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Pilot Zone / Re: Jumping through medical hoops
« on: November 16, 2020, 06:13:14 PM »I was on statins for years due to a family history. A few years ago my doctor said lets take you off and see where you are. Just over the limit. He said, close enough so off I went. I just have a feeling that the fewer prescriptions I'm on the better.
Cardiologist told me that the statin is also good for keeping what placque you have nice and soft so that it doesn't crack and catch a clot like he thinks happened to me. Same as PaulS heard about prevention vs. cholesterol. Didn't have any side effects before, none so far after a week. Probably good prevention.
Biggest hit has been the beta blocker. Just feel strange and get winded easily. I'm already on the lowest dose. We'll see what the cardiologist says. Maybe I just have to get used to it. PCP did say that I probably have to be off it for a couple days before the treadmill test so I can get my heart rate up.
Yup, I'm on statins for life regardless of cholesterol.
My mom, who passed a few years ago at 89, had pretty severe dementia that was progressively getting worse, she had been on statins for years. After doing internet research (bad idea) and talking it over with her and my family, we decided to pull her off of it. Nothing changed and we forgot about it. About a year and a half later (dementia getting worse and worse) she had a stroke that killed her after about a week. She had lost all will to live and was very unhappy with dementia before the stroke.
Anyway, right after the stroke, a relatively young, Eastern European female doctor came in and introduced herself. She told me that pulling her off the statin had caused her stroke, then walked out. I was kind of in shock over the whole thing, it took me a few minutes, but I went looking for her.
Luckily I ran into her boss, who turned out to have great advice about the whole situation, he asked me what was up. I told him I was looking for the other doctor, I wanted to talk to her. He rolled his eyes, pulled me into a room, and asked me what she said. I told him, then I said, "We've been dealing with this for at least five years, she's seen at least ten doctors about it, and not one of them could tell us whether this is vascular dementia, reaction to medicine, Alzheimer's, they only knew she had dementia. Other topics with doctors, same thing, no definitive answers. Yet this lady has the knowledge and the balls to tell me that pulling her off that pill caused this stroke? Not buying it." He apologized for her, then probably gave me the best advice of the whole ordeal, which was not to lose hope, but make sure that she doesn't get tortured with rehab and procedures. Anyway she passed comfortably in her own bed about a week later. The lady doctor was probably right, but she definitely needed to work on her bedside manner, I never saw her again.
So anyway, I'm a believer in those pills for people like me, with a cholesterol issue and family history.
To Joe's point, both my mother and brother have had issues with statins. I brought that up when my doc told me it was time, they had issues with Crestor and Lipitor. So I got Pravachol and have had no issues, been on it for about 20 years.
As far as the getting winded easily, I wouldn't necessarily blame the beta blocker. That's another good drug, especially for people who have had heart attacks. I'm on one of those too.
You just had a heart attack, even though there was no damage it's going to take time to heal up, that's probably why you are getting winded. The beta blocker might fatigue you a little, but, at least in my case, has never caused me to get winded. It does lower your max heart rate, but you would only notice that when running or exercising to the max.
I do long distance bike rides and train most of the year. The beta blocker slows me a little, but not much. I've been doing 100 mile rides for 10 years now, hoping to get 3 or 4 in next summer.
I would give it time, be patient and heal, you'll come back stronger than ever.