A little background: I went for my first physical in over 10 years a few months ago and the only thing they found was high cholesterol. I am generally fit - 6'2", 200 lbs - and have usually watched my diet. Try to eat a good amount of veggies and fruit daily. Have a beer or two every couple days after work. But my LDL was out of sight at 181. The doctor said I have a genetic predisposition for not absorbing cholesterol the same way others do - pure hypocholesteria (sp?) - and consequently my LDL was abnormally high. So the doc prescribed 20 mg of daily statin.
I hate meds. I see pharma as a big racket with health impacts to patients being a distant second to making money. Will only take advil if the pain - or hangover - has reached an extreme level. I resisted the prescription initially thinking I could address the issue with diet but the doc convinced me to take it for a couple months since it was a choice between heart disease or meds in his opinion.
My LDL dropped from 181 - extremely high since the max should be 100 - down to 91. Now I need to take this damn pill every day for the rest of my life. No side effects so far but I vaguely remember reading about others on here having issues with statins. Any others with long-term experience with statins? Ever change dosages or eliminate them altogether?
I hate meds. I see pharma as a big racket with health impacts to patients being a distant second to making money. Will only take advil if the pain - or hangover - has reached an extreme level. I resisted the prescription initially thinking I could address the issue with diet but the doc convinced me to take it for a couple months since it was a choice between heart disease or meds in his opinion.
My LDL dropped from 181 - extremely high since the max should be 100 - down to 91. Now I need to take this damn pill every day for the rest of my life. No side effects so far but I vaguely remember reading about others on here having issues with statins. Any others with long-term experience with statins? Ever change dosages or eliminate them altogether?
