I'm worried about taking statins and side effects

A local geriatric doctor has said that it is of no benefit to take statins after age 65. Anyone ever been told that? I'm 77 and years ago I took them and one day I sat down on the sofa and could not get up. My legs just would not work so I came off statins and all returned to normal.

Valerie - of course, it might. You need to understand which type (not brand) your husband has been prescribed, what dosage, etc.

fdixon,

Which statin? What dosage?

I would note that most medical professionals would disagree with the geriatric doctor.

As an MD physician I would disagree with the geriatric doctor strongly! Every patient is different and should be treated individually. There are plenty of people over 65 who get unquestionable benefit from statin therapy including me. JRM MD

I've kept good records of the what and when things were done or taken over the years. I stopped Vytorin 10/10 – 1 HS on Sept. 8, 2014. The liver panel was checked a year later. HDL down 23 points, LDL down 28 points, Total down 48 points and Trigs down 187 points. Don't ask me why. I've been checked six times since then and numbers remained pretty close to what it was after stopping Vytorin. My husband's Triglycerides were over 1000 (before we met) and he had a heart attack--had stints. Since then he has always been on 2 statins. In 2008 he had everything checked and all was good. Three years ago he had open heart triple by-pass. Sharing is a good thing but it should be between you and your doctor to decide what to do. Did I do the right thing? Who knows, but my prayer is yes. Blessing to you all.

fdixon,

I'm not sure I understand.

My wife had somewhat of same issue....she tried the new injectable drug to lower cholesteral called Repatha and no symptoms like with the oral statins. Less expensive is the two week injection cycle vs the monthly. Shop around for best pricing as some pharmacies have better pricing and/or discount cards for this specific drug. Good luck and oral statins work but they are not for everyone due to the muscle pains and weakness. Their efficacy has been proven thru many studies over multiple years so yes they do work to dimini plaque build up.

My diet follows an approximate “Medditeranium diet”. My cholesterols have been close to nominal since. Middle age. Came in helpful during open heart for a benign tumor. Scans of the status of my arteries at the beginning of that procedure was examined and at 80 years I had no blockage at all. Credit goes to my Castilian spouse and her doctor who recommended liberal amounts of cinnamon (preferably) from sources low in arsenic such as Ceylon.

My spouse started with totals at 300 and now has normal. We’ve learned that doctors aren’t fond of home remedies. Good luck

Some people just don’t respond to home remedies. We wish we did.

To be clear, cepheid815 - you are saying you spouse's total cholesterol dropped from 300, right? Not that they reduced their calcium score?

Further, a single food ingredient (spice) cannot be credited with massive reductions in cholesterol - likely there was a more overall change in diet and lifestyle?