cholesterol and simvastin

[fruitsalad]

Mr Fruit is the healthiest fittest 65 year old I know, walks everyday with the dog, twice a day actually, eats well loads of veg and fruit, but it seems after having a blood test his cholesterol is high and the doctor has put him on simvastin, I always thought cholesterol was caused through lack of exercise and unhealthy diet, but obviously I was wrong what can cause high cholesterol?

[ubasses]

Genetics, liver or kidney problems, assume these have been checked.

[jno]

those are factors, but being old, male and genetic may play a part

http://www.medicalnew...com/articles/9152.php

[237SJ]

Although he eats lots of fruit and veg, does he keep his saturated fat intake low? If not, (and he doesn`t have stress) it could be hereditary.

[old-wos-is-name]

Hi,
You would need to eat raw cabbage and veg to reduce the cholesterol level. It appears that almost every elderly person( including me) has a high cholesterol level. the big culprit is processed food, the fats used are bad, but cheap for the producer. i have been on statins for several years and suffer with musle pains and knee joint pains, but this may not ( or may) be due to the statins. You probably know that heart attack patients nearly always have a high cholesterol level, so seems a good idea to take them.

[cathfromsaron]

my dad is the same!

ditto ubasses, its possible that your husband's body is processing fats differently now! plus lifestyle can only go so far! but he's healthier than a person NOT doing what he does!

they have loads on this question on the british heart foundation site:

http://www.bhf.org.uk...high-cholesterol.aspx

cath x

[fruitsalad]

yes ubasses his kidneys are only working at 60% when they should be around 80% according to the doctor so this could be one of the reasons for it

[fruitsalad]

old-wos yes it seems simvastin can cause aches and pains and his doctor did tell him if this was the case they would try him on something different thank you jno and cathfrom for the links very helpful

[old-wos-is-name]

fruitsalad,
i have said this before on a thread, but I had a mini stroke, and taking the tablets may be stopping me from having a full blown episode, so some aches and pains are not a problem to me, being paralysed would be a big problem. I felt really well before I took these tablets, and now feel rotten, but I can't really see an alternative. grin and bare it.

[ubasses]

certainly wouldn't be helping him, my husbands is genetic, like yours he is in his sixties still running half marathons, cross countries etc. I have always kept him on a diet of fresh foods, takeaways and ready meals are a rarity. He also has high blood pressure and been on drugs 20 years now without any problems.
He gets annual blood tests checking liver and kidneys and 6 monthly check ups so if you get the same they will know how his kidneys are reacting

[starone]

I have high cholesterol - it is familial. Mine is very high and I am on the full dosage of simvastatin - 80 mg every day. I consider these pills keep me alive and as I like living I am very grateful they are available. Keep on a low fat diet as well and he should be all right. It is a bit more expensive but I always use Flora pro-active (hope this isn't counted as advertising) I don't know if the claims for it is true but I hope it is. The dietician said low fat not no fat so take it from there.