My last LDL was 105. I am not worried. I had a complete in hospital workup when they thought I suffered from a heart attack but actually had vertebrae fractures from undiagnosed celiac disease. My heart is good to go for another 50. years. Prior to my celiac disease diagnosis, I was commended for keeping all my lipid numbers so low (including HDL). Turns out a very low lipid panel may be just as bad as high lipid numbers. I prefer to keep my triglycerides very low by diet alone (low carb, high fat). I am beginning to believe that sugars are the culprit in heart disease and not fats, but that is my non-medical opinion.
Excellent point about the B-12 levels which are often low on vegan diets, aging, Autoimmune Gastritis, or with undiagnosed celiac disease. Celiac disease is linked with TD1 and I think everyone should be screened (simple blood test) if you have TD1. Celiac disease is systemic and can be asymptomatic. Mine was caught because I had anemia. I had no GI symptoms. It can develop at any time in your life. Oddly, I was iron deficient but not b-12 deficient.
Cyclinglady,
I donāt think that the fat issue has been settled yet. I was low carbing, had extremely high HDL, high LDL, and very low trigs when I had to get two heart stents. My A1c was 4.6. I eventually went to very low fat, plant based. Now I still have low trigs, fairly high HDL and lower LDL. My LDL just kept climbing while low carbing. The answers are still out there, because the very well educated experts are still adamantly opposed about the fat issue.
I am playing it safe, until the answers are in about fat.
What are you laughing at Dave? Neither opiate withdrawal or lyrica withdrawal are funny, clearly youāve not been through either, although your in a good position now if youāve taken it for awhile so I wouldnt be laughing too hard. As far as side effects thats a different matter and is totally dose dependant but you didnt read what I wrote and went off half cocked now didnāt you? You also missed the part where I said take your doctors advice? Or the part where I said it would be irresposible to not warn of the very real WD? No? Opiates despite their withdrawal (of which I have been through some formidable WDās cold turkey) are great drugs (while on them). Iām certainly glad Lyrica helps you Dave, just make sure if you ever stop it to taper it, many doctors and their poor patients found out the very hard way not to just stop it CT.
My mother who is now 70 has very high cholesterol also, statins turned her poop white and made her sick with muscle aches also, so she stopped them immediately. She for another reason had a coronary artery scan 10 years later and it was clear (but still with very high cholesterol). She doesnt have diabetes though like I do. I on the other hand take statins and have zero side effects so to each his own.
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If you watch Dr David Suzukiās documentary program on Cholesterol (google it) he presents leading Canadian experts in the field of heart disease, cholesterol etcā¦ Bottom line: ONLY a man in his forties who has already had a heart attack should be on statins. And older people should avoid it like the plague. Not only does it cause muscle wasting, memory loss and liver damage but it pushes many people into pre diabetes and diabetesā¦like my 2 sisters in law who are now on diabetes medication.
A pharmacist friend told me that years ago, the normal cholesterol level was higher so few people were on statins. Big Pharma decided to lower ānormalā so then more people were on statins. Then Big Pharma lowered what was considered ānormalā yet a 3rd time so that now 35 million Americans are on statins. It is especially hard on those who are older.
Anyway, now it isnāt cholesterol that is so important after all. Itās c-reactive protein. My 68 year old, veggie++ eating, 15 mile a day walker-husband has always had high cholesterol, even in his twenties but perfect c-reactive protein levels.
Doctors are in a difficult position. If they were to tell patients not to take statins and someone had a heart attack (because it was meant to be), he could be sued. It could get into the media and Big Pharma would make an example of him. Ask your doctor and if he is honest he will agree that it is fear of reprisal that make him or her prescribe many drugsā¦and yes, unnecessarily.
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I am reading renowned cardiologist, Dr. Gundryās book and it is truly an eye opener. Get it from your local library. I am just finishing it and will be starting his regime.
My doctors, except for cardiologists, have never encouraged me to be on statins, nor do they really encourage meds.
Your husband sounds like me, a vegan who exercises and has high LDL. I wouldnāt worry if I didnāt already have stents.
Thanks for the encouragement. I will look for the book you are reading.
Hi Marilyn,
Do you eat 6 - 10 servings of vegetables per day? My husbandās good cholesterol is very good because we do eat loads of vegetables. His bad is bad. But more importantly his c-reactive protein is excellent (low inflammation).
All the best!
Robin
Robin,
Our diet is very low fat plant based, so we eat mostly vegetables and fruits. My HDL is good and my LDL is borderline. Trigs are quite low.
@Edward2 is totally right. SNRIs like Lyrica and Effexor typically do indeed have super intense withdrawal effects, not unlike opiates (but not as dangerous as benzo or alcohol withdrawal). Thatās not necessarily a problem or a reason not to take them (they can be very effective and otherwise well tolerated), but you cannot just stop them or you will likely feel terrible, like you have a very bad flu. You can also have psychological effects like suicidality with those withdrawal effects. You definitely need to stop those meds under supervision only and with a slow taper down.
Also, some people really are more broadly prone to side effects due to alterations of the p450 cytochrome system, the set of liver enzymes that metabolize the majority of pharmaceuticals. If you have a genetic variant that makes you produce more or less than normal of one or more those enzymes, whatever drugs that are metabolized through that route may either produce more side effects or be more or less effective at typical doses. It can also have an effect on drug interactions. I have an alteration in my 2D6 enzyme, which explained my hypersensitivity to a broad range of drugs and is helpful to know about. You can get genetic testing done if thereās reason to suspect drugs are not working normally for you.
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there are lots of drugs that require careful titration to get off of them. thatās hardly a reason to eschew their usage. Prednisone, taken daily for years is one that needs to be very slowly reduced in dosage to wean off of it.
Sure, but the withdrawals off these particular meds are much worse than youād expect for a medication thatās otherwise fairly benign in side effects. As I said in my post, itās not a reason not to take them, but itās something to be aware of, and in my experience, MDs donāt always tell people about it or make it clear how much of a thing it is.
Hey Marilyn itās Bhakti
Have you considered taking one or two statins a week instead of every day?
I also rejected many statins and Iāll take a tour of the Staten twice a week and seem to be doing pretty good
Also suggest upping the Co q 10 Dose
Just a thought hope it helps
That was supposed to say Atorvastatin
Hi there Bhakti, I already was taking a tiny amount 2 and then 3 times a week. I was also taking 200mgs of CQ10.
Iām with you Marilyn sometimes these drugs just seem like more harm than good
And in reality they do not work for everyone as many studies are skewed
As always we need to listen to our own body knowledge
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My PN really started when let BGs run high (160 or so) while waiting on pump. Tight control with pump and CGM reduced symptoms so PN is tolerable without PN meds.
True unless the PN was caused by statins which mine was. I never had PN before statins. If you go to the side effects listing of several statins NP is listed. It is also can be a side effect of hypothyroidism. I am going to get my thyroid levels tested again to make sure my thyroid med is still working as well as it should be.
Bottom line is statins save countless lives and are indicated for diabetics who want a better chance for living a long life. they are also indicated for folks who arenāt diabetic. IMO, itās a bit foolhardy to be a diabetic and not [edit 8/16 6:30PM] consider taking a statin.
Read the ENTIRE post: Statin side effects: Weigh the benefits and risks - Mayo Clinic
"Remember that statin medications can reduce your risk of a heart attack or stroke, and the risk of life-threatening side effects from statins is very low."
Iām not eager to have a heart attack. Lowering cholesterol has been proven to reduce the chances of having one.
I think itās a foolās errand to try to persuade diabetics to avoid statins.
[EDIT] italicized word āconsiderā above added for clarity