Originally Posted by
Don in Austin
Statins are a liver toxin.
Don in Austin
Contrary to what the FDA says (Who say they insure our drugs are "safe and effective", there is NO safe drug. Yes, statins carry a possible side affect of liver toxicity (as do many other drugs). But, the probability of developing such a condition from a statin is extremely low and the risk can be lowered to be effectively negligible when your physician orders, cheap and easy perioidic livery function tests.
A more common side effect is myopathy (muscle cell damage). But again the risk is quite low and can be lowered even further by using one of the newer water based statins.
Basically, as with EVERY drug, the question is: do the benefits outweigh the potential risks?
In the case of a person with high cholesterol and risk factors for heart disease and who is one of the 99.9% with no known bad reaction to statins, the case is clear. Statins carry far more benefits than risk.