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Statins and Metformin

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User
Posted 03 Mar 2020 at 08:07

Interesting article, looks like more backing for Dr Myers hypothesis from a few years back

http://prac.co/l/qnfcrnw

 

User
Posted 03 Mar 2020 at 08:07

Interesting article, looks like more backing for Dr Myers hypothesis from a few years back

http://prac.co/l/qnfcrnw

 

User
Posted 05 Mar 2020 at 17:26

Just a little aside on side effects with statins. Muscular issues seem to crop up quite a bit. In my case the background is that I started getting horrendous (and that is not too graphic a description) thigh cramps that, at their worst made me sweat and feel nauseous. These came on after my monthly outing with a walking group.

I put up with this for years until I read something on line about a chap who put these thigh cramps down to the statins he was taking.

I took an executive decision to stop taking the statins for 3 days before my monthly walk. Since I have put this into practice I haven't been troubled with the thigh cramps. 

My cholesterol remains low so this occasional "holiday" doesn't seem to lessen the effect. 

It goes without saying that it would be sensible to consult a medical professional before taking the action I did even though I didn't!

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User
Posted 03 Mar 2020 at 14:17

As soon as I was diagnosed with PCa in 2015 I bought Patrick Walsh's book "Surviving Prostate Cancer" - Walsh is a leading surgeon specializing in PCa at Johns Hopkins University Hospital in Baltimore. He references the potential benefits of statins although at the time of writing I don't the evidence was as strong as it seems to be now.

That said I've been on statins for over 20 years!

User
Posted 03 Mar 2020 at 18:54
Good old Snuffy Myers - interested members may find some interesting older material on here including some of his videos - oh, if the search function is working.
"Life can only be understood backwards; but it must be lived forwards." Soren Kierkegaard

User
Posted 04 Mar 2020 at 11:33

What to do if your GP refuses to prescribe them?

User
Posted 04 Mar 2020 at 17:09
Don't know - we had the opposite in that the GP wanted John to have them without any explanation / rationale so he refused.
"Life can only be understood backwards; but it must be lived forwards." Soren Kierkegaard

User
Posted 04 Mar 2020 at 22:15

Originally Posted by: Online Community Member
Don't know - we had the opposite in that the GP wanted John to have them without any explanation / rationale so he refused.

Pretty much my experience but, to be fair, my cholesterol levels were very high. Other people I have known have been persuaded to take them rather than initiating the request themselves.

It's a very contentious area. I'm happy to take them given the high cholesterol readings and my Dad did have a stroke (although it was Pca that killed him) but I can well see how others may not be persuaded in the absence of high cholesterol readings or other factors.

They are not without side effects although I have had relatively few - a greater tendency to get cramps after exercise being the main one.

User
Posted 04 Mar 2020 at 22:23

Originally Posted by: Online Community Member
What to do if your GP refuses to prescribe them?

Mine plugged my blood pressure, cholesterol, age, and maybe some other things into a calculator which said I had an 11% chance of having a stroke or heart attack or similar in the next 10 years, and this reduced considerably (can't recall to what) if I went on statins. He left the choice to me though. I thought about it for a few months, then the prostate cancer diagnosis hit, and I put it off to avoid starting too many drugs at once and not knowing which drug any side effect was due to. However, as I learned more about effects of hormone therapy on raising serum lipid levels (cholesterol) and glucose levels and blood pressure, I started on the statins. The lowest dose brought my cholesterol levels from just off the top of the normal range to bang in the middle.

I am due a PSA test later this month, and I asked the GP to add on cholesterol check, as it may be that having been on HT for 18 months now, the statin dose may need increasing.

Edited by member 04 Mar 2020 at 22:26  | Reason: Not specified

User
Posted 04 Mar 2020 at 22:46
John's cholestrol, BP and resting pulse are all healthily low which is why we assumed the GP was on some kind of commission :-/

Dad has been on stains for years though, without any apparent side effects.

"Life can only be understood backwards; but it must be lived forwards." Soren Kierkegaard

User
Posted 05 Mar 2020 at 17:26

Just a little aside on side effects with statins. Muscular issues seem to crop up quite a bit. In my case the background is that I started getting horrendous (and that is not too graphic a description) thigh cramps that, at their worst made me sweat and feel nauseous. These came on after my monthly outing with a walking group.

I put up with this for years until I read something on line about a chap who put these thigh cramps down to the statins he was taking.

I took an executive decision to stop taking the statins for 3 days before my monthly walk. Since I have put this into practice I haven't been troubled with the thigh cramps. 

My cholesterol remains low so this occasional "holiday" doesn't seem to lessen the effect. 

It goes without saying that it would be sensible to consult a medical professional before taking the action I did even though I didn't!

 
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