A recent thread regarding how much RX a person takes

[Stargazer99]

I'm on blood pressure and a statin. My short term memory is trashed due to these. Statins interfere with the communication cells....I can only assume creating a better blood pressure med would lesses the profits

[MOMFUDSKI]

1. When I started statins in my forties,

I noticed a real memory problem. Finally quit them about 3 years ago at age 72 and my memory is as sharp as a tack. I will not take any more. Told my doc it is what it is. My husband takes a statin and I see his memory is really not good at all.

[KentuckyWoman]

2. Statins aren't for blood pressure are they?

I thought they were to lower cholesterol when the body makes too much.

[JohnSJ]

3. That is exactly what they are for, lipids. These kind of threads are not particularly helpful, and

represent anecdotal experience, which should not be extrapolated to the general population

One should work with their physicians in dealing with health issues, rather than forums IMHO

[BeerBarrelPolka]

5. +1

Absolutely.

[SCantiGOP]

7. +2

[localroger]

9. The problem is that physicians are themselves often victims of advertising and propaganda

Yes, statins are about controlling lipids... and lipids are basically what the brain is made of. There are interactions and they are not uncommon. No, you shouldn't quit a drug just because you read about it on a forum, but you should be paying attention to side effects when you start or stop a drug, and your physician should be willing to listen when you tell them a supposedly beneficial drug is doing something bad to you. The forum can be useful to remind you that the bad thing happening to you might not just be some inevitable effect of age. Eight years ago I had an 85% blocked LAD and an angiogram and a stent and I've been on more drugs since then than I had ever taken in my life. I have had to stop three of those drugs due to side effects. Fortunately my cardiologist is open-minded about things like this. A lot of doctors aren't. Plavix and Amlodipine both nearly killed me. There's a point at which it would just be cheaper and less messy to have the heart attack. Be attentive is not a bad message.

[airplaneman]

14. I thought that now we have Google - who needs a doctor anymore n/t.

[Lars39]

6. COQ10 helps with the memory loss.

[Ms. Toad]

17. The reason for a COQ10 supplement is needed

is because the way that statins work is to block bio-pathways for not only lipid creation but also for CoQ10, and other things essential for health. Statins work because when the lipid creation pathway is interrupted, our body draws the lipids needed from our bloodstream. Unfortunately, the same trick doesn't work for CoQ10 - so you often need a supplement to boost the CoQ10 your body is no longer producing.

It's one of the reasons I have (so far) refused to go on statins.

The current medical mantra is that if you're diabetic you need to be on a statin, regardless of your cholesterol levels. My doctor has been pressuring me for years to go on a statin despite the fact that my A1C is in the normal range, I have normal cholesterol levels, zero history of heart disease in my family, and no artery calcification. His bottom line, when he gets tired of arguing with me, is to tell me that he is being downgraded for every diabetic patient who is not on a statin. I've also received calls from my Part D insurance company to push me to go on statins.

While there may be valid reasons for many with diabetes to go on statins (family history of heart disease, unregulated diabetes, abnormal cholesterol), it should not be a one-size-fits-all mandate - especially becausew statins interfere with other bio-pathways causing side-effects which may go unnoticed - or need to be treated by taking additional medication.

[Maraya1969]

8. I was prescribed statins for cholesterol years ago. They made my arms feel so heavy

So I spoke with a holistic doctor from Jersey that I used to see a million years ago and he told me to take:

1. Timed release Niacin

2. Some type of mushroom that I got in pill form - I just tried to look it up and realized that many mushrooms are helpful for cholesterol and many other body problems

3. Red Yeast Rice

---------------------------------

It lowered my numbers by 75 points I believe. (Don't remember the exact number but it was astonishing)

Lately my cholesterol has been kind of high but no doctor's hair has ignited because of it. I probably should get some more of this stuff but I just haven't done it yet.

[Aristus]

15. I think you got sold a bill of goods. The word 'holistic' caught my attention.

In the field of allopathic medicine, 'holistic' boils down to the old adage about treating the patient, not the symptom. But in the sphere of 'alternative' medicine, 'holistic' usually just means a lot of woo, without any of the sort of peer-reviewed treatment protocols that actually produce positive clinical outcomes.

Niacin has been discredited as an effective lipid-reducing treatment. Whatever lipid-reducing properties a mushroom or whatever might possess, one is better off consuming it in its natural state, rather than relying on a manufactured supplement. The supplement industry, unlike the pharmaceutical industry, isn't regulated by the Federal government for safety, purity, and efficacy.

Red yeast rice comes with some of the same problems. While there is some peer-reviewed evidence that it is effective for reducing lipids, commercially available supplements have been found to contain anywhere from not enough to no active ingredient at all. Any supplement with enough of the active ingredient (known as monacolin K) to be clinically effective is essentially identical to the pharmaceutical lovastatin. One is actually better off taking lovastatin instead, as unregulated red yeast rice supplements have been found to contain dangerous levels of the toxin citrinin, which can be very bad for the liver, kidneys, and so on.

In a time of often manufactured distrust of established institutions, going off the beaten path can seem like independent thinking. But when established institutions are answerable to powerful regulatory agencies, they're still your best bet.

[Maraya1969]

16. Holistic is the wrong word. And if you think none of these things helped can you explain the

drop in my cholesterol levels?

[Aristus]

19. The red yeast rice may, may have helped.

But like I said above, you're better off with a newer generation statin like lovastatin, and undergoing regular clinical monitoring for kidney and liver function. Providing effective treatment is only half the battle for a provider of clinical medicine. The other half is avoiding causing harm. Keeping toxins away from patients is part of that.

I believe absolutely that your cholesterol levels went down. But from a clinical standpoint, this is mere anecdotal evidence for the efficacy of the substances you took.

[elias7]

10. Your last statement is really loose

First of all, a statin is not for blood pressure.

Second of all, there are a whole host of blood pressure medication classes and pharmaceutical companies are working to create new ones all the time. It is irresponsible to just assume that creating something better would lessen profits, not that I have any love for corporations, but this is an underhanded accusation. In fact, market forces would favor the production of a pharmaceutical agent that does not have side effects.

Trashing corporations for being profit driven is too simplistic it really does a disservice to the thousands of scientists who pour their heart into their work without any agenda other than trying to do their part to improve our lives.

I’m tired of the blanket trashing of institutions that TFG engaged in, the fake news media, the big government corruption, etc. Our institutions are complicated, necessary in some form to allow a society and a world so large to function.

As Democrats, let’s just be a little more subtle and discerning.

[Sneederbunk]

11. +1

[Doc Sportello]

13. Referring to "market forces" is way too loose

Not to mention naive. Market forces is often used to justify corporate decisions, and it is often just a cover for greed. That's not simplistic; it's fact.

The researchers aren't the ones being questioned so don't conflate them and the CEOs. The great majority of the researchers do have their hearts in the right place. The CEOs running what are some of the most profitbale corporations in the country do not. They are beholden to driving up profits while cutting costs, as well as rewarding shareholders and themselves with bonuses and pay levels that are astronomically higher than the researchers and certainly many times higher than the average worker.

[GoodRaisin]

18. +1

[iemanja]

12. I've been on anti-depressants for years

Then I need more anti-depressants to sleep. My memory is also poor, but that is probably the result of the depression more than the drugs. The drugs are absolutely essential.

[Meowmee]

20. Statins are for reducing cholesterol

And they have anti inflammatory effects in the blood vessels which is probably their most significant effect in helping heart disease and other conditions. They do have a lot of bad side effects. I can’t take them although it is recommended for my conditions because they caused bad muscle pain twice right away. I took coq10 in advance and it made no difference. The first time I took one for a few days it also made me so dopey I couldn’t drive.

Maybe there is another drug you can try instead.

If your ldl/ hdl ratio is good and triglicerides and total cholesterol are not too high you may not need them. Ask the doctors etc.

When statins came out the cholesterol ranges were changed to lower the level which would require medication in an attempt to get large numbers of people on them. Blood pressure is another issue which must be treated if it is high as that can damage many organs. It can also damage your blood vessels and cause calcification. There are numerous bp meds so try a different one if you have issues with yours.

There are new lipid lowering meds now but as you suspected they cost a fortune. One of my docs wants me to try one.

Some people have taken red rice yeast extract which is the natural version of statins and have not had the bad side effects. I haven’t tried that.