Originally Posted by
icyclist
OP - why don't you want to take a statin?
That said, I stopped taking my statin. When I took it, build-up of plaque in one of my arteries didn't stop, and I was exercising and eating well, too.
Odds, from what I can gather from the Web, are that staving off a heart attack, if I'm destined to have one, on a regular dose of statin is 20 to 1, over three years.
Exercise? Odds that exercise will help - not guarantee - to stave off a heart attack are apparently far better.
I'd love to know, although no such study will ever be conducted for ethical reasons, how well people who exercise and eat right and do not take statins do, compared to people who exercise and eat well and do take statins. Are statins truly an additive protection, like driving defensively and wearing a seatbelt? Or might exercise and healthy eating alone be as effective or more so than taking a statin? That is, what reduces heart attacks the most, what leads to a longer life?
One more thing: recent studies indicate that, in sufficient dosage, we can reverse plaque buildup in your coronary arteries with a statin This is a preliminary finding, funded by drug companies. It does give me some pause, though, about why I refuse to take a statin (my cholesterol numbers off of statins are fine, but I've had a heart attack).
Crestor was horrible. I was tired all the time, had no energy, and even after week of no riding due to rain, my legs felt like I just rode 100 mi at full effort! Worse yet was the "twinges" in my shoulders where I would suddenly loose strenght in my arm. That scared the S417 out of me. Then my cardiologist put me on Previstatin. Leg pain and weakness was better, but still got the "twinges" after a few weeks. Then he put me on what he uses, pharmasutical red yeast rice (Choleast). Much better overall, but still not the energy level and some leg pain under effort.
IF I have to do a statin, I'll go back the red yeast rice if it will work.