Are Statins safe ?

[Khufu]

I wouldn't take a statin again. Took lipitor for 5 years with no problems then started getting statin-induced myopathy. Very painful. Some of it stopped when I stopped the statin, but I still have some pain 5 years later. Recently the NY Times had an article (you can search it there) about research that showed that while only 3% of users experienced the myopathy that number rose to 25% if the patient exercised. My problems appeared the year I started exercising and lost a lot of weight. So, that research is consistent with my experience.

I have successfully controlled my lipid levels with niacin. You can read about it in the book by William Parsons, MD, which you can find at Endurance Products Company, along with the niacin itself.

[timo2]

I take Niacin (slo-niacin) and simvastatin. I have not had any issues yet with the simvastatin, but it is a 40 mg dose. I'm taking 1000mg of the niacin, with hot flashes the main side effect.

[Mmm Rrr]

My doctor had me spend 6 months trying everything I could with diet and exercise. I really hit it hard, lost weight and was convinced I would have made a real impact... my total cholesterol went up 50 pts during that time, hdl and ldl got worse too. I've been on 10 mg simvastatin for 3 years now, all the numbers are in line and I'm feeling great.

[braumeister]

It's threads like this that show what an incredible range of individual differences you can see in practically any medical/drug situation. That's why I believe you should try (just as with anything else) to be a well informed consumer.

[donheff]

This is an area where it seems like you may as well do the research and decide for yourself. Doctors are all over the field and it seems impossible to tell who or what is right. DW and I recently went off statins in conjunction with changes in diet. She bailed because of muscle pain. I bailed because of my reading of the studies trying to help her figure things out. My doctor at the time ( who I like a lot) had prescribed INCREASED statins for me. After I dropped them on my own my doctor recommended that patients might want to switch to a new doctor in the practice since he would be spending most of his time in a different location. I went with the new, younger doctor who also has a geriatric specialty (timely, hunh?). . She looked at my numbers and said she would not prescribe statins citing much of the research I had run into plus other studies I was not familiar with.

[rbmrtn]

Quote:

Originally Posted by donheff This is an area where it seems like you may as well do the research and decide for yourself. Doctors are all over the field and it seems impossible to tell who or what is right.

Certainly seems to be the case. It's difficult for the individual to know what is correct.

This MD is a complete opposite, paleo supporter

5 reasons not to worry about your cholesterol numbers

[RetiringAt55]

My DH has a history of heart problems and the doctor has been pushing him to take statins for years. Everytime he has tried them over the last 15 years, he ends up with muscle pain, weakness, and other flu-like symptoms within days of starting them. I finally convinced him to stand up to his doctor and say no since the medical research is so debatable.

[Ally]

They may be safe for most, but all that I've tried tear my stomach up. They have given me terrible GERD even after taking them for a week. I've refused to take them anymore and just really watch my diet.

[zinger1457]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mmm Rrr My doctor had me spend 6 months trying everything I could with diet and exercise. I really hit it hard, lost weight and was convinced I would have made a real impact... my total cholesterol went up 50 pts during that time, hdl and ldl got worse too. I've been on 10 mg simvastatin for 3 years now, all the numbers are in line and I'm feeling great.

Just curious, what kind of diet were you on that caused you to lose weight and have your cholesterol go up?

[Steven]

Quote:

Originally Posted by JOHNNIE36 This thread is a reminder for me to make an appointment with my doctor again. For the last couple of years I have been getting weaker and weaker. It's hard for me to walk and I have associated it with my arthritis. Two knee replacements complicated matters. I have taken statins of some kind since my cardiac bypass 9 years ago. I'm taking simvastatin, 40mg/day; however, I was taking 80mg/day for years. Might have already done too much damage.

Sorry to hear that johnnie.
But what makes you think the statins are connected to your arthritis ?

[Stanley]

Here is what bothers me about statins. A friend of mine who is a family physician
told me of a very long study that shows that men aged 65 and over with normal to higher levels of cholesterol live longer than men with low levels of cholesterol. I believe it was called the Framingville study, but I may be wrong. There is a suspicion that while statins lower cholesterol as promised, the overall effect does not result in a longer life span.

[Mmm Rrr]

Quote:

Originally Posted by zinger1457 Just curious, what kind of diet were you on that caused you to lose weight and have your cholesterol go up?

I did everything I could find that was supposed to lower total and bad cholesterol, and raise good: increased fiber (oatmeal every day, more beans and legumes, more fruits and vegetables), walnuts, cinnamon, more fish, etc. And I was exercising more frequently and harder.

After the 6 months I felt great (my diet was much better during the campaign), had lost nearly 10% of my body weight, everything good except the measured lipid levels. I've kept the weight off and maintained some of the exercise and dietary improvement .

My mother has had very high cholesterol since before she was my age, and she has considerable blockage in her arteries and a pacemaker (she started a statin at 75)... I think it's just genetic with me and the minimal level of the generic statin ($35 a year) gets my numbers down and I still feel really good. So unless I feel a negative side effect, I'm going to stick with it.

As others have said, everyone needs to just do what they feel comfortable with.

[braumeister]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mmm Rrr oatmeal every day, more beans and legumes, more fruits and vegetables

Sounds like a high carb diet, which I would consider counterproductive (and that seems to be what you experienced).
You might get the results you want, in terms of blood lipids, with a low carb, high fat diet. I know I did.

[ERhoosier]

Interesting point-counterpoint on OP's questions here-

Johns Hopkins Cardiologists Advocate Statin Use for Primary Prevention of Heart Disease in JAMA's First Viewpoint Feature - 04/10/2012

A typical doc (or cardiologist) prescribing a statin (or niacin or whatever) makes no profit from prescribing that specific drug, and most primary care docs are so busy these days they have no desire to create extra clinic visits dealing with a rash of statin-induced muscle pains (or whatever). No doubt like many drugs, statins can be very beneficial for most but certain patients can have serious side-effects.

[Mmm Rrr]

Yup, I've done that too, in the past. It works for weight loss (really well, that's my easiest way to take off 10 lbs) but it has never lowered my cholesterol levels.

[ERhoosier]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Stanley Here is what bothers me about statins. A friend of mine who is a family physician told me of a very long study that shows that men aged 65 and over with normal to higher levels of cholesterol live longer than men with low levels of cholesterol. I believe it was called the Framingville study, but I may be wrong. There is a suspicion that while statins lower cholesterol as promised, the overall effect does not result in a longer life span.

Best evidence is that high cholesterol is indeed associated with an increase in coronary disease, inc. death. The confounding factor in unselected population studies is that several cancers are known to LOWER cholesterol levels, so those with low cholesterol at initial testing who do NOT have cancer do indeed tend to live longer with less heart issues.

Low Serum Cholesterol and Mortality

FWIW- Here's link to the horse's mouth on Framingham-
Framingham Heart Study
And here's their calculator developed using Framingham data-
Heart Failure Framingham Heart Study
Plug in normal systolic BP (120) and normal BMI (23), then play with different cholesterol & HDL numbers. Framingham predicts a 65yr old with bad cholesterol profile (250 total/40 HDL) has almost double the 30 year risk of cardiac events (60 %) vs a good profile (170 total/ 65 HDL @ 33%).

[timo2]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Stanley . There is a suspicion that while statins lower cholesterol as promised, the overall effect does not result in a longer life span.

I've seen that statement before (and for other medical issues also), and apparently what makes it true is that no one lives forever. It's the quality of the remaining years that matter, and I'd rather not be crippled by heart disease my remaining years. I've already had one heart attack, mostly recovered, and don't need another one. Another one would definitely interfere with beer drinking, and that would be unacceptable.

[donheff]

Quote:

Originally Posted by timo2 I've seen that statement before (and for other medical issues also), and apparently what makes it true is that no one lives forever. It's the quality of the remaining years that matter, and I'd rather not be crippled by heart disease my remaining years. I've already had one heart attack, mostly recovered, and don't need another one. Another one would definitely interfere with beer drinking, and that would be unacceptable.

The studies show no decrease in mortality in patients with no prior heart disease but definite mortality benefits for patients like you who have heart disease. So you are clearly a good candidate if you don't have adverse reactions. The issue for most of us is not whether there are some possible benefits of statins but whether they are worth pursuing in light of the potential down side. Sorta like the PSA testing dilemma.

[timo2]

Now that I know just enough to be stupid about this subject, If I were to go back to my pre-heart attack self, my advice to myself would be low saturated fat diet (like a Mediterranean diet), fish oil, aspirin, and some exercise. Based upon what I know now, those few steps would have a very good chance mitigating any need for statins in people with no history of heart issues. My total cholesterol at the time of my heart attack was 207, not really terrible by the target numbers at the time.

[HFWR]

Quote:

Originally Posted by ERhoosier Best evidence is that high cholesterol is indeed associated with an increase in coronary disease, inc. death. The confounding factor in unselected population studies is that several cancers are known to LOWER cholesterol levels, so those with low cholesterol at initial testing who do NOT have cancer do indeed tend to live longer with less heart issues. Low Serum Cholesterol and Mortality FWIW- Here's link to the horse's mouth on Framingham- Framingham Heart Study And here's their calculator developed using Framingham data- Heart Failure Framingham Heart Study Plug in normal systolic BP (120) and normal BMI (23), then play with different cholesterol & HDL numbers. Framingham predicts a 65yr old with bad cholesterol profile (250 total/40 HDL) has almost double the 30 year risk of cardiac events (60 %) vs a good profile (170 total/ 65 HDL @ 33%).

The Blog of Michael R. Eades, M.D.Framingham follies » The Blog of Michael R. Eades, M.D.

Quote:

The study conclusions: With one exception there was no discernible association between reported diet intake and serum cholesterol level in the Framingham Diet Study Group. The one exception was a weak negative association between caloric intake and serum cholesterol level in men. [As to] coronary heart disease–was it related prospectively to diet. No relationship was found. So, I would say that the results of this study were pretty clear. These guys tried as hard as they could to show a correlation between diet and serum cholesterol and between diet and the incidence of coronary heart disease, but failed. The data conclusively demonstrated no such correlations.