Have you lowered cholesterol without statins?

[donheff]

It would be interesting to go off the statins and maintain the current lifestyle, and then recheck your numbers in 6 months. I suspect the "carbs way down" is the most significant factor in the reduction of your numbers.

+1 If you really cut carbs and particularly sugar, I suspect that had a significant effect. I cut triglycerides more than half at the same time I stopped statins. But your triglyceride numbers were way up there and statins have a known ability to knock them down. So, even if only a portion of the drop is from statins it may be valuable to stay on them since you don't see any side effects. At least discuss it with some medical professionals and not just us dilettantes.

 

[PatrickA5]

It would be interesting to go off the statins and maintain the current lifestyle, and then recheck your numbers in 6 months. I suspect the "carbs way down" is the most significant factor in the reduction of your numbers.

My numbers improved significantly without any lifestyle changes (over 3 years) using statins. Having said that, I do need to make some changes.

 

[Ronstar]

DW has cut hers from 281 to 187 with red yeast rice.

 

[ClassOf2010]

I've been on statins for 30+ years now. Never had a problem. Mevacor then Lipitor at the lowest dosage - 10 mg. So far so good. Made a big difference in lowering ldl and raising hdl. Diet change didn't make a difference.
Whether it makes a difference in preventing heart problems in the future who knows. My numbers were bad. My total cholesterol levels were 250 at age 35, now 160 at 65. Also raised hdl from 35 to 55. Lots of family history with heart disease so it seemed worth the risk.

 

[Chuckanut]

I will have to throw in a pro-statin vote. 11 months in with no side effects, cholesterol down from 234 to 111, HDL holding steady around 40, triglycerides down from 596 to 79. Of course several other life style changes make useful comparisons difficult - carbs way down, more meat especially fish, more exercise, weight loss, etc - but that kind of drop is hard for me to ignore.

If it works for you, well...... don't fix what isn't broke.

 

[Ginny]

I have family high cholesterol--254 was my highest. I did a study at UCSD for statins and I knew within 2 weeks that I did not have a placebo. I stopped taking the meds asap. My Dr was very worried so I had a test that looked at the artery on the side of my neck and it was fine. My younger brother had his "widow maker" with 98 and 100% blockage, but got to the hospital in time. I was a vegetarian for 30 years and this did not prevent my high #s. I do not care about my numbers; I eat lots of fruit and veggies and stay active. My dad took meds and then had to take other meds because of the side effects. Not my choice to live that way.

 

[RAE]

As others have said, high cholesterol is not necessarily bad thing. People with relatively high cholesterol actually live longer, on average, than those with lower cholesterol. Regarding heart disease risk, you should look at two ratios instead of cholesterol: HDL/ Cholsterol, and Triglyceride/HDL.

If your HDL/Chol ratio is greater than 0.24, you have a low risk for heart disease.

Similarly, if your Triglyceride/HDL ration is less than 2.0, you have a low risk for heart disease.

I am not a doctor, but there is a lot of info. in the medical journals and medical websites about these things. C-Reactive Protein is another blood test to look at (it is an indicator of inflammation in your body). If your doctor is focusing only on cholesterol and not these other things, he has not kept up with the medical literature. I would find a new doctor.

Statins have a lot of side effects. Also, even if they do lower cholesterol, that will not necessarily reduce your risk for heart disease.

 

[harley]

Nobody is questioning whether statins will lower your cholesterol numbers. They will. The only question is whether lowering your numbers actually accomplishes anything, life span and CVD wise.

 

[RTbyFiveThree]

Jumping into the statins discussion:

One point that I haven't seen mentioned in this thread is that statins can lower CoQ10 levels. This can be an issue because we need CoQ10 to make energy.

Ultimately, the choice to take statins is up to you. If you do take them, please consider talking to your doctor about taking a CoQ10 supplement as well.

 

[Teacher Terry]

Statins can also damage your memory. I have known more then one person with that issue. I will never take them as they have not been found effective in preventing heart attacks or strokes. I take my HBP meds as these have been proven to be effective and my BP was very high due to genetics.

 

[braumeister]

Although I probably have a reputation as a fairly extreme skeptic of statins, I have to admit that they may be somewhat useful at very low doses. They have, in addition to their cholesterol-lowering effect, a small anti-inflammatory effect, similar to that of aspirin. In fact, at one time there was a bit of a push to give them the nickname "super-aspirin" although that didn't take.

Since atherosclerosis is caused (in the opinion of many) mainly by inflammation in the walls of blood vessels, that effect could be useful. Actually, that is one of the reasons for prescribing low-dose aspirin to so many of us.

I still think the whole cholesterol scare is unwarranted, but that's just my opinion. My own total cholesterol has been up close to 300 all my life, and I'm just fine with that. My HDL is high and my triglycerides are low, so who cares about the LDL?

But please do your own research and make up your own mind. Don't blindly take the advice of anyone, no matter who they are.

 

[Helen]

My total started around 200 with HDL around 37-42 & gradually increased to about 250 over 810 years.

Whoa, hopefully you've been retired for most of those years. What is your withdrawal rate?

 

[Lsbcal]

Your lipids score is not the entire picture. I reviewed the CT Heart scan data, plus lipids, plus Echo Cardiogram, plus blood pressure data with my Doc. Decided to start a low dose statin treatment.

Will repeat the CT Heart scan in 3 years. Lipids more often. For me the primary test will be the CT Heart scan.

 

[Katsmeow]

It would be interesting to go off the statins and maintain the current lifestyle, and then recheck your numbers in 6 months. I suspect the "carbs way down" is the most significant factor in the reduction of your numbers.

Nor necessarily. I took the lowest dose of statins for quite a while. This was after doing lifestyle changes that made little difference. When I went off statins, though, my numbers (total cholesterol, total LDL) went up. Go back on statins, they went down. What I ate and activity were not dispositive. Medication was.

I don't currently take a statin. I have lost weight and eat lowish carb and exercise. Still my total cholesterol was 225 just last week and my LDL was slightly elevated as well.

I have no doubt that if I took a statin it would go down. Now, as it happens, my current doctor doesn't feel that I need to take a statin since I don't have any other risk factors.

FWIW, I never had any side effects from Lipitor (10 mg) when I took it. I know some people do, but I wasn't one of them. If it really was recommended for me I would probably take it again.

 

[harley]

Statins can also damage your memory. I have known more then one person with that issue.

Dammit! I meant to say that, but I forgot. Thanks.

 

[RAchip]

I think that before anyone takes any cholesterol medication you should have a scan to see if how much plaque you have. I have very low cholesterol (total cholesterol of 130) but I have plaque.

 

[Elbata]

What I'm curious about, but I can't find it on the internet: What is the LDL and cholesterol level of a newborn baby? And is it just us humans in the developed world that have HDL/cholesterol gains, or do other primates have the same experience?

 

[Lsbcal]

Statins can also damage your memory. I have known more then one person with that issue. ....

Without a control group type study, how can you be sure? Memory issues occur in people often.

 

[Lsbcal]

I think that before anyone takes any cholesterol medication you should have a scan to see if how much plaque you have. I have very low cholesterol (total cholesterol of 130) but I have plaque.

That is what I was saying above. I am afraid this thread is more about confirmation then looking for insight.

 

[travelover]

Without a control group type study, how can you be sure? Memory issues occur in people often.

I only have a sample size of one, but I found that the statin I was taking was making me fuzzy headed. It took a couple of weeks after I quit to clear my head.

 

[Lsbcal]

I only have a sample size of one, but I found that the statin I was taking was making me fuzzy headed. It took a couple of weeks after I quit to clear my head.

I think this is one of the side effects listed as possible. Perhaps you are in a small group that cannot tolerate the statin and dose you took. We know that most drugs have side effects for some body types.

 

[ikubak]

As many on here have stated, eat less meat and exercise more. I had a similar occurrence when I had my cholesterol checked, which I do yearly. The Dr. said my cholesterol was inching up and wanted to know if I would be interested in statins. I said no, (I don't use any drugs other than the occasional aspirin or NSAID) I'll see what I can do by changing my diet. DW and I went vegan for several months and have settled on what we call a Mediterranean diet heavy on the grains and veggies. We eat meat occasionally with fish being the most common meat we eat. We also start the day with oatmeal almost every day. So the next time I had my cholesterol checked, the Dr. noted the cholesterol was much better. No need to consider statins. Dr. asked what changed and I said I changed my diet....I eat more pizza and drink more beer now.

 

[Crewer]

Like so many things this is complicated. I was vegetarian for 2 years and LDL kept going up. I went vegan for a few months and it didn't budge. I started taking a statin and it plummeted (HDL stayed about the same). I felt achy so stopped and total cholesterol went back up. Started a different one and back down and I think not so many aches as a side effect. i don't notice memory loss (unlike DH who does notice his memory loss from a different source).

One reason I opt for the statin is that there is definitely heart disease in my family (grandfather died of heart attack while being discharged from the hospital for something else - I think times have changed and this wouldn't happen today and my father had triple bypass surgery after badly failing a stress test). I'm older than my father was when he had heart surgery and I pass a stress test. Also I think I'm not at risk for diabetes - because of weight and healthier eating than most Americans - lowish carb, almost vegan, except I eat fish. Also there is no diabetes in my family.

I think the whole thing is more complicated because we're going for 100-year life expectancy not the 74 years of my grandfather or 89 years of my father.

 

[Chuckanut]

The statin/cholesterol/diet threads remind me of the 'What age to take SS threads'. Interesting, informative and sometimes entertaining to read. No real conclusions since we are all so different.

FWIW, I'll toss my 2¢ in. I stopped taking a statin years ago and tried a lower-carb diet. My total Cholesterol went up about 35 points from 215 to 250! But, my HDL was up 20 points and my Triglycerides went down 50%. My HDL/Trig ratio plummeted to 1.1, far under the 3.5 maximum amount I have read about. According to sources I have read this ratio is far better at predicting CVD than total cholesterol.

Hey, if medicine was easy, an M.D. would be just another four year degree and doctors would make the same as plumbers and electricians.

https://www.docsopinion.com/2014/07/17/triglyceride-hdl-ratio/

High numbers of small, dense LDL particles are associated with increased risk for coronary heart disease in prospective epidemiologic studies. Subjects with small, dense particles (phenotype B) are at higher risk than those with larger, more buoyant LDL particles (phenotype A).


Interestingly, it has been found that the TG/HDL-C ratio can predict particle size. One study found that 79% of individuals with a ratio above 3.8 had a preponderance of small dense LDL particles, whereas 81% of those with a ratio below 3.8 had a preponderance of large buoyant particles.

Of course, one should read the entire article.

 

[RAE]

By the way, the LDL number you get when they do your blood test is not all that useful, because it does not distinguish between different LDL particle sizes. This is important. The small, dense LDL particles are dangerous since they contribute to plaque formation in the arterial wall. Ideally, one would want their results to show mostly large, buoyant LDL particles, which do not typically cross the arterial wall, so do not cause plaque formation. Small, dense particles are also closely associated with insulin resistance and an increased risk of developing type 2 diabetes.

So, for those worried about CVD, you might want to ask your doctor to order the advanced LDL test, so you can determine the breakdown of LDL particle sizes. It's not an expensive test, but very few doctors will routinely order it, unless you as for it. Here is one link that describes the test (this test actually gives more information than just particle sizes):

NMR LipoProfile | Blood Test | Life Extension