I've bitched about this for years. Now it may be coming to a head. "My doctor once breezily suggested I go on a statin after my LDL, the “bad cholesterol,” spiked several years ago. “It’s just a matter of time,” he said, “before they put statins in the water supply.” His half-joke reflected an optimism about cholesterol-lowering drugs that’s made them so popular. If you’re over 40, there’s about a 30 percent chance you’re on a statin. If you’re over 65, it’s nearly 50 percent. A 2011 study showed at least 32 million Americans are on a statin, and under 2013 guidelines issued by the American Heart Association and the American College of Cardiology, another 24 million or so Americans should probably be on one" Here's the key: Frighten people who do not understand, are having cholesterol problems, into accepting statins "forced down their throats". "Simply raising concerns about statins freaks out their staunchest advocates, who worry that the message will drive people away from the drugs who need them most." https://www.washingtonpost.com/news...s-debate-over-cholesterol-drugs-side-effects/ EDIT: The day they put statins in MY water supply, is the day I will drink no more supplied water, as well as the day I will institute means to remove any and all lawmakers guilty of such assault upon our well-being.
You assume everyone is stupid and blindly listens to what the dr says. Most people I know will research something Before they take it...I do. I know drs who take statins....it's up to the individual. Don't take it if you don't want to, it's that simple. I'm over 65 and I don't take a statin. My mother was prescribed statins but wouldn't take them. Nobody forced her ...she lived with my brother in law who is a dr and my sister who got her PhD in drugs for the heart. They didn't put it in her water either. She died at 83. It was respiratory failure that killed her but she also had CHF. Find another doctor Frank if you can't get along with yours.
My former doctor made the statement once that he believed everyone over forty should be on a statin drug. He was the same doctor who would ignore my complaint whenever I saw him about something else that was going on, choosing instead to focus on his desire for me to take Lipitor. I found another doctor. I am taking Crestor, but it isn't giving me the side effects that I had with Lipitor.
It's not rocket science. Some people can't take certain meds because of side effects. They try something else, either it works or they just don't take the drug if they can't find one that they can tolerate. My son in law and his mom both are on Lipitor...no side effects. My mom wouldn't take any statin. So far it's a free country and you aren't forced to take anything you don't want to....you also accept the consequences either way. Switch Drs if you have problems with one. You can even go to a holistic dr if that's what you prefer. There's one in my Drs office. I won't go to one but that's my preference.
Statins have been shown to have no benefits for older women. More women who were on them died than did women who were not on them.
@Chrissy Page You misread my whole point, Chrissy. That being NO DOCTOR should make a blanket statement like that pertaining to the entire population. It's over-reach of the most egregious type, IMO. Furthermore, I never mentioned my own doctor, did I? So, why should I find another? Frank
I have mentioned this in another thread that my husband was found to have high cholesterol level. Wait, let me check his lab results... His cholesterol level is 6.04 and the normal should not be more than 5.2. His HDL or good is low at 1.41 versus 1.55 for normal and his LDL is 4.00 which is higher than the normal 2.59. He was prescribed zimbastatin as maintenance drug. But after 2 weeks, he had felt something queer in his stomach so we consulted my sister nurse and my husband had quit taking statins. By the way, the doctor's reason for the maintenance is to protect my husband from a potential heart attack.
@Corie Henson Corie, the whole idea of reducing blood cholesterol levels using statins is based on the belief that keeping levels low reduces the chances of heart attack. The chance of a heart attack is a prediction of the future: better chance of NO heart attack if cholesterol remains below certain limits. This amounts to having a barrel-full of pickles floating in water, one of which is the "winner". Stab a spear down into the barrel, and if you get the one pickle which is "different", you win a heart attack.
My mom didn't take statins and was an older woman and she died, @Shirley Martin. In my son in laws family, there's a history of heart attack at an early age. His mother who eats right, exercises, and is in better shape at age 70 than I am at 65 has been taking them since I've known her....about 20 years. She can't get her levels down with just diet although she still eats healthy. She also goes to a holistic dr for her thyroid so she's not one to take some med lightly. My son in law though eats what he wants and takes Lipitor. He also exercise a lot though. My point is if you don't want to take a statin...don't. Quit telling others they shouldn't though, that's their business, Frank. You are assuming people don't do their research when starting a statin. There's really no reason for drs to push statins because you can get the generics pretty cheaply.
By the way, they now have generics for Crestor so that should soon lower my co-pay. Although I had side effects from Lipitor (cramps, restless let syndrome), there are none with Crestor, at least not that I am experiencing.
I take Crestor ,but only half of a 5mg tablet a day ..they gave me muscle pain ..I use the generic brand rosuvastatin
Statin are poison I have posted many times about cholesterol and the myth about it. This misinformation has been propagated by one doctor who worked for Proctor and Gamble [P&G] also the American Heart Association. P&G paid 1.7 million dollar bribe to demonise saturated fat and started the whole thing and statin were the pharmaceutical answer to decrease cholesterol which is not harmful. Uffe Ravnskov, MD, PhD is a doctor who has done more research on Cholesterol than others. I am an independent researcher and have paid all my research by my own money. No part of my research, including my websites and my books, were funded or influenced by any governmental, industrial or charitable organization. Even the FDA has come out with warnings about statin drugs http://www.ravnskov.nu/cholesterol/
The main reason that doctors say that cholesterol can cause heart attacks is because the arteries can get clogged with cholesterol. However, the reason that happens is because of the kind of diet that people eat. When people eat foods that are inflammatory, this causes inflammation in the arteries; so the arteries then "patch over" this with cholesterol. If you are not eating inflammatory foods, then your arteries are not so likely to get inflamed. Also, HDL cholesterol is good for you and helps to stop any plaque buildup that you are getting in your arteries. Our bodies manufacture cholesterol, and even if you didn't eat any food (like eggs) that have cholesterol in it, then your body would still make it at night. The brain needs cholesterol to function, and our body makes it while we sleep. This is one of the reasons why people who do not get enough sleep may have memory problems. The brain uses about 25% of the cholesterol that we produce, and lack of cholesterol can cause Alzheimer's. Doctors are not realizing that since they started prescribing station drugs to lower cholesterol, we are having an epidemic of Alzheimer's. http://www.cholesterol-and-health.com/Memory-And-Cholesterol.html
For many years, we have considered vegetable oils to be the healthy fats, and solid fats like coconut oil, butter, or bacon grease , to be the unhealthy fats. However, the methods that are used to process the vegetable oils can lead to almost immediate rancidity of these oils; which is then processed even more to take out the rancid look and smell. On the other hand , most of the solid fats are very stable. Coconut oil can be kept until it is used up, and needs no kind of refrigeration, or even special processing beyond the expelling of the oil from the coconut meat. Years ago, we always saved the bacon grease, and that is what I used when we were cooking something that needed oil for cooking. It hardened after cooling off, and I had a little special container with a strainer that was especially made for saving the bacon grease in. http://cocoketodiet.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/11-are-you-eating-rancid-oils.pdf
Yes, mom always saved her cooking oil. I didn't pay close enough attention to know whether it was bacon grease, lard or both, but she kept it in a coffee can, and it didn't look nasty at all.