Anyone on statins?

[redsamurai]

another thing I've learned in the last year or so is that the direness of high cholesterol is not quite what they make it to be. High cholesterol along with high inflammation count in the body is what causes these ruptures that lead to hear attacks. If a person manages inflammation high cholesterol seems to actually be beneficial as the body converts it to hormones, testosterone in particular. Problem is in this society we are exposed to inflammatory markers on a constant basis. You can't get away from it. They're in the food, water, air....you name it. If you took your high cholesterol into the canadian wilderness you wouldn't have a problem whatsoever.

 

[snowman51]

I have been on statins now for 5-6 years. Statins had been around for a few years by 2004 and at that time they were beginning to be known for not only reducing cholesterol levels but apparently lowering heart attacks/strokes as well. Around 2004 I came across an article online that suggested statins reduced your CRP (Creatine Reactive Protein). The article also suggested that elevated levels of CRP was associated with an increased risk of heart attacks/strokes.

There are a number of people who are apparently healthy, eat right, exercise and yet drop dead from a heart attack/stroke every day for no apparent reason while walking down the street. Everyone either knows someone or has heard of someone this has happened to. Autopsies performed on them found no conclusive evidence of heart disease/neurological anomolies. Yet a significant percentage had elevated levels of CRP.

CRP is a marker for inflammation. Elevations in CRP are thought to indicate inflammation in blood vessals, a process that occurs with atherosclerosis. Atherosclerosis is a disease of the arteries which causes the formation of plaques in the walls of the arteries. Atherosclerotic plaques consist of deposits of fat, cholesterol, calcium, and large cells called macrophages.

This information made me literally fly to my dr.'s office and demand a blood test to among other things determine my CRP level. At that time the range for CRP was between 2.0 - 6.5. Dr's felt anything over 6.5 was life threatening. My CRP tested 11.2 damn near twice as high as the maximum allowed. If you believed there might be connection between CRP and heart attacks/strokes(which I did) then I was a walking candidate for a heart attack/stroke. My dr. immediately put me on a statin and my CRP level since then has been below 2.0

Fast forward to 2008. The JUPITER trial, published in November 2008 in the New England Journal of Medicine, was designed to test whether statins could improve the clinical outcome of patients with high CRP levels. In JUPITER, nearly 18,000 men and women from 25 countries -- all of whom had "normal" cholesterol levels and high CRP levels -- were randomized to receive either the statin drug Crestor or a placebo.

The result? Those who were given Crestor had a 44% reduction in nonfatal heart attack or stroke, unstable angina, the need for stenting or bypass surgery, and cardiovascular death than those who were receiving placebo. Patients taking the statin also had significant reductions in both their cholesterol levels (which, again, were not elevated at the beginning of the study) and their CRP levels.

I urge everyone to get their CRP level checked the next time they go in for blood work. It could literally save your life.

 

[redsamurai]

excellent post about CRP. Right on the money except that there are other and better ways to reduce inflammation in your body than taking statins. In 20 years they will admit that statins weren't a free lunch. In the meantime people who take them without COq10 supplementation will continue to face health problems down the road that will "of course" be attributed to something else. I understand what statins can do for a specific condition.....but overall what they strip from your body can be equally as bad for you in the longrun. Having adverse affects on the mitochondria in your heart is no joke. This doesn't happen overnight either. It can take years and by then the damage can be very difficult to reverse.

 

[snowman51]

excellent post about CRP. Right on the money except that there are other and better ways to reduce inflammation in your body than taking statins. In 20 years they will admit that statins weren't a free lunch. In the meantime people who take them without COq10 supplementation will continue to face health problems down the road that will "of course" be attributed to something else. I understand what statins can do for a specific condition.....but overall what they strip from your body can be equally as bad for you in the longrun. Having adverse affects on the mitochondria in your heart is no joke. This doesn't happen overnight either. It can take years and by then the damage can be very difficult to reverse.

This is why I love this forum. I'm not arrogant enough to believe I have all the answers so I go here to learn. Contributors like u redsamurai provide more info for me to conduct research on. I weasn't aware of the effect on COq10. Now I'll have to go read some more. Thanks!

btw- I assume when u say "there are other and better ways to reduce inflammation in your body" u are referring to CRP. Would u care to elaborate on some of these other ways ?

snowman51

 

[redsamurai]

Would u care to elaborate on some of these other ways ?

Lifestyle changes mainly. Learning about and then recognizing what the human body is optimally designed to digest/absorb/assimilate etc. I'm just starting down the path, took me 20 years but whatever...lol. It's not one magic pill or one "thing" you can do. It's realizing what's taking you out of balance and what the body does to compensate. The human body can visciously turn against us...most people don't realize this. They think this is some organic vessel that we can fuck on all we want and just take drugs if something goes wrong. It's the wrong call. What causes inflammation in the body is a complex suject because inflammation can be a good thing for certain events. Like I said, I'm just starting this run so I can't speak as an ultimate authority. But I encourage you to continue your research....that's exactly how I got to where I am now. It's quite eye opening when it dawns on you that you're being actively sabotaged by our current environment. Good luck.

 

[thelion2005]

Yes ... there can be side effects. They start with your hands. Pain and loss of grip.
And they do work!
I suggest you start off at half dosage and see what happens.

 

[footdoc]

Wow you need to relax there. Statins are very safe drugs and although they are associated with very rare muscle and liver problems, their benefits are huge even at a low dosage. Patients on statins are monitored routinely by their doctors to prevent very rare complications such as rhabdomyolysis and heptatis. Be vocal with your doctor about your symptoms and this will prevent any of the VERY RARE complications.

this is correct...statins are generally very safe. I dont know of a single cardiologist that does not take a statin themselves. There is a great argument that everyone over 40 should be on a statin. It has tremendous cardiac protective abilities. The advantages outweigh the disadvantages at least 10:1