High Cholesterol

I posted, on another thread, a while ago about my high cholesterol and refusal to take statins. I also said that I had started to take Plant Sterols (from Boots or Holland & Barrett) instead. It has been high for years (highest at 13 last blood test revealed it had come down to 8) and wasn't responsive anyway to statins on the two occasions I agreed to try them. Diet wouldn't have effected a change as it was shown not to be diet based but hereditary.

I've been taking the sterols now for four months and it has come down to 7 but the better news is that the LDL is down and the HDL is up. I reminded my GP that I had been taking the sterols so they are obviously working. Good news for those who can't tolerate statins or who prefer not take them.

Re: High Cholesterol

Oh good, statins gave me horrid muscle cramps, I think they're responsible for my fybromyalgia.

Re: High Cholesterol

I've been taking Statins now for upwards of 10 years with no side effects at all. My count is down from 7+ to only 4.

Re: High Cholesterol

I had a terrible time with Statins, it ended up that I couldn't even walk with the muscle cramps and was taken to Hospital, who took me off them straight away, now I'm fine without them, I didn't even have high cholestral beforehand, but because I am Diabetic my GP told me I had to go on them, before I went on them my Cholestral level was 4.1, with the Statins it went down to 2.0, now I am back to 4.0 now. Ben 13 was very high indeed.

Re: High Cholesterol

Yes, they do give muscle cramps and it's well documented. My husband had terrible trouble with his legs a few months after he started taking them and he worsened over the years but was so proud of his rating of 4 on the cholesterol scale that he kept taking them - didn't do him much good in the end as he died at the age of 64.

I'll stick to the plant sterols - GP has said they're fine to take (plus I did my own research first) and I have no side effects whatsoever.

Meant to add susie - yes, 13 is very high but most of that was brought on by stress (my husband and I owned our own business which although was very successful, it was also very stressful - if I had my time over again, I wouldn't do it. Once we sold the business, my cholesterol dropped to 8 but stayed firm at 8 - the plant sterols are bringing it down.)

Re: High Cholesterol

Good on you, ben-varrey. I'm all for taking responsibility for your own health and am VERY wary of statins. But also a word of caution about "natural" remedies - they can also have a lot of potential side effects, so just because it is "natural" doesn't mean it's safe. But as you have done your own research I presume you are aware of that.

Re: High Cholesterol

Yes, as I said in my post, GP has said they are fine. It's no different to Benecol - just a dose that will actually do something at a fraction of the price.

http://heart-disease.emedtv.com/plan...rols-safe.html

Re: High Cholesterol

Twizzle darlin' - I presume your doctor had prescribed Simvastatin for you (the cheapest form of statin) and yes, there is much documented proof that this causes excessive muscle pains in the legs. I too suffered this some years ago and my doctor has swopped me onto Atorvastatin (Lipitor) and so far, the previous symptoms of acute leg muscle spasms have not returned.

Re: High Cholesterol

My husband went through a range of statins and Lipitor was the final one he took and stayed but he still suffered with terrible leg cramps and later, all manner of problems with his legs and feet. If someone gets no adverse reaction then I'd imagine they're fine to take but to get adverse reactions surely means you shouldn't be taking them!

Re: High Cholesterol

we found out that they prescribe you Simvastatin as they are the cheapest, we have both been on them and they gave us bad muscle cramps.