The Decision to Quit Statins and Symptom Resolutions : The Final Straw
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- Опубліковано 10 вер 2024
- In this video, I complete my four-part overview of my battle with statin adverse effects. I'll review when I decided to drop statins completely, how the symptoms have resolved since then, and how much I attribute each symptom to statins. I'll add a few words on what I think the problem is with how we're treated.
Link to FDA website with statin warnings:
www.fda.gov/dr...
Book on memory loss by Duane Graveline, available on Amazon:
Lipitor(R): Thief of Memory
I have read all four of his books on Statins and to be honest, they appear to be self-published... I detect a lack of professional editing in the books. Nevertheless, I believe what he wrote must be taken seriously.
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DISCLAIMER: The following presentation and all presentations in this series are for informational purposes only and should not be used to diagnose or treat any medical condition. Please consult with your personal physician when deciding whether to treat or not treat any condition with pharmaceuticals or by any other treatment or therapy. In particular, never change dosage, stop taking medications, or change a therapy because of something presented in this series without discussing your options with your primary care physician or other health professional.
The author is not a medical professional and is presenting his own story, research, and opinions as they apply to himself, and himself alone.
If you think you may be experiencing a medical emergency, immediately call your doctor or dial 911.
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My old doctor who retired put me on statins. My new doctor she took me off them. She told me these are not good for me. I thank her for that.
Wow. I want that doctor. So far, my current doctor has not pushed them because when I first went to her I told her I was intolerant of them. (In my records it says "allergic to statins" though I don't think that's technically correct, but it hasn't been an issue. My biggest anger is directed at the former doctor who wouldn't listen.)
Wish my new Dr. agreed but no, still on them.
@@sgray4995…so who’s the boss? Get a second opinion, and if need be, fire him/her.
@@mortalstorm I have talked to 2 others.
This is why I refuse to have a pcp because I know that they will do this to me. I know that they will put me on unnecessary prescription medications for high cholesterol, blood pressure, diabetes etc.. All these medications come with tons and tons of side effects. I control my diet. I eat mostly salads, I eat lots of fresh fruits and vegetables, I eat plain yogurt, I eat quinoa, I eat chickpeas, kidney beans, lentils, I eat tofu, I drink herbal teas, I drink water, I don't drink, I don't smoke, I limit caffeine, I stay away from fast food, I stay away from packaged foods like cakes, cookies, candy, chips, I cut out refined sugar and sodium, I stay away from pre prepared foods, etc.. I am a hydrocephalus patient and I deal with debilitating headaches and I am already on antiseizure medications. So I don't want to deal with being put on medications for diabetes, high cholesterol or blood pressure
Statin was killing me: it was raising my sugar level to the point I was going to be put on insuline, my legs were like wood, my memory was so low I felt like I was having dementia. A week after I stopped statin my sugar level went down to normal limits, I am walking like a teenager and I got my memory back.
Thanks for sharing! It's sad to hear you had such problems, but great that you figured it out and have recovered!
I had been on Crestor 10 mg for the last 30 yrs or so, I’m 62, and while on Crestor, I felt like I was 90. I stopped taking it about 5 days ago, and have immediately noticed a difference, better breathing, mental clarity, more energetic, less joint pain and muscle pain, just feeling so much better physically, I hope this continues. I would rather have high cholesterol and feel alive again, compared to being on that statin.
Thanks for sharing. Your story is so similar to so many others.
cut your pills in half and stick with 5 mg a day. (better than raising your risk of an event).
@@MJ-qt4dmFalse thinking.
There is absolutely nothing wrong with having high cholesterol. I've had high cholesterol for years with no problems. Doctors are pushing this poison for profits and perks.
Me too
It’s normal for blood cholesterol levels to increase as we age. Our brains, and every cell in the body, needs it. Mine was 240 and my doctor said if I didn’t lower it through diet and exercise she’s put me on statins. I politely told her I’ll never take that poison.
The only bad cholesterol you have to worry about is trig, my good cholesterol was higher than my bad and my trig was in the normal range, our brains lives off of cholesterol. People get harden of the brain because of man made poison pharmaceutical drugs, these Dr get a kick from the drugs they forceson their Patiences.
❤
Yeah, I cut off all such discussions with my new doctor before they could get started. I think the cognitive effects were the most insidious.
good for you.... I was on a statin for 3 days ...THREE.... by the third day I thought I'd have a nervous breakdown. Went to work as I worked for a foot surgeon and told him what was happening or asked him if he knew what was happening and he said "why are you taking that poison?" He said in three days it took the cholesterol out of the brain!!! Thus nervous system. I went off and it took approx two weeks and back to normal.... UNREAL!
I told my PCP, I'll f'n plug up before I'll ever take another statin!
you sound like me my cholesterol has been holding at 260 for a long long time. and 20 plus yrs ago doctors tried to get me on statins i refused and still refuse. Iam 66 yrs old now and my cholesterol is still holding at 260.
My total cholesterol was just over 200 and my doc put me on Lipitor when I was 45 y/o. I didn't notice it at first but it was wiping out my memory. I couldn't remember what I did 2 days ago on a project. I'd suddenly and periodically forget people's names who I worked with for years. I'd fall asleep driving home at 3:30pm. I don't know why I took so long to realize it was the statins but after 15 years I quit cold turkey and my memory made a marked improvement! Of course my doctors are all over me to start back up on them. Forget it! I'm now 63 and my blood pressure is only 115/75 and I feel good. When God calls me home, he calls me home and that's good enough for me.
I really don't understand the medical community's fascination with 200 being some magic number. Yes, population statistics show that higher levels indicate elevated risk, but lower levels do too and the inflection point is between about 210 and 240, depending on the study. So to me, low 200s is perfectly healthy. Many doctors disagree.
Sugar in the diet is more dangerous than elevated LDL. @@mystatinfreelife
@@mystatinfreelife The pharma industry raises the bar for every test such as blood pressure, sugar, cholestrol by reducing the threshold safety level so that doctors put everyone on various medications for life! Big scam for profits
Over 20 years ago a doctor said I was to start taking statins for high cholesterol. When I asked what the side effects were he said,"If I tell you, you won't take them.:" My response was, "Tell me because I'm not going to take anything without knowing." He said,"Memory loss." Needless to say I simply never took them. I'm now 82 years old and fit. 😊
Good call on your part. Thanks for watching. I give your doctor credit for knowing about memory loss. Most doctors only admit to muscle pain, if that.
Statins were paralyzing my epiglottis. After a mild stroke in 2017, I was prescribed statins, aspirin, insulin etc. During 2018, I was having increasingly severe bouts of choking, which built up to 3 or 4 bouts a day, which, being a 70 year old living on my own, could be considered life threatening. As well, I had the joint pain, mental fog etc, etc. Two days after stopping the statins, I stopped choking and a week later, I stopped wearing knee braces! I began a very low carb, high animal fat diet and within 3 months was able to come off all medication. I supplement with cod liver oil, vit d3/ k2, zinc, magnesium and periodic short courses of NAC. Not had a cold in 3 years, mental clarity is amazing, handle stress much better.
Fantastic results! Thanks for sharing.
Did you just stop the statins or did you wean yourself off them? Im having joint pains and muscle loss and think this was probably the statin. I had a mild stroke last year but that might be that I had high blood pressure which the doctors did nothing for 3 years and it was only when I had the stroke this was addressed!!!!
@@vanessagray8604 I stopped taking the statins cold turkey! The side effects of stopping suddenly were all positive. However, it is indicated that you must make sure that you adopt a healthy lifestyle, that is, healthy food and regular exercise. New studies indicate that high cholesterol is not the problem. It is the type of LDL cholesterol, (small dense)and triglycerides that are problematic.
Drop the cod liver oil👉it’s rancid once outside of the fish👉just eat the fish instead
Good for you. I’m so glad you’re feeling better and that you got off statins thank you for your story. You really help me.
What i forgot to mention was after a year on a low carb diet with 6 day a week exercise program my labs for cholestetol. I have familial high cholesterol and prior to starting the diet my total cholesterol was 275-300. At one year i went out of pocket for a comprehensive lipid panel including APOa, APOb, and my particle size. What was most impressive was my triglycerides went from an average of 130 pretty much my whole life to 70. My HDL went up from 30 to 90 giving me a ratio of HDL/Trigs of less than one. That is an indication of stellar metabolic health. I also found out i have high APOa which some say is a indicator of high risk for cardio vascular disease but i mentioned before i dont really buy the cholesterol hypothesis of disease. I think based on my reasearch of worldwide total cholesterol averages 225-250 seems to be the average so like any other hormone or lipid marker there is an optimum and healthy range seems to point to 200-300 total not below 200. The statin market is a monumental money maker for the pharma industry and its obvious to me most doctors refuse to see the forest for the trees. Just because something is there doesnt make it the cause. Cholesterol is part of the repair mechanism for damage. If you habitually damage your heart arteries then cholestetol will show up like a scab trying to repair the damage. Over time it becomes a scar and a continues building up until it plugs up the vessel. Lowering cholesterol is not going to stop the damage. Lowering food intake so we aren't habitually in storage mode does. I think fasting triglyceries, blood glucose, A1C and insulin are the most important labs you can get to know if your metabolism is healthy. If your doctor that will not listen and keep pushing statins find a doctor who will listen. The medical system is not designed for preventative medicine it is completely broken.
You're doing better than me. My Trigs/HDL never got below 1.47. But yes, all large scale population studies show "all cause mortality" to be lowest between 220 and 240. I think a goal could be to get into a healthy state where cholesterol naturally falls around there and ratios are good. BUT if cholesterol is higher, who's to say that's not absolutely perfect for that individual?
@@mystatinfreelife fasting Triglycerides are an indicator of how well your body is burning and storing fat so just like fasting glucose tells you how well your body burns and stores glucose. What i learned recently is that we only have 2000 cals in muscle and 500 cals in the liver of glucose storage so once our glucose/glycogen stores are full the body starts converting the excess glucose into fat for primarily storage. So if your triglyerides are normal high 130-150 it means you are over eating in essence. Like glucose when fasting and daily average should be in a range of 70-99 then go up to high 140s after a meal and back down under 100 within 2 hours. It was fun wearing a cgm and seeing it all happen in real time. I truely believe we want to see our fasting triglycerides below 100 as well and probably lower. The funny thing is my diet consists of 60/30/10 fat/protein/carbs and yet my triglycerides were the lowest ever at 70. Its why they say people who are over eating carbs and have metabolic syndrome start seeing triglycerides in the 200 and higher range. I can honestly say seeing 70 for triglycerides was one of the best things i had ever seen on labs and it told me i was burning more than i was storing. I forgot to mention my total xholestetol was around 300 at that 1 year complete lipid panel. So LDL really didnt go down much. Oh and in terms of when i was on statins it had very little impact on my LDL actually lowered my HDL. Before i retired from the military at around 45 my cholestetol was running 225 total and they put me on a statin that is just how insane they were about pushing statins and the belief in their benefit. My total gradually went up as i got closer to 50. Im going to trust my body has a reason before i will ever trust we need to lower such a critical component to our health, cholesterol.
@@GregariousAntithesis Yes, when I was at 1.47 ratio my trigs were in the 60s. It drifts around, but my goal is to keep it there.
As we age we all need to be aware of our diet. Eat heathy. Exercise. It does make a difference. Be well. 🙂
67. Been on statins probably 25 years. I remember it being 240 back then. My triglycerides have always been high. 1 month ago I started Mediterranean diet, no added sugars, and doing IF. Also no processed foods! I was due for bloodwork after just 2 weeks into this. My total cholesterol was 206 previous test. My cholesterol was 158!!!! Never that low! My tri 81!!!! Everything normal after just 2 weeks eating clean! I have cut my statin in half at this point! Haven’t seen doc yet. I’m not even going to tell them and just keep watching my bloodwork. I plan on getting off completely, but right now only on 20mg.
I have become convinced they seem to like us sick and on meds 😗😡
Thanks for sharing, and good luck with this journey away from them.
Doctors can't make money off healthy people 😢😢😢
They most certainly do, big pharma are only concerned with making huge profits, not keeping people healthy.
Commenting from Australia, this is just the vid I've been looking for. In 2008 I was diagnosed with an irregular heart beat and after some more tests they found that I had a bicuspid valve and an anurisum in my Aorta, not life threatening yet. So i was put on a blood thinner a better blocker and the statin, Crestor, which had the dosage increase nearly a year ago, as the cardiologist thought acholesterol level of 3.6 was to high for my condition. So basically I felt off or not 100% till after twelve midday an having seen some videos on Statins so I decided to do an experiment and stop taking them, within a week I was able to go downstairs and start pottering around in the garden and work till 10 am or smoko here in AUS. I then decided to stop eating bread, flour, biscuit and drinking milk to stop felling bloated. Then two weeks ago I stated intermittent fasting after watching more videos, and I've never felt better. I try to eat my last meal around six or seven and eat again around 12 noon although it's usually later, I'm losing weight I'm not bloated not hungry but just empty at times and a lot happier as I also had a bad temper. But I wouldn't have tried all that if i hadn't stopped taking the Statin, now I will see if I get my head chewed of by my cardiologist in May. I could be wrong but I feel better, I'm 61 years old by the way.
Thanks for sharing. I wonder if the 3.6 target was for LDL and not total cholesterol? 3.6 is an extremely low if total for anyone in my non-medical opinion. I would get a second medical opinion on that if your cardiologist is wanting your total C under 3.6. I am still learning and adjusting my diet and how my body reacts. For example, even lifestyle changes, while usually better than medications for controlling conditions, do not work the same for everyone.
I'm Aussie too and had many of the symptoms in this video when about 18 months ago I weaned myself off them with great resolution of my symptoms. Recently I had a stent implanted and refused my cardiologist's statin prescription. I am left with some muscle damage that is slowly improving. I follow Dr Gundry's lifestyle advice these days too.
Well done! Statins are evil
Don't worry about what they say. Keep doing what you're doing. Sounds like Keto. If not research that. Suggest channels: Dr. Eric Berg DC, Dr. Sten Ekberg, and Dr Ken Berry. They use "relative risk"when selling the idea of using statins, which is meaningless. The reduction in absolute risk over 5yrs from taking statins is below 1% - within the error rate and completely insignificant. Statin drugs are pure scam.
Remember that they're NOT treating or considering causes of these conditions, they're only treating symptoms which in some cases at least, is counter productive (damaging). :) I'm also Aus. btw, Perth WA.
Good 4 u doing so well! U're an inspiration 2 us that r just beginning our journey! Best of luck w/the heart doc appt!
I got off stating 4 years ago. I thought I was aging badly and dying of a slow death, this went on for years, I finally looked at the side effects on the bottle and wow I had them all. I got off them asap and slowly got my life back to normal. Statins is a trillion dollars business. Follow the money
Agree. Some have suggested the Nocebo effect which undoubtedly exists. But I think in cases where it went on for years and we didn't suspect statins until much later, I doubt the "Nocebo" effect was what was happening. It's that you, like I, didn't have preconceived notions of adverse affects. (IN fact the only adverse effect I knew about was muscle pain, and that didn't develop until very late in my journey.)
A few years back, my doctor told me my cholesterol was way up and suggested statin therapy, I went away and researched everything, I decided that cholesterol was not the devil it is painted up as, also I decided that statins were snake oil and I would not take them. A couple of years later another blood tested showed that the cholesterol was a little lower but the triglycerides were way, way up, my doctor assured me that changing my diet would not work. I changed my diet anyway, cutting out some things (I ate a lot of crisps) and losing a bit of weight ( I am now vegetarian). My blood is now perfect, my blood pressure is ok and i feel great. I have never taken any kind of regular medication, I will be 66 next week. All the people I know who were on statins had terrible problems, I told them of my findings, they all stopped the statins, they all enjoyed improved health. Ps. I have always contended that too much exercise is just as bad as none.
Thanks.. I find it astonishing that a doctor would suggest that dietary changes wouldn't work. Though there is a bit of a confirmation bias, I find most of my friends and acquaintances had problems on statins, though I'm sure there are many people who don't mention it because they don't have adverse effects or probably more likely don't realize they have adverse effects. "You're getting old" is a powerful thing that doctors tell us. I heard it it all too often during my 10 years on statins, in my 50s.
I was told by my GP that my cholesterol was way to high at 9.5 and that I needed to see a specialist. Between these two appointments I did some research and cut out all sugars and a lot of carbohydrates. By the time I got to see the specialist my cholesterol was down to 6! He wanted to know what I had done differently in that timespan, I told him and he said “yes we tend to find when people do that there cholesterol goes down” I said so why don’t doctors tell people that and he said “ well people want the easy option and are happy to take pills and doctors are very busy and can’t take the time to explain all this to people”. I was to say the least shocked and said surely you should give people the option not to be on medication and he just shrugged. 🤷♂️
You are not wrong. Statins are toxic. Cholesterol is not the root cause of the problem, inflammation and high insulin is.
Your perfectly right about too much exercise. In fact it can deplete arteries next to the heart of Vitamin C. This is called focal scurvy. It was discovered in the 1950's after autopsies that victims of heart attacks at the point of the blockage were completely depleted of Vitamin C and it was found that the body used Lp-a as a substitute for vitamin C to initialize the plaqueing process.
What triggered the depletion was the mechanical stress of the artery next to the beating heart.
It is found that many endurance athletes often have high CAC's.
I once loss a 100lbs and my doctor told me to cut back on my 5-10 mile walks. I'm glad I did! Now my walking is 2-3 mile walks and I am still reversing my heart disease so it goes to show one doesn't have to exercise that hard to accomplish metabolic fitness.
I like the saying I heard about the Japanese senior population " They don't do marathons and they don't do gyms "
Myself I just exercise for what I need to be able to do.
You should do some research on Carnivore. Very interesting. Congratulations on your non statin life.
A friend of mine died last month from an extremely rare reaction to the statin she was on. It caused an autoimmune reaction that attacked her muscles. We miss her.
This is so sad. Fortunately it's rare, but that's small consolation to you as a friend and her family of course.
Was put on statins, began the muscle soreness soon after. The muscle pain became so debilitating I felt like I was dying!
Thanks for confirming my experience. Was vegetarian 4 years then Vegan for 2 years. Had vertigo or stroke 5 month’s ago 3 weeks after that Doc increased statin from 5 to 20mg. Knee pain would wake at night. Went carnivore and three weeks later A1C 5.2, ldl 51 vldl 12,HDL 66 and triglycerides 56. I’m happy only on low dose aspirin stopped the statin and feel great! Knee pain all but totally gone attitude and energy with memory dramatically improved. Had two stints 3 years ago Dr says statin stabilizes the plaque. New blood tests next month. Still strong on carnivores food. I’ll be 74 in March ❤🎉👍🏻
Wow, great numbers. Despite many opinions, I am still very concerned about my high LDL (not enough to take a statin - I'm just cut off from that given my experience). I didn't mention much about knee pain, I had forgotten it because at the time I attributed it to pressure changes in an airplane ride, but there was one time my joints hurt so much while I was on a business trip that I could barely walk. My a1c is still too high ~5.6. I seem to have a pronounced dawn effect still.
@@mystatinfreelife Statistically, people with high cholesterol live longer (except those with chronic hypercholesterolemia). People who were born in climates with poor sunlight naturally tend to have high cholesterol to help their bodies to produce vitamin D. So I take 2 x 10,000 IU vitamin D3 per day and 200µg K2.
It is amazing how different people have completely different results from diet and even certain medications. I wasn't carnivore but had a diet with very low plant or vegetables. But it was heavy on meat. Not a lot of read meat and I tried to eat more fish, chicken breast and turkey. I had lost weight and was exercising. I had blood work done and was expecting my values to all be in the normal range, but I was above low normal on LDL. My HDL was at the very bottom of the normal for HDL and my triglycerides were above normal. I switched to more of a whole plant diet. I still eat meat but it is like 1/10 of what I use to. My number all improved to the middle of normal or in the case of LDL to the low normal. Physical health has increased well over the last year.
Consider vitamin K2 instead of aspirin.
@@MusicByJC It would be normal for LDL to be higher on a Carnivore diet. Your HDL will increase. Your Testosterone will jump 20% naturally. As long as your Glucose is low, it's ok for your LDL to be elevated. Sugar in the body is dangerous.
All sounds very familiar. I also had shortness of breath, memory problems and accidents. I am a statin survivor. I gave them up in 2012 as I was headed for life in a wheelchair. I have since lost 2 stone in weight and regained my energy. My cholesterol is high but then it always was, even with the statins. Weekly I do body fitness with weights, fitness Pilates and Zumba and all at the age of 76. I regularly have to fight off pressure from my GP to take a statin and I refuse. I continue to take CoQ10.
The pressure to go on statins was intense and I was never informed of the dangers! I'm glad you were able to get off them. My daughter is a certified Pilates instructor in Houston, Texas USA and it is important to stay moving and flexible as we age. Anything that interferes with that (such as statins) certainly have no place in my life! Thanks for watching and for your support.
For sure, it totally unconscionable that those drugs even see the light of day!
@@mystatinfreelife Brings to mind the pressures used to force you to take an untested vaccine doesn't it? Perhaps the same motive, money.
I went off statins 5 months ago..I have had all the side effects that you talk about...My wife has seen a big difference in how I do things and handle daily life...I feel alot better and my last blood testing showed good numbers..Thank you ...
Glad to hear you are doing better now. There are millions like us because the use of these drugs is so widespread that even a small % is a large number. I wonder how many adverse effects go unnoticed or attribute to other things.
@@mystatinfreelife I also wonder that. I also wonder how many accidents are caused world wide by people having global amnesia? You might want to read Lipitor,Thief Of Memory.
@@dacisky My March 24th upcoming video includes Duane Graveline and Transient Global Amnesia. It's already in queued up and ready to go. I just have so many topics to cover... eventually I'll run out but right now, the complexities of statins and backlog of videos are amazing!
My friend started taking statins, within a week he had memory problems, severe sudden anger, difficulty functioning, never having these issues before, ever, once he stopped taking statins his memory came back and the anger stopped.
Very similar experiences with my friends too - there are stories everywhere. The % of people who have such reactions are maybe small, but they're a lot bigger than we're led to believe and with so many millions on them those of us who are hurt are also in the millions. I just know too many people with similar problems. Yes, it's not a scientific survey but I just don't know enough people to begin with to see so many cases of these problems and they still be rare occurrences.
@@mystatinfreelife they are small but they can be fatal! I thought I was gonna die... 3 pills, 3 days!!!!! My husband was at wits end... told Dr. "I want my wife back!"
NEVER AGAIN
Decades ago, my uncle had a sudden, massive heart attack and died at age 44. My Dad had high cholesterol and a triple bypass at age 57. He started to take Lipitor, and took it for the rest of his life. I was 30, and though I never smoked as they did, I worried about my health. I asked my doctor for a blood test and she agreed to put me on Lipitor. I had weakness and pain in my legs, but this was before wide reports of this as a side effect of Lipitor. I continued to take it for 10 years, then tried a couple of other statins, eventually quit them all. Then my younger sister, age 60, suddenly needed a triple bypass. she had sky-high cholesterol, and tested positive for a genetic factor of familial hyper- cholesterol. That scared me enough to get blood tests done, and my lipids were very high, though not as bad as hers. I decided to try to amend my diet and start taking a statin again, Livalo. It doesn't give me leg pain, but I wonder what it's doing to my brain. My mother, along with my dad had gone onto Lipitor. My father lived quite active and healthy until death at age 81, from a stroke. My mother developed dementia at age 78, and died of it age 85 after 7 years in a nursing home.
I think if we are lucky to live to old age, it becomes a guessing game of how long you want to live, what you want to risk to get there, and then your own individual luck. I have just turned 69, and I hope I don't follow my mother's route. Whether to take statins to possibly lengthen my life while risking my brain health is the question for me.
I agree, these are all difficult questions and also why I hate to make categorical statements on statins. As I suggest in some videos (some that haven't come out yet) there are more tests that can give a better picture of whether statins are worth the risk, such as CIMIT, CAC score, and CTA.
In particular, I had a lot of trouble on Livalo. That was the last one they tried on me and I just had to give it up. Brave for me to say now "it isn't worth the decrease in quality of life" when I'm young (only 65); how I will feel if I have a stroke is unknown. My father had a stroke at 69 which eventually killed him - his last 8 years were no way to live. My siblings have all surpassed my father's 69 and while they're not all in the best of health, they haven't experienced what he did.
@@mystatinfreelife I have high cholesterol, high LDL 0 (ZERO) calcium score, the dr. has NOT found anything wrong with my heart. LDL/HDL ratio .835, Total chol/HDL ratio 3.4 VLD 10. Every single doctor has told me they want me on statins. That even started over 25 years ago. I have always refused to go on a statin drug. I am 70 and in great health. Everyone has to do what they have to do, but doctors are not interested in making you better they just want to cram pills down your throat. I have yet to find one that wants to look at the whole picture. I have reduced all inflammation symptoms by doing intermittent fasting, I only eat twice a day in a 5 hour to 6 hour window (max), have eliminated sugar completely and eat very low carb diet. I don't deny myself an occasional pizza or beer (maybe 4 a year). I exercise moderately. Personally I don't think the statins are worth the risk. They have improved my husband's life ZERO%. His brain is foggy, he is forgetful, his health has not improved at all, he feels tired and sluggish all the time. So if one day I just croak going down the mountain on my snowboard, or collapse on the trail riding my bike, I'll just chuck it up to a life lived to its fullest, can't complain about that.
@@Cocora22 Thanks for sharing your story. I think this is a good case of "treating a number" without understanding if that "number" is actually bad. A 0 CAC at age 70 is remarkable. I'm not a doctor, but I'd think that a statin at this point is a (very poor) solution in search of a problem that doesn't exist.
@@mystatinfreelife I completely agree and find it to be a sad state of affairs when we pay these doctors to do a job, that in many cases does not look at the patient as a whole. Just yesterday the endocrinologist couldn't find anything wrong with my thyroid but did give a diagnosis of Hyperlipidemia which means your blood has too many lipids (or fats), such as cholesterol and triglycerides. One type of hyperlipidemia, hypercholesterolemia, means you have too much non-HDL cholesterol and LDL (bad) cholesterol in your blood. This condition increases fatty deposits in arteries and the risk of blockages. However with a great HDL score of 79, VLDL 10 he did not want to listen to a word I said. The previous cardiologist was really pissed I refused the statin drug, this guy wants to send me to another cardiologist. It's unbelievable. This is why people sharing their stories and some doctors making youtube videos to share and educate us IS AWESOME!!!!!!
It's mostly related to diet. Change your diet and say goodbye to all the RX drugs!
I was put on statins by my doctor, ended up being diagnosed with type 2 diabetes! Took the decision to stop tacking them, months later I had reversed my diabetes symptoms! The doctor was amazed and said that whatever I was doing, I should bottle it and put it on eBay, that was many years ago and I am 67 now, but bizarrely I am still classed as being diabetic, even though I am probably eating more sugar now than I have ever done. I no longer have problems with my blood sugar levels, and every time I go to the doctors they ask if I am controlling it with diet? They just say well done! Needless to say I won’t touch Statins again with a barge pole!!
Thanks for sharing! Love to hear these successes.
I was on atorvastatin (brand name would be Lipitor) for 2 years. I had a growing feeling that I was suffering side effects, mainly muscle pain and weakness, and brain fog. A month and a half ago I decided to stop taking it. Very quickly it became apparent that the side effects had been worse than I had realized, because their onset had been slow. Suddenly I have more endurance, no muscle pain, better balance, and clearer thinking. I feel like the me I used to know is back. I have changed my food choices, toward lower carb, and I'm losing weight. My cholesterol is at 218, but the HDL is 56. I think I can improve my numbers through diet and exercise, because I have done it before, til I got lax about it, leading to the statin prescription. I won't go back on it again, because my quality of life is far, far better without!
I was a slow learner. It took me a lot longer to even realize these effects were related to statins because of the slow onset, and even when I started to make the connection in my mind, I denied it - had arguments with myself in my head: "cholesterol lowering drugs can't cause this" etc. It never even occurred to me to do the most basic checks and see what others were experiencing.
@@mystatinfreelife Well, I'm glad we both got there, regardless of timing. We probably both just thought it was the basic signs of getting older. I'm 60 btw, and I have a 58yo brother who I knew had been on the very same statin and had stopped. When I stopped, I asked him what went into his decision. He said his doctor checked him for blockages and there were none, so he told my brother that if there are no blockages, he doesn't have to be concerned about the number that is the cholesterol. This is a different school of thought from what I've heard from my doctor. Also, I remember clear as day when my brother told me a few years ago that he was concerned about the statin giving him memory issues, but now he has forgotten that part. He jokingly says that the statin-induced memory problems must have caused him to forget those very memory problems!
My hubby gave up two types of statins after 17 years as well as a few other drugs. He has been off them over two years and now he has no asthma, his sleep and memory have improved. His body strength has improved. His anxiety has gone. His doctor told him that side effects were not all part of taking the medication and he would probably die of stomach cancer if he gave losec. He is careful of any foods that upset his stomach and we try to eat as healthy as possible.
Nice to hear about other people's stories.
I'm beginning to believe that statins are just part of a larger polypharmacy problem in the "developed" world. In her last days, my mother was on so many medications that she couldn't keep track of what she had taken and what she hadn't. Thanks for watching.
Did he stop gradually or cold turkey?
Just a note, I have hypothyroidism and was put on a statin for elevated cholesterol and a CAC score of 70. I developed dysphasia, pre diabetes, and muscle atrophy after a year of use. I then found published studies that found people with Hashimotos, like myself, tend to experience more severe side effects than the average. I stopped my statin and my dysphasia went away. I still have very weak muscles but am beginning to wear light ankle and wrist weights to help regain strength. I have cut my processed foods and carbohydrates majorly and am seeing a marked result in my glucose levels. My last CAC and carotid sonogram showed no progression of plaque despite being off the statin. I will also note that my CAC went from a zero to 70 in just five years. The two highest contributors to that were menopause and extremely high stress in my life. They say that estrogen provides a very protective action against cholesterol build up and levels, and is known to protect the endothelial. My hypothesis is that because estrogen is such a super protector, there was no need for extra cholesterol- not necessarily that estrogen kept cholesterol at bay. With reduction of this hormone, the body miraculously adapts another way of protecting and healing the endothelial by sending extra cholesterol. The true cause of arterial damage is not the cholesterol but the daily assault of high carbohydrates, sugar, processed foods, and STRESS which lead to a need for our body to constantly send in cholesterol to mitigate the damages. The numerous studies which find that older people with high cholesterol levels live longer just reaffirms my belief that cholesterol is a protective substance. Too, using the Framingham calculator, adding a statin to the formula actually raises one’s percentage toward the likelihood of an event. I couldn’t believe what I was figuring, but each time I took away the statin the percentage went down!? Our lifestyles and eating habits need to be changed, not our cholesterol levels.
Wow, amazing info on the calculator. I found with some calculators, no matter what you put in for numbers for BP and Cholesterol. even numbers that they would consider "perfect", if you are over a certain age, statins are recommended. Pretty amazing that no one in the world who is over age 65 doesn't need a statin.
@@mystatinfreelife I just saw a video last week where someone was at their Cardiologist and was being told that EVERYONE over the AGE of 18 !! NEEDS to be on a Statin. (?) Something is Wrong in the Medical World.
@@user-ss6zt2mo1l That's just incredible.
Thank you! I have hypothyroidism as well. I am getting off the statins. I started statins 1 year and 3 months ago. I have had pain in my muscles. My liver numbers doubled. It only started to have trouble after the statin. My doctor keeps scaring me.
I used to be so active and feel like I am aging. I cut my 10 mg statin in half and will take it every 2nd day , then stop.
I reluctantly agree at age 69 that triathlon training is something I need to let go of. Moderate exercise is all I need now.
I found this helpful. My doctor wants to put me on a statin and I am resisting. The need for regular liver testing is a concern, and the muscle soreness. I am 62 and pretty active. My HDL is fantastic and my triglycerides. I have been doing intermittent fasting, which can raise LDL levels, but has also brought down my sugar levels. Look into the development of statins. It is eye opening. As always follow the money.
I think if the Trigs and HDL are good, statins are unnecessary though that's not a medical opinion on my part (though it IS a medical opinion on the part of some doctors): ua-cam.com/video/C3rsNCFNAw8/v-deo.html
You don't need them. No one does
KEEP resisting those Toxic Statins!! You are doing more than Fine if your HDL is High and Tryclerides are Low!😉
@@mystatinfreelife Dr Robert Lustig. My hero!
@@albasdumbledorf5113 The drug companies do.💲💲💲💲💲💲💲💲💲💲
that's it!!! I used statins until I went to the surgery bed and replaced the valve...luckily the operation was successful...now I am on KETO and my LDL is high, but I will never take statins again...my A1C is 5.5, and my triglycerides are 100, so I do not care what my LDL is...there is one holistic doctor on youtube, Sten Ekberg- he is the one to watch for almost anything !!! Blessings 👍 👏 ❤
I should do a vid on all the docs I watch. Sten Ekberg is one of them.
@@mystatinfreelife He is the one and very best ❤
Good decision. There are other doctors on youtube that advocate for low carb and also state that high LDL can be ignored (in fact for older people high LDL is actually protective) What you want is low triglycerides and high HDL. Stern Ekberg is good but also look up Dr Paul Mason and Dr Ken Berry
@@chrisminifie219 I wish someone had told me that because that has always been my status. Working out all my life, eating clean but that LDL who knows.
The benefits claimed for statins do not come from reducing LDL. They slightly reduce systemic inflammation and are mildly anti thrombotic. But given that they risk causing so many bad side effects, it makes sense to get these positive effects by other means. For example, a low carb diet without seed oils will reduce inflammation. Exercise and sunlight will also help
Absolutely. There are so many aspects to this that if crammed in a single video it would take hours and hours to cover everything.
I am encouraged to hear that you recovered from (most) of the statin side effects. I took one for three months, and am now off it for three months. Still recovering. I will look for your coQ10 video.
Thanks. I'm digging into the whole CoQ10 question. Very difficult to find consistent information, but I'll keep trying.
I have been on statins several times and different types and all of them have had bad side effects. The last ones were simvastatin which made it impossible to lift my arms up past my chest. I stopped taking them and I feel much better and healthier now. Great video and very informative,it’s good to know that I am not alone with these side effects which my doctor never mentioned. Keep up the good work.
Thanks for watching! And you hit my most important point: I want people to know they are not alone if they have these effects and to offer hope and encouragement.
Astronomical profits and cover ups are the problem. Just follow the corporate money. Health is a business and is managed as such to maximise profits,, pretty much regardless.
Agree. Thanks for the interest and support. I like to say many doctors have stopped Practicing Medicine and are now Practicing Medication. The drug companies' first obligation is actually a fiduciary one to their stockholders, not to the patients. That's a conflict of interest right there.
I refuse to take them anymore the side affects are horrendous people. I stopped taking them and I’m looking for a new doctor he doesn’t give a hoot. I swear they must get kickbacks. Exercise and diet folks it works take back control of your life.
In some cases they do get kickbacks, tough it would be unfair to say they all do. There's actually a website you can go to in order to find out if your doctor gets $ from Big Pharma, though I'm not sure how complete the information is. Another topic for me to cover.
Thank you for making this video. I have quit taking them against the advice of my doctor after 12 years. I started having kidney issues, and insomnia. I realized later that I would get tired easily and had leg pain when exercising or walking long distances. I'm in my 60's and for me it was the quality of life, I want to be physical as long as possible and not being able to walk in order to get a lab value was not my idea of healthcare. I also work in healthcare and now I am trying to go totally natural supplements exclusively along with diet and exercise.
Recognizing the standard American lifestyle and what it does to us is the first step!
How is everything going for you? I'm interested because I have converted to a Full Carnivore Diet and have another blood test in 80 days.
@@user-ss6zt2mo1l Sorry for the late reply. At the risk of sounding like a shill, I feel better with the changes to move away from statins and other corporate meds than I ever had felt on them. My energy level has greatly increased. I take quite a few natural supplements, my latest has been mushroom extracts, along with other natural anti inflammatories. My pain is almost completely gone, especially at night. I have made some lifestyle changes, I intermittent fast 2 days a week and have lost almost 50 pounds over a years time. I also make it a point to eat a lot of vegetable/fruit based fiber (no oatmeal for me, I eat bowls of coleslaw, and apples). I also am flirting with having a no protein, no carb day every week, we'll see. I don't follow this all the time, I backslide on occasion, but the way I feel, I'll take my chances.
I am 60. I have had minor palpitations since I was 22 and had a major back surgery for a broken 5th vertebrae. I had a tachycardia attack the day after my surgery, the cardiologist diagnosed me with mitral valve prolapse. In 2014 I saw a cardiologist just to check up on things and see how my heart was doing. They have new technology since 1985 and he informed me that I do not have mitral valve prolapse, that was nice to hear! No more antibiotics every time I went to the dentist, every 6 months! Lately I have been having Testosterone therapy and I noticed that the palpitations were becoming more frequent so my Dr set an appointment with the cardiologist to check up on things. My cholesterol is high so they want to perform a CT scan with contrast to check my blood flow around my heart. I am still active and can work strenuously without shortness of breath or pain so I'm a bit confused about that test.. I don't want the radioactive contrast or the high dose of X-ray from the CT scan, I have had to many of those after having my surgeries! They want to give me a pill to take the evening before and the day of the CT scan to SLOW my heart rate, sounds terrifying as my resting heart rate is around 62 bpm.. Both my Dr and this new cardiologist want me on a Statin drug, I really don't want to take it because I have not heard much positive feedback about it. I think I want to try stopping my sugars and carbs and lean towards a Carnivore diet with some good veggies here and there.. Ive stopped my coffee and have gone to tea's. I'm already fasting since my daily habits are typically no breakfast then a 12-2 lunch with a very light supper if any around 7PM. I I'm 5'11 and 182 lbs, probably best weight would be 175 once I get off sweets that should be doable.. I don't want to go down the medicine rabbit trail, I have an 11 and 10 year old girls and I hope to be around for them but the drugs worry me... Thank you for sharing your experiences, You sound like you have great knees! lol.. 500+ Mile hikes!?? awesome!
Thanks for sharing your story. My resting heart rate is low also - I'd be wondering why they'd want to slow it down - but we do have to be cautious of making decisions based on incomplete information. Perhaps they have found that anxiety at taking the test can raise heart rate? That's a wild guess on my part but I just want to highlight that it should be explained to you. I'd also ask them to explain why they think a statin will help - is it just lowering cholesterol for its own sake? Since you haven't taken the other tests yet, it seems premature. I recently had an "event" - not a cardiovascular one - which did cause me to have to go on a medication (not statins or even statin-related) at least for a while. I see it as a temporary thing until I can make adjustments to address the problem; I'm sure my doctors think "take this pill, problem solved." I'm looking for a criteria I can meet that will say "no longer necessary."
I recently did get a comment from a viewer who says that in their case, statins really helped their quality of life. From what I could tell, they had several quality of life reducing conditions and they could truly feel an improvement, and I think it's a great thing that they were helped. I think most people aren't starting from such a dire place, and it bugs me that people who are feeling perfectly fine are put on these based entirely on a blood test. At least your doctors are thinking of ways to go beyond that. (Also, I disagree with the definition of "high" than many use. Often it's "over 200." I think maybe a case could be made that once you get over 240 or 250 it may be a cause for looking deeper, but even then we shouldn't be put into auto-statin mode. And the same case could be made that under 180 is too low.)
Best of luck to you with your upcoming tests.
@@mystatinfreelife I appreciate you taking the time to reply. And thanks for the well wishes. Best regards.
@@mystatinfreelife They only slow it down to make the test more clear. Very temporary.
@@scottg5588 Thanks. That makes sense.
I was prescribed simastatin.. I took it when i was diagnosed as diabetic. I was taking metformin and a blood pressure med. At first i had no problems. I lost 80 pounds. Now i'm off the metaformin. But i'm still on the statin. After about 6 months the side effects started to kick in. When i was on one of my walks i blacked out and fell flat on my face. ( dizziness ) . i cut my chin chipped my teeth cut my lip and cut both of my hands. I had insomnia, muscle cramps digestive problems..the list continues. Thats when i said enough ! I stopped taking the damn statin and guess what folks? All the side effects went away. I still eat healthy and watch my weight . do my daily routine with no issues. I'm 67 and now i feel terrific. Take my word for it , do not take statins. Oh ,and btw , i didn't mention the nightmares and psychotic breaks...take it from me kids , stay well away from statins...be well .🙂
Wow! Thanks for sharing. I think it's all part of metabolic health - often it is lifestyle that gets us, especially (not always - some people have genetic predisposition) with T2D. And it's not the fault of those of us who fall victim. The "Standard American Diet" that gets pushed on us (whether we live in the USA or not) combined with a general lack of knowledge (or even belief) by many PCPs about the right diet and exercise to really make a difference, are tough to overcome. And it really needs to be customized to each of us.
Worst of all is the cognitive problems these statins cause for many of us. And that's the hardest one to convince the Doctor of. In fact, I think my PCP was waiting for me to say "muscle pain" in order to make a change. It's like deep down they believed it was the statins causing the cognitive problems but needed it in the record that I complained about muscle pain so she could switch my statins (which of course, didn't solve anything. Eventually, I fired her.)
Did you stop cold turkey or gradually?
Just took my wife off atorvastain studies and recommendations by Medical Medium and a favorite Nurse Practitioner. Get off now! Medical Medium explained what they really are doing. Scary to say the least!
Thanks for your clearly produced video Sir.
Thanks for watching! Yes, and I've been told it was all in my head, despite the symptoms coming on slowly and me taking years before I associated them with statins. We each must decide for ourselves and our loved ones.
Do we stop gradually or cold turkey?
one morning, no pain, no speeded up heartrate, just hard to get a full breath, drove to the hospital I was having the widowmaker, no high cholesteral no high blood pressure. The statins were killing me. I asked the doc why statins if cholesteral was not high, he said cause I said so. I quit taking them feel fine
Whoa, not much of an answer from the doctor, either.
I was prescribed statins years ago, recently I was getting pains in my right leg only, was putting it down to arthritis, but i decided to half the the dose, and saw a vast improvement in mobility, it’s my intention to half that again starting next month. Got my blood’s done last week got report saying everything was satisfactory. Proof I didn’t really need the dose they initially put me on. My aim is to eliminate them completely, they are not a good drug to be taking, particularly if you’re on other drugs for other conditions. Great upload.
Thanks, and glad you are seeing improvements!
If you want to stop taking statins you can go cold turkey without getting side effects, you don’t have to taper off them
You have been reading my Mail. I had a stroke at 59 and although my cholesterol was normal was prescribed statins. I was on them for years assuming all my odd symptoms were stroke related. Then I decided to do some research as to why I had the stroke. Long story short I stopped statins and within 3 weeks had my life back.
Like you I found low carb and that got me off all BP meds and 10% body weight loss. BTW a leading cardiologist here in U.K. has released a new book called a “ statin free life”. He says , apart from all the side effects, taking a statin is as useful as taking one slice of bread out of your daily diet.
Thanks! I assume you are referring to Dr. Aseem Malhotra - I have his book. I originally thought of calling this channel "A Statin Free Life" but I realized that could be construed as trying to link me to him, and my only business relationship with him is I bought his book. He is one of the first doctors who validated for me that I wasn't imagining it and that it would be worth my effort to produce these videos with the hopes of providing moral support for others.
That’s correct. Also after being a proponent of the Covid jab his father a GP and a fit 70 year old died of a heart attack shortly after a covid jab. He has now asked for a pause on all further covid jabs as his recent research has revealed the side effects are more numerous than first thought.
Thank you so much for sharing. I am experiencing all of these as you speak. I have been on a statin for 2 yrs now I never knew this drug was the cause of my body hurting, ear aches, jaw pain, restless, brain fog...OMG my life was great before statin. I am definitely talking to my health provider this week. You just saved my life from suffering anymore 🤩Russ 👏 Bless you!!!
Thanks for watching and I hope you are able to resolve the issues. Be forewarned that many doctors (not all) will deny the adverse effects, or browbeat you to stay the course, or tell you it's all "Nocebo Effect" (i.e. "in your head.") Let us know how it works out for you. Please watch my follow-up video on why it took me 10 years to figure out that stains were the cause of my issues.
ua-cam.com/video/Ea97W_h34IA/v-deo.html
My doctor offered me statins without doing any tests, I asked for blood test and was told I had very low cholesterol. As the doctor was talking to me I thought, I’m a lot fitter than you, I do a bit of keep fit and eat fairly good, don’t drink much and I’ve never smoked, found out the other day my doctor died.
Sad about your doctor (that he died, and that he was talking statins without even the excuse of high cholesterol.)
I don't care what a "study" and "data" says anymore. I believe my body's reaction. At 65, I am generally fit with a normal bmi. But I have some heart issues, so my cardiologist put me on statins. Developed severe and debilitating neck and foot pain on rovustatin. Was switched to atorvastatin/entimbe. After three months use, I have noticeable memory problems, confusion, and feel rundown and achy all the time and depressed. So I an planning on stopping, and if I start feeling better, will look for a physician who will help me control my cholesterol naturally.
I'm out hiking right now and have lots of time to reflect. I find doctors absolutely deny memory problems, etc. No studies show it (they claim.) I'm not a conspiracy nut, but like you, I don't trust the studies anymore. Too much big Pharma sponsorship.
I too have noticed not just some muscle aches but even more debilitating is the depression and zero sex drive I have!! Brain fog as well! I’m cleaning up my diet and plan on sticking to it vs staying on a statin and have it mess my mind up! Appreciate this video and comments! 😀
@@troybird1132 Good luck with your journey to better health!
You mentioned CoQ10 would like to hear your follow up, I appreciated everything you had to say looking forward to more.
Thanks - I have several videos "in the pipeline" but I will start on one about CoQ10, probably will come out late in March. I take the "Ubiquinol" form which is supposed to be absorbed better. I will see if I can dig up the evidence rather than just going by "what I've heard."
Recent research dismissed the fact that the majority of so called side effects as psychosomatic. Ironically statins it is now believed reduce inflammation in the body which it is believed causes cholesterol to lay down! in for example, the coronary arteries. Inflammation of key organs increase with age. Most of this presentation is anecdotal and unverifiable as scientific fact. Many of my friends are on statins with no side effects. I have been for years and report no side effects. My blood results are good for someone over near 70. Several consultants support me being on statins as a way of reducing familial high cholesterol and several deaths from heart attacks in the family pre- 60 years of age.
It seems that the idea that our health issues, specifically heart, always require the prescribing of statins. I have read in multiple articles that it’s the anti-inflammatory effect of the statin that helps the most,and that older people naturally have higher total cholesterol. Those elderly with higher cholesterol also have been shown in studies to have a lower all cause mortality…in other words, live longer. Sugar is inflammatory.
Since our brains are almost 75% cholesterol it makes sense that you would have mental changes. Also the one thing that all centurions have in common is high cholesterol.
I'm 63. I came off Statins 2 years ago, and I take Niacin and vitamin E complex now instead. Never looked back. Eyes open, no fear
Did you stop gradually or cold turkey?
Hi Russ, great video! I run the 800 as well in the senior olympics. In fact, I took 3rd in the CA state championships one year. I had a doc put me on a drug (not statins) and I had to come to the conclusion that it was causing me a lot of problems as well. I got off of it 3 years ago and am totally drug-free now. I don't know why docs are so gung-ho about prescribing drugs. It's idiocy! I'm so glad you figured it out as well. Best wishes!
Thanks for your support.! I'll never race an 800 again, my 65 year old brain would be thinking about my 22 year old body's results all the time, and I'd overdo it! I have to be satisfied with hiking now (which I absolutely love.)
@@mystatinfreelife Hiking is fantastic too, with a lot less injuries and strains. Still, I think you could still run the 800 competitively in the Senior Olympics. You compete against others in your age group. Sometimes I run in open meets though which are really fun.
I love what you have to say about statins. The side effects are terrible, and I think the pharmaceutical statistics are very misleading as to their alleged benefits.
That is what Doctoring is all about these days, legalized pill pushers is what they have become, l went to the Doctor's one time with an injured knee, which blew up like a basket ball, thinking it may need to be X-Rayed, told the Dr l didn't want pain kilkers, he said, " why are you here if you don't want tablets? Some Drs can be such asses.
Thank you Russ.....this was very important for me to hear. After a mild TIS stroke in the spring of 2019. they put me 40 mg Atorvastatin daily. I have perfect health. No coronary heart disease. No high blood pressure. Nothing. I do not need this drug. It has stolen my muscle tone. I feel weak like never before. I understand how statins can be so very bad for you. Terrible, really. ...So Russ, thank you again for making feel some hope to getting away from this stuff. I'm subscribed!
Thanks for watching and I hope all works out for you.
Case CLOSED! Thank you!
statins are the standard of care that drs prescribe to keep from being sued.
Absolutely. In some ways, their hands are tied. Many just put it on record that you refused after consultation and that should get them off the hook. But others push and push.
Hi thought for a minute Russ was talking about what I went through when I was on statins,100percent accurate and I don’t live in USA.
Thanks for watching. I'm hoping this channel will allow people who are experiencing similar things to what I did won't feel so all alone in their experiences like I did when my doctors were denying the connection that it took me years to figure out.
Brilliant, like you I was equating aches and sleeplessness, and even the brain fog, with aging.
I feel like suing these Big -Pharma pill-pushing Doctors, they don't even research this stuff.
I quit Statins today, and am so glad to have discovered your channel and others
Thanks for your support! It really is easy to miss the connection; I did for 7 years and it took me 3 years more to truly accept it. When I got off them the symptoms actually intensified for a week or so before I got relief.
The Dr. put me on Pravastatin 15 or more years ago. Almost immediately I started experiencing muscle cramps: toes, feet, ankles calves thighs, diaphragm and ribs, neck, fingers and hands. I told the Dr. and he ignored it. Changed Doctor's and e ignored my complaint. Watched a couple of Dr's. on UA-cam discussing the problems with statins. Discontinued the pravastatin the cramps were gone in 48 hours, the severe constipation cleared after seven days. When I told the Dr. he said I had to be on a statin and put me on Rosuvastatin. I developed overall body aches and muscle aches. I discontinued the Rosuvastatin for two weeks and was afraid to go back on it. When I told the Dr. he wanted to put me on another statin. I asked him what the side effects were on the others and he admitted they all could cause muscle pain and cramps, I refused. He wanted to try an alternative to statins, I asked him what the side effects were and he said muscle pain, I refused. That was June of 2022 and I have pain free ever since.
Thanks for sharing! Muscle pain is the only adverse effects my doctor would take seriously, and while I did have that (along with joint pain) on occasion, for me the other effects were worse. Really, once you've been on a fat soluble statin and a water soluble statin and both turn out to be bad for you, going on others doesn't seem to make much difference. (Rosuvastatin is water soluble. I don't recall which Pravastatin is, off the top of my head. I think it's Prevachol, which is also water-soluble.)
The Lipiid panel test is basically obsolete. You need an NMR particle size test to look at your pattern A and pattern B LDL. Forget Statins
Unfortunately, the average Primary Care Physician is locked in the 20th century with a Physician's Desk Reference that is out of date (even if it's published this year.)
@@mystatinfreelife for sure. A friend of mine is on a low carb diet (as am I), she went to see her doctor with her lipid test results and he about fell out of his chair and ordered the Statin truck to back up. She had two NMR tests from independent labs and the doctor didn't even know what an NMR test was or the difference between Pattern A and Pattern B. Can you imagine how many people are taking Statins unnecessarily? Still it's good for Big Pharma.
@@johnyoungieyoung123 How depressing. Like some horror story from the Dark Ages when they drank XYZ for scurvy or something.
joint pain in shoulders and elbows short term memory stopped statins 5 weeks ago pains almost gone sleeping better
Since the Doctors put me on Statins, 15 years ago; I've been getting muscle aches, brain fog...tired, I would fall asleep, during the day; when before I had a lot of energy....I stopped taking them...2 weeks ago! DONE!!! now i take (Omega-3 Acid Ethyl Esters, Capsules, plus a lot of other Vitamins...I feel so much better.. When I have my next blood work, I will see if there is a difference.
I suspect you will see an increase in LDL getting off statins, I certainly did. However, your countermeasures (Omega-3 etc.) will hopefully counteract that to some degree. It just didn't seem worth the adverse effects for me to be taking statins.
I have been on atorvastatin(lipitor) for about 13 years. Now reducing my dose from 20mg to 10mg. Then I will come off them for ever. Anything that damages your DNA cannot be good. Thanks for the video. It has been helpful to learn what someone else thinks.
Very objective analysis.Great job.
Much appreciated!
What an excellent diet that you're on. You are doing wonderful. I'm so proud that you got off that poison!!!
Great video. Started statin 15 years ago or so(20 mg). Then went on diabetes not long after(metformin(2000 mg a day). A couple of years ago started 10 mg of high blood pressure then Doctor put me on Jardiance to supplement diabetes(10mg). I always had a pretty good build and played a lot of hockey growing up. Eventually when I worked as a construction Electrician I reached a weight of 300 lbs(not good) but whittled down to 250 lb for the most part. Dr.told me years ago I would never see 210 lbs. Anyways the last 5 years or so I have been having issues with serious cramps in my lower parts especially legs and such. I've had headaches off and on and I have always felt like I was in a fog or stupified. Well About 2 months ago I started to whittle myself off of the drugs and I have stopped taking all the drugs for the last month in a half. I have been pretty much on a whole 30 diet for the last month in a half with my wife and my sugars have been pretty darn good and I have measured my blood pressure to be normal. I gotta say that it hasn't beeen easy but I do feel better. I have to start getting more exercise however. That is the last thing I have to start. Whatever happens to me is in the Great Spirits hands. I really do not want to go back to them drugs. I am currently 58 years old and I currently weigh 215 lbs.
Thanks for sharing. I think your case, which if I understand correctly, you saw the cramps after 10 years on statins. This is similar to my experience; I didn't start getting adverse effects for quite a while, which makes it difficult for us to associate the effects with the statins. Only after more time passed was I able to understand there was a connection, as I describe in Parts 1 and 3 of this series. (Part 2 turns out to be a dead end and in a way I wish I hadn't included it in the series.) Good luck on your health journey.
I’ve had these reservation about statins for years. At 56 I was walking with a load and experienced severe chest pain, rested it out, walked some more, same again, walked some more. Next day rang my GP and went to see him, he checked me out and found nothing, being a smoker he sent me to a Cardiologist, he had me go on a treadmill and detected a problem, booked me for an angiogram. Angiogram found an artery 95% blocked by cholesterol, they put in a stent. I was put on stetins and have undergone 2 angiograms since. In 2016 I did a pilgrimage and hiked on average 30 miles a day for 29 days. Before this I was averaging 5 to 10 miles a day walking. In 2018 I had an operation for a hernia, post op I got a lung infection. I’ve never walked over 100 metres since. I’m unable to walk without angina. I retired 2 years later. My temper had degenerated, my muscle weakness and inability to walk continues. I’m going to give up statins, if I die so what, I’d prefer death to the life I have now.😊
So sorry to hear this report. Please remember that I am only an engineer and not a medical professional. My greatest desire is to help people recognize that they aren't imagining their adverse effects but I fear me being the reason they get off statins, just in case they are the rare person who benefits. Please be careful, work closely with your current doctor (or a new one if necessary) if you're really going try to get off them.
Please, do not give up on yourself… Learn about CARNIVORE DIET… You will be surprised at the results it giving to so many people…
Thank you I really appreciate this video. You have helped me so much. I recently got off statins and it’s been the best thing I ever did.
Took me years to figure it out, but I feel the same way. Thanks for watching.
I'm 70 and eat carnivore. Of course, my ldl went up. At my yearly physical, my obese physician wanted me to take a statin. I said, No, because of the side effects. I still refuse to take it. I generally work out 5 days a week for 2 hours a day. I'm lean and gaining more flexibility. Last month, I had my yearly physical. I did yoga moves and got off the floor without using my hands while he continues to eat the standard American diet and is getting fatter. Statins are the most common drug given by physicians, yet the incidents of heart disease continue to increase.
I think flexibility is key as we age, and Yoga is an excellent way to maintain it. Funny you mention your obese physician. The doctor who brow-beat me into going on statins was also obese. I wonder if she knew enough about diet to solve it herself. I don't have a lot of confidence in taking health advice from clearly unhealthy people.
@@mystatinfreelife One of the most popular cardiologist in my area was over 300 pounds at one point in his practice. Ironic. I've heard most physicians don't receive much information about nutrition. I put my foot behind my knee and did a squat with my left and right knees. My knees are super strong now. Thank you for your videos.
I know, it's completely mind boggling but good on you for being in the know!
@mystatinfreelife Absolutely. Unfortunately, way too many have blind trust and they pay with their health not to mention the financial burden!
I view my Dr. as a mechanism to get my labs done and thats about it. Sad...
i had a second stroke 4 months ago. It had been 10 years since my first. the first was very minor, and the second required more time to recover. I now feel recovered. I did have lots of problems w the Crestor statin that were noticeable very early and asked to change my meds within a month. My symptoms included depression, brain fog, weakness, loss of appetite, soreness, hives and more. I am now on Rosavastatin and feel fine. I think i lost quite a bit of muscle tone on the crestor product. Now i exercise regularly since after about 2 months i started waking up w pain which was unusual for me. I did go completely vegan right away after the first stroke, but that does mean i use some margarine. I was also put on hydrazaline. My blood pressure was unusually low at times and generally much lower than before the stroke so the dr said i can try not using the hydrazaline at all or once a day, but to continue to moniter bp 2x a day. I am strongly tempted to go off the statins too but am waiting for a bit. I did take a cholesterol ck after 3 mos and my cholesterol was very low... 138. I have continued to be careful but slightly less stringent and do little salt and sugar. Apparently my strokes were mostly stress related as they i was not showing symptoms of undue plaque although i did have the brain fog a bit before statins. I did have a small blockage in the brain and brain stem. They put me on the highest dosage and i am a small slim woman. I was eating butter and whipped cream and ice cream at times, but avoided most carbs, sugars and salt and cholesterol otherwise. I did realize after going vegan that I had ingested more salt than i had realized. Now we make almost all our food from scratch. I am 71 now and do about 50 min of exercise daily, but not up to your fitness for sure. Thanks, and I will be interested to see how your experience continues. I want to get off statins and do not like that it stops my body from producing cholesteral.
HI, thanks for sharing. Rosuvastatin (is that what you're on?) is the generic form of Crestor. Maybe your dose is different? In any case, because you've had strokes, a lot of the things I go over on this channel about how benefits of statins are exaggerated don't necessarily apply - secondary prevention is not something I'm comfortable commenting on. Please work very closely with your doctors on any adjustments. I had heard (and this is completely hearsay) that some types of strokes really have nothing to do with what a statin can help with (I have an in-law in this circumstance) but I have no idea if that fits you. Good luck and thanks for commenting.
I hope I may call you friend. You are providing very helpful information. I am 74. A year and a half ago I weighed 400 lbs. Total couch potato. I was on Atorvistatin. I have now lost 150 and walking with aids BUT doing streching and PT through a Clinic. Easter I stopped the Statin. I have been plagued by muscle knots everywhere in my body. They are already diminishing. I was not making progress on the Atorvistatin. I had a sedentary profession. I don’t care if I run again. But I so want to walk. Walk miles! Thank you, Kindred Spirit.
Good luck and keep up the good work! Down 150 pounds is remarkable.
I stopped taking stations against my Drs advice. I took them only for a short period, but experienced many of the same ones you did. The worst for me were mental fogginess. I just could not think. Another severe side effect was liver pain. All of which disappeared when I stopped statins. I read that stations also cause diabetes. Thankfully, I wasn't on them long enough for that to happen. Thank you for sharing your story.
Increased Insulin Resistance (IR) (which leads to Type 2 diabetes) is one of those adverse effects I really didn't consider, since it needs to looked for and measured (a change in hba1c is probably not immediately noticeable by patient symptoms.) At the time, it wasn't being considered or even known by many. But yes, I suspect I probably experienced increased IR. Fortunately, that's something that can be recovered from if caught early enough. Unfortunately, the Standards of Care take a very casual approach to T2D from statins: If it is occurs, worry about it then and treat the diabetes. Yikes!
My mother got high glucose levels with a statin. But once she stopped statins diabetes reversed the same day. If you do not realize it immediately a lot of damage may happen.
Did you stop cold turkey or gradually?
Thanks for sharing your story it motivated me to stop taking statins as i didnt realise the side effects i just thought it was age related i am so much better off them and getting my life back on track am now finding i am coping with the stresses of work stronger physically mentally more with it so am pleased its not age related and the outcome is to eat healthier exercise more cut out sugar and take some supplements like omega 3 and cq10 and am feeling like my old self again
Thanks for watching. It's always good to read about another success story like yours.
I quit statins recently after just 9 mos I've had brain fog before and quit right away.. at a lower dosage every other day my son noticed I was forgetting more than normal and muscle aches and tiredness.. my Dr who is a sweetheart said she's never heard of brain fog.. I'm 71 the only reason I started them was cause my cholesterol was 350
It's great that you have an understanding doctor. One of my doctors was of the "statins don't cause that" mindset. The other told me there was an FDA warning about it. Paradoxically, the statin-pushing first doctor wouldn't push statins on people over 70, though.
I argued with doctors about statins….one even threatened to not take care of me if I did not take the pills. Finally when I got a “new” PCP, I told her right off, even before she ordered blood tests, that, under any reason or recommendations, would I EVER put statins in my body. Surprisingly she agreed with me.
The issue of doctors dropping patients who refuse statins is interesting. I covered it in a video a couple of weeks ago. The medical profession supports our "right to refuse" but also says doctors can drop us for doing so. It's a head scratcher.
I was on a statin for 2 days and had muscle spasms for over a year. No statins for me.
Wow, that's extreme, but I can believe it.
today I stopped using statins. I put off using them for a long time. Trouble is there is little to alternatives. It took a lot of learning to be able to know and learn the alternatives. Low carb intake is the best starting point but we need something in place of those carbs.
Yeah, it's tough and I think there's no one-size-fits-all. We have to see what works for us individually.
You've sent a clear message. Appreciate it
I was borderline for a year so my doc put me on simvastatin. After one year I had developed severe musculoskeletal pain, using a cane to walk, hunched over in pain and wearing knee braces. My boss at the time had a similar experience that took doctors three months to realize it was side effects from taking statins. I immediately quit taking mine and my pain reduced by half overnight! One night! My pain went down steadily after that. But then I developed severe lumbar pain from arthritis in my spine. I am now disabled. I believe the statin led to this. I was only on it for one year. At the same time I was also started on a blood pressure med. Again, I was borderline for over a year so was put on bp meds. After one year my bp was all over the place. One reading was 180/98, 30 min later 160/100. Up and down. Doc wanted to hospitalize me. I changed my diet drastically and SLOWLY WEANED myself off those meds. Got my dna tested and had a diet designed to help bp.
Now, ten years later, all my value are off the charts bad. All of a sudden, in 2020, had weird everything. Blood sugars are bad, bp out of control again. LDL bad. Hdl not enough. I was dubbed "non-compliant" when I refused to go back on statins, a different one. Worried that bp drugs will need to be pretty strong to work on my weird body. I often have atypical responses to drugs, making my condition worse of just ineffective. What to do?
My goodness, I wish I was capable of advising. I see a "Integrative Medicine" practice, sort of on the sly from my PCP to get second opinions. My values are often all over the place also (BP, for example, but that is a "one-off" case which I talk about in one of my upcoming videos.) What I do is slowly change diet/exercise and measure the results. I have a blood glucose monitor, a blood pressure machine, and a Lipid Panel measurer at home. I'm not sure how accurate the latter is though. We just have to see how things affect us, but don't jump to conclusions to soon - single readings after a change in diet (as an example) don't show much. It takes a while.
My experience with statins, although I never had cholesterol over 150, was prescribed as a preventive with hypertension medicines I do believe. After many years, I suddenly developed a "severe allergic reaction to statins" which now is yellow and red alert marked on my chart. I had Rhabdomyolysis mainly in my upper legs and lower abdominal muscles. I lost 20 lbs in 30 days mainly in those areas over half being in muscle loss. My symptoms included falling down about 8 times at the least taking almost as small as a pebble or one step rise or even sinking in a little sand. down I would go, sometimes backwards. Statins were blamed after 7 days in the hospital on IV and took over a year to fully recover. Hope this helps, Rhabdomyolysis mainly affects athletes or even military trainees subjected to over strained muscles. This condition is listed as a possible side effect to statins. good Luck !
Wow, a cholesterol level of 150 and they still put you on statins? I'm not surprised that you would have the worst of adverse effects in that situation. (Rhabdomyolysis IS basically the worst of the worst - my adverse effects were minor by comparison.) I was an athlete at one time, though really that status was long gone by the time I was on statins. Glad you have recovered, but sad that you went through it. Seems like it was totally unnecessary from the start. 150 is actually quite low but that may be perfectly normal for your physiology.
I experienced neuropathy recently and with my checking a number of videos, I came in conclusion that it must have been caused by statins which I have been taking for a number of years.
It's all too common that we figure it out ourselves.
@@mystatinfreelife💯, diagnosing ourselves, learning about side effects on our own. So much for doctors??
Neuropathy can be reversed with Vitamin B1.
I am not disagreeing with you in terms of the side effects of statins however, all of the symptoms you mention are signs of severe stress. Before I left my job, I didn’t even know who I was anymore, I was angry, depressed, having nausea going out the door to go to work, as well as Sunday evenings, chest pain, brain fog etc.! My cortisol levels were up, I felt lethargic, yet had terrible anxiety and could not sleep. Much later, after I retired, I was also put on statins and after about a year, I felt terrible, my pain felt like kidney infection, heart twinges and memory problems so I started researching every medication I was on. I took myself off of statins and my sense of well being was greatly improved and many cardiologists are saying that they don’t believe statins help most people very much either. I don’t think that lab findings always translate to real life experience but, I’m glad research is being done to protect us from disease.
Thank you for this alternative viewpoint. I concur, these symptoms are all signs of severe stress. However, my job was not particularly more stressful at that point in my life, though of course, it could have been cumulative over the years because while not "more stressful" than before, it was often stressful in the absolute sense. I took a different job before retiring for good, in the same industry right after dropping statins and the symptoms mostly resolved. However, my new job was at a location closer to family, etc. (which is why I took it) meaning better social support, probably less stress. I wonder if statins exacerbate stress symptoms and that is the cause of Adverse Effects? Hard to know.
I'm glad you are feeling better. There was a point when I was on statins, before I had started to associate them with what was happening, when I could feel almost no emotion. But yes, for sure, going into work and on Sunday Evenings, I know those feelings. I wish I knew about cortisol levels back then, I would have had them checked. I just went through a rather stressful event (video about it on March 24) and just had a cortisol lab test (results not yet available) to see if my stress levels are up even if I don't recognize it consciously and can't identify the source. (This can certainly happen I think.)
My problem escalated when my old physician retired and I was at the mercy of fresh baked ones.
maybe they're just half-baked! :-)
Thank you for sharing this important information.
Thank you for this great video. I'm amazed these drugs are still being prescribed. I'd rather die today with my mind reasonably intact than be a statin-induced zombie for years.
Yeah, ultimately that's the decision I came to. Thanks for watching.
Statins deplete vitamin B1.
Look at the effects of a vitamin B1 deficiency.
Pretty scary.
I knew they depleted various things (such as CoQ10). This doesn't surprise me given all the steps in the biochemical chain between when statins do their dirty work and where cholesterol is manufactured.
Statins and Rapatha, both put me into AFIB. Rapatha put my identical twin brother into AFIB. I have concluded that it was the effect of dropping my cholesterol radically. After my HA at age 62 I asked my cardiologist to put me on a statin. They could not keep on Lipitor in the hospital when I had my HA because it caused me to run a fever. When my cardiologist doubled the dose of statins I had my first AFIB. I had to be cardioverted. Six years later I started Rapatha, in one week I went into AFIB, my LDL dropped to 59. We stopped Rapatha, 4 years later I went into AFIb twice in two months. Your heart structure can change and that triggered that AFIB. No AFIB for two years, I am 77 now, my heart structured changed again and AfiB. So as an endurance athlete for 35 years I am more prone to AFIb.
Thanks for sharing. I often wonder how often adverse effects are from the medication itself (doing what it's not supposed to), and how often from the drop in cholesterol (the meds doing exactly what they're supposed to.) Yet I found when my cholesterol lowered on its own through long exercise (5 weeks of 100 miles/week hiking - see my video on that here: ua-cam.com/video/0FJE0B9LeiE/v-deo.html) I had no problems. I had a brief bout of tachycardia once - just lasted about a minute. I often wonder if that was statin related but the connection was so tenuous and it happened so long ago that I didn't want to confuse matters even worse in this video.
Elevated LDL levels do not seem to be a problem while very low levels are. Many recent legitimate studies verify this.
The majority in the medical community seem to miss this point about lower cholesterol being as dangerous (or worse) than extremely high cholesterol. Study of 12M Korean adults showed this for all-cause mortality. Study on 39,000 American adults showed the same thing.
Yeup you had a classic case of Statinitus ❤
My Doctor keeps trying to push Statins on me and I refuse to do it. One thing I didn't see you mention is they affect the onset of diabetes - I've struggled the last 7 years to keep my A1C out of the diabetes range. Thanks for your video.
Thanks for your support! Yes, the whole T2D issue is one I have been thinking about lately. I don't know the statistics yet, I will have to read some study results. I saw one headline that something to the effect "Statins don't cause T2D to appear out of the blue." Well, yeah, that's probably true. I've been struggling to keep my A1C out of the prediabetes range (I've been on the edge), and medications that push our insulin resistance up even a little can really hurt us. But of course, then you get to take Metformin or something else. And then for the side effects from those... well something else. And so it goes.
you prove what I am always telling people. stay the hell away from doctors. All doctors.
As a Diabetic, the doctors have pushed statins four separate times over the years. Each and every time it nearly killed me. I had all the systems. It takes months to recover from them. Statins are poison. And yes, Doctors are just as you describe.
And to make it worse, statins can make diabetes worse for some patients.
I have gone to a mostly KETO diet and I am using far less insulin and levels are far easier to control. I have read that statins aggravate insulin usage. It is like the American health industry hates diabetics but, loves the money they rake in from them. I wishAmerica would get the greedy Big Pharm under control and look at the health situation to promote a better living standard and not the CEO's and stockholders portfolio.
@@mystatinfreelife
I just stopped my statin because daughter started telling me you have dementia your forgetting everything, she was getting upset because she was having to repeat everything over and over cause I would forget, now I fell much better I can feel the difference ,
Statins reduce heart disease. My PCP told me. My answer "Why then is heart disease still leading the nation's death toll?" He shined it on and couldn't or wouldn't answer. Not that I expected him to. Seeing how he has no idea why I have high blood pressure. I know the primary reason it's called clogged arteries. "Not the only reason." he replied. For the past ten years I have complained to every doctor I have seen, in the VA health care system. And not one has ever done any thing about my right leg being numb. "Oh we may have to amputate your right leg." he said.
I hear a lot of complaints about VA doctors and these issues. I hope it's a minority of them. Our veterans deserve better.
Had some of those symptoms before I started statin medication. When I thought statins caused something, I stopped them for several months and nothing changed.I haven't had most of your symptoms. Guess I'm just lucky. Best of luck with your health.
Thanks! There is a wide range of reactions - I hear from a lot of people with problems, but that's definitely selection bias - they seek me out and tell me of their experiences. I think the overwhelming majority have no problem, which has the unfortunate effect that doctors won't take it seriously from those of us who do.
You are not lucky. The majority of people don't experience the issues that were described in the video. When people have issues, they tend to want to tell others, which there is nothing wrong with that. I also believe that statins should only be considered after diet and exercise is tried first to see if gets you the results. In general, why take a drug to solve a problem that you can fix on your own.
@@mystatinfreelife That is why I appreciate my sister's stance on insisting to her Dr that she would only take it 3 days a week. I adopted that stance when I started. I don't like taking them, not sure. I have had sleep issues for a long time. Not sure what the relationship could be to the statin. Do they just keep you from falling into a deep sleep? Its hard to analyze as we age because imperfect sleep can be from a number of factors.
I too took statins for 9 years I had muscle aches all over had to use the washroom all night was very tired all day ! Was forgetful and crabby !! I stopped statins and I felt good agin thankgod Oh yes a lot of mental fog ! And depression !!!
Thanks for watching and sharing your story. A big problem I still see is our doctors not believing there's a connection between these problems and the statins.
After being on statins for years I developed chest pains as well. My Dr said it was frozen shoulder...a round of pain meds and 6 wks of therapy. Good for a month...same thing again, but other shoulder. This happened a total of 4 times. The last time I thought I was having a heart attack....and the only relief was sitting and leaning forward. Got to the er and after spending half a day there..I had pericarditis! Treated me for 4 months. Now I'm taking myself off statins.
I have seen reports of statin-induced myocarditis, though pericarditis is new to me. I wonder if they're related.
I have just put on a statin and I hate the fact the drs give you great explanations on why you should be on it , my cholesterol is elevated slightly. I’m working on getting it down. Thank you so much for your video.
I'd say to quote this or that study to your doctor, but I suspect it would do no good. There is variation from person to person in what is a healthy level. The medical profession treats 200 mg/dL (5.1 mmol/L) as a magic upper limit.
What do you do from muscle damage from statin 80mg? I developed slap tears, bursitus, and frozen shoulder. Dr. says it can't happen. Then i tried zetia, pain in arms and shoulders. I had heart surgery, dont know what to do.
Sometimes CoQ10 (Ubiquinol form) supplements can help. But if your doctor is denying that these things can happen from statins, he or she is ill-informed. I'd say get a second opinion from a doctor who is experienced in recognizing statin side effects. If you've already had heart surgery, you're in "secondary prevention." I have a friend in this situation also and they are trying bempedoic acid. That may be worth discussing with your doctor.
@mystatinfreelife Im in upper Michigan. Cannot find a dr who says statin are not safe. Completely mislead, feel unsafe and no where to turn. I tried beumonic acid, made heart flutter. Similar pains. How do you find help?
@mystatinfreelife can you help me? Can u guide me. Im terrified the high dosage has hirt me more than muscle pain.
I had no heart attack or agina, they operated anyways.
@@bradkeenan4428 Remember, I am not a medical professional and can't offer medical advice. All I can do is tell you my story and what I did (which was to stop them.) Perhaps you could get a consultation or recommendation from one of the many doctors with a youtube presence who recognize the dangers of statins. They may be able to point you to a reasonable doctor in your area. They won't be able to medically advise you without an established doctor/patient relationship, but they may have ideas of where to look. Search "statin dangers" in the youtube search bar.
Also, if you have a facebook account, look for a statin support group, like "Stopped My Statins"; they have a huge amount of information and literally thousands of members who can point you to resources that may help.
How can I get the name of the study you site with statins and stroke video? I'm 76 and I've had 2 ischemic strokes and was put on statins. But I've had several unhealthy side effects from the statins, so I've stopped taking them. However, 3 different doctors have told me it wasn't a good idea to go off the statins because of my age, my 2 ischemic strokes, and that I was increasing my risk of another stroke that could be fatal. I want to find more holistic support. I'm thin and I've always had a relatively healthy diet that I've improved further. The first statin made my hair fall out leaving me about 50% bald. Being alive is better than being bald, for sure. But with the 2nd statin, I noticed my memory and thinking ability got much worse, my muscles felt heavy making it harder to walk for exercise, my spine started to hurt in odd ways and my spine felt porous and fragile like it was made out of balsa wood. It was harder to walk without pain, and it was even painful to move in bed. Experiencing so many statin side effects left me with a lower quality of life. Thank you for your videos. I'd like to read the study you mentioned in your statins & strokes video that included ischemic strokes after statins. How can I get the name of the study?
I have the references to the studies in the description for that video. There are several papers listed there, though they generally address hemorrhagic strokes. Maybe it was this one? [7] FIVE-YEAR SURVIVAL AFTER FIRST-EVER STROKE
www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7193668/. If you can go back to that video and note the cross-reference number in [ ], you can find the specific study of interest in the description.
@@mystatinfreelife Thank you very much👌🏽👍🏽
What about fenofibrate? My doctor gave me that for my triglycerides along with pravastatin. I feel like my health is getting worse and I just want to feel better.
There are conflicting reports about drug interactions between fenofibrates and statins; unfortunately such contradictions are common, usually being statistical in nature (i.e. some people suffer from the interactions while others don't). See www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8112375/
You could be one of those who does not tolerate the combination. In fact, Cerivastatin (Baycol) was pulled from the market specifically because such interactions with that statin reached dangerous levels. I found my triglycerides responded far better to dietary changes than statins. I am on a Low Carb / High Fat diet. This diet does increase my total cholesterol, but I don't see it as a simple issue of "lower is better" - the quality of the lipids count, something that is lost on many doctors. I suggest you have a serious discussion with your doctor about getting off this combination of drugs.
@@mystatinfreelife Thank you for your response!
I took niacin for 20 years and except for occasional flushing had no issues. Old doc retires, new doc insists on atorvastatin. For about the first six months everything seemed normal. Then the side effects started. I didn't realize what was happening at first because I didn't expect side effects to start so long after I started atorvastatin. In a matter of weeks I went from walking 5 miles per day down to less than one due to muscle pain and fatigue. Finally spoke with new doc and stopped the statin. Went back to niacin. It's been eight months off the statin and I'm better but still really fatigued. This whole mess is taking a good year out of my life and at 68, I don't have that many years left. BTW blood work with niacin versus statin was almost identical.
Thanks for sharing. I think the issue of delayed adverse effects is common, and it hides from many people what the problem really is.
I audit medical records and while not common , there are people who develop rhabdomylosis from taking statins . I had horrible leg / muscle pain the first couple of weeks I took one so I stopped and never looked back .
Yes, rhabdomyolysis is one of the most dangerous conditions statins can cause. At least the medical community recognizes that one. Do you know if it's recoverable if detected early enough? Or is damage permanent. I haven't looked into that.
I’m not 100% sure but from what I’ve read , the prognosis for a full recovery depends on how early one is diagnosed and if there is kidney damage . But some people can fully recover within a few weeks . :)
@@dj_1969 That's encouraging.
Scurvy = No vitamin C in your diet.
Symptom: Your blood vessels break and you bleed to death. Think of the sailor of the past.
Scurvy of the heart = Just enough vitamin C from food.
Symptom: Arteries around the heart are not strong enough to resist high blood pressure. Damage is repaired with cholesterol to prevent worse. After years your arteries become clogged.
Enough vitamin C supplement of at least 3000 mg. per day gives strong and flexible arteries. Cholesterol is not needed as a repair agent. Cholesterol in your coronary arteries is broken down and burned in your liver.
Source: Cardiovascular disease and vitamine C (Dr. Rath Foundation)
My previous doctor tried to persuade me to take statins, I refused each time, when I was asked why, my reply was “ I have talked to people who take statins and they have told me that they have symptoms, such as muscle pain and feeling unwell, so I can’t find the logic in taking medication that makes me feel ill to stop me getting ill. A nurse at the practice also asked why I wasn’t taking statins, I gave her the same reply and she said “ Well the benefits outweigh the risks” I still refused to have them, they can have serious side effects, enough said!!
"The benefits outweigh the risks" I always say is a personal value judgment, something we're all entitled to make for ourselves.
@@mystatinfreelife Its a gamble as we age, but its our quality of Life that matters. Of course that includes being honest with ourselves in addressing all the best avenues of natural good health habits.
Thank you. I knew the muscle & joint aches and pains were stations. I stopped 4 days ago and feel so much better. My Dr had just switched me to a larger dose & it's horrible. Didn't know about the earache, neuropathy, sleep, memory & brain fog were due to the statins. Not only are the aches and pains gone, but the brain fog is gone, as well as the 2-3 hr afternoon naps & the neuropathy in my arches!!! Isn't it odd that after I went on Medicare, all of sudden I have asthma, progressed to sleep apnea. I have none of that. They kept giving me meds for the asthma, which I have also stopped. I have allergies and smoke, but not sleep apnea or asthma. All because I complained how tired I am all the time. Doctors are such putzes. I even had a dr tell me not to return because I refused a med he wanted me to take, after telling him I had tired it many yrs ago and it doesn't work for me.
Thanks for watching and sharing your story.
On Lipitor a year. Brutal back pain. Dry mouth cracked lips. Voice raspy and weak. Stopped taking it two weeks problems are gone. Feel strong again. Voice strong and normal. Going to watch diet and add fiber and see how it goes.
Good luck. The variety of adverse effects from statins astounds me.
Would it be possible that statins eleminates to much good fat that is needed from the brain so this could cause many problemes?
Yes, I think a lot more research is needed in this area. Many doctors don't even acknowledge the brain/statin problems.
I had insulin resistance, nearly diabetic, reversed it over 3 years to normal levels of fasting insuling (10). I got statins, and after 6 weeks my fasting insulin was 24, nearly the same as my prediabtic time, eventhough I am on low carb since years. It's toxic crap, and I got the numbers to show for it.
Yes, statins generally increase Insulin Resistance, more than would be guessed from the reports of small increases in T2D from statins, which only catches people who happen to be pushed over the threshold and ignores people who are already diabetic and made worse and ignores people who were metabolically healthy but get pushed closer to diabetes. Good for you for being so aware of what was happening to you.
My tris were over 1000 about 5 years ago, did nothing and felt great. Now it’s 600 still feel great. I’m 54 years old I lift heavy, my wife and doctor insist me take statins but I resist because I feel great .Idk