Gemlin said...
Both physicians and the public have been misled by the pharmaceutical industry. Public has got the feeling that statins prolong life for decades.
According to the results of one of the first statin studies, the Scandinavian 4S, statins reduced the risk of dying in myocardial infarction by 41%. Sound impressing, doesn't it! 41%, and used in marketing by the pharmaceutical industries.
But in the study, 4444 patients with high cholesterol, death from hart attack was 111 ( or 5%) in the statin group and 189 (8.5%) in the placebo control group, thus a difference of 78 deaths. That is to say, 3.5% of those treated with the tested statin for many years were rescued from dying in myocardial infarction.
But where does the figure 41% come from? Well, the difference of 78 deaths is 41% of 189.
But it is true that statins prolong life, but not at much as we might think. Note also that statins have troublesome side effects such as diabetes mellitus, memory loss, cataracts, muscle aches, muscle weakness, liver failure etc.
Right. Or another way to look at it: 8.5% - 5% = a difference of 3.5% more people with bad outcomes.
3.5/8.5= .41 or 41%
InTheShop said...
I am about to tell my doctor that I'm not going use statins anymore.
After changing my diet, reducing weight and exercising more my LDL/HDL levels have dropped like a rock. In fact my HDL level is too low.
So I'll be asking the doc what is the benefit?
Honestly I don't see it for me.
Your milage may vary, past results don't indicate future performance.
Andrew
Andrew, remind me: what type of diet were you on? You say your HDL has also dropped? Or just the LDL/HDL ratio has dropped? A lower carb/ higher fat diet usually raises HDL, which of course is considered a good thing. As well as slashing triglycerides, thought to be a good thing. How had you changed your diet?
Pratoman said...
I’m on 10 mg daily Crestor. I’ve been on it 3 years, due to coronary artery disease. 2 stents. I’ve had zero side effects, although my blood sugar in the morning is about 115, and I suspect it’s the Crestor. However, my A1C has been consistently between 4.7 and 5, so I’m not even close to being prediabetic.
My total cholesterol, measured last week is 108, and my ldl calculated (conventional) is 20. My LDL direct (more accurate) is 52.
Prato, did you start a thread once where you were concerned the statins, which had raised your BS(though not your A1C) had contributed to your PSA rise? If so, what did you ever decide about
that?
Both your A1C and fasting sugar can be OK, but insulin and insulin resistance can be up. Your body can be cranking up insulin in an attempt to keep the sugar related #s under control. But the increased insulin(and resulting increased insulin resistance) in itself has many negative connotations for a variety of health issues. Did the PSA rise and the sugar rise happen to start about
the same time?
If one has high insulin levels, you can definitely be pre diabetic even if the BS is fine. Although maybe you do not have high insulin if your A1C is such a nice #. But, no way to really know without testing it. And since triglycerides seem to be so closely related to the amount of carbs eaten, or more specifically to the level of insulin in the blood, that, along with the high morning BS, does raise some questions. For me at least. But I am often the odd man out, so you should not necessarily listen to me, that is for sure.
Post Edited (BillyBob@388) : 8/19/2018 12:14:23 PM (GMT-6)