Join Early Retirement Today
Reply
 
Thread Tools Display Modes
Old 05-26-2018, 09:16 PM   #61
Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
gayl's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jun 2004
Location: Diablo Valley (SF Bay Area)
Posts: 2,705
I went vegetarian and discovered I LOVE oatmeal. Cutting stain in 1/2 (splitting 20mg in 2). Pharmacy is 'concerned' but primary knows what I'm doing and lab values are borderline low
gayl is offline   Reply With Quote
Join the #1 Early Retirement and Financial Independence Forum Today - It's Totally Free!

Are you planning to be financially independent as early as possible so you can live life on your own terms? Discuss successful investing strategies, asset allocation models, tax strategies and other related topics in our online forum community. Our members range from young folks just starting their journey to financial independence, military retirees and even multimillionaires. No matter where you fit in you'll find that Early-Retirement.org is a great community to join. Best of all it's totally FREE!

You are currently viewing our boards as a guest so you have limited access to our community. Please take the time to register and you will gain a lot of great new features including; the ability to participate in discussions, network with our members, see fewer ads, upload photographs, create a retirement blog, send private messages and so much, much more!

Old 05-27-2018, 09:00 AM   #62
Recycles dryer sheets
Blueskies123's Avatar
 
Join Date: Sep 2014
Location: Miami
Posts: 337
Once my cholesterol hit 250 I started on statins. Now it is down to about 180. A good friend of mine has had 2 heart attacks and is now taking his statins. Have you seen someone in the hospital with open heart surgery. Think carefully about the risks you are taking if your cholesterol is above 250.
__________________
FIRE July 2015
Blueskies123 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 05-27-2018, 11:40 AM   #63
Full time employment: Posting here.
lucky penny's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jan 2010
Posts: 729
OP here. My father died of a heart attack at 56, and all siblings have high cholesterol so I could say it "runs in the family"; one had a heart attack in his early 60s, one had emergency bypass surgery at 65, so when my cholesterol rose to 258 that definitely got my attention. If dietary changes & exercise hadn't lowered it for me, I probably would have started statins. The stories posted here about bad side effects are sobering, but I know many who have taken statins for years with no apparent problems.

Since his heart attack 5 years ago my brother has been the poster boy for healthy lifestyle changes - he gradually lost 60 pounds, eats well & goes to the gym every single day. My sister, who had surgery around the same time, has made no apparent changes.

Making healthy changes gives me the illusion of having some control; plus, I feel good, physically & mentally. Even if it's an illusion, for me doing nothing is not an option.
lucky penny is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 05-27-2018, 03:04 PM   #64
Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
bjorn2bwild's Avatar
 
Join Date: Mar 2013
Location: Western US
Posts: 1,205
Quote:
Originally Posted by lucky penny View Post
OP here. My father died of a heart attack at 56, and all siblings have high cholesterol so I could say it "runs in the family"; one had a heart attack in his early 60s, one had emergency bypass surgery at 65, so when my cholesterol rose to 258 that definitely got my attention. If dietary changes & exercise hadn't lowered it for me, I probably would have started statins. The stories posted here about bad side effects are sobering, but I know many who have taken statins for years with no apparent problems.

Since his heart attack 5 years ago my brother has been the poster boy for healthy lifestyle changes - he gradually lost 60 pounds, eats well & goes to the gym every single day. My sister, who had surgery around the same time, has made no apparent changes.

Making healthy changes gives me the illusion of having some control; plus, I feel good, physically & mentally. Even if it's an illusion, for me doing nothing is not an option.

With your family history, I recommend reading this article. Kind of an eye opener.


Quote:
If you have had a heart attack at an early age or one of your parents did but your standard risk factors for coronary heart disease are normal you should consider getting tested for Lipoprotein(a) or Lp(a).
The standard lipid profile that most patients get checks LDL (bad) HDL (good) and total cholesterol along with triglycerides. While these are useful, I have many patients who have normal standard values but have developed advanced coronary heart disease at an early age despite following a perfect lifestyle (not smoking, regular aerobic exercise, healthy diet.)

https://theskepticalcardiologist.com...t-attack-risk/
bjorn2bwild is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 05-31-2018, 12:33 PM   #65
Confused about dryer sheets
 
Join Date: Aug 2017
Posts: 8
Being able to reduce statin use through lifestyle changes is great! Statins can lower CoQ10 levels, so it's a good idea to supplement if you are still on statins. CoQ10 helps our mitochondria make energy (the "powerhouse of the cell" if you remember from biology). This is potentially why statins lead to certain side effects like muscle pain.
RTbyFiveThree is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 05-31-2018, 01:06 PM   #66
Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
 
Join Date: Oct 2012
Location: Colorado Mountains
Posts: 3,165
I take a low dose of statin. Have now for several years. Doc said my triglycerides were a bit high. She told me to take fish oil supplements. After a couple of days, I had a severe case of diarrhea. I stopped taking the fish oil. I would rather kick the bucket than live the rest of my life with diarrhea.

A little more background:
Last January, my pharmacy switched a second cholesterol medicine to a generic and I had diarrhea of three months before I figured out what changed. I stopped taking that medicine and felt great. The doc said that medicine was probably not necessary and agreed with me discontinuing it.

Bottom line: I have no clue what should work and what doesn't. If I can't get thing right with Dr. consultations, why would I want the self-prescribe more stuff?
Hermit is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 05-31-2018, 01:51 PM   #67
Full time employment: Posting here.
mamadogmamacat's Avatar
 
Join Date: Dec 2012
Posts: 751
Well it could have been the brand of fish oil. Quality seems to vary a lot, and rancidity can be hard to tell since fish oil smells regardless, and with my allergies my sense of smell is not so good anyway.

However, I have found that Kroger brand fish oil (I buy the kind that gives almost 1000 mg of EPA and DHA in only one capsule and I take one twice per day) has not caused me any gastrointestinal problems. What it has done is allowed me to back off on some of my pain meds for my knees, which were ruined by statins.

I have no experience with CoQ10, or if it even can be absorbed through the stomach (vaguely recall reading something back when I was suffering with statins that absorption of CoQ10 orally is very poor).
mamadogmamacat is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 05-31-2018, 02:01 PM   #68
Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso)
Give me a forum ...
Dash man's Avatar
 
Join Date: Mar 2013
Location: Limerick
Posts: 5,637
Be careful with the fish oil. My cardiologist told me to stop because some recent studies have found a correlation with fish oil and prostate cancer.
Dash man is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 05-31-2018, 02:08 PM   #69
Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso)
Give me a forum ...
audreyh1's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jan 2006
Location: Rio Grande Valley
Posts: 38,002
Quote:
Originally Posted by Blueskies123 View Post
Once my cholesterol hit 250 I started on statins. Now it is down to about 180. A good friend of mine has had 2 heart attacks and is now taking his statins. Have you seen someone in the hospital with open heart surgery. Think carefully about the risks you are taking if your cholesterol is above 250.
Huh? Half the folks who get heart attacks have normal “healthy” cholesterol numbers.

And taking statins is not risk free.
__________________
Retired since summer 1999.
audreyh1 is online now   Reply With Quote
Old 05-31-2018, 02:14 PM   #70
Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso)
Give me a forum ...
MRG's Avatar
 
Join Date: Apr 2013
Posts: 11,078
Quote:
Originally Posted by Dash man View Post
Be careful with the fish oil. My cardiologist told me to stop because some recent studies have found a correlation with fish oil and prostate cancer.
I just eat salmon. Works well. Bears eat them and they don't have heart issues.
MRG is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 05-31-2018, 02:49 PM   #71
Full time employment: Posting here.
mamadogmamacat's Avatar
 
Join Date: Dec 2012
Posts: 751
Quote:
Originally Posted by Dash man View Post
Be careful with the fish oil. My cardiologist told me to stop because some recent studies have found a correlation with fish oil and prostate cancer.

Interesting, especially since the doctor who I got the fish oil dose recommendation and caution about quality from, is you guessed it, a cardiologist. Oh well you makes your choices and takes your chances. Quality of life is a big plus for me, with the fish oil, and there is this study:

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12540506
mamadogmamacat is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 05-31-2018, 02:58 PM   #72
Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso)
Give me a forum ...
audreyh1's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jan 2006
Location: Rio Grande Valley
Posts: 38,002
In Spain people drizzle high quality extra virgin olive oil on everything. I’m adopting that practice!
__________________
Retired since summer 1999.
audreyh1 is online now   Reply With Quote
Old 05-31-2018, 03:50 PM   #73
Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso)
Give me a forum ...
athena53's Avatar
 
Join Date: May 2014
Posts: 7,322
Quote:
Originally Posted by audreyh1 View Post
Huh? Half the folks who get heart attacks have normal “healthy” cholesterol numbers.

And taking statins is not risk free.
A neighbor who had a heart attack has total cholesterol at a level low enough to impress his doctors (I forget the exact number). Unfortunately, his HDL (good cholesterol) level was zero.
athena53 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 05-31-2018, 05:09 PM   #74
Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
 
Join Date: Apr 2005
Location: Midwest
Posts: 2,962
Quote:
Originally Posted by athena53 View Post
A neighbor who had a heart attack has total cholesterol at a level low enough to impress his doctors (I forget the exact number). Unfortunately, his HDL (good cholesterol) level was zero.
My HDLs went to near zero because of statins

Here's my latest. Old doctor, and most of the ones I've had the past 20 yrs, thought triglycerides were important. One only after they started advertising a pill to lower them. Before that he didn't care.The new guy I just picked up 2 weeks ago? "Triglycerides don't matter"
razztazz is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 05-31-2018, 05:31 PM   #75
Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso)
Give me a forum ...
Chuckanut's Avatar
 
Join Date: Aug 2011
Location: West of the Mississippi
Posts: 17,169
Quote:
Originally Posted by razztazz View Post
My HDLs went to near zero because of statins

Here's my latest. Old doctor, and most of the ones I've had the past 20 yrs, thought triglycerides were important. One only after they started advertising a pill to lower them. Before that he didn't care.The new guy I just picked up 2 weeks ago? "Triglycerides don't matter"

Well that just adds to the confusion.


My understanding is that the HDL/trig ratio is more important than total cholesterol. Who knows for sure?
__________________
Comparison is the thief of joy

The worst decisions are usually made in times of anger and impatience.
Chuckanut is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 05-31-2018, 05:49 PM   #76
Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
 
Join Date: Apr 2005
Location: Midwest
Posts: 2,962
Quote:
Originally Posted by Chuckanut View Post
Well that just adds to the confusion.


My understanding is that the HDL/trig ratio is more important than total cholesterol. Who knows for sure?
No matter what you've come to "understand" it's true. According to someone somewhere. But unless and until these things are universally known and understood the same way to the same extent by all practitioners, in every human specimen (As a rule) they cannot count.

There are too many differing opinions, too many disagreeing doctors, and too many studies that "suggest" and "indicate" some conclusion that none of them can be taken seriously. And then, of course, even they keep changing.

Sounds more like religion and what one chooses to believe or which "Book" one perceives has having primacy, than science. Or maybe more like sports fans. I like the Fish team best. No, the bird team is best! Why? Because
razztazz is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 06-01-2018, 12:02 PM   #77
Confused about dryer sheets
 
Join Date: Aug 2017
Posts: 8
Quote:
Originally Posted by mamadogmamacat View Post
Well it could have been the brand of fish oil. Quality seems to vary a lot, and rancidity can be hard to tell since fish oil smells regardless, and with my allergies my sense of smell is not so good anyway.

However, I have found that Kroger brand fish oil (I buy the kind that gives almost 1000 mg of EPA and DHA in only one capsule and I take one twice per day) has not caused me any gastrointestinal problems. What it has done is allowed me to back off on some of my pain meds for my knees, which were ruined by statins.

I have no experience with CoQ10, or if it even can be absorbed through the stomach (vaguely recall reading something back when I was suffering with statins that absorption of CoQ10 orally is very poor).
Great to hear your positive experience with fish oil! Finding a high quality version is key. I've had some in the past that gave me the worst fish burps.

Regular CoQ10 has poor absorption because it's a huge molecule and doesn't dissolve very well. I take a water and fat-soluble form for better absorption. There are actually clinical trials which showed that it is able to get into the blood stream.
RTbyFiveThree is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 06-01-2018, 12:08 PM   #78
Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso)
Give me a forum ...
Dash man's Avatar
 
Join Date: Mar 2013
Location: Limerick
Posts: 5,637
https://www.webmd.com/prostate-cance...isk-study-says

Here’s a snippet:
Eating a lot of oily fish or taking potent fish oil supplements may increase a man's risk of developing prostate cancer, new research suggests.

Moreover, marine sources of omega-3 fatty acids may also raise the risk for aggressive prostate cancer, according to the study by scientists at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle.
Dash man is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 06-01-2018, 02:09 PM   #79
Full time employment: Posting here.
mamadogmamacat's Avatar
 
Join Date: Dec 2012
Posts: 751
to each his own as I said and not interested in getting into a "study war", but I'm also not a big fan of webMD, as others have also indicated they are not as well. WebMD still pushes, last I looked, the standard low fat high carb (and therefore almost inevitably high processed) diet. Would suggest you dig into the sources of the WebMD study, looking at number of participants, how long they were studied, what if any controls there were for their having other conditions which would have an overwhelming effect on their cancer susceptibility, etc. IIRC, the one i posted was directly from a medical school, Harvard I believe and had a large number of participants.
mamadogmamacat is offline   Reply With Quote
Reply


Currently Active Users Viewing This Thread: 1 (0 members and 1 guests)
 
Thread Tools
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off
Trackbacks are Off
Pingbacks are Off
Refbacks are Off


Similar Threads
Thread Thread Starter Forum Replies Last Post
Have you lowered cholesterol without statins? lucky penny Health and Early Retirement 244 02-03-2018 11:42 AM
Need help: Not sure whether to start medicine on lowering cholesterol level Moscyn Health and Early Retirement 109 01-08-2015 11:24 AM
Lowering Taxes inquisitive FIRE and Money 16 12-20-2008 07:17 PM
Lowering my Adjusted Gross Income tricky88 Young Dreamers 14 03-01-2008 04:14 AM
Wow, ML lowering broker pay! The Vanguard factor? mickeyd Other topics 0 02-06-2006 11:42 AM

» Quick Links

 
All times are GMT -6. The time now is 05:49 AM.
 
Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.8 Beta 1
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions, Inc.