My cholesterol numbers were all just over the lines for bad. So I ate like a rabbit, exercised like a fiend, and dropped my cholesterol level by a whopping 10 points. In the intervening time, the number for an acceptable level had dropped by 10 points, so I was still over the lines. My doctor then put me on some non-statin, which did nothing. We finally switched doctors, the new guy put me on a low dose statin and ALL my cholesterol numbers dropped into the good range. My new doctor also told me to take CoQ10, as statins deplete that, and it is needed by your heart and other body parts. A lack of CoQ10 can cause weakness, muscle pain, brain and kidney problems.And, ironically, high cholesterol numbers.

So I would try CoQ10 supplements first, and if that didn’t work, try adding a low dose statin.

I recently had the calcium test done and scored a 668! cholesterol numbers were high too.
Doctor put me on low dose Ezetimibe and Rosuvastatin. Numbers dropped like a rock.
Do still have a bit of leg pain but it doesn't stop me from moving or sleeping.

It would benefit you greatly to do some research on cholesterol and heart disease. I believe we have been lied to in order to promote meds. Obviously I did not develop this idea myself, I learned it from cardiologists and other medical doctors. Do some web searches on why statins are bad for you and search for why cholesterol is not tied to heart disease. There are plenty of medical doctors out there speaking against the low cholesterol movement.

Ask yourself, why hasn’t heart disease been eradicated if these cholesterol lowering drugs are so good? Why are we not seeing a decrease correlated to how many of these drugs are being prescribed?

Timely topic as I have my annual physical later this am.

When I turned 50 my doc put me on a statin as my numbers were on the high side. After several months I started developing rather severe joint pain and he switched me to Crestor which helped. My numbers dropped and I suggested to him about lowering the dosage, which wasn’t high to begin with. I am now on 10 mg of Atorvastatin and am having some joint pain, particularly in my elbows. I exercise moderately and eat fairly well.

One of the things I’m going to discuss with him once my bloodwork comes back is perhaps lowering the dosage again or possibly going off it. My previous doc told me I would be on it for life as a preventative which surprised me.

Then I ran across this video discussing the benefits of Natokinase and I’ve been taking about 800mg per day for about a month. We’ll discuss this also…

https://youtu.be/wJlp9i38Xmk?si=BTRic1DneUeP2WvQ

I tried a statin about 10 years ago and did not like the side effects. Basically stiffness.
I've been taking Ezetimbe 10 mg for about 5 years now. It is not a statin and I've not noted any side effects. Blood tests indicate that it is working to control my cholesterol.

quote:

Then I ran across this video discussing the benefits of Natokinase and I’ve been taking about 800mg per day for about a month. We’ll discuss this also…

Would be interested to hear about this, if you don't mind.

Had a Stint put in back in January. They put me on 20mg Atorvastatin in November prior to that along with other medications.

I am not a fan, muscle soreness started shortly after starting the medication, raising arm up, drying off after a shower you'd have thought I was lifting weights and over did it a bit. Just constantly sore.

Went back and checked blood test in November which was last one with LDL and none of the lipid panel numbers were out of range, and none were even close to being on the edge.

But, having a stint put in, meaning there is plaque they wanted me on it. I'd like to get off of it but have an Ablation surgery in two weeks to fix Afib.

We shall see...

This message has been edited. Last edited by: HRK,

My doc put me on simvastatin several years ago, due to high cholesterol. Even though I swam, lifted weights, and ran, the numbers were still high so drugs were indicated. Eventually, I started to suffer from joint and muscle stiffness and soreness, to the point that it was agonizing to run or lift, and I was so lethargic I didn't want to swim - or anything else active.

Doc switched me to Ezitimibe (non-statin) and, after a few months, I started feeling better. I'm back to swimming, lifting and running.

Last year my LDL and trigs were high and my doc wanted to think about a statin, but I've lost probably 30 pounds since my last visit so it will be interesting to see what my numbers look like this year. Last year my A1C went from 5.9 pre-weight loss to 5.4 after 50 pounds of weight loss. I am eager to see what it looks like with 30 more pounds gone.

I'm down a total 80 pounds now (over 20 months) and I still have 20 more pounds to go. We'll see how my numbers look next month. I've also been doing PSMF and it will be interesting to see how going low fat, low (near zero) carb, high protein affects the numbers. But I only do PSMF 3 weeks at a time.

My goal is to be med free by the end of this year. Now I'm only down to one BP med, although I can probably start cutting the dosage down.

Tony.

My wife was told she should go on statins due to her naturally high levels of cholesterol. She was concerned about the side effects and we did a little research of our own.
I found this book: https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC1226266/

Interestingly enough the co author was a class mate of mine 30 years ago.
The premise of the book but also specifically the use of statins is that doctors now treat high cholesterol rather than the actual heart disease. The level at which there is a drug intervention keeps getting lower. The patient's general health is often ignored. Cholesterol is only an indication of heart disease under some circumstances. A woman of my wife's age and health with no prior history of heart disease is not at risk of high cholesterol caused heart disease. A very interesting book.

quote:

Originally posted by TSE:
My wife was told she should go on statins due to her naturally high levels of cholesterol. She was concerned about the side effects and we did a little research of our own.
I found this book: https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC1226266/

A woman of my wife's age and health with no prior history of heart disease is not at risk of high cholesterol caused heart disease. A very interesting book.

I am not trying to talk anyone out of taking medications or taking their doctors advice. In my case I had no prior history of heart disease either until I had the CAC calcium scan done. My concern is with my cholesterol levels as low as they are, and my ultra sound showing "minimal" plaque in both carotid arteries, and passing the stress test is there really significant benefit to taking statins considering the potential side affects and how those would impact my quality of life? For instance dizziness is listed as a side effect and falls by seniors are too often a life ending or major life altering event. The reports of pain in muscles and joints prevent many from exercise and activity that is counter productive to long term health in many ways.

What is so insidious about heart disease is that the first symptom a person has is often a heart attack and by then the disease has progressed significantly and after a family friend died suddenly of such recently I didn't want to take that risk myself and is why at age 74 I had the CAC calcium scan done.

My comments are not directed specifically at you or your wife but your reply gave me a good point to comment on my thoughts on when to maybe do something proactive but how far to go down that rabbit hole.

Genetically high cholesterol. Used a statin in increasing doses over the past 10+ years. I take a COQ10 supplement. No side effects.

quote:

my ultra sound showing "minimal" plaque in both carotid arteries

Grumpy - what can also be as important is the plaque buildup in the coronary arteries surrounding the heart. I also had a CT calcium scan followed by a CT angiogram w/contrast, showing my left anterior descending coronary artery with 25-49% blockage. Always something else to checkout.

quote:

Originally posted by 229DAK:

quote:

my ultra sound showing "minimal" plaque in both carotid arteries

Grumpy - what can also be as important is the plaque buildup in the coronary arteries surrounding the heart. I also had a CT calcium scan followed by a CT angiogram w/contrast, showing my left anterior descending coronary artery with 25-49% blockage. Always something else to checkout.

Thanks. I actually asked him about that but he said the procedure has risks. Later I looked into that and I think he was talking abut the angiogram that uses a catheter. Not sure why he didn't talk about CT angiogram. Next time I will specifically say "CT angiogram". The latest and greatest is the CT angiogram that uses AI to interpret results though that is pretty pricy I think.

Best of luck with your diagnosis and treatment.

quote:

Originally posted by Nuclear:
My cholesterol numbers were all just over the lines for bad. So I ate like a rabbit, exercised like a fiend, and dropped my cholesterol level by a whopping 10 points. In the intervening time, the number for an acceptable level had dropped by 10 points, so I was still over the lines. My doctor then put me on some non-statin, which did nothing. We finally switched doctors, the new guy put me on a low dose statin and ALL my cholesterol numbers dropped into the good range. My new doctor also told me to take CoQ10, as statins deplete that, and it is needed by your heart and other body parts. A lack of CoQ10 can cause weakness, muscle pain, brain and kidney problems.And, ironically, high cholesterol numbers.

So I would try CoQ10 supplements first, and if that didn’t work, try adding a low dose statin.

Similar story here, low dose statin and CoQ10. Combined with a minimum of 30 min exercise six days per week and watching what I eat, my numbers improved significantly and I feel good for 63 y.o.

Learned this the hard way last Thanksgiving while in Ireland. LAD and CX arteries both clogged. Dead for 4 minutes. If it weren't for my sister starting CPR, a Doctor and a Nurse who happened to be walking by taking over for her, and 2 hits from an AED a security guard brought out of his building, it would have been for keeps.
I was already on a low dose of atorvastatin, that got increased to 80mg by the Irish Dr - my Cardio is keeping it there. So far, it hasn't bothered me, but I am also taking 200mg of Coq10 every morning. I've read of the stories / effects of statins (mostly here), but after surviving my dance with the widowmaker, and 2 bypasses later, I think I'm going to listen to them.

Silver lining? Well, I can say I've lived in Ireland, The hospital food didn't kill me (it was actually quite good!), and double bypass, cath, angio, and everything else they did cost me a whopping $588.

Not what I had expected for 54 y/o

I took Simvastatin for years and started developing the usual side effects of leg pains and joints so I was switched to a low dose Rosuvastatin. It didn't help with the pains so I just stopped the statins altogether. A little more research said statins could also lead to dementia, which runs in my family. My dr. suggested 1000mg Red Yeast Rice pills. I waited 6 months to get all the statins out of my system and my cholesterol was at 210. I tried the Red Yeast Rice, 600 mg, tablets since I couldn't find 1000mg for the last 6 months and my latest numbers are at 196. No statin side effects at all.

^^^^^ What brand of red yeast rice are you taking?

Seek a second opinion from another cardiologist. This forum has a wealth of knowledge but I'm not sure if any the responses are from qualified professionals.

Internet research is often skewed by an agenda, you need to seek more than anecdotal "this is what I do" information to make this decision.

If you are a qualified professional and responded in this thread, no offense is intended.

229DAK, Spring Valley is the only brand I could find at my local Walmart and it seems to be working. BTW, my cholesterol was running about 165 or so with the statins and went to 210 after I quit taking the statins but the side effects were getting worse with them.