them.
Did not take the red yeast tablet today. Not sure what to do about it really.
Thank you all for taking the time to reply.
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It's probably a genetic thing then, given that your mum had it and it hasn't responded that well to dietary and lifestyle adjustments. Mine probably is too - my mum and her sister have the same issue - their cholesterol was over 9 despite being slim, active and otherwise healthy. My mum tried statins but had muscle pains and had to come off when blood tests showed raised enzymes from muscle breakdown. She takes Ezetimibe instead now.
I think many more people have side effects from statins than is made out. Like you, I have done much reading on the subject and am not convinced about their efficacy in preventing heart disease.
Not that any of this helps you in your situation. It's a very difficult one. I paid to have a calcium scoring CT scan done a few years back, to look at the state of my arteries. It wasn't exactly reassuring and the results were worse than I was expecting. Since then, I have been taking HRT ( my cholesterol was fine pre-menopause) and made some dietary and lifestyle changes, which I hope will help slow any deterioration. Mine has come down from a high of 7.4 to 6.3.
I also looked at red rice yeast and didn't like what I read. I think all you can do is continue with what you are doing in terms of healthy diet and lifestyle and keep monitoring your cholesterol levels and see if reducing or switching from the propranolol makes a difference. I check my cholesterol annually through Medichecks, to avoid any pressure from the GP regarding statins
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Mine is definitely genetic, always had a healthy lifestyle so no reason why I would have high cholesterol other than it being genetic.
I was also pre-diabetic for years, started on a zinc supplement and within a year I was told at a medication review I was miles away from be diabetic.
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Hi Ayesha, so is zinc something that is known to help reduce the chances of becoming diabetic?
Which zinc did you use?
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Thanks
Chopsuey, I have thought about getting my cholesterol checked elsewhere, I will discuss with my gp, who I have a good relationship with as just trying to build up to a blood test raises my anxiety. I can get my blood sugar down but it raises my cholesterol if I eat to lower my cholesterol it raises my blood sugar. Can’t win.
Yes probably genetic. The crazy thing is that my Dad, who had all the heart issues, needing a triple heart bypass and had vascular dementia caused by mini strokes, had perfect cholesterol. My mum who was fit and active had raised cholesterol. She developed Alzheimer’s at 84 and died aged 88, no heart issues.
My husband, is very overweight, eats appallingly lots if the time and rarely exercises. Also perfect cholesterol.
Life is very unfair at times!
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There's a lot of questioning now, of the link between heart disease and cholesterol.
Science isn't static, research changes the status quo all the time.
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April flower, indeed. And a lot questioning the food we eat especially the ultra processed stuff. I would rather have butter than margarine, although I never eat that much. My fats tend to come from oily fish and EV olive oil.
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Hi Ayesha, so is zinc something that is known to help reduce the chances of becoming diabetic?
Which zinc did you use?
A bit of back story that might help others - For years I was told I was pre-diabetic at every medical review after blood tests, then at another review the subject wasn't even mentioned. As I was walking out the door I remembered and said, oh, what about my pre-diabetic result, he then told me I was miles away from being diabetic. I was gobsmacked and just said, how the hell did that happen.
I started to take supplements when having to be on long term PPI's and one of them is Zinc, I started doing research and apparently there is a link that it helps if you are diabetic, it seems to balance things out. It can be the only reason that I am no longer pre-diabetic as it was never a diet or lack of exercise issue.
The supplement I take is Simply Supplements Zinc 15mg.
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Wow, that's really interesting Ayesha.
It's a always good to hear personal experiences.
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Being pre-diabetic will depend on which drugs you take regularly, 2 years ago Nurses freaked out because my blood sugars were higher than expected. hey ho! I take statins >:(