Alternatives to Simvastatin?

Absent The 'NHS Health Check' apparently includes testing one's cholesterol levels. www.nhs.uk/Planners/NHSHealthCheck/Pages/Thetests.aspx
However, it is far from clear who is entitled to such a check, or whether GPs are obliged to offer them.
I think there is some difference of opinion as to whether they are an appropriate use of resources.

I have never had a cholesterol test. Are they now routine in the UK? (I would have to pay for it here but I don't have any health problems and still haven't got round to registering with a GP so probably won't.)

Simvastatin has worked well for me for the past dozen years. I have halved the dosage from 40mg to 20mg because the lesser dose worked and it was only when the lab told my doctor to raise it that it was put up to 40. So now I break them in half and the next test will tell me if I was right to do this.

I hope you find a statin that suits you, Paige. I'm sure it's quite concerning when you know that you need the medication, but have side effects from it. I'm hoping that, perhaps, my cholesterol level has come down since my last test. However, I am aware that my overall risk level has never been lower than 16% - it was 24% last year - so I think I'm going to have to discuss it with the doctor at some point.

I'm trying to find a statin I can take.Atorvastatin gave be a headache,flatulence and leg cramps.Started Lovastatin this week.Slight headache everyday so far. I have high cholesterol in my family and my older brother died at the age of 53 from a MI. My test numbers were high and my dr. Sent me for a carotid ultrasound and I was found to have slight plaque in both.I was told if its in your carotid it's elsewhere in your body.I assume they were referring to the arteries in my heart.Told I would need to take a statin for a year.

When I had my first cholesterol test it was 6.4, I had already changed my diet and begun to lose weight. Six months later I had problems with my BP and was admitted to hospital for an overnight stay. More tests revealed that my cholesterol was now 6.8........panic. Then my GP pointed out that the good cholesterol had actually increased and the bad decreased, so not to worry. My next test is due very soon.

Although my husband took statins (part of a complicated drugs regime due to renal failure) he never had any side affects and his cholesterol was 3.8. After his second kidney transplant he begin to suffer with mobility problems and it was thought that the statins might be causing this although this has never been proved, despite biopsies and various other tests. He stopped taking statins on medical advice nearly two years ago and his cholesterol is a healthy 4.7

I really dislike taking medication, grudgingly accepting that I have to take them for my BP or face the consequences. If I am offered statins I don't think I will accept them.

Thanks all for the information. I didn't realise re the ratio.

The standard test which is done on the NHS gives only your total cholesterol count.
I agree with Brenda and GK that it is the ratio that is important.
If you want to know your ratio, you will have to ask for a fasting blood test.

I find it hard to understand why anyone whose risk was assessed at only 10% (of having a cardiovascular incident in the next 10 years) would want to take medication for the rest of their life, without knowing how much that risk was being lowered.
If it was lowering the risk to nothing, ie guaranteeing that you wouldn't have a stroke or heart attack, that might be worth considering.
But of course it isn't. They never tell you what your risk is being lowered to - and if it's only being lowered to an 8 or 9%, what is the point?

Genevieve I have posted a link to Dr John Briffa's thoughts about statins on the other thread, about elderly Britons dying early.

Thank you all so much for your posts. I had the same problem with Simvastatin, durhamjen, and found it difficult to get upstairs, which is why I stopped taking them.
Very interesting about the ratio between good and bad cholesterol, Brendawymms, I hadn't realised that. In the past, I've always just accepted the total cholesterol level, so I will ask for the breakdown tomorrow.
I hope your 5:2 diet goes well, Rowantree. I tried it, but got terrible headaches and decided it wasn't for me. However, I have lost over a stone since last year with Weightwatchers. I've been with them before and it works for me as I'm not at an ideal weight. (Even though this is my third time!)
I'm going to be asking lots of questions about the different statins tomorrow, although may have to make an appointment with the doctor as I just see the nurse for the results. I'll also ask about the hereditary test, cathybee. You've all been very helpful, thank you.

I was on Atorvastatin and stopped because of pains in my calves and thigh muscles so I could hardly walk. When I was on 20mg it affected my eyesight, so I went down to 10mg. The pains in my legs just got worse and worse, so I stopped taking it. I'm okay now.

The better way to look at cholesterol is to find the ratio between the bad and good cholesterol. If the answer is less than 3 you are ok. Mine is 5.2 bad and 2.4 good so my ratio is something like 2.2. So would not need statins.
You could have a good of 4 and a bad of 1 and you would have a terrible ratio and need statins.

I am quite interested in this subject and was only thinking last nigt that I could post and ask about Cholesterol

I am having my cholesterol checked soon, I too have a family history of heart disease and it is said that if your cholesterol problems are hereditary then it can be more difficult to control them but not impossible

There is an actual test that can be done that will indicate whether the cholestral problems you have are hereditary or not

The best person to speak to would of course be the Doctor, however there is lots of relevant information on the net. The NHS website is one to trust.

My cholesterol was 6.7 last year, despite trying to eat sensibly (and not often succeeding). I'm trying the 5-2 diet which I know has another thread somewhere. I am hoping it will ultimately help reduce my cholesterol but I'm on an antidepressant which has increased appetite/weight gain as a major side effect so the fast days aren't much of a fast....

In contrast, DH managed to reduce his cholesterol from 6.5 or thereabouts to 5.5 over six months or so on the 5-2 diet. He doesn't take statins. He isn't cheating on it, and is pretty rigorous. I think it's worth a try as an alternative to taking statins, given the often horrible side effects.

I haven't given up trying - hoping it will help mine, too, if I can curb my appetite!

Sorry, meant to add that the doctor friend said that in response to me asking much the same question as you - 're muscle pains - and then I didn't even need the info!

Gen, my cholesterol is much the same as yours (6.3) and a doctor friend told me to ask for a statin with "tor" in the name, adding "they're not that much more now (cost)", I think it's atorvastatin. But as it happens, at my 'call back' appointment, I passed the 'risk assessment' test (because my good cholesterol was good! - I think. Also not much heart disease I my family).

Good luck.

Bit of a discussion on statins on the elderly dying before their time thread, Genevieve.