Statins

[BlueToffee]

My new GP thinks a cholesterol level of 5.1 is too high for a 70 year old male, so prescribed Statins for me.

Well, I have diligently taken them now for three weeks and feel very lethargic, aching joints, loss of energy etc. could this be something to do with the Statins or not?

If I'm going to live for an extra 6 months feeling like this I have to ask myself, is it worth it?

Any thoughts would be appreciated.

[woofgang]

yes the statins could be making you feel like this, my dh got the same side effects as do many other statin users. if you want to take statins then go back and ask for an alternative. if the dic poo poos your side effects then find another doc!

[woofgang]

interesting thread here.
http://www.theanswerbank.co.uk/News/Question1343154.html

[MargoTester]

They had the same effect on me initially but I fould it passed after a time. What dosage are you on?

[dannyk13]

I have been on statins (Atorvastatin)for high cholesterol for over a year without any side effects.There quite a lot of different statins so I would see your GP and ask him to prescribe a different statin.

[BlueToffee]

Interesting article woofie, am off to see him this afternoon for a chat.

Funny how my previous GP of 35 years never thought my cholesterol level, which fluctuated between 4.6 and 5.3, was not worrying enough to issue Statins.

40 mg Margot.

[factor-fiction]

I think the thresholds have been changed- in the past 5.2 was considered on the high side but now 5 is used. That's what my doctor's receptionist told me anyway when I was given my results

[slaney]

A very controversial question at the moment, and we are talking about statins used in primary prevention, that is to say in those with no history of cardiovascular disease.

Hopefully your GP will have not just taken a single total cholesterol level into account before starting statins - it's much more complicated than that.

The total cholesterol level which you have been given is not a good guide to your risk - it's the ratio of total to good cholesterol which is important.
There are many other things to be taken into consideration - age weight, diabetes , family history, exercise taken, blood pressure etc. before even considering starting statins.
The risk is usually measured by using something like a QRISK2 calculator - you can google this - and is given as a percentage risk of developing cardiovascular disease over the next ten years. Up until February of this year only those with a risk over 20% were recommended to take statins, Now this has been lowered to 10%.

I would go back to your GP, and discuss the risks and benefits.

[dannyk13]

40mg seems a bit high.Mine are 20mg.

[MargoTester]

They keep changing the goalposts. I was started on a dose of 10mg, which I am still on, but a friend of mine was started on 40mg too. Mylevel was a lot higher than yours in the first place ask the doc if that dose is really necessary as 5.1 is not that high. Mine was 9!!(had been on that stupid Atkins diet)

[Sqad]

I agree with slaney, BUT...you are 70 years of age, otherwise well, I presume, with no family history of cardiovascular disease, then i can see no point in going on statins.
Plus, the side effects that you are getting are certainly well recognised as those due to statins.

I could and would not want to live under those circumstances.

Yes, lipid profile (cholesterol) is complicated, becauses doctors make it that way.Your cholesterol is normal.

Of course there is another drug which is not a statin, that reduces cholesterol with minimal or no side effects...Ezetral...which you take once daily.

Well, that is my take on your situation.

[BlueToffee]

Thank you all for your answers, particularly slaney and squad.

My QRISK2 test showed 22.4%

I have been back to see the GP this afternoon and he has taken me off the prescribed Statins, and re-prescriced another brand which I will start to take in a couple of weeks, once the current symptoms have worn off.

Update in about a month or so.

[Sammy48]

BlueToffee, I would be over the moon if my cholesterol was 5.1 and he has put you on 40mg. My god whats he on commission.

[vulcan42]

The problem I have found is the GP may prescribe what is suitable but it all comes down to what the chemist has in stock at the time of issue.

[askyourgran]

I've taken all kinds of statins and they made me ill, gradually worsening aching joints and lethargy until I became depressed. I now take 10mg Ezetrol and have no aches or pains. They may not be working as well as the Simavastin etc, at my last check my LdL was 5.9 - too high, but if I watch what I eat my cholestorol level gets better. They do move the goalposts at one time 5/1 was the good level but now they want it even lower. My SIL has a level of 9!