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In addition to total trigs and cholesterol, the most important level is LDL. Should be under 130 mg/dl or treatment is recommended. For high risk individuals LDL should be under 100 mg/dl.
I do indeed understand about the reluctance to take statins. For me and many others, they mean some level of muscle weakness and stiffness. It is a price I am willing to pay to minimize my risks. I watched my father's disease progress: quad bypass, aortic aneurysm, blocked carotids, pulmonary disease which may have been related and blindness due to plaque damage.
I have found a compromise of sorts. I cut back on my statins. My cardiologist would like to see my LDL a bit lower but I am happy to be avoiding most of the side effects with a statin dose than is 1/4th of the initial prescription.
You really do not want to face the consequences of untreated hyperlipidemia. Nor can you make much difference even with a substantial change in diet. Give the statins a try before you decide they are not worth it.
No, that is not true. LDL is not important by itself, you have to consider the LDL/HDL ratio. My ratio is very low, 1.6, and my triglyceride level is very low.
There is absolutely no reason I should try statins.
And if I actually had an unhealthy ratio (which I do not), it would be caused by lifestyle. Instead of taking statins I would improve my lifestyle.
But my lifestyle is already good, and I do not have unhealthy cholesterol levels.
There has even been research showing that high cholesterol is good when you're old and even prevents heart disease. It all depends on what kind of cholesterol.
My doctor pushed for statins after I mentioned I had relatives who died of heart attack. I pushed back,and told him they were smokers too. But really, exercise should be the first step.
I am not one of the militant anti-drug, anti-doctor people, but I, too, refused statins. I just don't like the benefit/cost relationship. Overall, statistically, there is a slight advantage to taking them, but possible muscle weakness is such a huge price to pay, in my book, that I refuse to take the risk.
That sounds wonderful. I do exercise more now. I sleep better too. Maybe my numbers will be good next year when I see my doc.
we have been gym rats and we have been doing cardio exercises for 15 years . but it was not until i elevated the intensity to running non stop for 4-5 miles that it made a dent in the numbers .
now i feel like that hamster on the wheel . we are at the gym 6 days a week .
I am not one of the militant anti-drug, anti-doctor people, but I, too, refused statins. I just don't like the benefit/cost relationship. Overall, statistically, there is a slight advantage to taking them, but possible muscle weakness is such a huge price to pay, in my book, that I refuse to take the risk.
There is a slight advantage with statins, but now they realize it is NOT because they lower cholesterol. It's because statins are anti-inflammatory, so they can make heart attacks and strokes slightly less likely.
At the same time, statins do more than cause unpleasant side effects such as muscle pain, depression, etc. They can cause other diseases -- for example they can raise blood sugar and cause type 2 diabetes. And type 2 diabetes is a MAJOR CAUSE of heart disease!
It's all really insane. I have read a lot about this, because my mother had artery disease.
There is almost no reason for most people to take statins. There is a small minority who have extremely high cholesterol because of a genetic defect, and statins might help keep them alive.
For just about everyone else, it's a stupid idea and benefits no one except the drug companies.
I am not one of the militant anti-drug, anti-doctor people, but I, too, refused statins. I just don't like the benefit/cost relationship. Overall, statistically, there is a slight advantage to taking them, but possible muscle weakness is such a huge price to pay, in my book, that I refuse to take the risk.
i had an echo cardiogram and carotid artery scan and after decades of very high numbers i was pretty clean .
to be honest i am not convinced the medical profession is even measuring the right things . they don't know what the cause actually is yet , hopefully one day they will know .
i had an echo cardiogram and carotid artery scan and after decades of very high numbers i was pretty clean .
to be honest i am not convinced the medical profession is even measuring the right things . they don't know what the cause actually is yet , hopefully one day they will know .
but in the mean time we all get put on statins
Their approach is simple-minded and, well, stupid.
At least we know that artery disease is mostly caused by the unhealthy modern lifestyle, which is pretty easy to fix.
The MD I saw today did not recommend improving my lifestyle, by the way. She just wants every old patient on drugs.
i run sky high levels genetically . i have been that way for decades . i can hit the 400's in cholesterol and 1000 on the tri's .
i was on meds but started running 5 miles every other day 3 years ago .
i am off all meds and the numbers are high normal so far . i needed a statin , blood pressure med and diabetes meds . i am off all of it so far
WOW that is great to get off all the meds. I too have genetically high cholesterol and take statins and would love to get off of them. Time to hit the exercise harder.
Statin drugs are a huge revenue and profit center for big Pharma. Most of the doctors have been sucked in.
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