Home > Health > On Men > Statins for Prevention? Taking a Cholesterol-Lowering Drug When Cholesterol Is Normal

Statins for Prevention? Taking a Cholesterol-Lowering Drug When Cholesterol Is Normal

Reader Comments
Back to blog

I am middle aged and until the last blood test for a physical, I now have optimum cholesterol numbers for the first time. Basically I found that a high cost statin drug can be unnecessary for me and many other people. Basically I accomplished this by doing the following: exercising aerobically 2-3 times a week, doing strengthening exercises 1-2 times a week, avoiding saturated and high cholesterol foods(no red meat, eggs, cheese, shrimp,etc), eating mostly healthy mono-saturated or low-fat foods like nuts, beans, avocados, Egg Beaters, salmon, etc. Over the counter supplements are necessary for me as follows that I take every night: 500mg of SloNiacin, 600mg of Red Yeast Rice, 10mg of Policosanol, fish oil capsules, and 5-6oz of Red Wine after dinner. My natural genetic tendency is to have low HDL and high LDL. Before I cleaned up my diet and increased exercise to keep my weight under control, my LDL was about 140 and my HDL was about 15. Today, my LDL count is about 79 and my HDL is about 48. My internal medicine doctor was amazed that the red yeast rice (that I just started taking this year) improved by cholesterol numbers by as much as high cost statin drugs. He remarked that for me, I have no need to take any statin drugs. I hope this information is helpful to others who have bad blood numbers and want to solve this problem another way.

Martin Katz of VA 10:11AM October 25, 2011

I was shown to have normal HDL and low range LDL, but because the doctor said "At your age ..." I was started on a Simvistatin. I was not told I needed to be checked every few weeks in the first months and didn't know the danger. Within four months I developed what was diagnosed as Hepititas, but not a bad kind, according to the doctor. This got me to checking on my own and I quickly realized that I had a bad reaction to the statin drug. My liver was shutting down. It took about 6 weeks -- blood tests every week -- until my liver functions were back to normal. I will no longer take anything prescribed unless I know exactly what's needed to make sure I won't have a reaction

S E Haley of CA 6:08PM February 04, 2011

I recently stopped taking Crestor after watching TV one night saw a commercial for Crestor and right at the end the commentator listed off a whole slew of possible side effects. For the past 2 years I have been complaining about joint and muscle pain, chronic fatigue and what felt like depression. Every visit to the doctor he blamed it on either menopause, my daibetes or my thyroid (for which I take Synthroid). He was always pleased that my cholesterol levels were lower than normal and this was great. Well, I feel terrific. I am back at the pool, taking the dog for long walks. It's as if someone lifted a veil off of me. I have found my "joie de vivre". Why do doctors prescribe a statin when your cholesterol is normal in the first place and when only one grandparent died from hardening of the arteries?
Montreal, Canada

Celry 10:09AM April 11, 2010

After reading all the hoopla about the dangers and benefits of taking Statins, I am more confused than before I started to read about it. I want to stop taking the Statin I am on, altough it is a very low dose of 20 mg. My Cholesterol is still higher than ideal because I have always had a Triglyceride problem and the Statin does not seem to help much. I started taking a low dose of Niacin. My Doctor advised me to continue and doubled the dose. What do do? Well, I am going back to the Doctor to ask for his advise. I hate to go to a Doctor's office just to ask questions, however. nowadays you can hardly get to your Doctor on the phone. God forbid. They must get paid after all.

A. Fajardo of NJ 8:25AM April 01, 2010

I worked with a guy who had a family problem of very high cholesterol and the men in the family died early of heat problems. He hated the thought of taking these drugs, so he kept his weight way down, jogged about 5 miles a day, and became a vegetarian. He STILL had high cholesterol. Finally he took one of the statins. To his dismay, he STILL had high cholesterol.
He had nothing to lose, so he followed the instructions he got from some book by a doctor that was recommended on a box of oat cereal. He stopped the drug, ate a lot of oat bran, and took niacin. It worked, on him, like a miracle. It was the story we often hear, his doctor was almost struck dumb and did not believe Tom's story.
I think he was already following a very restrictive diet and kept his weight way down and was in top physical shape - changes not a lot of people feel inclined to do. I guess he was just more fearful of a premature death than most people.
The thing is, if people are persevering and follow an excellent regimen most can probably not take deadly statins.
There were studies done that indicate that once you are on one of these drugs you should keep on them for life because those who stop have a higher incidence of heart attacks.
A study in The Lancet confirms that statins may indeed increase the likelihood of developing type-2 diabetes  (The Lancet, online, Feb. 17, 2010). Although the risk is not high, about 9 percent, it is real.
For those who do take statins, you might wish to take additional CoQ10, which supports a healthy heart and which statins tend to deplete in the body.
Taking these drugs is certainly an individual choice, but a person should research all the pros and cons before taking such a step and make sure that he knows the warning signs of possible complications down the road. He should also realize that if he is one of the few who develops diabetes due to statins perhaps he should not just cover it up by taking a drug for the diabetes as well, but stop the statins and try very serious lifestyle changes.

Joan Dalton of AL 11:53AM March 13, 2010

I am over 60 and I've been taking Simvastatin for a long, long time because I am diabetic. I never had any complications and my total cholesterol is only 130. Just like what Thosly of CA is saying, I just pay $10.00 for a 90 day supply at Wal-Mart. You just can't beat that ...

George of OK 10:51AM March 13, 2010

I've been on statins for more than 15 years. No complications and they have gotten my cholesterol numbers under control. I've used Lipitor, Simvastatin, Pravastatin, Simvastatin (Vytorin) and others. Never a problem. I am now on Pravastatin that I buy at Walmart for $10 for a 90 day supply. Just got my first blood work back and its about the same as when I was on Lipitor or any other statin. Total cholesterol of 195; HDL 68; LDL 113 (not bad, close to optimal); Triglycerides of 68. Ten bucks for 90 days. Beat that if you can.

Thosly of CA 11:37PM March 12, 2010

I am a registered nurse, and the worst bill of good that Big Pharma has sold on people is that you need medicines even if you are healthy. People who take statins need to read the literature on where and how statins work - in your liver. This means you need liver function stuies to monitor the possible damage they might cause. Try the alternative route: many natural substances lower your cholesterol naturally, like turmeric, garlic, etc. Or better yet, how about putting away that greasy pizza or whopper and making your own....

all bout health of FL 8:31PM March 12, 2010

I am a registered nurse, and the worst bill of good that Big Pharma has sold on people is that you need medicines even if you are healthy. People who take statins need to read the literature on where and how statins work - in your liver. This means you need liver function stuies to monitor the possible damage they might cause. Try the alternative route: many natural substances lower your cholesterol naturally, like turmeric, garlic, etc. Or better yet, how about putting away that greasy pizza or whopper and making your own....

all bout health of FL 8:31PM March 12, 2010

I have had abnormally high Cholesterol levels for years!
I was on Lipitor and had to take heavy daily doses!
My liver developed bleeding problems!
Beware! Too heavy a dose of Stains can do extreme harm to users unless monitored by qualified doctors!
There are alternatives!

Frank Drozdick of MA 2:54PM March 12, 2010