I was recently diagnosed with “borderline high” cholesterol (LDL of 146 and HDL of 70). I eat well, I’m not overweight, and I exercise regularly, but my genes have clearly caught up with me now that I’m over 40. Before I start any new drug regimen, I’d like to hear from other endurance athletes if you’ve had any bad side effects from cholesterol drugs. If you haven’t, let me know as well.
Thanks
I just started on a statin myself due fairly high ldl (230ish), but with very high HDL (80+). The Dr did a test which profiled the details on my ldl and recommended something called Pravistat. He started me on a fairly high dose and will ramp it down based on how much my cholesterol goes down.
After 6 weeks on the meds, my thoughts are ‘well there is probably no impact on my performance but…’. I haven’t talked to him about this yet, but at some level in the back of my mind I think I approach bonking a bit quicker, and I need to take in more simple carbs to get a good workout started. Again, it’s more a feeling and it could be diet or just general conditioning related, but that’s my initial thoughts.
I have an appointment with the Dr in about another 6 weeks, and we’ll see where things are at that time.
My mom was recently prescribed statins, for high cholesterol. She was unsure she wanted to take them, so we did some research.
What we were surprised to find is a lot of new research and discussion - I’m talking peer-reviewed scientific and medical journals - that is questioning whether in fact high cholesterol is a causal factor at all in heart disease.
There is also a lot of questioning of the effectiveness of statins.
The research is now in my mom’s hands so I don’t have particular readings to recommend. Maybe someone on this forum does. I do remember she found a book called “The Cholesterol Myth.”
What most stuck out for me is the fact that the famous Framingham study - a longitudinal study of one community, whose initial findings started the whole anti-cholesterol hype - was recently called to the carpet by an article in (I believe) the journal of the American Medical Association.
After reviewing the data from the Framingham study, the article concluded that ABOVE AGE 50, people with higher cholesterol did NOT have incidence of higher death. In fact, they (people with high cholesterol) had LOWER incidences of cardiovascular disease after that age. The association between high cholesterol and death rates (whether causal or not) appeared to be somewhat true for men in their forties, but then disappeared as men aged (and there was very little association for women at all).
I’m sure you could find evidence for any/all sides of the argument, somewhere out there. My point would be to try to do as much research as possible before making your very personal decision. Not all MDs are keeping up with the most recent research, unfortunately.
I would highly recommend that you read the book The China Study. High cholesterol is not only an indicator of heart disease, but also cancer, diabetes, etc. The answer can be found in nutrition, even after heart disease is present.
I’ve been on Lipitor for 8-9 years. I get the regular blood tests to make sure it’s not adversely affecting anything. My cholesterol stays above 230 even when I’m on a strict nutrition regime and training a lot. The Lipitor knocks it down to <150.
take a look at Crestor. Ive been recently diagnosed with high cholest. at age 27 an di mean high as in the 280 range. Ive geen looking at drugs side effects etc. My wife is a drug rep. and her company does not sell Crestor, but she has talked to many doctors about my triathlon lifestyle and my high colest. and they themselves take Crestor and reccommended it for me. Granted it may not be fr everyone but ask youre doc about it.
I would highly recommend that you read the book The China Study.
Nice reference – thanks. Seems to be highly rated on Amazon and the author appears to be renowned. I got one.
My doc put me on statins but I seem to get very sore muscles that stay sore and my performance drops off.
So I cut out all saturated and trans fats, which means about the only meat I eat is salmon & I eat a lot of veggies. I sure feel good on this diet, sans statins, but we’ll see where the cholesterol reading goes.
I’m pretty much where Ashburn is. Been on Pravicol now Lipitor for more than 10 yr. I eat well but still have problems so the statins. Along with a family history of heart disease and the profolaxis effect of the Pravicol/Lipitor (and the rest of the statins probably) I will remain on them. Hasn’t effected my racing since I’m slow, but I am improving.
The China Cornell Oxford Project is very good indeed. It backs a mountain of research that shows that a Western diet that is high in animal fat and refined fat (especially saturated fat and trans fat), sodium, cholesterol, and refined sugar/flour has many detrimental effects on health over time. More info is here:
http://nutrition.cornell.edu/ChinaProject/
Pritikin and Ornish have turned up the same results with their research. Their studies found that a lowfat near vegetarian diet high in fiber can reverse atherosclerosis. Such a diet has also been shown to reduce the risk of obesity, type 2 diabetes and certain cancers.
And now the newest research ties cardiovascular disease with Alzheimers disease - there are a few studies on this.
The unfortunate thing is that it is not always easy to follow such a diet here in the US. It is much easier NOT to follow it, unlesss of course you can prepare most of your own food. The bottom line is that you have to eat more whole grains, vegetables, fruits, legumes, nonfat dairy. Some fish is good. But sugar, white flour, refined fats, cheese and full fat dairy products, fatty meats, etc. are not good.
In June '04 I was just like you AND I didn’t want to take any medication(s). I consulted a nutritionist and she told me to use Milled Flax Seed(2 tb spoon) every day. Works wonderfully and no side effects! It’s all natural. Try it. In May '05, my LDL was down to 105(expected range:60-130) and HDL: 46(expected range:30-60) Overall cholesterol:163(expected range:125-200). See link below for more details. Good luck.
http://www.hodgsonmill.com/cgi-bin/page_viewer.cgi?page_nav_name=flax
You describe myalgias (fnacy name for muscle pain) comon with statin use.
You could go to your doc and he should then prescribe either pravachol (a statin with very low incidence of myalgias) or try OMACOR, it is a prescription grade omega 3 fatty acid supplement that will help reduce cholesterol without increasing your mercry levels from eating tons of fish.
Try Omacor, it is Omega 3 acids, proven to reduce LDL. No side effects, no mercury risk from too much fish.
If you eat a lot of fiber and soy, those products will bind the cholesterol that is in your intestine and keep it there, out of your arteries. There is also a margarine with plant stanols/sterols that accomplishes the same thing.
Also try and reduce the amount of dairy (cheese+milk) that you eat, as these products have a lot of cholesterol.
Best of luck.
Great stuff in this thread. I’ve actually gotten quite fanatical about:
Lots of veggies. Love to dip raw broccoli, sliced red peppers in hummus.
Nonfat cottage cheese and nonfat milk are my only dairy foods.
No beef, chicken, turkey, or pork. Just fish.
Love that Costco frozen berry blend. I put nonfat cottage cheese on it with a couple tablespoons of ground flax. Yum.
Only whole grains, no white flour. No refined sugars.
No margarine, or anything else with trans fat.
So I’m gonna give that a few months and have my cholesterol measured again.
Throw in some tofu, you can flavor it to taste like just about anything.
Thanks for all the feedback and advice. I already eat over 30 g of soy every morning in my soy shake (soy milk plus soy powder), so I’m good there. I’ll try the Omacor.
If you start to get calf cramps on long runs, or races, it’s the statin…
This question has popped up a few times now and then on ST. I don’t think that any link between statins and performance degradation has been established, and I suspect that most of the anecdotal reports of decreased performance are related to some other X in the life of the poster other than the statins (unless you fall into the category of people who have adverse muscle reactions to statins, a very small percentage).
I think the preponderance of evidence points to statins having tremendously positive effects on those who use them, although I don’t have any studies to reference or quote. Google search can accomplish that easily enough.
I lead a heathly lifesyle and take 10mg of Lipitor daily to control cholesterol.
I’m 40 and have high HDL and LDL. Doctor wanted me to go on meds 3 years ago. My parents both have high cholesterol. All 4 grandparents died between the ages of 80-95 from heart related issues. We don’t know if their cholesterol was high, but we suspect it was. Cholesterol is naturally produced by all mammals. It is there for a reason. For some of us, we produce more than others. Every body is different.
My take is the statin companies are funding a lot of this research. They have a stake in the research saying high cholesterol=heart attack. They have a stake in the outcome of the research saying that you need to take these drugs to avoid heart attacks. I’m not buying this stuff yet. I’ll gladly die like my grandparents in my 80’s rather than cook my liver over the next 25 years by taking these statin meds. What we DO KNOW is that statins will have adverse effects on liver function over a long period. We still don’t know if high cholesterol=heart attack.
In the mean time, I am still posting PBs at tris, so I’ll work with my “current equilibrium” rather than mess with outside assistance from drugs that are not supposed to be in my body!
Dev,
I totally agree with your position. I am 46, and although I am not a world class Tri Guy like you, I am an avid amatuer athlete and am very reticent to put drugs in my body. I too was diagnosed with high cholesterol, and the doctor wants me to take Crestor. I have not gone to fill the presciption since receiving it 2 months ago. Like you, I am very concerned about the long term effects on my liver and my body.
My wife and I discussed this (she is a consistent age group podium finisher) and we agree to try a real diet change first. If that doesnt work, then we’ll see. I dont trust the drug companies and their agenda. I’ ll try a real healthy diet first, and see what happens. I’ll sure miss throwing that steak on the grill!
JL
A 1 1/2 years ago I discovered that my cholesterol was 289 (LDL 189 and HDL 46). Like you I was concerned with taking meds, and chose to begin a low fat diet (no red meat, butter, mayo, cheese, etc) and i began taking 3 tea spoons of omega 3 fish oils daily. Since the original discovery, my cholesterol has fallen to 200 (LDL 130 and HDL 46). The restrictive diet works, buy my cardiologist is still recommending the statins (provolcol I think). His argument is that the side effects are rare and the benefits significantly out weigh the risks. A friend recently suggested another supplement called the French Parad’ox, so if anyone has experience with it it would be great to hear about it. This is a very personal decision. There are options, but the restrictive diet isn’t an easy solution.
Good Luck.