Statins. Cure or con
Discussion
Before the re-post police jump on me, I have seen the threads on cholesterol but have seen no reference to the controversy surrounding statins.
My doc tells me my cholesterol is high at 7.6 or summat and said I should take statins to reduce it. Having heard of "The Cholesterol Myths" ( Google it) and read Dr Phil Hammond's book, " Trust me, I'm a doctor" I declined the offer of statins.
Phil Hammond writes:
1) If you take this drug every day for 5 years, your risk of death will be reduced by 40%
2) If thirty-three people like you take this drug every day for 5 years, one death will be prevented but I don’t know if it will be yours!
3) If you swallow 1,825 tablets of this drug at a rate of one a day for five years and at a prescription cost of over £400, your risk of death will fall by 0.9%.
Recognised side effects are: muscle damage, headache, abdominal pain, nausea, vomiting, hair loss, anaemia, dizziness, depression, nerve damage, hepatitis, jaundice, pancreatitis and hypersensitivity syndrome.
Ooooer.
All these statements are said to be true of pravastatin from “Trust Me I’m a Doctor” by Dr Phil Hammond.
Claim is the drug companies push the first, the relative risk reduction, rather than the NNT or number needed to treat to save one of them.
Ooooer again
So, are those of you on statins aware of the above and if so, how do you now feel about statins?
My doc tells me my cholesterol is high at 7.6 or summat and said I should take statins to reduce it. Having heard of "The Cholesterol Myths" ( Google it) and read Dr Phil Hammond's book, " Trust me, I'm a doctor" I declined the offer of statins.
Phil Hammond writes:
1) If you take this drug every day for 5 years, your risk of death will be reduced by 40%
2) If thirty-three people like you take this drug every day for 5 years, one death will be prevented but I don’t know if it will be yours!
3) If you swallow 1,825 tablets of this drug at a rate of one a day for five years and at a prescription cost of over £400, your risk of death will fall by 0.9%.
Recognised side effects are: muscle damage, headache, abdominal pain, nausea, vomiting, hair loss, anaemia, dizziness, depression, nerve damage, hepatitis, jaundice, pancreatitis and hypersensitivity syndrome.
Ooooer.
All these statements are said to be true of pravastatin from “Trust Me I’m a Doctor” by Dr Phil Hammond.
Claim is the drug companies push the first, the relative risk reduction, rather than the NNT or number needed to treat to save one of them.
Ooooer again
So, are those of you on statins aware of the above and if so, how do you now feel about statins?
My bro in law was recommended these. He is american and lives there. After researching statins, he refused. The side effects horrified him and someone recommended a herbal tablet. Of course we laughed and told him that was b
ks. He has since found out that the statins contain the same herbal properties as the herbal jobbies. His levels have dropped 3 points.
ks. He has since found out that the statins contain the same herbal properties as the herbal jobbies. His levels have dropped 3 points.bull996 said:
My bro in law was recommended these. He is american and lives there. After researching statins, he refused. The side effects horrified him and someone recommended a herbal tablet. Of course we laughed and told him that was bks. He has since found out that the statins contain the same herbal properties as the herbal jobbies. His levels have dropped 3 points.
Interesting. What was the herbal tab and did it have side effects?ks. He has since found out that the statins contain the same herbal properties as the herbal jobbies. His levels have dropped 3 points.There's been a few studies (SPARCL etc). Phil Hammond wrote that book quite a while ago (?1998) and there is a bit more evidence now. Generally they are pretty well tolerated, only very few get any SEs. Yeah, the NNT is quite high though.
I suppose that I would be happy to take them though on balance.
I suppose that I would be happy to take them though on balance.
esselte said:
NDA said:
I have taken Statins which reduced my Cholwe
Cholera
Chlamidolwe
Collegenstrol thingies from 8.5 to 5. I've stopped taking them for the moment because of side effects
What side effects? It makes your feet big?
I've been on Atorvastatin for severn years, only side effects have been a dry throat at night and occasional nausea. They are doing the trick on the cholesterol levels down from over 8 to below 4 (combined with lifestyle and diet changes). Also on another four prescription drugs so the prepaid is worth it's weight in gold.
Yes they are effective but I keep going back to the doc to ask for a different brand because so far I have suffered cramps and joint stiffness - mostly the latter. My bro has had a similar experience. If they work for you without side effects fine, but otherwise they are a real PITA.
Probably not the message HMG wants to hear.
Probably not the message HMG wants to hear.
First, I believe the production of Cholesterol and its effects are purely genetic and only marginally affected by lifestyle. I was a healthy person, who rode many miles on a bike and still had a heart attack due to block arteries. My mother's family all had the same problem.
After a by-pass, I have been taking Statins for 12 years combined with another drug to reduce the bad lipids. There were side effects but many of those disappeared after the second drug was changed recently.
The particular statin I take was recommended by my Cardiac Consultant. My GP sucked his breath when he saw it amd has on many occasions tried to change it. The reason; the cost. When I enquired of a clinical reason for a change he could not answer and I am still on the original statin.
My cholesterol is around 3.2-3.5.
After a by-pass, I have been taking Statins for 12 years combined with another drug to reduce the bad lipids. There were side effects but many of those disappeared after the second drug was changed recently.
The particular statin I take was recommended by my Cardiac Consultant. My GP sucked his breath when he saw it amd has on many occasions tried to change it. The reason; the cost. When I enquired of a clinical reason for a change he could not answer and I am still on the original statin.
My cholesterol is around 3.2-3.5.
Tafia said:
Before the re-post police jump on me, I have seen the threads on cholesterol but have seen no reference to the controversy surrounding statins.
My doc tells me my cholesterol is high at 7.6 or summat and said I should take statins to reduce it. Having heard of "The Cholesterol Myths" ( Google it) and read Dr Phil Hammond's book, " Trust me, I'm a doctor" I declined the offer of statins.
Phil Hammond writes:
1) If you take this drug every day for 5 years, your risk of death will be reduced by 40%
2) If thirty-three people like you take this drug every day for 5 years, one death will be prevented but I don’t know if it will be yours!
3) If you swallow 1,825 tablets of this drug at a rate of one a day for five years and at a prescription cost of over £400, your risk of death will fall by 0.9%.
Recognised side effects are: muscle damage, headache, abdominal pain, nausea, vomiting, hair loss, anaemia, dizziness, depression, nerve damage, hepatitis, jaundice, pancreatitis and hypersensitivity syndrome.
Ooooer.
All these statements are said to be true of pravastatin from “Trust Me I’m a Doctor” by Dr Phil Hammond.
Claim is the drug companies push the first, the relative risk reduction, rather than the NNT or number needed to treat to save one of them.
Ooooer again
So, are those of you on statins aware of the above and if so, how do you now feel about statins?
Look up the 4S study or the Heart Protection Study. They're both well respected clinical trials and may help to answer some of your questions. I should declare a potential conflict of interest is that I work for a Pharma company (though not one of the ones that manufactures a statin) and I'll certainly start taking a statin in the not too distant future! But that's just my opinion. :-)My doc tells me my cholesterol is high at 7.6 or summat and said I should take statins to reduce it. Having heard of "The Cholesterol Myths" ( Google it) and read Dr Phil Hammond's book, " Trust me, I'm a doctor" I declined the offer of statins.
Phil Hammond writes:
1) If you take this drug every day for 5 years, your risk of death will be reduced by 40%
2) If thirty-three people like you take this drug every day for 5 years, one death will be prevented but I don’t know if it will be yours!
3) If you swallow 1,825 tablets of this drug at a rate of one a day for five years and at a prescription cost of over £400, your risk of death will fall by 0.9%.
Recognised side effects are: muscle damage, headache, abdominal pain, nausea, vomiting, hair loss, anaemia, dizziness, depression, nerve damage, hepatitis, jaundice, pancreatitis and hypersensitivity syndrome.
Ooooer.
All these statements are said to be true of pravastatin from “Trust Me I’m a Doctor” by Dr Phil Hammond.
Claim is the drug companies push the first, the relative risk reduction, rather than the NNT or number needed to treat to save one of them.
Ooooer again
So, are those of you on statins aware of the above and if so, how do you now feel about statins?
NDA said:
esselte said:
NDA said:
I have taken Statins which reduced my Cholwe
Cholera
Chlamidolwe
Collegenstrol thingies from 8.5 to 5. I've stopped taking them for the moment because of side effects
What side effects? It makes your feet big?Balmoral Green said:
Quack medicine?
"I'd rather be a Quack than a Ducky, Good day!"[s]Blackadders physician, c1985[/s]
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