Very nervous about taking a statin, please educate me

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Even though my cholesterol is normal in every way, except mildly elevated LDL (100), my doctor wants me on a statin because of family history. My overall number is 178. I’m afraid to take one. I’ve read that cholesterol is being wrongly vilified. I’ve also read that statins are a big pharma scam. Please share your knowledge. Would you take them?

I would not. My LDL used to float on 160-170 until I decided to make drastic lifestyle changes in order to avoid having to take statins. Now my numbers float on 110-100.
Tell your doc to save the statins for himself/herself because your new medication is called Lifestyle Changes (removing carbs, meat, and maintaining a daily exercise routine of 1 hr). Your doc should put emphasis on the HDL/triglycerides ratio.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Even though my cholesterol is normal in every way, except mildly elevated LDL (100), my doctor wants me on a statin because of family history. My overall number is 178. I’m afraid to take one. I’ve read that cholesterol is being wrongly vilified. I’ve also read that statins are a big pharma scam. Please share your knowledge. Would you take them?

No. Because your chances of getting diabetes because of statin use is high. However, get an complete cardiac work done (maybe even angio) to check that there is no blockage in your cardiac arteries or any artery that feeds the brain first. If there is extensive blockage - 70% and higher, you may need to do a cost benefit analysis.

Also, you have to make changes in your diet, sleep, exercise and also take the right supplements for at least 6 months before you make a decision about statins.

[Anonymous]

Unfortunately, the people who didn’t take statins and then had fatal heart attacks can’t weigh in on this conversation. So there’s an inherent imbalance in the voices you’ll hear.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Even though my cholesterol is normal in every way, except mildly elevated LDL (100), my doctor wants me on a statin because of family history. My overall number is 178. I’m afraid to take one. I’ve read that cholesterol is being wrongly vilified. I’ve also read that statins are a big pharma scam. Please share your knowledge. Would you take them?

No. Because your chances of getting diabetes because of statin use is high. However, get an complete cardiac work done (maybe even angio) to check that there is no blockage in your cardiac arteries or any artery that feeds the brain first. If there is extensive blockage - 70% and higher, you may need to do a cost benefit analysis.

Also, you have to make changes in your diet, sleep, exercise and also take the right supplements for at least 6 months before you make a decision about statins.

Right supplements is vague enough that any failure with this advice is due to the wrong supplements.

[Anonymous]

A primer:

https://thosenerdygirls.substack.com/p/why-are-people-on-social-media-worried?utm_source=substack&publication_id=366170&post_id=173623525&utm_medium=email&utm_content=share&utm_campaign=email-share&triggerShare=true&isFreemail=true&r=onklg&triedRedirect=true

That being said, I chose wegovy over statin for high cholesterol treatment.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I started Lipitor a few months ago despite good cholesterol, bc doctors discovered (a bit by accident) that I have an extra flap of tissue between two chambers of my heart. It’s not a big deal under most circumstance but it could allow a clot to evade the usual filtering process, making a stroke more likely. So they want my LDL at 80 or below. I also started taking a daily baby aspirin.

Initially my dose was 40 mg. That was WAY too high for me. I noticed within days that my legs felt weak and I was a lot more tired. We dropped dose to 20 mg, which felt a LOT better. LDL dropped to 80 at this dose very quickly.

I do notice that I sleep harder and I am less of a morning person than I used to be. I love the hard sleep, but also I love waking early. I’ve found taking Lipitor earlier in the evening (rather than at bedtime) helps quite a bit. But we are also testing a dose of 10 mg. If LDL starts creeping back up, we’ll try 15.

Please don’t listen to internet randos over your doctor. But do work with your doctor to experiment with dose if you notice side effects. Good luck.

PP with an update. Lipitor at 10mg worked much better with no rise in LDL, but my physician also suggested I try rostuvastatin instead of Lipitor. It works better for me! So I'll add to my previous post that if you notice side effects, definitely work with your physician - there are lots of different statins, and doses of each. Apparently sometimes physicians even recommend every-other-day dosing. It's not one-size-fits-all. I'm very grateful to have this therapy.

[Anonymous]

Who is your “doctor”? A PCP? With numbers like yours, I’d see a cardiologist for a second opinion.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Even though my cholesterol is normal in every way, except mildly elevated LDL (100), my doctor wants me on a statin because of family history. My overall number is 178. I’m afraid to take one. I’ve read that cholesterol is being wrongly vilified. I’ve also read that statins are a big pharma scam. Please share your knowledge. Would you take them?

You need a new doctor. Don't take a medication for your cholesterol that is IN range.