Should 22 year old females be taking statins???

[LoveRadley]

I was on Lipitor (Atorvastatin from the age of 19 (i am female). I was put on this following a cholesterol test level of 7.2. They then uped the dose to 20mg which made my cholesterol level 4.5. I then felt tired, and had aching joints. I was assured this was nothing to do with the statins and they are a safe drug to use. My health service then decided that Zocor (Simvastatin) was more affective and called me back to change the drug., By this time, I was fed up with generally feeling un well and took my self off Lipitor, But didnt commence the Zocor. After 3 months, my GP contacted me asking to check my cholesterol levels. After 3 months without taking statins, my levels returned to 7.2. The Dr now wants me to take statins and I feel I should be seen by a consultant in Cholesterol to make this decision. There appears to be little evidence of young adults taking statins and the long term affects. I am now 22 years old. Can anyone help me or advise on whether I should take Statins? Thanks

[catamaran]

Adverts on the telly for statin drugs have a small, fleeting disclaimer that appears at one of the lower corners of the screen. It says this:
(paraphrase) "This product has not been shown to prevent heart attack".

Statins work very well to reduce "cholesterol" in one's system, but according to Dr. Uffe Ravenskov's extensive research "cholesterol" has nothing whatsover to do with the onset of heart disease.

I think one can deduce from these that statin drug therapy for the prevention of heart disease is a dead-end (no pun intended).

[Dottore]

I agree with catamaran and highly recommend the book by Dr. Ravnskov.
Reading the majority of posts on this site I can see that the propaganda about the bogeyman cholesterol has done a great job. When will people realise that cholesterol does not cause heart disease etc.?
So many still seem to be looking for "natural" ways to lower their cholesterol, why?
Dottore

[Dottore]

[quote][quote][quote]I feel I should be seen by a consultant in Cholesterol to make this decision. There [/quote][/quote][/quote]
I think only you should be making this decision.Not someone who has a vested interest and most certainly would place his financial interests above yours.
If you want to do something totally idiotic, something that almost certainly will shorten your life, will make it more likely to get cancer and a host of other diseases then, by all means, go ahead and take statins. Big Pharma needs people like you.

Dottore

[catamaran]

You have certainly not minced words, Dottore! I applaud you for that, Mate.

Consulting a "cholesterol expert" or "specialist" for advice on the use of statin drugs is rather akin to consulting with the fox on the best way to run the hen house.

In my opinion the pharmaceutical industry is culpable of criminal negligence with its continued issue of propaganda supporting the use of statin drugs. I came to that conclusion upon learning of Merck's abandonment of Zocor/CoQ10 combination therapy in favor of Zocor therapy alone; the patent for Zocor/CoQ10 was never exercised.

Dr. Graveline's experience with Lipitor should raise a huge red flag before anyone considering statin therapy.

(BTW: Do you sense a certain incongruity with the subject matter of this site and the advert on the upper-right corner of this page??)

To your health, Catamaran

[Dottore]

Catamaran, I most certainly do sense an incongruity there.
I guess we all need to pay bills......
Interference with cholesterol is, in my opinion, a criminal act instigated by Big Pharma and committed by Modern Medicine.

But there are many who should know better and who keep the deception alive.
As Professor George Mann said in the 70's....."the cholesterol hypothesis is the biggest deception of the human race in the history of medicine. '

Dottore

[eml256]

statins have NEVER been shown to decrease morbidity or mortalilty in women or older men---the only "supposed" decrease in heart disease is seen in middle aged men who have sufferered a cardiac event already--probably due to statins' anti inflammatory effects, having nothing to do with its lowering cholesterol.....and if one converts those reported statistics from "relative risk benefit" to "absolute risk benefit" the supposed positive effects fade. statins have not been shown to decrease mortality in ANY group...no matter how the statistics are reported, if my memory serves me correctly

[Dottore]

eml256, yes your memory does serve you correctly.
It is a sure sign that you are not on statins......:--))
Dottore

[LoveRadley]

Thankyou for the replies. I am now statin free thanks to the advice of a Consultant who specialises in Cholesterol. I live in England and obviously the medical care is very different to that of the UK's national health service. There is a big drive over here to reduce heart disease etc with the use of stains and reducing cholesterol. Due to this there is pressure on our Drs to produce audit results. As my choloesterol results were not within normal ranges, my GP would have been questioned as to why I would not be taking a stain, so I think its wrong that I may have been taking a statin when there was no need to. I am a health professional myself and can understand why we need to produce evidence to support our practice, but patients should never be made to take a Statin to be inline with government targets.

I have been off the stains now for over 6 months and feeling much better. I am also much more awake and able to go out in the evenings (as 22 yr olds should!). If I had not perservered and asked for specialised advice then I would still be taking statins, no the wiser that I don't ctually need them. The Dr said that my risk of heart attack and stroke in the next 40 years is very low due to my active and healthy lifestyle. My advice is that if anyone is taking statins, then get a 2nd opinion and ask for the real facts!

[sos_group_owner]

Can anyone help me or advise on whether I should take Statins?

Hi LoveRadley,

1) It has not been proven that lowering cholesterol benefits "women"
2) Inflammation is the problem, not cholesterol
3) 55% of people that have heart attacks and strokes have normal or
low cholesterol

Please do yourself a favor and read Dr Graveline's article:
"Statin Alternatives"
http://www.spacedoc.net/statin_alternatives.htm

Synopsis of Dr Graveline's recommendations -

Statin alternative(s) to reduce/prevent inflammation:
(IE: anti-oxidant, reduce platelet stickiness, controls homocysteine)
1) buffered aspirin - 81 mg
2) CoQ10 - 100 to 150 mg
3) folic acid - 400-800 mcg
B6 - 80-100mg
B12 - 200-250mcg
4) Omega 3 (fish oil or cod liver oil) [ There is no upper limit.]

These four items/categories have the same anti-inflammatory affect as
20 mg's of Lipitor, without side effects.

Fran

[catamaran]

[quote="sos_group_owner"]Can anyone help me or advise on whether I should take Statins?

Hi LoveRadley,

1) It has not been proven that lowering cholesterol benefits "women"
2) Inflammation is the problem, not cholesterol
3) 55% of people that have heart attacks and strokes have normal or
low cholesterol

Please do yourself a favor and read Dr Graveline's article:
"Statin Alternatives"
http://www.spacedoc.net/statin_alternatives.htm

Synopsis of Dr Graveline's recommendations -

Statin alternative(s) to reduce/prevent inflammation:
(IE: anti-oxidant, reduce platelet stickiness, controls homocysteine)
1) buffered aspirin - 81 mg
2) CoQ10 - 100 to 150 mg
3) folic acid - 400-800 mcg
B6 - 80-100mg
B12 - 200-250mcg
4) Omega 3 (fish oil or cod liver oil) [ There is no upper limit.]

These four items/categories have the same anti-inflammatory affect as
20 mg's of Lipitor, without side effects.

Fran[/quote]

...and while you're about it, add 1000mg of vitamin C five times a day to that dietary regimen. The primary cause of atherosclerosis and its concomitant heart disease is the pandemic condition described by the late Dr. Linus Pauling, "chronic subclinical scurvy", or plain old vitamin C deficiency.