# Another medication thread



## Joel_l (Aug 12, 2016)

Over the past many 10+ years I have been on and off Statins. Mostly I can seem to tolerate the side effects ( yes I have them, occasional tremors, muscle pain.. ), doctor has been aware of them and they seem to be minor. I notice issues most during riding season. I seem to make no progress in strength or endurance. When I stop taking them, I start getting stronger and better at riding. I've been off them for about 3 months now and haven't felt this good in a long time. My Cholesterol levels are high but I think there is a lot worse ( mine is about 260 total ). Part of trying to drive the numbers down is I'm also Diabetic ( T2 ) and slightly hypertensive, so my Doctor wants everything to be better than normal. I've tried several different Statins over the years, all the same to me side effect wise. Have tried everything else to lower Cholesterol and nothing changes it. My diet is pretty healthy ( Pescatarian ) not a lot of crap. At this point I think I'm going to have him do what ever test it is that tells you if the high Cholesterol is even causing an issue, CT score I think.

My observations since being off the Statins is my BP has gone down and my blood sugar is in better control and most of all I feel a lot better.

Anyone else have similar issues? Other experiences?

Joel


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## bsieb (Aug 23, 2003)

I decided to quit worrying about my cholesterol levels a couple years ago as a result of some suggested reading and my own research, quit taking the statins, and I have not looked back. My levels never changed over the years, I'm still at the high side of normal. Eat a good diet and enjoy riding and you will live a good long time, I'd bet.


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## MSU Alum (Aug 8, 2009)

Get the calcium score to see if it's even an issue. Based on the score, you can determine if the side effects are worth it. You can also go half dose or take one every other day to "titrate" back until you can live with the side effects.


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## Sanchofula (Dec 30, 2007)

Cut out all the junk, do everything non medically that you can, then see if you can get by without medications.

Fish oil
Niacin
Red wine
Oatmeal
Exercise daily, aerobic exercise is best.

If you're worried about the effects of elevated lipids, get a cardiac work up with a stress test.

Exercise intolerance due to medication is a bummer, but dying or having a debilitating stroke will suck.


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

Joel_l said:


> Over the past many 10+ years I have been on and off Statins. Mostly I can seem to tolerate the side effects ( yes I have them, occasional tremors, muscle pain.. ), doctor has been aware of them and they seem to be minor. I notice issues most during riding season. I seem to make no progress in strength or endurance. When I stop taking them, I start getting stronger and better at riding. I've been off them for about 3 months now and haven't felt this good in a long time. My Cholesterol levels are high but I think there is a lot worse ( mine is about 260 total ). Part of trying to drive the numbers down is I'm also Diabetic ( T2 ) and slightly hypertensive, so my Doctor wants everything to be better than normal. I've tried several different Statins over the years, all the same to me side effect wise. Have tried everything else to lower Cholesterol and nothing changes it. My diet is pretty healthy ( Pescatarian ) not a lot of crap. At this point I think I'm going to have him do what ever test it is that tells you if the high Cholesterol is even causing an issue, CT score I think.
> 
> My observations since being off the Statins is my BP has gone down and my blood sugar is in better control and most of all I feel a lot better.
> 
> ...


believe it or not eggs will decrease bad cholesterol and increase good cholesterol


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## WHALENARD (Feb 21, 2010)

Octacosanal has lowered cholesterol and more importantly favorably changed the hdl/ldl levels as much as 35% in clinical peer reviewed studies. The University of Tsukuba just published a very interesting study showing Octacosanals ability to rebuild myelin (essentially nerve sheath) in relation to stress induced sleep loss. I'm not going to search for them now but do beleive there are several clincal trials showing Octscosanal is just as effective at lowering cholesterol as popular statin drugs.


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## Joel_l (Aug 12, 2016)

Most the diet related stuff has been my lifestyle for decades ( Pescatarian ). I never bought into the eggs are bad propoganda. I just try to keep everything in moderation.

As far as stress test, I think I do one of those at least twice a week  Though, for the regular rides I have been doing, my max HR has been dropping to do the same amount of work.


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## Cerberus75 (Oct 20, 2015)

Statins make you do more damage to muscle tissue, and slow down healing. 

Keeping your blood sugar on the low side of normal will help reduce LDL and triglycerides.
Other things will help as well.
Coconut oil, fish oil, niacin and currcumin are in my staples.
I use berberine with heavy carb meals. But this will lower blood sugar if you choose to use it be careful.


My wife follows the same diet, she just went to a new GP. He told her that her lipids were high. She told him to look again. He was amazed that her LDL and triglycerides were low. And asked for diet advice.


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## Sanchofula (Dec 30, 2007)

jeffscott said:


> believe it or not eggs will decrease bad cholesterol and increase good cholesterol


Yes and no.

In the OPs case, he should probably avoid dietary cholesterol.

Trans fats are worse, similarilly, avoid foods cooked with overheated oils, fried foods. Cook with water, even stir frying requires very little oil.

~85% of cholesterol is produced in the liver.

Get those HDLs up!

As a medical professional I often meet with people who "know more than me" based on the research they've done. I appreciate the importance of being educated and I encourage my patients to learn about their body to help them maintain better health.

Just keep in mind that a medical professional is not only well educated, they do this "stuff" for a living, day in and day out. A few hours of internet research cannot equate to years of training and experience.

I'm a psychiatric provider, my wife is a general practitioner. I just asked her about current guidelines for LDL and she said it should be less than 100. She also writes a fair amount of statins. Your mileage may vary.

I get that folks don't want the side effects of medications; that is the number one reason for non compliance, but premature death is the side effect of high LDLs.

Some people have better genes, some have worse...


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## Cerberus75 (Oct 20, 2015)

Nurse Ben said:


> Yes and no.
> 
> In the OPs case, he should probably avoid dietary cholesterol.
> 
> ...


I agree, if the yokes are not oxidized(cooked) and this only works In some people. If you get your lipids in good order, you can try and make them better with testing things.


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

Nurse Ben said:


> Yes and no.


No yes or no about it...reliable and repeatable...

It can result in a higher overall cholesterol number though...

There is much debate about this in medical practice driven mostly by the statin research

I had a cardiologist and a general practitioner go back and forth...

Answer....keep doing what I was doing.


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## jk59845 (Aug 9, 2017)

Interesting. There has been some newer research getting a lot of publicity on statins raising BG levels. Those who do take should also be aware that statins can lower CoQ10 levels. Supplementing can help keep CoQ10 levels optimal if you have to be on statins.


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## Joel_l (Aug 12, 2016)

When I was on the Statins I did take Ubiquinol ( CoQ10 ) but didn't really notice that it helped any. As far as BG I also noticed it would trend slightly higher, but nothing I couldn't manage. Other factors tend to influence my BG more. Like lately I have been on this Ice Cream and Chocolate binge, the result of that is instead of being < 100 in the morning most mornings when I get up, I've been around 110 - 120. Need to cut the IC back to a couple times a month, then it doesn't seem to impact me when I do have some.


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## jk59845 (Aug 9, 2017)

Joel_l said:


> When I was on the Statins I did take Ubiquinol ( CoQ10 ) but didn't really notice that it helped any. As far as BG I also noticed it would trend slightly higher, but nothing I couldn't manage. Other factors tend to influence my BG more. Like lately I have been on this Ice Cream and Chocolate binge, the result of that is instead of being < 100 in the morning most mornings when I get up, I've been around 110 - 120. Need to cut the IC back to a couple times a month, then it doesn't seem to impact me when I do have some.


Maybe the ubiquinol was helping to prevent certain side effects? Either way, glad to hear you were able to get off the statins! I haven't heard about the BP improvement, but the BG trending up while on statins makes sense.

Being able to have IC a few times a month sounds like a win to me!


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## Joel_l (Aug 12, 2016)

Able to be off is yet to be seen. Without the Statins my Cholesterol goes right back up to 260ish. I just know physically I feel much better off them. Next step is to see if the high Cholesterol is really causing an issue. I think the BP improvement comes from feeling better and being able to exercise more often and more effectively.

Yes, Ice Cream is good.


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