Statins often little use?

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vickster

Legendary Member
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-47933345

Don't need them myself but my dad took them.

Somewhat puzzled that only now does there seem to evidence that they maybe do not a lot for many folk.

Surely there were long trials before they started persuading folk to guzzle them?
As it says...One possible explanation is patients not taking their prescribed drugs or doctors giving them at too low doses, experts suggest. That’s for 50% efficacy. Many drugs are less than 100% effective in 30%+ of people and that’s when they take them properly as prescribed (which many people don’t esp for chronic conditions like high cholesterol, high BP, type 2 diabetes etc)

Yes, long trials and you can research the data at your leisure of course.
 
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CXRAndy

Guru
Location
Lincs
I take them, my cholesterol dropped from high to normal in a matter a few months. Prior to that I've always had high cholesterol, so the meds did as described. Argument is, does high cholesterol lead to other medical conditions, some say it does, others not.
 

mjr

Comfy armchair to one person & a plank to the next
As it says...One possible explanation is patients not taking their prescribed drugs or doctors giving them at too low doses, experts suggest.
Yeah, blame the patients and GPs. Always a good way out(!) :rolleyes:

I look back on my years on statins with such fondness: the cramps, the spasms, the nausea, the dizziness and that's just the incidents I can remember. I'm missing basically years of memories from back then. I don't care how much they tested them. They underestimated the collatoral damage of inhibiting HMG-CoA IMO. It was so difficult to get my laundry list problems taken seriously that I can completely understand both underreporting and patients unilaterally discontinuing medication.

I went back on statins a few times. Every time, the cramps returned. Sometimes other problems too. While I hope I've had no long term consequences, at the minimum it's hurt my mental health and shaken my trust in medics.

Now I'm on other, less effective but much older cholesterol reducers. I'm also still waiting genetic test results to finally confirm that I have the damaged LDL receptors as suspected. It sucks that it took moving to East Anglia to even be told of the genetic test, let alone get tested.
 
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mjr

Comfy armchair to one person & a plank to the next
I take them, my cholesterol dropped from high to normal in a matter a few months. Prior to that I've always had high cholesterol, so the meds did as described. Argument is, does high cholesterol lead to other medical conditions, some say it does, others not.
The lipid hypothesis, aye. I think it may depend on why your cholesterol is high, or at least how: some have high vLDL, others high triglycerides...
 
D

Deleted member 1258

Guest
I'm on statins, have been since 2008 and my close encounter with angina, they put 4 stents in as well, they put a 5th stent in when I had a heart attack in 2016, I've not had any problems with taking the statin.
 
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Leaway2

Lycrist
cramps, the spasms, the nausea, the dizziness.

Me too. Stopped taking them and as right as nine pence. They were making my life a misery.
My last check up said my cholesterol was a little high, BP OK.
 

fossyant

Ride It Like You Stole It!
Location
South Manchester
Doc thinks I might be genetically disposed to high cholesterol, so picked up a prescription this morning following my over 40's health check.

Better be safe than sorry, as my cycling mate dropped dead recently at 52. Heart attack climbing a hill, straight in hospital, stent fitted, sent out within a day, dead the weekend after.

Everything else checks out OK, BP, bloods etc. Diet is OK, cut back on dairy and booze, ordered some 'plant sterol extract' but doc doesn't think any of that will cut it.

Will keep an eye out for side effects.
 

Globalti

Legendary Member
Drug success and everything else is measured by medics using statistics. As I've learned in the last year, 85% of broken collar bones heal themselves so surgeons are quite rightfully reluctant to plate if it can be avoided. But if you are in the non-healing 15% a decision has to be made and the earlier, the better. I'm sure the same applies when dishing out drugs.
 

Venod

Eh up
Location
Yorkshire
I have just had some blood test results, my cholestral was below 5 my good cholestral was 2,8, they said taking Statins might reduce my heart attack risk slightly, I declined.
 
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