My doc advised my to start on statins as my cholesterol level is 5.9. I decided against it as I have no other health problems eg diabetes, high blood pressure, over-weight etc. So glad - read this:
http://www.express.co.uk/news/health

A cholesterol level of 5.9 is not a disaster but it is high. I was prescribed statins some 5 years ago (I have slightly high average blood pressure and especially a very variable blood pressure). The initial type was Simvastatin (very low cost material) and I DID suffer joint pains. I told the doc who switched me to the slightly more costly Pravastatin and that has absolutely no side effects. These two have the same end result ie they DO reduce cholesterol, but they operate by quite different mechanisms. I was told that if I still has and user problems with Pravastatin then there is a third type.

So I had problems with Simvastatin but none with Pravastatin. Other folk have it totally the other way around - you just need to persevere and find the "right one" for you

They do work

Happy at Cholesterol = 1.9

Snod

Been taking them for about 5 years now. My cholesterol levels were about the same as yours. Haven't smoked for more than forty years and there is no history of heart troubles in the family. Nevertheless my GP was on my case to try them. I go each year for the full blood tests and my liver and kidney functions as well as cholesterol levels are normal. So I suppose I will continue to take them until they give me a reason not to.
The trouble with the Express is that they have regular headlines, sometimes for and sometimes against statins.
The web has many forums in which you can read of nightmare stories written by people who have had adverse reactions. But there are millions like me who are on them who we never here from. In fact it's not that long ago that the Express published an article that stated statin users were likely to live much longer and healthier lives. But that has to depend on other circumstances, diet, exercise etc.
I think they change like the wind. Their weather reports are just as inaccurate as their ideas about statins.
I'm 68 and if they help me to get another 10 years feeling as healthy as I do now I'll be happy.

They do work

Happy at Cholesterol = 1.9

Snod [/quote]

Wow Snod, cholestereol 1.9!!

I've been on lowest dose of statin for about 10 years (original cholesterol level 5.6)and I thought my level at 3.1 was good!

better and safer way to reduce the high wrong cholesterol is to take vitamin B3 otherwise called Niacin. The straigt niacin can cause intial flushing of skin but it stops after been taking for a few days. You can also get a niacinamide which doesnt cause flush but need to check if its as effective. Do some research on getting the right dosage. Big pharma keep it quiet as theres not enough money in it.
Niacin is added in small doses to flour and also in marmite, sugar puffs and shreddies but levels may not be high enough to be cholesterol reducing-

the way i see it is that it wouldn't be prescribed/recommended if it wasn't beneficial. Drugs have to pass so many tests and checks and years of research to be on the market under prescription.

EVERY drug has side effects, it's just a case of each individual is treated differently, if there were identical twins each prescribed something, one may react differently than the other.

name any drug and i can guarantee it has some side effects. whether it be a case where the benefits outweigh the negative effects or that allergic reaction may occur.

This is dated Jun 8, 2011.. nearly 3 years ago.. read this and I take 80mg daily and take Amiodarone
http://www.medpagetoday.com/Cardiology/Dyslipidemia/26950
So how many years do they want to test it j_demo?

I only Googled "mg statin" and got loads of bad news about statin

Everybody has the right to accept/ reject professional medical advice but I would certainly not base any personal decision on an article read in the Daily Express!!!

that's why I searched the net and got the same results as you always diss stuff you don't like personally.

Goes a bit deeper than that, but yes I get ya jist.

Who do you trust most, the express reporter or your doctor, I had a heart attack 10 years ago I am on pravastatin it keeps my cholestrol down. TRUST YOUR DOCTOR, all medication can have side effects for different people, your doctor will find one to suit you, WILL THE EXPRESS NO!!

Sod the Express, all on the net says bad stuff about high doses of statins.

Express ? ok! - (spit). But the source is the Chairman of the British Medical Association. They don't come much more respectable.

I seem to recall reading somewhere that doctors get paid more money if they manage to reduce the cholesterol levels of their patients below a certain level.

I'm not saying that this is a bad thing in itself, but it makes it more likely that statins will be prescribed. Probably easier to do this than to change people's dietary habits.

They may give some folk unpleasant side effects, in which case stop taking them. But fewer and fewer people are suffering heart attacks and strokes since these things have appeared so they must be doing SOME good.

Spot on. I`m on 80mg a day and already had heart attacks and a triple heart bypass. My legs feel like I have knives going through them most of the time. On a bad night they can keep me up most of the night. I fall asleep at about 7 am then sleep completely knackered till about 3pm. What a wonderful life!.

TRUST YOUR DOCTOR--- Doctors try to diagnose a particular illness then look in a book/computer and prescribe drugs that pharmaceutical companies say help. Like thalidomide!I would think most GPs usually rely on silence as a marker of how effective their prescribing is. Whilst the internet has a load of nonsense on it at least it is a place where people with real illnesses can say what has helped them and what has not.be it medicinal, nutritional old wives tale etc etc. Take mental illnes. Western GPS prescribe antipsychotics but the World Health Organisation says people with mental illness have better outcomes in countries where antipsychotics are not used.I think we put too much trust in our GPs and our pharmaceutical companies

Today, the Express has the following huge headline!

TAKE STATINS TO SAVE YOUR LIFE!

Whether you take statins or not is up to you, but I think you need the memory of a goldfish to take the Express every day. By next week Statins will be 'Killer pills' again, only to turn back into 'Wonder pills' the week after.

80mg is within BNF limits and simvastatin is not contraindicatory with Amiodarone.

if you're experiencing issues, consult your GP. otherwise everything is fine. if you're that concerned, you can ask to change to a different statin, Zocor is an alternative you can have, if more expensive to the NHS it may be worth a trial?

I am a qualified pharmacsit, if you are taking amiodarone you should be on a maximum dose of 20mg simvastatin, no more than that so I advise you to speak to your GP over this.

The main side effect to worry about with statins is any unexplained muscle pain this should be reported to your GP or pharmacist asap although this is very rare I have been qualified for almost 2 years and worked in pharmacy for 6 and have come across one patient who had to stop taking the statin due to muscle toxicity, I referred her back to the GP who tried her on another statin and she was fine on that one.

I dispense I'd say at least 20 scripts with statins on a day, most of the patients have been on them long term and have never experienced any bad effects.

I`m off to see the quack next week, so hopefully get the meds changed. Cheers

I had problems with simvaststin. I'm now on atorvastatin 10mg. a day without any problems.

Doc dropped my 80mg to 20mg straight away, agreed with me. I should of had them dropped 12 months after op. Lets hope there is some improvement soon.

Worth keeping a close eye on your doctor; they do make mistakes. Hope you're OK now.

Early days yet Chris, only been a week since I cut them down and I`ve been on them for nearly 2 years. I have no idea how long it will take to make any difference, Thanks for asking.

I was on statins a while ago, caused bad coughs at night and muscle cramps in the legs like nobody's business. Took 3 different docs before the last one said it was side effects, stopped the statins, coughs stopped, muscle cramps stopped. Just taking candasarten now, no probs.
Coincidentally Zipper, I was in the Guy Fawkes Pub in York last weekend.