I was dianosed in June 2009 with coronary heart problem, with a cholesterol of 5, in the mean time while waiting for further tests I was given 40mg Statins, along with some other Drugs to take, after three days of taking Statins and these other drugs I had a mini Stroke (TIA) I have been well for over 40 years, and I personally blame the Statins for causing my problem which I cannot prove. I have since found out after the tests, I have mild Angina, and a very slight heart valve leak, I am 71 years old. I refused to take any more Statins, and my health as improved every day since the 12 July 2009 when I had the TIA.

Hi, thank you for this. I am not on statins yet, although my doctor says I am headed in that direction. Any advice?
kind regards, Marion in Canada

I had a heart attack on 8 dec 2009 had stent and put on artovastin and like dave now seem to suffer from extreeme fatigue not muscle pain but a seemingly drug induced will to sleep and dry eyes most of the time. Although my cholesterol level was 5.8mmols and has now decreased to 3.2mmols I wonder if my diet or the drug has had the most significant effect on my cholesterol levels? I have been told I will have to take atorvastin for the rest of my life and I too suspect that this is being pushed by the doctors on behalf of the drug companies! As surely there would be more education on lowering cholesterol levels by diet alone if this were not the case. My blood results concerning my cholesterol should astonish the doctors as they didn't expect any significant change for several months! and considering I have managed to almost half my cholesterol within 6 weeks surely someone should be monitoring me or at least advising me more on how to control my cholesterol levels rather than either letting me lower my levels to dangerously low levels or letting them pendulum from one extreme to the other. At present I am taking 80mg lipitor atorvastin a day surely they should consider reducing this if my cholesterol has reduced so rapidly. I must admit after reading this article I am tempted to reduce the levels myself or even abandon atorvastin altogether and watch my diet more and exercise to control my weight and cholesterol levels. I am pretty sure that my heart attack was caused by massive intakes of sugar almost 1 kilogram per day! and a lot of fried bacon sandwiches, no exercise, smoking 30 fags aday and binge drinking all of which I have now cut out. you would think that I would not need any drugs given that now I exercise and eat a massively reduced fat diet and changed my habits dramatically but I have been prescribed 5 different drugs to take every day they being atorvastatin 80mg, bisoprolol 5mg,Rampril 2.5mg x 2 asprin 75mg and prasugrel10mg
The prasugrel is due to be discontinued after 12 months but the rest apparently I have to take for the rest of my life. Does anyone really think that it is so necessary to consume these massive amounts of unnatural drugs to keep me alive or do you think that this is a regime I should follow meticulously?

I had almost the same symptoms as you Alan. I was taking Lipitor which I threw in the bin again!! ... After reading a blog somewhere online about this drug and statins I realised that it wasn't just my imagination, there were so many people with the same symptoms I couldn't believe it.. How dare they push these drugs on us when they must hear the same symptoms over and over from patients.

Chris what I want to know is how you consumed almost 1 kilogram of sugar per day? Sure is a massive amount!!! I've recently changed my bad eating habits and feel much better. When the fags go I will be even better. There are so many things we can do to be a whole lot healthier and I've found some really good tips via TV shows, researching blogs, online searches etc.. My favourite is the chia seed, this is the best thing I've discovered in my life. I have even started my dog on a small amount each day because he's such a guts with food, drives me crazy all day wanting more to eat. He's a Chiuaua but thinks he's a Great Dane and wants to eat like one. He's had more energy and accepted less food than he has in years since I started adding Chia seeds to his food. It fills you up and has so many health benefits you wouldn't believe. To me it's a super duper food. I've collected heaps of information if anyone is interested contact me..

I'll add a few tidbits here:

Stops hunger, quiet cravings for food, improve digestion, give you the energy to be active, balance blood sugar, helps restore the omega-3 balance. all

natural, and has 0 risk. Rich in antioxidants can absorb over nine times their weight in water to form a gel which you can add to food and drinks to cut the

fat and sugar in half without changing the taste. Carbohydrates are released slowly into the body, are slowly converted into glucose which is then used

for energy. Keeps the body feeling fuller for longer, also rich in soluble fibre.

Acts as both a bulking agent and a fibre source, helps to cleanse and soothe the colon. Acts like a sponge, absorbing toxins, sweeps the colon clean..

I'm not trying to sell this I am just so glad I found it!!! I want everyone to know about it!!!

cheers

Mary