Do doctors really know the effects of statins?

[Greyrider]

For the last seven years my wife has been taking statins -her cholesterol came down to 'normal' levels some time ago, but the GP insisted she stay on them. For some while now she has been continually tired and 3 months ago she started to be really ill. Upon reading the leaflet with the tablets she had a 'full house' of all the listed side effect symptoms. Her liver function went completely out of control and she contracted hepatitis A. Drug (statins)induced according to the senior partner of the GP's practise, who took over the case. Now she's in hospital with auto-immune hepatitis. The medics, generally, but not all, refuse to accept that statins were the cause, saying she must have picked up a hepatitis virus somewhere - despite there being no information as to the long term use of statins. So, if your doctor suggest statins for you - tell him where to stuff them.

[zing_deleted]

Im sorry and hope she is better soon. Just refusing the drug may not be a good idea as high cholesterol is a very real danger. Side effects should always be reported of course but I wouldn't be so quick to tell everyone not to use these drugs after all who wants a heart attack

[Ramrod]

Statins are of great benefit in lowering cholesterol but I'm also seeing people with various side effects as well. Muscle pains are the most common....

---------- Post added at 21:35 ---------- Previous post was at 21:33 ----------

This (http://www.thegreatcholesterolcon.com/) book might be of interest to you Greyrider...

[Greyrider]

In the last few days I've found out it can be contolled by diet. However, there must be more to it than meets the eye because my brother had high cholestrol too, and neither him nor my wife consumed much in the way of what have always been thought of as cholesterol inducing foods. I, on the other hand have spent many years shovelling cream and chesse (not simultaneously) down my neck and all my cholesterol tests have shown me in the 'normal' range. Plus did you see in the papers the other day that full fat milk has been found to LOWER the risk of strokes etc. I read it in the Telegraph.

---------- Post added at 21:56 ---------- Previous post was at 21:51 ----------

Just another thought - wasn't the contraceptive pill the most wonderful thing once, before it was discovered it increased the risk of thrombosis. I was a very young married man when it was introduced so I remember the euphoria about it.

[zing_deleted]

Statins are of great benefit in lowering cholesterol but I'm also seeing people with various side effects as well. Muscle pains are the most common....

---------- Post added at 21:35 ---------- Previous post was at 21:33 ----------

This (http://www.thegreatcholesterolcon.com/) book might be of interest to you Greyrider...

Interesting read but its also true that high fat diets will lead to obesity and this in turn puts strain on the heart or is that a lie also?

---------- Post added at 22:39 ---------- Previous post was at 22:38 ----------

In the last few days I've found out it can be contolled by diet. However, there must be more to it than meets the eye because my brother had high cholestrol too, and neither him nor my wife consumed much in the way of what have always been thought of as cholesterol inducing foods. I, on the other hand have spent many years shovelling cream and chesse (not simultaneously) down my neck and all my cholesterol tests have shown me in the 'normal' range. Plus did you see in the papers the other day that full fat milk has been found to LOWER the risk of strokes etc. I read it in the Telegraph.

---------- Post added at 21:56 ---------- Previous post was at 21:51 ----------

Just another thought - wasn't the contraceptive pill the most wonderful thing once, before it was discovered it increased the risk of thrombosis. I was a very young married man when it was introduced so I remember the euphoria about it.

full fat milk does not have that high a fat content anyway now butter that has a high fat content and dripping that does ;)

[Jules]

Hope your wife improves very soon Greyrider

[Greyrider]

Thanks Jules. She appears to be getting better slowly - fingers crossed.

[Tinky]

Greyrider happy to hear your wife is improving, certainly must have been a very worrying time for you both. Hope she makes a full and speedy recovery.

[Ramrod]

Interesting read but its also true that high fat diets will lead to obesity and this in turn puts strain on the heart or is that a lie also?I'm not sure if it's quite that simple. You have to consider the type of fats consumed, if they are hydrogenated etc..

[zing_deleted]

Fats are high in calories yes? consuming more calories than the body uses in a day leads to a gain in body fat? take it from someone who has spent most his life obese .High fat diets turn ya into a lard ass ;)

[Alanmelon]

In the last few days I've found out it can be contolled by diet. However, there must be more to it than meets the eye because my brother had high cholestrol too, and neither him nor my wife consumed much in the way of what have always been thought of as cholesterol inducing foods. I, on the other hand have spent many years shovelling cream and chesse (not simultaneously) down my neck and all my cholesterol tests have shown me in the 'normal' range.

As I understand it, high cholesterol levels tend not to be as a result of cholesterol consumed, but how much the body naturally produces itself. Apparently this is the dangerous stuff which can lead to heart attacks and (more scarily IMO) strokes.

[Nugget]

Fats are high in calories yes? consuming more calories than the body uses in a day leads to a gain in body fat? take it from someone who has spent most his life obese .High fat diets turn ya into a lard ass ;)

The way we work it is that fat contributes to calorific content (although, granted, according to the calculations, it contributes more than Protein and Carbs).

As such, fats themselves aren't high in calories, but contribute significantly to your calorie intake :)

Blimey, a technical post from me - who'd've thunk it :D

[MetaWraith]

Wow, Nugget resisted temptation and didnt make a joke about only Welsh Doctor's knowing the effects. (particularly those from Prestatyn) so I'll make it for him.

[Ramrod]

Fats are high in calories yes? consuming more calories than the body uses in a day leads to a gain in body fat? take it from someone who has spent most his life obese .High fat diets turn ya into a lard ass ;)Oh absolutely. It's just that some of those fats are worse for you than others in terms of other effects on the body.....not just weight gain.

[Chrysalis]

Generally I would have thought muscle pain and liver problems are favourable to a situation that can give you a fatal heart attack, the problem with side affects is drigs have to list all possibilities even if the possibility is very remote.

An example a drug I have been prescribed includes both stroke and angina as side affects and scared me very badly so I refused to take it and was given alternate but less effective drugs. I would guess those 2 side affects are very rare else they wouldnt be allowed to be used but I just didnt want to take that chance.

[keithwalton]

I am on simvastatin because im in a high risk group and have been for a while now and i have certainly noticed the difference being on them, some good some bad some indifferent.

The main thing for me is it has dropped the viscosity of my blood alot which means there is less strain on my heart and in turn means its erratic / beating hard less often.

A downside is when i cut myself (being diabetic its easy to do when injecting) i tend to find my blood runs more, and so when shaving or nose bleed it can be quite alarming and im sensitive to seeing lots of blood and have been known to faint at the sight of a fair amount.
Another thing is im now way more sensitive to pain than i ever used to be!

There are several types of cholesterol, some are good and protect your arteries and nerve endings, some are bad and block things up.

Of the bad kind the national average is somthing like 5.7 (cant remember if thats ppm or ml/mol) its recomended however to have a level of 4.8 or below.

I used to have a level of around 5.2 since being on simvastatin its dropped to 2.1

Side effects to medication are only generally what has also occured during a trial but is only slightly statistically significant, ie its most likely that it happend by chance.

I believe I speak for all here in wishing your wife a speedy recovery and a trouble free future

[Greyrider]

Resurrecting an old thread - my wife stopped improving and deteriorated such that the doctors were talking about a liver transplant, however her liver has now stabilised and HOPEFULLY it may recover by itself. Their conclusion was that the hepatitis A was drug induced (ie: statins), so I ask again - Do they really know the long term effects? Further, I see from tuesday's Daily Telegraph that a professor at Boston University School of Medicine has discovered a link - albeit a slight one - between high doses of statins and liver cancer, but goes on to say that anyone prescribed them should continue their use. My advice to anyone taking them is to keep a close eye on the 6 monthly liver function tests. It obviously will not effect everyone the same as my wife, she may be one in a thousand, I don't know, but to me she's everything.

[homealone]

Resurrecting an old thread - my wife stopped improving and deteriorated such that the doctors were talking about a liver transplant, however her liver has now stabilised and HOPEFULLY it may recover by itself. Their conclusion was that the hepatitis A was drug induced (ie: statins), so I ask again - Do they really know the long term effects? Further, I see from tuesday's Daily Telegraph that a professor at Boston University School of Medicine has discovered a link - albeit a slight one - between high doses of statins and liver cancer, but goes on to say that anyone prescribed them should continue their use. My advice to anyone taking them is to keep a close eye on the 6 monthly liver function tests. It obviously will not effect everyone the same as my wife, she may be one in a thousand, I don't know, but to me she's everything.

Sounds like good advice, Greyrider, amazing how capable the liver is of regenerating itself, I do hope that is the case with the missus :tu:

Just wanted to make one other point about the cholesterol, as you mentioned diet. Rammy was quite right to say that the 'type' of fat makes a difference, vegetable oils like maize or rapeseed actually don't have any cholesterol, while olive oil can, apparently, help to lower 'bad' cholesterol in the blood.

Dairy foods, however, contain trans fats, which allegedly can contribute to raising levels of 'bad' cholesterol, as do partially hydrogenated fats...

So while I'm not saying don't let her eat butter, cheese & cream, in moderation would, probably, be good advice :)