Statins-nope.

[luiza]

I still trust an educated medical professional over some pseudoscience on the internet

There you go again .
Generalising wildly and clearly having no idea how to use the net to your advantage .

I can see Pinger on Fakebook searching for answers and believing everything he sees .

 

[westwall]

I always take medical advice of people on the internet over what my Doctor tells me

That explains a lot about you.

 

[BULLDOG]

So, I get this new doctor at the Medical Center who seems ok but is telling me to take statins. Blood tests reveal that my thyroid is underactive which is causing LDL cholesterol to rise. I am going to go out on a limb and surmise that the doctor knows about: drumroll-the Framingham Study-Yahoo! Big studies are huge in the medical industry. They are like the Hoola Hoop craze of the 1960's. Nobody knows why citizens across the country went bananas over a closed piece of plastic stapled together joining a tube into a circle but it happened. I actually saw that happen! I even got one! So, should I just blindly follow what the doctor says and start taking statins? Not so fast, grasshopper.

You probably know local citizens in Keene who are more than willing to cut off another leg so they can keep smoking and drinking. There are many citizens like this in the city and some of them are in city government and embedded in local media. The city lifestyle is typical of people who live fast and die young. The young doctor may think I am one of those people. I told the doctor I am not one of those people but he may think I am selling him a bill of goods. Anyway, I am nearly 80 years old so certain changes will occurr metabolically and I accept this. If my thyroid is underactive like it is then my typical blood pressure of 86/54 could be an issue although I feel fine.

I did gain some weight last year but I have lost it since March when I got the bloodwork. I ride my bike all over Swanzey NH 40-50 miles a day. I go to a gym every day to keep bone density in order. There is only one marker a little off on the thyroid numbers and my sister has thyroid issues so there could be genetic component lurking here. The total cholesterol readings do not concern me at all. What does concern me is that the Framingham Study is misleading and there is no solid evidence that taking statins does anything to protect anyone from heart disease. Statins have some kind of interraction with the liver to lower LDL cholesterol but that cholesterol has a very weak connection with heart disease. Check the actuarial tables and you will see that those taking statins die from heart attacks and strokes at levels the same as those who do not. So, statins have the same effectiveness as snake oil which is why I am not taking them.

I notified the doctor that I will participate in a clinical trial to bolster my research that statins are worthless. I am 5'5 and weigh 126 pounds. My waist is 29 inches which is larger than 28 inches when I could run a 10k close to 30 minutes in 1985. I never stopped living a healthy lifestyle and I am comfortable with my decision to avoid statins. I am doing my own clinical trial now not just for me but for you as well.
Carry on,
Ray
https://l.facebook.com/l.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fpmc%2Farticles%2FPMC4159698%2F%3Ffbclid%3DIwZXh0bgNhZW0CMTEAAR0EQu_yFHM5iss6Wxr-bGqX1T2l_BPeqevmgh4nWvS1-l6L_iNx1xwPMG4_aem_5xepievOF9LDUXxzoADn1Q&h=AT2-P5qd0KlS16SKHgvq3MQx-S0dEV9arXX_Zl4ZC9Zz7zEL0EgDV3YUtWDjMFiLRc344OUUjwSbJipMnpSweN7f9ENTGTVqsZmKJOFbXDS8vggscrN6PsXITKSChJTPaUjshcaBCS78XHNquqtQ&__tn__=H-R&c[0]=AT2ycqOUOeaM9io2am6rU6Y2oIjLqVfuyaQXOhwDwKn989Fk3NklxPbT3dbeA4M90dRGAqZUH0q6HG2ueuhA96GnrUQBg0mUb1s3EQZyltg7v2yUJUM-H_ylXxGbrX_s5IqVmNctzf7--8sgj5VnucxrKedSV3I5xQmoDG-JgGLRhVhCv34

After seeing the training and education required of a physician, and the continuing education they have to maintain, I'm gonna say you are right. Doctors are very busy, and time spent with someone who thinks he can learn more than a doctor on the internet will likely die much sooner that one who follows doctor's orders. Diagnose yourself. Formulate your own treatment. Die sooner and leave more time for those who trust and appreciate all that the doctor has done to prepare for caring for idiots like you.

 

[debbiedowner]

He needs to get himself a good Obamacare Doctor

 

[braalian]

Why am I not surprised there’s a large number of posters on USMB who think that their internet “studies” make them more qualified to diagnose and treat illness than actual physicians?

 

[Crepitus]

Why am I not surprised there’s a large number of posters on USMB who think that their internet “studies” make them more qualified to diagnose and treat illness than actual physicians?

Because you have more than 3 active brain cells?