I have horrible genes, as far as cholesterol is involved, so I have been on statins for about 20 years. I have taken a number of them and had good luck. I did try Pravastatin a couple of years ago, and experienced some joint aching, so I went back to Lipitor--which I have taken for many years with no adverse effects. It is very important to have a blood test at least every 9 months to ensure that there are no problems. Good luck!!

I'd think about these things before taking statins: How 'up' are your counts? How old are you? Do you have family history of heart disease?

Our MD took DH off statins a couple years back at my urging. He was borderline, age 70, no family history.

How much fight would your doctor put up if you don't take this? (They kinda *have* to offer meds, but you don't have to take them.)

Harry's been taking them since his open-heart surgery in '95. At first he had a lot of muscle aches and was tired all the time. He has frequent blood work done and his liver levels were really high so he quit taking them.

But he got a new primary doctor and she explained that the Lipator would help keep his blood thin and prevent getting blood clots. Also, she told him it should be taken at night and since then he hasn't had problems. (At least with that!)

I've taken for a few years. Major factor in my decision to start taking this in my early 50s was abysmal family history. Father's first heart attack in his 40s and dead at age 62 of heart disease. I took simvastatin for a while but switched to pravastatin so I could eat grapefruit. I have no side effects whatsoever. I too tried exercise and diet to no avail. Though I wasn't overweight I even lost 12 pounds with the exercise and healthier eating but it had no impact on my cholesterol. I have no other health problems to complicate matters though.

Another factor was conferring with someone I know who is a pharmacist. He said statins are one of the few things he would be willing to take because they have been around a long time so side effects are relatively well identified and they are also relatively easily detected.

Gosh, I have both RA and Addison's. I do take Lipitor, and have for a long time with absolutely no side effects. Right off the bat I was told to take it at bedtime, but I do have blood tests, etc, every year to check liver functions. Everything is always normal and my cholesteroles are well within the normal ranges. A reasonable amount of exercise and maintaining weight helps, too.

The only thing - with statins you have to give up grapefruit and give it up totally... Grapefruit inhibits the function of one of the liver's most important enzymes (cytochrome P-450 3A4 enzyme). Don't know exactly what that does, but I stay away from grapefruit.

You could try Red Rice Yeast which is a supplement that decreases cholesterol. If you haven't had thyroid antibody tests you may want to ask for that as well... your other thyroid numbers could be fine even if these are up. Being put on thyroid meds lowered my high cholesterol. Thyroid and adrenal problems do tend to happen together and not all doctors will check the antibodies.

Here is a link that might be useful: Weil on Red Rice Yeast

I was on a generic zocor and I had severe pains in my lower back it almost made me scream just to get out of bed. On a bus tour I was telling the guide about it and she said her husband was on it and he had severe pain in his feet. He described it as feeling like an ice pick being stuck in his feet. He quit, no more pain, I quit, no more pain. We have to keep in mind these are preventative meds and we may not ever have the problem it is trying to prevent. when I research meds I find most meds can cause the same problem you are trying to prevent. If there is a history of strokes or heart attacks at a young age in your family it is probably worth the risk to take them.

I was told by two doctors and a couple of nurses that when you reach a certain age, statins are not going to help you.

I don't take any meds except for pain when I need it and won't have any serious tests. I do not want to outlive my memory.

I have been taking Pravastatin for the past several years. I did not know I was supposed to take it at night until last year when I was hospitalized and I wondered why I got it at night. When I got home, I read the bottle and saw that it said nightly. I take all my meds and vitamins in the morning and have a hard time remembering to take them at night. I am going to start taking the pravastatin at night and see if it helps with some of the side effects. My dad had his first heart attack at 55 and died of a massive heart attack at 60. I eat right and exercise and have a totally different lifestyle than my dad.

For me, they're evil. I had a problem with my heel almost to the point of not being able to walk. I went to two foot doctors, had painful cortisone shots, had physical therapy, had a prescription adhesive patch containing a pain killer (lidocaine, I think) and could NOT get any relief. No one could figure out why. I happened to run out of my statin medication while snowbirding in Florida and just decided I could wait a couple weeks till I got home to have my doctor write a new script. Lo and behold, within ten days of stopping that medication, my heel was fine! In talks with other people, they also found that a problem they would never have attributed to a medication suddenly went away when they got off their statin. I do try to eat right and I take niacin. My numbers weren't that high to begin with.. Like 202.

I was on it for a number of years but am off it now because my liver levels went up. I have to go in soon for a liver blood test and chol check. I have a huge family history of heart disease.

I've been on lovastatin for a few years now, have had absolutely no problems with it.

I told my step daughter about my pain while on Zocor and she turned white in the face and told me she was on Zocor, started having severe back pain. Poor thing had surgery which didn't help at all, she stopped Zocor after she talked to me and the pain went away. That serious surgery was all for nothing.

To me Red yeast rice was evil. Gave me all the pain and joint aches just like a Statin. I am not sure if Crestor is a statin but that is what I am taking now. My dr told me if I am to take that I need to take CoQ10 also. It helps with joint swelling and pain. So far so good. Been on it for a few years now. I also have RA so seems to help with that too.

I'm another who gets terrible pain with statins, so I refuse to take those drugs.

Have been on pravastatin since I was in my 40's--am 61. I do take it at night, as directed by my physician (it works while you're asleep, apparently).

I've never had any problem with side effects or with raised lipid levels. It's done a great job of keeping my cholesterol under control.

Obviously, you have to consider your own health issues. But to my mind, if there's a simple fix like taking a pill that's going to keep me healthy and living longer, it's a no-brainer. Of course, in my case, everyone in my grandparents' generation on my mothers side of the family pretty much died in their early 50's of strokes and similar circulation issues. My mother and aunt were treated early for high BP and cholesterol, and both lived into their mid 80's. That pretty much convinced me of the value of taking my dr's advice and getting on the meds when my numbers started heading up in my 40's.

I am and really don't want to be....After reading about all the problems you can have and after experiencing many aches, I told the doc, I quit....WELL, he blew a gasket....He said with my stroke/heart conditions, I need to take it to keep my levels down...Then he did suggest I take it every other day, which I am and most of the aches have gone away......
I'd love to dump all RX but I guess we just can't do that......

How is your diet? You mentioned exercise and losing weight but not what you're eating. Vegan diets are excellent for fighting high cholesterol since cholesterol is only found in animal products, making a vegan diet 100% cholesterol-free. I realize the body produces it's own cholesterol and genetics plays a role in that but not eating it as well is a no-brainer to me.

Most people find it hard not to eat any meat, dairy or eggs but you might be surprised how much better you'll feel. You should be eating at least 10-12 servings of fruits and veggies a day, plus some legumes or nuts or other protein sources and some whole wheat/oatmeal. I can almost guarantee if you did that for 30 days, you'd see better numbers.

I've found that 99% of people who scoff at the idea have never actually tried it. :) It certainly can't hurt you as long as you balance it out and it's much safer than medication. If I were you, since you have doubts about the medication, try a diet modification and see if it helps your health naturally.

Just my two cents. I firmly believe a proper diet will eliminate nearly all health conditions and most people who "eat healthy" really don't. Most people would rather eat what they want and pop a pill then to get rid of all the fun and unhealthy stuff. :)

Good job losing weight and exercising! That's an awesome accomplishment.

I had to get a new doctor because mine were driving my blood pressure into the stroke zone. I was on Beta Blockers for awhile and I found they were associated with diabetes so I quit. BBs were the #1 drug in Europe for a long time, then they discovered the link between them and diabetes. My heart doctor and my medical doctor were both pushing drugs on me, I was dizzy all the time, but they said the numbers on my blood pressure were good, doing it's job. I gained 11 lbs in 6 weeks, they said, it can't cause weight gain. I called the FDA and they said it does cause it. That meant my two doctors were lying to me. Anyway I drove down a street that was recently developed with medical offices and found a new doctor. I counseled with him about my past experience with doctors and told him I would not take any more tests or meds except for pain. He told me...as you can tell in my voice and my looks I am an immigrant. I came to your country to be free to make my own decisions. I am not going to take away your rights to do the same thing. He said he would make a suggestion and I could do what I wanted to do and he would accept it. He looked at the numbers on my BP pressure machine and said those numbers are way to low, that is why you are dizzy.

I no longer need blood pressure meds.

Statins, Crestor in particular, ruined my health...probably permanently. I have found that Triple strength fish oil capsules work wonders for me in maintaining a respectable cholesterol count. I take two a day.

That, along with a heart healthy diet, has made all the difference.

I was on lipitor but I had would get a bad sore throat all the time from it. My Dr told me to take fish oil (omega 3's) and Niacin. That seem to be working for me.

About a year and half ago, I had a reaction to something that ended me up in the hospital. Because all of it started with a sense of pressure in my chest, I was put on the cardiac ward and had a stress test which they thought showed I MIGHT have some problems. My cholestrol was high and my potassium was low. I ended up having one small blockage - not enough to do anything about except change diet, excerise and take a statin drug and potassium. I did all 4 - lost 25 lbs with excerise and eliminating the flour products, processed foods, and increasing vegetables, olive oil and whole grains. I was taking a 10mg daily of Simavastatin - generic for Zorcor. I can't say I was having muscle pain but I did notice that my hair was thinning quickly and I noticed that my sense of balance wasn't as good as it should have been with the weight loss and was worse than before it. The nest set of blood tests showed my cholestol was down to 175. I asked the doctor about going off the statin and she said I could try it - my cholestrol numbers were good, weight, BP excellent so I weaned myself off for about 3 months before my last appointment. My blood work showed that my cholestrol went up about 30 points - and the bad went up as well. My doctor wants me back on it - says the benefits outweigh the risks - I'm not sure - I don't like the way it makes me feel - can't really say what it is but I'd like to be off of it. I go back in Jan. and I am going to ask for the generic form of Lipitor. She says that I'm doing all the right things and I may just need the low dose to keep it down in the normal range. I think it was about 240 when I was in the hospital. Do watch the potassium levels - low potassium can make you have cramps. I have to stay on it - I can tell a difference is I'm off it more than a week or so - I just take a 550 dosage 5 days a week plus I make sure to eat a banana every day.

I tried diet first, and it helped lower my cholesterol - but not enough. That's why I started on lovastatin.

This did drop my cholesterol: Oatmeal, walnuts and salmon...dropped it about 40 points but still not enough.

Yep, sky high cholesterol without them. I tried EVERYTHING natural, but could not get it down.

Sooo, I am on simvastatin. so far, no problems.
Been on them for 7 years now.

Moni

Thanks for all the responses - lots of food for thought. In my case, my LDL is high, total cholesterol is borderline, HDL and triglycerides are normal. No one in my family has had a heart attack. Two people did die of strokes, but one was 82 and one was 89. I have a heart problem, but it's electrical, not plumbing.:) Because of this, though, I had a contrast stress test in 2004 and my cardiologist told me that I had, "big, fat, healthy veins." I'm in my mid-50's. I even asked him how quickly that could change and he told me that it doesn't change quickly, and I'd most likely be good for at least 20 years.

I have never made any effort to reduce my cholesterol specifically. (Mine used to be very low, like 113, but that was pre-menopause.:) I think I'd like to try that before going on a medication, if there's not too significant a risk in waiting.

I emailed my endocrinologist and my internist tonight, so I'll talk to both of them about my concerns before making my decision.

I have been on them for many many years now, currently I am on Lipitor and hubby is on Crestor. We were both on Lescol XL for a long time with very good results and few problems. Can not remember why doc changed us, but we have not had any problems with these either. My husband could not take Lipitor it made him really tired and his color was off.

We have our blood tested every 3 months with out fail.

one of my best friends is a Cardiothoracic surgeon, he is doing heart surgery every day and he told me even he takes statin drugs because he sees such great results from them he said it was the one drug he would tell people to take even when they don't think they need it.

I do hate I had to give up my pink grapefruit juice though I just love it and drank it daily but no more of that with these drugs, several other drugs don't do well with grapefruit too.

Lipitor is not in generic form yet but it is right around the corner which is good.
Countdown to Generic Lipitor
My doctor just gave me one of those Lipitor cards that only has a $4 co-pay so that definitely will help out.

If any of you are on Lipitor and need that card go here
Join the LIPITOR FOR YOU program

this is the Crestor card info
CRESTOR Savings Card

or ask your doctor for one they should have them to hand out.

I've been on simvastatin for 2.5 years. My cardioligist added this after installing a stent in one of my heart arteries. My principal medical provider takes a blood draw 4 times a year to monitor this and type 2 diabetes. I've experienced a small increase of muscle soreness after unusual activity, and that's has been the main effect I've noticed.

There are some statins that do not preclude you from eating grapefruit or drinking grapefruit juice - pravastatin for example. The way they work is different from the others. I switched to it for that reason. I found this out for myself but neither my doctor nor the retail pharmacist at Target would confirm that I was correct. I ended up getting a pharmacist that I work with to confirm. I then told my doctor I wanted to switch.