Better way to treat high cholesterol? (thyroid, exercise, hypothyroid, treated)
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I tolerate statins very well. I started on Pravachol when I was about 40 and moved up to Lipitor and now Crestor. I also take Lovaza. In the old days I took Niaspan, but no longer.
Even with statin treatment, one of my coronary arteries is about 2/3 blocked and another is about 1/3 blocked.
I was put on statins about a month ago - gives me very mild headaches almost daily - just contacted the doctor about possibly changing dose or medication. No issue with cost on statins - I know the inhibitors are very expensive.
Age 67, prescribed statins when I was 59. After 6 months I had pains in my elbows that were so bad it hurt to lift a spoon to my mouth. I was starting to get similar pains in my knees. I did some research and threw out the statins. It took awhile but the pains went away. I'm in excellent physical shape (over an hour of cardio daily, can easily ride a bike 15-20 miles), have borderline low BP (98/62 2 days ago), BMI a little above 19, practically vegetarian. Most recent fasting cholesterol, no meds: Total 225, LDL 126, HDL 82, Tri 86. I've since added red yeast rice and fish oil back into my supplement regime to see if that helps.
My Dad, now 89, hs been on statins for decades but my body didn't like them.
If you take red yeast rice you are taking a statin.
Your HDL is great; the LDL is just above optimal.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Arya Stark
Your body needs cholesterol for just a bout every single thing it does. Would it then make it hurt you. This lame theory worked better when it was believed that too much cholesterol in the food was blocking the arteries, but now that it has been proven that food does not effect cholesterol (if you eat too much your body just makes less) it is insane to think cholesterol is the culprit.
Plus like 50% of strokes are caused by A-fib. 100 bucks her statin did damage to her heart and caused a poor rhythm.
"About three out of four people who have a stroke for the first time have high blood pressure. And an irregular atrial heart rhythm — a condition called atrial fibrillation — is present in about one out of five strokes."
"About three out of four people who have a stroke for the first time have high blood pressure. And an irregular atrial heart rhythm — a condition called atrial fibrillation — is present in about one out of five strokes."
That is 20%, not 50%.
High blood pressure is a risk factor for a fib.
Diet does affect chol levels-- but very little.
About 2/3rds of strokes are thrombotic, usually occurring in sleep when cardiac output (related to HR & BP) falls. Coagulability of blood a major factor. Hemorrhagic stroke (1/6th of strokes) is related to hi bp.
Be careful using correlations and assigning cause & effect. If A =B and B = C, the A = C even if A has nothing to do with C.
People get the false impression that chol is like debris floating down a river and collecting as a pile of junk on a sandbar at a bend in the river...That's not how arterial plaques develop. They are really better envisioned as a callous building up on the arterial wall, just like callouses develope on hands roughed up by a rake or shovel.....The rough spot trips the clotting cascade into action: fibrinogen is turned into a network of fibrin, which traps (actually recruits-- ie, actively calls in clotting proteins, WBCs and chol to form the callous....The higher the chol level, the bigger the callous. Chole is an effect of arterial damage, not the cause.....Those enriching themselves on the "chol problem" conveniently forget this bit of basic physiology they all learned as 1st year med students.
I think it varies by person. A coworker had high cholesterol levels but it ran in her family. She was in her early 30s, thin as a rail and practically vegetarian but that didn't help. She said she once went on a diet that was as free of fat as she could make it- she was miserable and her cholesterol dropped by only 10 points.
OTOH, I've seen many people on a Board I'm on for early retirees post about finally having the time and inclination after their retirement to take control of their health, and getting their cholesterol levels down after eating healthier, losing weight and becoming more active. Not all of those necessarily caused the drop but the point is that they lowered their levels by lifestyle changes. I find it hard to believe that if I added more refined sugars, cream cheese, bacon and deep-fried onion rings to my diet I'd have the same cholesterol values.
I think it varies by person. A coworker had high cholesterol levels but it ran in her family. She was in her early 30s, thin as a rail and practically vegetarian but that didn't help. She said she once went on a diet that was as free of fat as she could make it- she was miserable and her cholesterol dropped by only 10 points.
OTOH, I've seen many people on a Board I'm on for early retirees post about finally having the time and inclination after their retirement to take control of their health, and getting their cholesterol levels down after eating healthier, losing weight and becoming more active. Not all of those necessarily caused the drop but the point is that they lowered their levels by lifestyle changes. I find it hard to believe that if I added more refined sugars, cream cheese, bacon and deep-fried onion rings to my diet I'd have the same cholesterol values.
I implore you to watch the second video I posted on the first page of this thread. This seminar was done by Peter Attia, a highly respected surgeon and longevity researcher. The audience were mostly healthcare professionals. It is eye-opening and contrary to everything we were told by dated science about cholesterol and diets.
I've been on a st*tin for many years with no side effects. Cholesterol was in the mid 200s when I started it; now it stays around 170. It's free with my Medicare. Edit: My high cholesterol isn't from my diet.
(we're not supposed to talk about st*tins around here)
Why?
I was put on Crestor about a month ago. I am on Medicare and my drug plan pays for it. My cholesterol was 228 and the year before it was 225. I am sure my diet is causing it. Some of my breakfast items are very high in cholesterol. I am reducing them from my diet. I am eating yogurt, walnuts and fruit instead of the processed breakfast items. I will go back for another blood test in two months. My father had heart disease plus I worked (before retiring quickly) a very stressing job.
(we're not supposed to talk about st*tins around here)
I'm not a Moderator but I think the intent is to keep a thread from degenerating into a battle over whether they're good or bad. What I'm seeing here is a civil discussion with people reporting individual results, so I hope that's OK.
About 2/3rds of strokes are thrombotic, usually occurring in sleep when cardiac output (related to HR & BP) falls. Coagulability of blood a major factor. Hemorrhagic stroke (1/6th of strokes) is related to hi bp.
Be careful using correlations and assigning cause & effect. If A =B and B = C, the A = C even if A has nothing to do with C.
People get the false impression that chol is like debris floating down a river and collecting as a pile of junk on a sandbar at a bend in the river...That's not how arterial plaques develop. They are really better envisioned as a callous building up on the arterial wall, just like callouses develope on hands roughed up by a rake or shovel.....The rough spot trips the clotting cascade into action: fibrinogen is turned into a network of fibrin, which traps (actually recruits-- ie, actively calls in clotting proteins, WBCs and chol to form the callous....The higher the chol level, the bigger the callous. Chole is an effect of arterial damage, not the cause.....Those enriching themselves on the "chol problem" conveniently forget this bit of basic physiology they all learned as 1st year med students.
Cholesterol is inside the arterial wall, not on it.
The atherosclerotic process begins with cholesterol deposition, which then triggers the inflammatory process. Cholesterol crystals actively participate in plaque rupture.
"Atherosclerotic lesions develop predominantly at branches, bends, and bifurcations in the arterial tree because these sites are exposed to low or disturbed blood flow, which exerts low/oscillatory shear stress on the vessel wall. This mechanical environment alters endothelial cell physiology by enhancing inflammatory activation. In contrast, regions of the arterial tree that are exposed to uniform, unidirectional blood flow and experience high shear stress are protected from inflammation and lesion development."
I'm not a Moderator but I think the intent is to keep a thread from degenerating into a battle over whether they're good or bad. What I'm seeing here is a civil discussion with people reporting individual results, so I hope that's OK.
Never mind. I see the sticky post telling us not to talk about statins is now gone. Every previous discussion about them turned into battles, so we had been told not to talk about it anymore.
Carry on.
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