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My doc advised my to start on statins as my cholesterol level is 5.9. I decided against it as I have no other health problems eg diabetes, high blood pressure, over-weight etc. So glad - read this:
http://www.express.co.uk/news/health

A cholesterol level of 5.9 is not a disaster but it is high. I was prescribed statins some 5 years ago (I have slightly high average blood pressure and especially a very variable blood pressure). The initial type was Simvastatin (very low cost material) and I DID suffer joint pains. I told the doc who switched me to the slightly more costly Pravastatin and that has absolutely no side effects. These two have the same end result ie they DO reduce cholesterol, but they operate by quite different mechanisms. I was told that if I still has and user problems with Pravastatin then there is a third type.

So I had problems with Simvastatin but none with Pravastatin. Other folk have it totally the other way around - you just need to persevere and find the "right one" for you

They do work

Happy at Cholesterol = 1.9

Snod

Been taking them for about 5 years now. My cholesterol levels were about the same as yours. Haven't smoked for more than forty years and there is no history of heart troubles in the family. Nevertheless my GP was on my case to try them. I go each year for the full blood tests and my liver and kidney functions as well as cholesterol levels are normal. So I suppose I will continue to take them until they give me a reason not to.
The trouble with the Express is that they have regular headlines, sometimes for and sometimes against statins.
The web has many forums in which you can read of nightmare stories written by people who have had adverse reactions. But there are millions like me who are on them who we never here from. In fact it's not that long ago that the Express published an article that stated statin users were likely to live much longer and healthier lives. But that has to depend on other circumstances, diet, exercise etc.
I think they change like the wind. Their weather reports are just as inaccurate as their ideas about statins.
I'm 68 and if they help me to get another 10 years feeling as healthy as I do now I'll be happy.

They do work

Happy at Cholesterol = 1.9

Snod [/quote]

Wow Snod, cholestereol 1.9!!

I've been on lowest dose of statin for about 10 years (original cholesterol level 5.6)and I thought my level at 3.1 was good!

better and safer way to reduce the high wrong cholesterol is to take vitamin B3 otherwise called Niacin. The straigt niacin can cause intial flushing of skin but it stops after been taking for a few days. You can also get a niacinamide which doesnt cause flush but need to check if its as effective. Do some research on getting the right dosage. Big pharma keep it quiet as theres not enough money in it.
Niacin is added in small doses to flour and also in marmite, sugar puffs and shreddies but levels may not be high enough to be cholesterol reducing-

the way i see it is that it wouldn't be prescribed/recommended if it wasn't beneficial. Drugs have to pass so many tests and checks and years of research to be on the market under prescription.

EVERY drug has side effects, it's just a case of each individual is treated differently, if there were identical twins each prescribed something, one may react differently than the other.

name any drug and i can guarantee it has some side effects. whether it be a case where the benefits outweigh the negative effects or that allergic reaction may occur.

This is dated Jun 8, 2011.. nearly 3 years ago.. read this and I take 80mg daily and take Amiodarone
http://www.medpagetoday.com/Cardiology/Dyslipidemia/26950
So how many years do they want to test it j_demo?

I only Googled "mg statin" and got loads of bad news about statin

Everybody has the right to accept/ reject professional medical advice but I would certainly not base any personal decision on an article read in the Daily Express!!!

that's why I searched the net and got the same results as you always diss stuff you don't like personally.

Goes a bit deeper than that, but yes I get ya jist.

Who do you trust most, the express reporter or your doctor, I had a heart attack 10 years ago I am on pravastatin it keeps my cholestrol down. TRUST YOUR DOCTOR, all medication can have side effects for different people, your doctor will find one to suit you, WILL THE EXPRESS NO!!

Sod the Express, all on the net says bad stuff about high doses of statins.

Express ? ok! - (spit). But the source is the Chairman of the British Medical Association. They don't come much more respectable.

I seem to recall reading somewhere that doctors get paid more money if they manage to reduce the cholesterol levels of their patients below a certain level.

I'm not saying that this is a bad thing in itself, but it makes it more likely that statins will be prescribed. Probably easier to do this than to change people's dietary habits.

They may give some folk unpleasant side effects, in which case stop taking them. But fewer and fewer people are suffering heart attacks and strokes since these things have appeared so they must be doing SOME good.

Spot on. I`m on 80mg a day and already had heart attacks and a triple heart bypass. My legs feel like I have knives going through them most of the time. On a bad night they can keep me up most of the night. I fall asleep at about 7 am then sleep completely knackered till about 3pm. What a wonderful life!.