I’m 59, and the only “drug” I take is ibuprofen 400 mg, once a day to keep my achy joints at bay (under the watchful eye of my physician) - I do take some supplements. I have a very healthy family, and apparently my D & I have the healthy gene! 
I’ve been tremendously fortunate to have always been healthy despite high cholestorol (which I believe is genetic). A few years ago against my better judgement I finally caved in to my doctor’s repeated recommendation to start on statins. Despite taking to lowest dose of the most tested medication, it was an absolute disaster with effects I’m still recovering from and I’m still bitter about the whole thing. That was my one and so far only foray into regular (i.e. lifelong) meds, so now I’m back in that group that takes nothing.
Meds are absolutely lifesaving and improve quality of life for many people, but OMG the side effects for some people. Wonder drugs yes, silver bullets no… Not to mention what happens when they eventually end up in the water/environment.
What side effects did you experience?
I believe statins should be avoided unless the risk of death is very high without them. The side effects are terrible and it is an over-prescribed type of medication.
@jym626 A lot of joint / connective tissue issues. First a frozen shoulder (adhesive capsulitis), then steadily worsening tendonitis in the other shoulder and a finger. My doc didn’t link those to the statin and just sent me to PT, but later I found some articles on the NIH website pointing to statins causing tendon issues (usually the achilles). I was suffering from those steadily worsening issues for ~2 years when I stopped the statin, and literally 3 weeks later I started feeling better, so there’s no doubt in my mind the statin was the cause.
Both shoulders are still a bit weak and the frozen shoulder is mostly recovered but still lacking a little range of motion after 6 months of brutal PT.
Ouch!
After having cardiac bypass surgery, barely surviving a post op staph infection around my heart (spent several weeks in ICU), then learning one year later all bypasses had failed, my choices were more surgery or try a medical approach which in part means taking several meds daily. As it’s been well over a decade since I started a medical approach, I’m a big fan of “better living through chemicals” (aka meds).Isn’t that Dupont Chemical’s slogan??
Although I’m aware of side effects, I’ve been taking highest available dosage on market for over 20 years with no adverse effects
I think it was “better living through chemistry”.
I take a statin. My cholesterol just kept creeping up…but my physical,is in a couple,of weeks…and we are going to talk about that. My blood pressure is low,for a 66 year old…120/70. My good cholesterol is very good. I’ve had no side effects…but I’m thinking I need a statin break.
My son is grappling with that now…and has decided to do exercise and diet modification instead of statins.
I think SOP is to try diet and exercise first. If it works, great.The problem is your body needs and makes cholesterol (eg nerve function). Some people are just cholesterol making machines
Oh, I wish! I have always maintained a healthy weight and have very good eating habits. I started a yoga practice 3 years ago and practice 3-4x/week. Have been an avid walker for years and took up running (3x/week) about 1 1/2 years ago.
And I still need to take my blood pressure pill. I am only borderline and it is very low dose, but still.
Not sure what else to do.
Sure it’s critical to live a healthy lifestyle, but not everyone can eliminate high blood pressure or high cholesterol or prediabetes even if they “do everything right”. The implication in some of these comments is that people are just reaching for the pills without trying anything else, and that if only everyone would exercise and eat right nobody would have high blood pressure, high cholesterol or diabetes/prediabetes. Not true.
However, imagine how much worse your blood pressure would be and how much more drugs you would need to control it if you did not exercise, ate unhealthily, and were obese.
^ Good point @ucbalumnus , but my BP was the same before i started the yoga and running. I was hoping for improvement.
How much of this average is skewed by very sick patients who need to take large numbers of prescription meds every day? Unless I glossed over something in the article, I didn’t see anything about median number of meds per day which seems relevant in a field like medicine where only a small percentage of the population drive up costs.
Yes, the implication is that MANY people are reaching for the pills without trying anything else, and this is a fact. There are, of course, genetic and other issues that mandate medication, but we all know people who have made NO attempt at lifestyle changes before going on a medication regimen. Many doctors share in this responsibility and are quick to prescribe.
Just had my cholesterol run . . . high LDL (not good) but decent HDL. Doctor wanted small dose of statin; I want to try diet and exercise first. The compromise was a scan of my carotid artery to make sure I don’t have cholesterol deposit there (??). I do have a visible xanthoma on my skin which is why she wanted to run cholesterol in the first place.
Trying to avoid statins.
Thank you for the thread title change.
Some years ago, I tried to control high triglycerides through diet alone. I got the dietary instructions and followed them correctly. But during the period when I was doing it, I had to drastically restrict my lifestyle. I couldn’t eat in most restaurants. I couldn’t share meals with my family. I couldn’t make spontaneous plans because I had to take into account the fact that I needed to make special arrangements for eating. Every meal. Every day. The doctor asked me to do it for three months as an experiment, and they were three of the longest and most unpleasant months of my life.
I took the diet seriously and followed it scrupulously. But I was delighted when it didn’t work and I had to go on medication. It meant that I could live a normal life again.
I can’t imagine being delighted to go on medication. Also, the side effects from medications can greatly interfere with “normal”. Fortunately, not everyone experiences the side effects. Glad you can be “normal”.
I would be thrilled if I could stop taking any or all my Rx, but the Rx help me breathe and keep me from having infections and a racing heart, so I keep taking them with the strong support of all my doctors. We do review my Rx at least annually and consider whether any adjustments or substitutes are appropriate.