Stay on Statins?

In My Humble Opinion
1

I just got the results from my lipid panel back, and like they were last time, the numbers are very low.
Total: 133
HDL: 59
LDL: 57
vLDL: 17
Triglycerides: 87

My understanding is that Statins typically move the numbers around 20 points, so even if I stopped taking them, my numbers would still be considered “good.”

So, is the potential risks due to statins (I’m taking Simvastatin) worth the incremental lowering of my Cholesterol?
ETA: Should I ask my Dr. if I can try a year without the drugs to see what happens?

2

Standard advice around here is, yes, you should ask your doctor. He or she knows you better than we do.

3

You know, doctors go to medical school for many years to learn to answer exactly this type of question…

What are the side effects of the drug(s)?

Did you already have one or more heart attacks? Are you at significantly elevated risk of having them?

AFAIK, statins are rarely indicated for people who haven’t experienced a myocardial infarction.

4

That is not my experience. Statins are used preventatively to lower blood lipids in people at risk (such as family history, genetics, past medical history) of cardiovascular disease. I’ve been on them since my 20s because of family history and a genetic mutation that causes high blood lipids.

5

Ditto. I’m on lovastatin, and have been for several years, due to genetically high cholesterol. I’ve never had a heart attack, although I came close the first time my lovely and talented wife, Aries28, let me see her naked.

For what it’s worth, my total cholesterol levels before going on statin-type drugs hovered around 230 or 240. With lovastatin, the level is typically in the 140 to 150 range, so the drug has improved my level around 80 to 100 points. Different people react differently to drugs, obviously, but I would strongly recommend talking with your doctor. From what I know, the potential risks of statins (primarily liver damage) are worth the tradeoff for significantly lowered cholesterol levels.

And liver function is a standard test my doctor runs each year when I get my bloodwork done, so until anything shows up there, I’m comfortable staying on the statin.

6

Statins appear to have significant benefits in patients with or at risk for heart disease that do not necessarily correlate directly with their lipid-lowering effects. From UpToDate.com:

So it’s not all about the cholesterol numbers. If a patient is at high risk for heart disease (due to diabetes or other disease processes), the current recommendation is for ongoing statin treatment regardless of what the cholesterol levels are.

7

Untrue, it’s now considered standard of care to use statins for patients who are diabetics. Along with a lot of other disease states.

8

My father, just turned 69, didn’t take his BP meds and suffered a mini-stroke. He’s ok, but now has weakness in his left leg and tiredness. The doctor believes he will be fine after therapy and sticking to his meds. He now realizes he should have been more receptive to the doctor’s orders.

So, please, follow the advice of your doctor, or at the very least discuss the options with him.

9

The wife has now discovered that she is sensitive to statins. So am I. At least my levels are only slightly elevated unmedicated. Her triglycerides are in the 4 digits. That tends to cause quite the reaction from the MD’s