Hi Manjit,
Yes, have looked at what Dee posted with interest. I have actually listened to it again today and will be doing some further reading of what Dr Malhotra has to say on the subject.
I find it strange that my cholesterol has been around 7 all my adult life but it has only been the last 5 years since I was diagnosed with cancer that they have tried to put me on statins. I do also have high blood pressure for which I have been taking medications for over 12 years and type 2 diabetes and insulin resistance, which I know increases my risk factors.
It doesnāt help when you try to make an informed decision that the doctors canāt even agree whether statins are good thing or not. I am reluctant to take any medeications that I donāt have to because I generally struggle with side effects on most of them.
Hi Lizzie - it is difficult to know what to do at times especially when there is conflicting advice.
It is hard to know why there is no consistency with advice we get from doctors and in some ways I can understand it must be difficult for them because we the patients are all different yet the guidelines are the same.
In our family, we have been lucky in that we have not needed to use long term medications or have rejected them when offered and not had too many adverse effects apart from the stroke Mum had.
I hope you are able to alleviate your concerns and worries about the cholesterol.
Also, if you have been on long term medications and not have had their usage reviewed, it might be worth doing. Speak with the GP to see if there is any need to carry on taking these medications and compare the risk vs benefits. I say this because my Mum has been taken off all the meds she was put on post-stroke as they were deemed unnecessary or did not offer the benefit compared to the risks. Right now, she has just been put on Omeprazole to repair the damage done by the long term use of asprin (which itself was the lowest dose of 75 mg).
The course is for 6 weeks at 20mg twice a day and then reduced to 20mg once a day. We canāt be 100% sure but it may be that this is not agreeing with her and we have already asked the GP is this can be stopped after the initial treatment period which should repair the damage and then not worry about the preventative element.
I should point out here that for us, it makes no sense to carry on with the Omeprazole beyond the repair period since the cause (alleged) of the damage was the long term use of asprin which has now been stopped.
Asprin - Use Omeprazole to counter side effects
No Asprin - no side effects - no omeprazole
But the last piece of logic seems to have bypassed the doctors
They do things in autopilot mode and donāt think of long term consequences (sorry to say this, but this is my opinion and whilst there have been a few exceptions, the general rule applies).
Hello @Lizzie22 , itās such a shame that the medication thatās supposed to keep you safe makes you ill.
Iām personally fed up with doctors, they are smug and important, where in fact, if you take their social skills away there is very very very little left.
Have you ever considered or researched on exclusive plant based diets ? the raw kind of ones are best.
To my knowledge the cholesterol is an animal kind of fat, you cannot eat cholesterol ( good or bad ) from sunflower oil for example. Also the bad kind of cholesterol we donāt really eat, our liver makes it ( because it can ).
Research is showing the raw vegan diets are very good especially to regulate the functioning of the liver. It does mean you would eat plant based exclusively and , of course, no more milk in tea or coffee.
Iām sure youāll find the best way!
GAV
Hi Lizzie22, I couldnāt get on with statins, tried so many but upset my stomach, aches and pains and generally made me feel awful. My GP asked me to try Ezetimibe 10mg daily and it worked.
I struggled after my stroke with the tiredness and the numbness down my right side so the last thing you want is for the statins to upset you.
Hope you get your tablets sorted out and that you will feel much better very soon.
Hi Annie,
My doctor has also prescribed ezetimide for me but I have decided that I will not be taking it or statins. I have been doing a lot of reading over the last few weeks and have come to the conclusion that cholesterol is not what caused my stroke, diabetes is. I am now actively working towards putting my diabetes into remission as this gives me the best chance along with losing weight to avoiding another stroke. This may not be right for everyone but my gut and the research I have done tells me this is right for me.
Lizzie22, you go with your gut, my cholesterol was a bit over the recommended level and I havenāt got diabetes. To this day I donāt know what caused my stroke but sometimes living with the after effects is a nightmare.
Hope you get on ok and let me know x
@Anniemum13
Thanks Annie,
However our strokes occur, its how we move forward that matters. Each day is a challenge, but I am grateful to have had a relatively small stroke in comparison to others and try to see each new day as a gift.
@ManjiB
Thanks for the advice and your kind words. I was only on the statins for a few weeks thankfully, and have only experienced improvements since stopping them.
but sometimes living with the after effects is a nightmare.
