[csiebold]

I would find a different doctor. Your heart is a muscle and most side effects for meds that lower your cholesterol is muscle stiffness and cramping. Find a different doctor

[Carriea]

That doctor is not respecting your decision or issues I would find another who actually listens.

[BAT777]

Visit a Functional Doctor for advice

[Brandigirl]

Mine results similar to yours.
Cholesterol 215.
LDL 129
HDL 57
Which means your results were better than mine!. I was told we will just watch and was not put on cholesterol meds. These results were for 1.5 years ago in a different state. I Had repeat 3 months ago, here in FL, slightly lower but not by that much. Again, no recommendation to put on Cholesterol meds. Look at your Cholesterol/HDL ratio. Mine was 3.5 and normal was less than 5. It should be on your lab work.
Regarding bonus for prescribing meds, Years ago, that was a common. Reps would come in and bring the staff elaborate free lunches. Then the reps would talk to the doctors to prescribe the latest medication (Pharmaceutical Reps). Obviously the reps were compensated well if that medication was used for the patients. They even hosted free elaborate dinners at very nice restaurants and would have slide shows informing us about the latest new medication for the nursing staff/doctors. I know because I experienced it first hand. Then somehow, it was known that this was seen as some sort of bribe and congress or someone got involved and we no longer had free dinners or lunches. The staff got really used it. Then I moved to another state (recently) and they would bring again , elaborate lunches 3x/week for the staff. They would have a rep sit at a table in the break room to talk to the Nurse Practitioners and doctors as they got a break. We had to sign in a sheet of paper before we ate because they could get away with it by calling it "An informational lunch". The reps really only spoke to the doctors and NP one on one at the lunch table. It wasn't for everyone to hear (not a group discussion) although if you were really interested and asked a question, they would talk to you. I think I gained 10lbs that year! Some states ban this now but they have creative ways to get around it. Doctors, I think, got kick backs of some kind to prescribe and reps got bonuses. It was not that anything was wrong with these medication or unsafe, it was just a new medication to try. Years ago, they would give free samples to the patient to try the new meds and if it seemed to work for them, they would continue. The problem was, they were very expensive, had a patent on them and no generic available, so if the patient liked it and got good results, they wanted to continue. But then we know how insurance worked many years ago. Insurance paid almost everything in full so back then, there was no such things as deductibles, co-pays, maximum out of pocket, tier levels for drugs etc. So as time change, they become more creative.

[StateRobinbird]

Find a new Dr. that is willing to work with you to find a solution. There are a lot of "tricks" to reduce Cholesterol without the use of statins.

[tthdr]

Originally Posted by HIgolfers

This is a fascinating thread. I wonder is some retired docs could post their ideas on this.

Doctors have liability for patients who refuse treatment. The laws say that as the expert if a patient refuses xrays and the standard of care says they are needed, the dentist can by law be held liable. It does not make sense on its face but that is the law. The dentist is supposed to dismiss the patient. Besides, it really does not make sense to see someone you disagree with. I would try to compromise with a patient but you cannot treat teeth with no xrays. You would be guessing.

[Joorn59]

If you’ve been on a statin for years without getting to the normal range of cholesterol/LDL imagine where you’ll be without treatment.

[icthelite]

Do as I do. Take the script home and file it. When you go back for your follow up and he asks how you feel just tell him there's been no change. Another ploy to keep from taking something you don't want is to google what the side effects are, pick one or two of them. Call the doctor about them and he/she will take you off the med.

[rexxfan]

Originally Posted by John_W

I just posted this on another thread, so I'll repost here since I'm allergic to statins and I had to find out the hard way.

In 2012 I had an attack of psoriatic arthritis and my legs swelled so much, I couldn't tell where my knees were, I gained 15 pounds overnight. I went to the VA ER at Gainesville and they gave me an IV of prednisone and then 144 prednisone pills to take over the next 30 days. I recovered in two weeks but when the pills ran out, my condition returned, but in a different way. I had psoriasis so bad I looked like a snowman flaking all over the place. I went back to the ER and they admitted to the hospital for 3 days and gave me a lot of predisone again. As it turned out, the VA never found what caused my reaction, I discovered it on my own while experimenting with my prescription drugs. I was allergic to statins, because I took avorstatin for cholesterol.

I have both a VA doctor and a Villages doctor with medicare. Jump ahead a year and my Villages doctor retired and I'm given a new doctor. He prescribed a drug and I made a big mistake, I trusted him and didn't read what it was, it was Crestor. I got red blotches all over, I called him and he said, it's just a small 5 mg dose, I said, I'm allergic to statins. He apparently had never encountered that before.

Anyway, I've been without taking statins now for a couple of years and my HDL is right about 210, which worries him. Six months ago he told me he has patients that are dropping 40 points using this natural drug, Cholestoff Plus. I started taking two a day about five months ago and I'll have a blood test in March and I'll find out if it's working.

It's $15 for 105 pills at Walmart and $30 at Walgreens. The way it's suppose to work is it stops the body from making cholesterol. My VA doctor once had told me to try the nutrient Red Yeast Rice, and when I did I broke out in blotches. After I researched it, I found that Red Yeast Rice is is a blend of 5 statins, so don't take that either.



https://www.walmart.com/ip/Nature-Ma...caAvXfEALw_wcB

For what its worth, my LDL was 160 and my doc recommended statins. I declined and made some lifestyle changes. 18 months later my LDL was 96. One of the changes I made was to use CholestOff, so I am sure it was part of the reason for the improvement. It's worth a try.
--
bc

[PennBF]

The person who provided the "UTube" article on Statins should be thanked for making the readers so informative on such an important subject. The writer provided, what I consider, as the most important Thread to Talk of the Villages. The feed back by the readers indicate just how useful TOV is to the Community. I for one have had a running battle with my Dr about the use of Statins and may be fired because of my position. Have had a number of friends and others relate the bad effects they have had with statins and am not about to risk any at this late age. Again, thanks for the article web sites.

[graciegirl]

Originally Posted by icthelite

Do as I do. Take the script home and file it. When you go back for your follow up and he asks how you feel just tell him there's been no change. Another ploy to keep from taking something you don't want is to google what the side effects are, pick one or two of them. Call the doctor about them and he/she will take you off the med.

Laboratory results are the most effective way to know if Statins are lowering your cholesterol.

Statins are indeed very effective in lowering the chance of death from cardiovascular difficulties.

Your body. Your choice.

[PennBF]

I have known so many that have had serious side effects from Statins that I think it is a serious health problem for all. If you read and listen to the tapes on the web site that was generously provided by one of the TOV readers it is hard to ignore their warnings. It is critical that you and not your Dr is responsible for your health and care. A lot of Physicians (some friends of mine) take great vacation trips paid for by Drug Companies. Of course they are influenced by some..I know I am completely independent for my thinking when considering medications for
myself. All should read that Website the reader provided and then balance that with your thoughts and do what your conscience suggests.

[graciegirl]

Originally Posted by PennBF

I have known so many that have had serious side effects from Statins that I think it is a serious health problem for all. If you read and listen to the tapes on the web site that was generously provided by one of the TOV readers it is hard to ignore their warnings. It is critical that you and not your Dr is responsible for your health and care. A lot of Physicians (some friends of mine) take great vacation trips paid for by Drug Companies. Of course they are influenced by some..I know I am completely independent for my thinking when considering medications for
myself. All should read that Website the reader provided and then balance that with your thoughts and do what your conscience suggests.

I think this is a pretty good article on the subject.
Statins: is your doctor at the heart of the 'Great Cholesterol Con'? - BizNews.com

[Kwenner]

Take Metamucil every day. Seriously , Dr wanted my husband to take meds for his cholesterol and I had him Start Metamucil, his cholesterol dropped 80 points in less than 3 months. If you don’t like the powder you can get capsules.

[Hifred]

My husband has mixed hyperlipidemia which is a genetic disorder and high levels of trigylcerides in cholesterol. He was on Crestor for more than 15 years and started to have side effects. The Crestor contolled his high triglycerides and cholesterol well but his hands were shaking, his memory got really bad and he developed protein uria. He talked to his doctor and rather refusing any statin they talked about options. The doctor allowed him to come off of Crestor for six weeks and then ran a blood pannel to see what he looked like with only a controlled diet. All his numbers which had been good on Crestor after six weeks of being off Crestor were bad. So the doctor advised trying half a dose of Crestor for six weeks which he did. Then more blood work was done. There was an improvement but the triglycerides were over 500 which is not good. So then we talked about other types of stantins. So he stopped Crestor and began a six week trial of Lipitor. It has been a month and in 2 more weeks he is going in for more blood and urine. The side effects on half a dose of Crestor and on the Lipitor are gone. The issue is half a dose of Crestor did not work as it should. We will see how this trial of Lipitor does,

My question is why is it all or nothing between you and your doctor? Maybe a smaller dose of medicine will help. Or maybe a different stantin will help. If you have a genetic disorder like combined hyperlipidemia, hypertriglyceridemia, defective apolipoprtein B-100 or hypercholesterolemia you will likely die without treatment by massive heart attack or stroke. These diseases use to cause people to drop over. Diet alone won't get rid of these conditions and for those who have them statins are a life saver. They have some new injectable medications that help the liver absorbe more LDK which lowers cholesterol Paluent and Repatha can help but you sometimes still have to take statins. I don't understand why take it or else and why you can's talk about other options or if possibly you are not open to any other options. There might be more to this.