Living with Neuropathy - Welcome to the group

@kevinking and @gman007 - I also will not take any statins. I have neuropathy and statins cause neuropathy or make it worse if you have PN. Lots of evidence to support the downsides of statins. I'm not a doctor but when decisions are made on medications I take, my feeling is that you need to be informed and know the risks...and discuss them with your doctor. I had the discussion with my pcp after she wanted to put me on simvastatin to help reduce my cholesterol levels. Basically told her no, that I would work on the diet and natural methods of bringing the numbers down.

Statins make PN Worse:
The implications of statin induced peripheral neuropathy
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3103035/

Statin Neuropathy Masquerading as Diabetic Autoimmune Polyneuropathy
http://care.diabetesjournals.org/content/28/8/2082.1

Medication Induced Neuropathy
https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11910-003-0043-8

It's always best to have the discussion with your doctor but you really need to learn everything you can about the medications and treatments so that you can work with your doctor for the best outcome.

Hoping all my PN pals are having a pain free day.

John

@gman007 Words are a shield. My sword is embedded in the stolid rock of_______.

Jesus Christ! I don't know if you wanted me to fill in the blank, but I did. If that makes anyone uncomfortable, I am not, and have never been, in the habit of forcing anyone to drink from a fire hose, but I also don't hide behind words or political correctness. I was, however raised to be respectful, polite, and let people ask me about my walk if they are interested. If I don't walk it, I probably will not get many queries.

Could not agree more with being your own advocate because no one else is applying for the job. As far as addressing cholesterol with diet, I could show you mine going back over at least eight years and you would never suspect that I had any cholesterol issues, but heredity can not always be exorcised on a treadmill or squat rack. So, we always have to make choices between the lesser of evils and our decisions won't ever be the same, but the discussion is a very good thing. Take care John. Gary

@gman007 I believe everyone has the right to make choices. My sincerest apologies and filling in the blank was optional. Nice response. I do have a unique way of being laconically incorrect at times. My word would have been faith. Looks as though we have this in common. Take care and and welcome to the community. Your directness appreciated.

Thank you for clearing this up for me

No apology necessary and I look forward to future communications. Take care.

We never know what DNA will do. I know what statins do and I will take my chances with my LDL being a bit on the high side as statins and I do not get along well. My diet is healthy and the HDL is above normal. Mayhap they will balance out??

@parus and @gman007 you are right about choices, discussions and more. I've never really been concerned too much about my cholesterol levels (maybe I should be but that's the choice thing). I have done a little reading about there being some disagreement in the medical community on cholesterol levels. Mine has always been borderline according to my Mayo doctor teams over the years, probably since my 50s. I did find a nice chart that kind of gives some "normals":

So, I'm voting with you @parus and taking my chances ☺

John

@artscaping

Chris, I had an audio evoke test that indicated autonomic neuropathy. I also had a set of puncture biopsies that indicated sfn. Of course, I had the nerve conduction done years ago, before I knew anything more specific.

Jim