Statins for Gray Beards

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rmuir

Social climber

From the Time Before the Rocks Cooled.

Apr 13, 2016 - 12:07pm PT

Atorvastatin, said to be the most effective bang for the low dose. And this was borne out in my preliminary research…

I still have my gray beard, however.

G_Gnome

Trad climber

Cali

Apr 13, 2016 - 12:18pm PT

I tried all kinds of statins and they all made me feel like crap. Instead I take fish oil daily (actually a combination of flax, borage and fish) and my cholesterol has come down 100 points. If you haven't tried taking fish oil daily for a couple months first you really should before committing to statins.

Bill

climber

Chalfant Valley

Apr 13, 2016 - 12:35pm PT

My doctor wanted to put me on statins. I eliminated all animal products, sugar, and refined carbohydrates from my diet, focusing instead on vegetables, fruit, beans, whole grains, and nuts, supplementing with B12. In 4 weeks my total cholesterol dropped 36 points, and my HDL/LDL ratio, which was already very good, improved further. I have added some wild salmon or sardines a couple of times a week. I will test again in six months and reevaluate at that point. I don't find the change to be a hardship, and I don't miss meat or dairy at all. That's a lie; I miss cheese. YMMV.

rbord

Boulder climber

atlanta

Apr 13, 2016 - 01:00pm PT

It's a cost/benefit risk/reward game where the end game is always yer gunna die. Assign values to the costs and benefits in a way that pleases you. For some of us that means fatally plunging headfirst into the side of a mountain in the prime of our lives. For others, not so much. But you're the only one who can tell for you. Good luck!

healyje

Trad climber

Portland, Oregon

Apr 13, 2016 - 01:03pm PT

Would love to do the veggie alternative to statins, but I have kidney stones and that severely limits my options in that respect.

Studly

Trad climber

Apr 13, 2016 - 03:02pm PT

Outside the US in most countries, statins are considered a marketing/ financial scam and to be not only ineffective but dangerous.

slabbo

Trad climber

colo south

Apr 13, 2016 - 03:33pm PT

Which countries ?

zBrown

Ice climber

Apr 13, 2016 - 04:50pm PT

The case for an interaction between cholesterol and heart disease is an evolving one.

Has anyone looked for a current review.

I recall that at one time, the appropriate ratio of HDL to LDL was thought to be nearly an inoculation against heart disease. Some have argued that triglycerides are a much better predictor.

The "flavors" of cholesterol continue to multiply.

VLDL, chylomicron, LDL particle size, LDL particle concentration, triglyceride/HDL cholesterol ratio ...

One example:

Fasting Triglycerides, High-Density Lipoprotein, and Risk of Myocardial Infarction

http://circ.ahajournals.org/content/96/8/2520.full

johnr9q

Sport climber

Sacramento, Ca

Topic Author's Reply - Apr 13, 2016 - 05:09pm PT

I don't think anyone has addressed my original question regarding their experiences with statins and muscle weakness.

rmuir

Social climber

From the Time Before the Rocks Cooled.

Apr 13, 2016 - 05:11pm PT

I've felt no discernable side-effects even though I'm cycling pretty darned hard.

No muscle soreness here. None. (And I was waiting for it…)

kunlun_shan

Mountain climber

SF, CA

Apr 13, 2016 - 05:21pm PT

Which countries ?

See this story about statin use: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/health/news/10537507/Britain-becomes-statins-capital-of-Europe-according-to-study.html

that refers to this study, which examined 23 industrialised nations:
http://www.keepeek.com/Digital-Asset-Management/oecd/social-issues-migration-health/health-at-a-glance-2013_health_glance-2013-en#page1

beaner

Social climber

Maine

Apr 13, 2016 - 07:09pm PT

I have heterozygous familial hypercholesterolemia, (heterozygous means only one copy of the chromosome has the defect, not both -- I inherited it from a me parent).

My grandfather died from a heart attack in his early 40s and several of this brothers also had heart disease. My mother died in her early 60s (didn't help that the ER screwed up and took hours to diagnose that she was having a heart attack).

Without any drugs, my cholesterol would be over 300 and would be impossible to control with just diet. I started taking various statins in my teens, and then in college ratcheted up treatment until it was in normal range. First a combo of a statin plus another drug called zetia. Eventually I dropped the zetia and went to the maximum Lipitor does and had cholesterol around 175. Once Lipitor went generic and I stopped taking name brand my cholesterol went up and has been averaging 210-220. That could have been a coincidence-- It probably didn't help that I wasn't as active either. Since I'm considered high risk due to family history, I wanted to be aggressive so my doctor agreed to try another new drug called Praluent that is an injection taken every two weeks (to be combined with a daily statin) -- it's $700-800 per injection so is usually only prescribed to people with known heart disease or people with genetic causes that can't control it with statins only. Thank the Flying Spaghetti Monster for health insurance. My cholesterol is now 127. Statins work by lowering cholesterol production in your liver. Praluent blocks production of a regulatory protein, this protein down regulates the removal of LDL cholesterol from the blood, so by blocking it you cause more LDL to be removed from the blood. My LDL is now in the 60s.

Anyway I haven't really noticed any muscle cramps or weakness. I did have trouble with fatigue about 20 miles into a one-day 30 mile hike. I think part of it was poor nutrition during the hike though, but after that I did some research and added CoQ-10 supplements, which is supposed to counteract some of the side effects of statins but this hasn't been proven. It shouldn't hurt to take CoQ-10 supplements, and it may help with muscle weakness.

Good luck.

zBrown

Ice climber

Apr 13, 2016 - 07:13pm PT

I don't think anyone has addressed my original question regarding their experiences with statins and muscle weakness.

I didn't see where you asked it, but I have no experience with statins.

I am in complete control lipoprotein-wise with diet and exercise, with one provision. When I becamse hypothyroid my cholesterol went thru the roof, my energy went thru the floor, my hair started falling out and I got horrible cramps.

All came back into line wth levothyroxine after about 2-3 months..

Had your TSH tested lately? It could easily be causing your symptoms.

jogill

climber

Colorado

Apr 13, 2016 - 08:52pm PT

Those of you who have significantly lowered LDL levels through diet and exercise are fortunate. I began taking 20mg/day of Lovastatin about 18 years ago and have never had any muscle weakness of the sort described. LDL went down and no side effects, plus 4$/month.

I also take Co-Q10.

johnr9q

Sport climber

Sacramento, Ca

Topic Author's Reply - Apr 14, 2016 - 08:02am PT

I didn't see where you asked it, but I have no experience with statins.

Had your TSH tested lately? It could easily be causing your symptoms.

Z Brown: Did you reread the first post in this thread? Also, I never said I had any symptoms.

zBrown

Ice climber

Apr 14, 2016 - 08:40am PT

Yeah I read it. Here it is again.

You did not ask a question about anyone's experiences. You asked a different question about possibilities.

You don't have any symptoms, but just came here looking for answers to theoretical questions.

I got it now.

One of the possible side effects of Statins is muscle weakness. I take statins and also work hard to be able to climb hard. Is it possible that, because of my statin use, it is more of an uphill battle to gain/maintain strength/endurance?

Why ask here when there are tons of webpages by researchers and doctors that address theory.

http://www.mayoclinic.org/statin-side-effects/art-20046013

madbolter1

Big Wall climber

Denver, CO

Apr 14, 2016 - 11:09am PT

Why do you want to take drugs to lower "slightly" elevated levels, when many decades of studies reveal that there is no demonstrated link between cholesterol levels and heart disease or morbidity?

Over time it's become clear that the old studies "establishing" such links were flawed, and the best studies we have (such as the Framingham study) find no demonstrable correlation between dietary fat (of any type) and cholesterol levels, nor between cholesterol levels and heart disease or morbidity.

There is a stronger linkage between gum disease and heart disease than between cholesterol levels and heart disease.

Furthermore, a study of Japanese Americans (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/13679953) found that heart disease and morbidity does not correlate with cholesterol levels.

I would seriously question your doctor about the "need" (or even advisability) of taking statins! The premises upon which the drug companies started rolling them out (and making billions on them) have been shown deeply flawed at this point. More and more doctors are changing their perspective to keep up with the most current understanding of actual heart disease risks.