Quitting my Statin drug today
Last week I had my annual physical and my PCP could find no reason that I'm tired all the time and have a very hard time getting back into my training program since an injury last summer. I've gained weight (from 150 race weight to 167 now) and lost significant fitness measured by FTP and 5K time. The doc is not concerned, says he thought I was too thin before and I'm still his most fit patient in my age range (about to turn 53). Things are definitely moving in the wrong direction for me, however, and faster than normal aging would predict. So, after a lot of research, against medical advice, I'm going to try two months without my 5mg of Crestor and take a combination of fish oil and niacin and commit myself to six days a week without any processed sugar, and stick to a fishy semi-paleo diet. We'll see if my LDL shoots back up and, more importantly, if my ability to get out of bed and hit the road improves.
Anybody else out there made a connection between a statin and diminished energy for training? Suggestions for risk assessment if I decide to live with a higher LDL number in order to keep my energy for exercise? I have taken CO-Q10 without noticeable improvement.
Comments
I can't advise you on whether or not to use the statins - that's between you and your MD, with whom you should discuss this even if you end up going against his advice. But in regards to your other question about fatigue and statins, you may want to read this from the NY Times. Final quote "“Statins are anti-aging for arteries,” he says. “If you take them, you’ll have younger arteries. Unfortunately,” he adds, “they are not anti-aging for muscles.”"
I hope that your combination of renewed exercise and detailed attention to diet will do the trick for your cholesterol, so you can avoid these nasty drugs. I'm one of those MDs who thinks prescription drugs can sometimes (?often) cause more problems than they solve. In this case, you are weighing the positive benefits of getting suffiecient exercise against the potential positive of lower LDL. I doubt there is one right answer to that question.
@Mike, thanks for the comments. I haven't been very active on the forums in a while, but I'll try to give regular progress reports. Please let me know how it goes for your dad.
Today is the fourth day of my statin-free status, and here's what I noticed: I slept the whole night last night for the first time in a long time. After seven hours, I woke up ready to go. Did a 5K run test that told me I'm back where I was about a year before my injury last summer, so it leaves lots of room for an impressive come-back. It was the first time I ever felt I executed the test accurately. Increased my effort steadily for almost even splits, had very little kick at the end. My 5K indicator on the GPS went off a second before everything went black. Yep, that's as fast as I can go today.
Definitely have more energy today after recovering from the 5K run test a couple of hours later. If I can sleep through the night regularly, that's going to weigh heavily in my decision-making process.
Important lesson learned today: remember to take the niacin after the workout, not before. The time-release mechanism gets all whacky when I get my heart rate high. A few minutes after finishing my bicycle intervals, the time-release niacin all went off at the same time like a whole pack of firecrackers. Burning sensation and my whole body turned red as if I were freshly sunburned. It goes away in less than an hour, but it's uncomfortable enough to remind me not to do that again.
I'm definitely sleeping better, so I feel more refreshed in the mornings. It's just easier to get out of bed and hit the road, no doubt. It's hard to isolate the effect of going off the statin because I have also exercised more vigilance with my diet--no processed sugar and no alcohol. Also, the weather has been great and that always helps, getting off the trainer and outside.
My DH has been on a statin for years. With input from me, he has slowly but steadily increased veggies and decreased red meat. His numbers have improved and I feel like he can get off the statin as long as he continues this way. His doc is reluctant, despite the excellent numbers on lowest possible dose (1/2 tab of lowest tab available). But DH has hard time with muscle fatigue, elevated CKs, and trouble sleeping.
I am gently urging and he is at the point of agreement because he really wants to lose more weight, and at this point, increasing exercise intensity and/or duration is his only option. (he is an MD himself, and I am an NP)
When we go live, I will let you know.
Great! (Especially the inflammation markers) I look forward to being there @ LP when you motor thru that IM distance for the first time.
Good for you! My husband left lipitor behind a couple years ago.