We have come to an agreement.

[postman]

I am at an age where i fall into the Nhs health check system.So last week i had a blood test.Today it was a questionaire.Activities,food intake ,drinking habits,don't drink,gave up four years ago after having Pancreatitis and my gall bladder removed,smoking,don't smoke i had Asthma as a teenager.
So we got onto the Cholesterol figure which is 5.2,In 2014 it was 5.0.Now considering i have had a rubbish six months with a Vit D problem,then Diverticulitis and finally a Prostate problem,which i am still waiting for my final appointment,seeing as they cancelled the last one.In the snow i got there,i got up and out earlier,but the staff couldn't.I don't think 0.2 is much of a rise.Seeing as i have been comfort eating,which i have now dropped.
Well the Nurse tried to convince me to go on Statins.I am 66, 6'-4" tall and weight 15st 6lbs.I refused but came to an agreement to try Omega 3 fish oil tablets for a year.Then we shall have another talk.
I know i can get my weight down another 4-6 lbs and lose that 0.2 reading.
Any thoughts on Statins out there from you lot.I have tried them before but they made me feel crap,hence the refusal.

 

[machew]

Statin Drugs Given for 5 Years for Heart Disease Prevention (Without Known Heart Disease)
None were helped (life saved)
1 in 104 were helped (preventing heart attack)
1 in 154 were helped (preventing stroke)
1 in 100 were harmed (develop diabetes)
1 in 10 were harmed (muscle damage)
http://www.thennt.com/nnt/statins-for-heart-disease-prevention-without-prior-heart-disease/
Statins Given for 5 Years for Heart Disease Prevention (With Known Heart Disease)
1 in 83 were helped (life saved)
1 in 39 were helped (preventing non-fatal heart attack)
1 in 125 were helped (preventing stroke)
1 in 100 were harmed (develop diabetes)
1 in 10 were harmed (muscle damage)
http://www.thennt.com/nnt/statins-for-heart-disease-prevention-with-known-heart-disease/

 

[deptfordmarmoset]

There are some cholesterol reducing products, very often butter spreads or yoghurt drinks. I raised my eyebrows when my doctor recommended them but he managed to convince me with some good cholesterol-bad cholesterol spiel. One of the brands was Benecol but I've forgotten the others. I think Sainsbury's do their own. As I refuse to eat butter substitutes and don't like yoghurts I was only successful in managing to take the Aldi (cheapest I've found) peach-flavoured yoghurt drink for a short while. You never know, they might help you.

EDIT: I just reread your post and remembered that your post was about statins not ways to defer or avoid them.... So, anyway, I've got kidney disease and doc wants my cholesterol down to within the 3s. So the cholesterol-reducing products were in addition to a substantial dose of Atorvastatin. It's very hard to evaluate their side effects because I need to take other medicines alongside and I'd been taking a milder statin for a long time before that. It is a pain to know that the docs have caught you for life but to get the problem treated I had to buy the whole bundle....

 

[mjr]

Any thoughts on Statins out there from you lot.I have tried them before but they made me feel crap,hence the refusal.

Different statins cause different reactions in different people. I've tried a few. I'm now on a low dose as well as other drugs and even that's not going entirely smoothly. Basically, you're still taking a toxic substance, so I think it should be a much later resort than it seems to be.

www.QRISK.org is online, so you can fiddle with things and see what will bring you below their prescribing threshold, but it's only one way of estimating.

One of the brands was Benecol but I've forgotten the others. I think Sainsbury's do their own.

They are different: basically, Benecol is one type (stanols, I think) and all the other brands are the other (sterols, I think). I'm OK with stanols but my stomach didn't react well to the sterol ones IYKWIM. There are also dairy-free drinks of both types. If taking it seriously for cholesterol-reduction, I'd use the drinks because you can't easily regulate the dose of the other products.

After that, I think the biggest steps to cut your cholesterol are to eat oatbran porridge or brose for breakfast (55g of oatbran IIRC - I pour 200ml of boiling water on and let it stand for a few minutes, then usually add seeds, fruit - or 5ml syrup if I'm off cycling) and 20ml of raw olive oil a day (usually on a salad or bread for me). There are various other measures in HEART-UK's Ultimate Cholesterol Lowering Plan, but I think those three measures are the top three.

Oh and cycling is good. Daily cycling can cut your cholesterol levels up to 20% compared to inactivity.

 

[machew]

You think some random web-site, where those behind it aren't even specialists in the area they're commenting on, is a reliable source?

I'm no fan of statins but there are more reliable sources that provide a balanced review.

Dr. Shah Ebrahim, the author of a Cochrane review into statins stated
“If you look at the hard end points of all deaths and coronary deaths, the effects are consistent with both benefit and with the play of chance. But importantly, the absolute benefits are really rather small—1000 people have to be treated for one year to prevent one death. It is probably a real effect, but it means a lot of people have to be treated to gain this small benefit. As we don’t know the harms, it seems wrong-minded to me to treat everyone with a statin. In these circumstances, lifestyle changes and stopping smoking would be far preferable.”

 

[welsh dragon]

Mr WD had to have tablets for high blood pressure. Then they gave him more for high cholesterol. Statins. These made him feel sick, shaky, and dizzy so he has stopped taking them and is trying to lower his Naturally by cutting down on the food that is harmful. To often these days dr's are to ready and willing to throw tablets at people.

Personally I would try lowering your cholesterol yourself by changing your diet, and if that doesn't work, then statins are an option. You may have to try different doses to find the one that suits you. Good luck.