Anyone on Statins.

[mjr]

Atorvastatin 80mg for two years since heart attack. No side effects I’m aware of and my GP advises I stick with them providing there are no adverse reactions.

It took GPs something like 5 years to track down my side effects and link them to Atorvastatin. I really don't want to be treated for this by an over-confident GP ever again. I'd much rather take a half-day or two every year to get reviewed by the specialists at the hospital and fortunately my current GP seems comfortable with that.

Well, it doesn't actually do away with cholesterol, it just lowers the level to something within the usual range - there's still plenty there for fulfilling its function.

One drawback for FH patients with a shortage of working removal receptors is that the cholesterol left by statins is probably older than in a normal person because statins reduce production rather than increase removal rate. I suspect we don't know all the consequences of that yet.

 

[mjr]

It turned out that prior to becoming a GP he had worked for a long time with a study group at Cambridge University, he said their research had revealed a sizeable majority of people who are on Statins do not need to be, he also told me of a remote tribal group somewhere in Africa they had found, who all had exceptionally high cholesterol and yet they were existing on a nigh on perfect diet with virtually no fats or sugars, very high levels of exercise and on checking this entire remote group, they didn't find a single person with any signs of furred up arteries.

Well that's fine if you're a member of a remote tribal group somewhere in Africa that someone on a cycling forum heard about second hand... I'm pretty sure I'm not - how about you?

 

[Threevok]

About a year ago a friend of ours in his early 70's who appeared reasonably fit and healthy suddenly started losing weight and generally feeling lethargic. Loads of tests were done over about 3-4 months and they could not diagnose what was wrong. He continued to lose weight and ended up in a wheel chair looking like he was going to pop his clogs at any moment. Eventually it came to light that it was a reaction to the statins he had started taking just before he became ill. He stopped taking them and is now making a slow recovery although nearly a year on he is still well under weight but at least the wheelchair's gone. He told me that apparently 1 in 5 people could react to statins in this way, if this is the case how come it took them so long to diagnose the problem?
ps I don't know what other medication if any he was taking at the time, but it has certainly put me off statins.

Me too.

 

[slowmotion]

I was initially on 80mg (as, I believe, are a lot of people), but after a while the doc reduced it while monitoring my cholesterol to see if a smaller dose would be effective, and 20mg seems to be sufficient for me.

The other one that was tried on me was Simvastatin as it's a lot cheaper (which is fine by me if it works), but it didn't appear to work for me as my cholesterol climbed right back up again - so the doc put me back on Atorvastatin.

Atorvastatin came out of patent five years ago. The generic version which became available only cost about £2 per month rather than £28 for the patented one.

 

[Salar]

Been taking them for years, no problems, mostly for cholesterol.

What I didn't know was that you are supposed to take them before going to bed as they work better when you are sleeping.

 

[BoldonLad]

Been on Atorvastatin 10mg / day for 20 years.

Was initially prescribed Simvastatin, but, it produced hang-over type side effects, without the benefit of alcohol.

No side effects I am aware of. Initially, my GP wanted to increase the dose, but, I resisted this. His alternative suggestion was to increase physical activity levels (which is one reason why I returned to cycling at age 50), this has had the desired effect, ie 10Mg dose, plus regular exercise, and a little bit of attention to diet. By desired effect, I mean Cholesterol within guideline levels.

 

[Deleted member 1258]

Atorvastatin 80mg, Aspirin 75mg, Bisoprolol1.25mg, Clopidogrel 75mg. Been taking these since my heart attack last November, before that I was supposed to be taking aspirin and a statin but hadn't for about 12 months, I got a major rollicking when I was in hospital, I'm having no side effects from the tablets so I'm happy to keep taking them.

 

[Vantage]

I've taken none of my pills for about 3 months...sort of fell out of the habit.

I really do need a good kick up the orriface.

 

[youngoldbloke]

First prescribed statins in the early 1990s, and have since tried every variety produced, but I have reacted badly to all of them, muscle pain and cramps, numbness and pins and needles, lethargy etc. I was referred to a Lipid clinic at the local hospital, but none of the statin regimes was tolerable. I was on Ezetimibe for a long time too, but it was relatively ineffective and my GP agreed that I should stop and try plant sterols, which I now take 3 times daily. I haven't had a cholesterol test for some time so can't say how effective or otherwise these are. I wish I could take statins, as they were very effective at lowering my cholesterol levels, but the side effects were unbearable.

 

[Alan O]

Atorvastatin came out of patent five years ago. The generic version which became available only cost about £2 per month rather than £28 for the patented one.

Ah, interesting - it was approx 10 years ago that I started on it, so the same thing wouldn't occur now.

 

[mjr]

First prescribed statins in the early 1990s, and have since tried every variety produced, but I have reacted badly to all of them, muscle pain and cramps, numbness and pins and needles, lethargy etc. I was referred to a Lipid clinic at the local hospital, but none of the statin regimes was tolerable. I was on Ezetimibe for a long time too, but it was relatively ineffective and my GP agreed that I should stop and try plant sterols, which I now take 3 times daily. I haven't had a cholesterol test for some time so can't say how effective or otherwise these are. I wish I could take statins, as they were very effective at lowering my cholesterol levels, but the side effects were unbearable.

Ever tried sequestrants or the armolipid plus combo pill?

 

[youngoldbloke]

Ever tried sequestrants or the armolipid plus combo pill?

Sequestrants, yes (Cholestyramine), not very effective given the hassle of using it. Armolipid - no.

 

[The Jogger]

I believe this guy.

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AuhW4e-Ych0

 

[PaulSB]

It took GPs something like 5 years to track down my side effects and link them to Atorvastatin. I really don't want to be treated for this by an over-confident GP ever again. I'd much rather take a half-day or two every year to get reviewed by the specialists at the hospital and fortunately my current GP seems comfortable with that.

If I’m not intruding could you expand on your comments re the specialist reviews? I’m fully discharged after my heart attack so only see my GP and practice nurse.

I must say I feel fully confident in both and it’s been made very clear to me if I’m at all concerned, feel unwell or anything unusual about my body I should ask to be seen ASAP. I’m fortunate to be with a relatively rural practice and appreciate my situation is far better than others experience.

 

[mjr]

If I’m not intruding could you expand on your comments re the specialist reviews? I’m fully discharged after my heart attack so only see my GP and practice nurse.

Every so often, I have a fairly full set of tests done and a week or two later, I take the results to the specialist clinic in a nearby city and discuss my treatment and any future tests for the next N months with an expert in hypercholesterolaemia. It may be a different situation to you, as I've not had a heart attack and have been diagnosed FH.

I must say I feel fully confident in both and it’s been made very clear to me if I’m at all concerned, feel unwell or anything unusual about my body I should ask to be seen ASAP. I’m fortunate to be with a relatively rural practice and appreciate my situation is far better than others experience.

Yes, the practice that caused me trouble (not the current one) was the sterotypical suburban practice that you had to wardial at 8am to stand any chance of getting an appointment, with receptionists and managers that seemed to view patients as a nuisance and, as I mentioned, some GPs that seemed to think they knew it all and committed a few howlers. I think I wasn't the only one to have problems with them. My current practice is rural and lovely but I'm very happy they seem fine with referring to a clinic until we find a treatment that seems to work!