Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
I feel the same. My sister has had such an education with her husband's Parkinsons - he's about 8-9 years older than her - but she is researching - he is past the point of surgery - he was such a healthy guy until 10 years ago - worked out all the time - was a fanatic about it - the last year and half has been the decline and she now has home health care (3 shifts) - very hard.
When I was growing up, my mother made most food from stratch and I don't think I had a frozen dinner until I was well into my 20's.
I do think doctors are pill happy today and often, one pill will counteract another one. I do some weight lifting also and need to increase that. I also am getting into Zumba which I love.
If a doctor were to tell me, you need to be on _______ - I would want to know if there is some way I could avoid being on it.
I have taken the liberty of bolding your last sentence. Every good physician asks this question prior to prescribing. The "primum no nocere" (first do no harm) oath dictates it. In addition, you, the patient, should always ask this question as a partner in the therapeutic decision.
I hope everyone remembers your excellent point. My condolences to your sister in the very difficult challenges of being a caregiver and loved one to a Parkinson's patient.
Your post is an example of why healthcare professionals go ballistic whenever complex medical issues are bandied about on the internet. Most doctors simply read the post, shrug and move on. Since sound patient education is an essential component to promoting good health, let me try to help.
First, your doctor may be correct because he has access to your family history. Although hypercholesterolemia may indeed be caused by poor diet high in fats, your diagnosis may be familial hypercholesterolemia in which the LDL receptor mutation is genetic. Diagnostic accuracy can be further compromised when cholesterol levels are elevated due to diabetes or hypothyroidism.
Second, you were quick to make the assumption that the "statin" was being used for cholesterol. Maybe., but was the elevation your "total cholesterol"? Just the low-density lipoprotein? or Increased triglycerides, in which case maybe you had hypertriglyceridemia?
I could go on and make this worse by telling you that familial hypercholesterolemia is more appropriately termed Type 11a hyperlipoproteinemia, but that is not my purpose. I only wanted to illustrate that medicine is complex enough that you cannot generalize from other people's experiences. In addition, you need medical training to distinguish fact from fiction.
Weight loss (in moderation), a low fat diet, and exercise are commendable.
However, please don't use anecdotal stories from internet strangers to determine your treatment regimen. Regardless of etiology, untreated high lipid levels can lead to fat plaques in the arteries, eventually resulting in narrowing and occlusion. The inevitable tissue ischemia can cause stroke, vision loss, chest pain, etc.
Finally, I commend your interest in seeking answers about this important health issue. But quit taking advice from people who are anti-drug, and who have already made an opinion about one treatment modality in our armamentarium, without any objectivity. Address your questions to your physician. If he/she doesn't answer them to your satisfaction, press for a more thorough explanation. If you still get a rushed or inadequate answer, get another doc. Be persistent. Some of us still care and we spend our entire lives studying with the goal of helping you.
DITTO DITTO DITTO. A THOUSAND TIMES IN CAPS.
Like the poster who thinks his/her high blood pressure readings are caused by eating pasta at lunch .
There are some common medical conditions that can kill you before your time. Like high blood pressure - diabetic or pre-diabetic conditions - etc. - etc. In some cases - if you're borderline - doing something like knocking off 10-20 pounds can eliminate the need for meds (now or later). But not always. My husband has never been overweight - but has been hypertensive since we met 40+ years ago. Without blood pressure meds - he might be dead now.
Many doctors think that statins are the 8th wonder of the world. My husband's cardiologist (he's about 55) was involved in the original clinical trials for Lipitor - and he has seen a dramatic decrease in the incidence of cardiac events in his practice/hospital since statins started to be prescribed widely. And even our GI doc (who does colonoscopies) thinks statins should be put in the water supply like flouride is.
And then there is diabetes. Don't accuse me of being racist - but - here in the south - most poor black people refer to diabetes as "the sugar" or "having the sugar" - and are almost totally ignorant about preventing diabetes or dealing with it (note that there is a great deal of obesity among black people in the south - which contributes a lot to diabetes). Well I don't care where you live - or how much you weigh - if you are diabetic or anywhere near it - you have to take care of it medically. If you don't - maybe you'll lose a leg or your eyesight or your life.
I empathize with the person whose relative got Parkinson's (or those who get Alzheimer's or pancreatic cancer or similar - etc.). But I defy anyone to give me one shred of medical evidence that whatever you eat - or whatever silly OTC medical supplements you take - will prevent any of those diseases. Steve Jobs might still be alive had he not resisted high tech conventional medical care until he was close to dead (he was one of the richest guys in the world and all that alternative medicine really helped him ). OTOH - sometimes you wind up with something that no one can do anything about - no matter how much money you have. We all wind up dying of something. Robyn
Like the poster who thinks his/her high blood pressure readings are caused by eating pasta at lunch .
There are some common medical conditions that can kill you before your time. Like high blood pressure - diabetic or pre-diabetic conditions - etc. - etc. In some cases - if you're borderline - doing something like knocking off 10-20 pounds can eliminate the need for meds (now or later). But not always. My husband has never been overweight - but has been hypertensive since we met 40+ years ago. Without blood pressure meds - he might be dead now.
Many doctors think that statins are the 8th wonder of the world. My husband's cardiologist (he's about 55) was involved in the original clinical trials for Lipitor - and he has seen a dramatic decrease in the incidence of cardiac events in his practice/hospital since statins started to be prescribed widely. And even our GI doc (who does colonoscopies) thinks statins should be put in the water supply like flouride is.
And then there is diabetes. Don't accuse me of being racist - but - here in the south - most poor black people refer to diabetes as "the sugar" or "having the sugar" - and are almost totally ignorant about preventing diabetes or dealing with it (note that there is a great deal of obesity among black people in the south - which contributes a lot to diabetes). Well I don't care where you live - or how much you weigh - if you are diabetic or anywhere near it - you have to take care of it medically. If you don't - maybe you'll lose a leg or your eyesight or your life.
I empathize with the person whose relative got Parkinson's (or those who get Alzheimer's or pancreatic cancer or similar - etc.). But I defy anyone to give me one shred of medical evidence that whatever you eat - or whatever silly OTC medical supplements you take - will prevent any of those diseases. Steve Jobs might still be alive had he not resisted high tech conventional medical care until he was close to dead (he was one of the richest guys in the world and all that alternative medicine really helped him ). OTOH - sometimes you wind up with something that no one can do anything about - no matter how much money you have. We all wind up dying of something. Robyn
Hear! Hear! We put little stock into non-verifiable sources for health information and have utmost trust in our physicians who are easy to talk to and great advocates for their patients. I take a few meds for blood pressure (keep me at 120/70) and genetic cholesterol. My wife takes 8-9 for bipolar disorder - some in the morning, some in the evening - and hasn't had a manic or depressive episode in about 10 years. Without the meds she'd be riding that roller-coaster constantly. With them her quality of life (as well as mine) is vastly improved.
As far as taking vitamins is concerned, Americans take too many vitamins (needlessly). Take only the supplements that you know you are lacking (based on blood tests). Taking vitamins that you don't need can be toxic and dangerious.
[quote=Bette;21603272]...
If you could go back 10 years, is there a medication you know take that you think could have been prevented? I am trying to lose weight (very slowly - 1/2 to 1 pound a week) and I'm trying to improve my diet. It's very hard b/c I love the wrong foods.
I also need to exercise more. I'm looking for - if I knew it was going to be this way, 10 years ago I would have ______________ (fill in the blank).
/quote]
I suspect if I'd lost 30 pounds and kept it off 20 years ago, I would not not have to take a blood pressure medication. It's a minor one, just a water pill, but I still hope to get off it. I did lose weight last year, and my cholesterol was down a bit--I've talked statins with my doc, and looked at the risk factors, but have decided so far not to do that.
If I had exercised more or taken calcium supplements or drunk more milk I might have avoided osteoporosis, but I doubt it, since it runs in the family. I do exercise a lot more now since I'm retired, which apparently helps, but I do takes medication for the bone thing, since I don't want to be crippled later in life.
I always vowed I'd never be dependent on prescription drugs, and now I'm on two. Which isn't bad for 63.
Totally agree with GLS and Robyn. While I deplore drug advertising on TV and most doctors hate it as well, since their patients come in asking for the meds based on the TV ad, to dismiss drugs wholesale just makes no sense.
A wise doctor once told me that medicine is all about weighing risks - i.e. do the possible side effects outweigh the risk of what happens if you don't take the drug. That has always stayed with me to the point that if a doctor presecribes a drug I will do my own research to make the final determination.
While drugs may well be over prescribed, there are many more that are saving lives, such as high blood pressure medication, statins, diabetes medication, etc.
Would you take medication if it had a 1% consequence to your kidneys and liver for the benefit of a 69% increase in heart health?
If ten cardiologists told you you should take a statin, say 20mg of Lipitor, would you still do things your way?
Yes.
Why, you may ask? Because my doctor isn't responsible for my health. God and I are. And, I understand that I'll die someday from something and I'm not afraid of it.
It really doesn't matter to me what the final cause is.
Hear! Hear! We put little stock into non-verifiable sources for health information and have utmost trust in our physicians who are easy to talk to and great advocates for their patients...
My husband and I are in your camp. Only caveat is when we're trying to find a new doctor (like when one of ours retires) - it may take a while to find a new doctor we like and trust. Robyn
Why, you may ask? Because my doctor isn't responsible for my health. God and I are. And, I understand that I'll die someday from something and I'm not afraid of it.
It really doesn't matter to me what the final cause is.
That begs the question, why do you have a doctor at all?
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
My condolences to your sister in the very difficult challenges of being a caregiver and loved one to a Parkinson's patient.
, but was the elevation your "total cholesterol"? Just the low-density lipoprotein? or Increased triglycerides, in which case maybe you had hypertriglyceridemia?
.
