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  #1   ^
Old Sat, Sep-10-16, 17:40
andante andante is offline
Senior Member
Posts: 178
 
Plan: Atkins 20
Stats: 237.6/150/155 Female 5'9"
BF:
Progress: 106%
Default Summer Summary: A Stroke, Huge Weight Loss, Lipitor question

In mid July my partner had a stroke. A fairly serious one. But he is on the mend and we are super optimistic.... neurologists say he may regain close to full recovery. He has overall one-side weakness and some aphasia, but is getting better every day.

He hadn't been to a doc in a while, so while they were treating him for stroke, they found high blood pressure, and high blood sugar (diabetic range). Reasonable blood lipids. He was very overweight (about 80 pounds overweight).

So the first thing they want to do is put him on meds. We decline the blood glucose meds... instead, he goes on a strict Adkins diet in the hospital (ignoring the ADA and AHA - recommended meals that include fruit, cottage cheese, etc.) and within days his before-meal blood glucose has dropped to between 80 and 100 every single reading.

They put him on high blood pressure meds, but two weeks after he was released from hospital (still on low carb diet), he saw his primary doc and guess what -- he had already lost 20 pounds and his blood pressure was already too low. So they cut out the blood pressure meds, and his bp is now straight normal.

Now he has lost around 40 pounds. Normal blood sugar. Normal blood pressure.

But on his release from the hospital, the docs put him on Lipitor... not because of high LDL (He was right around 100, and we all know that may not even matter.) But because the neurologists claim that statins stabilize the plaque in the blood vessels to keep clots from breaking away. We do not know the etiology of this stroke. But the scans showed clear arteries without a lot of plaque build up. Plus his LDL cholesterol has now dropped to about 45.

From, what I've read the "fact" that statins reduce stroke risk may not be a fact at all. And if he is successfully treating his diabetes and high blood pressure and weight problem with a low carb diet, isn't it better to be off meds all together?

I need info to take to the doctor's visit. Does anyone have links to discussions about Lipitor/statins, particularly with regard to how and if they reduce stroke risk, and also re: long-term side effects? I am familiar with the recent general consumer media reporting on this, but I'm looking to go a little deeper, perhaps to critiques and reviews of the studies that show Lipitor's effect on strokes. My impression is that a lot of those studies were industry funded and that the raw data has not been made available for review, and that the prophylactic benefit has been oversold.

Thanks.
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  #2   ^
Old Sun, Sep-11-16, 03:24
JEY100's Avatar
JEY100 JEY100 is online now
Posts: 13,371
 
Plan: P:E/DDF
Stats: 225/150/169 Female 5' 9"
BF:45%/28%/25%
Progress: 134%
Location: NC
Default

How blessed you and your partner are to be on the road to a full recovery. And also that you have the knowledge to pursue a nutrition plan at the same time along with the wonders of modern stroke medicine that corrected most health issues. Are you confident in the hospital and doctors now assigned? If your insurance covers it and there are other good specialists, a second opinion never hurts to review the treatment plan. But he now falls well within the new ACC treatment guidelines, the first category that even skeptics often agree with. It would be unlikely to find another neurologist whose practice guidelines (unless it was confirmed not caused by clots?) don't comply with:

Quote:
New guidelines from the American College of Cardiology and American Heart Association focus on four main groups of people who may be helped by statins:

People who already have cardiovascular disease.
This group includes people who have had heart attacks, strokes caused by blockages in a blood vessel, mini-strokes (transient ischemic attacks), peripheral artery disease, or prior surgery to open or replace coronary arteries.


Your thread is now in general health, and any general news of interest regarding statins I put in the Cholestrol forum. Many threads on side effects there http://forum.lowcarber.org/forumdisplay.php?f=48 and good to be aware of them to track, e.g. Muscle pain, Higher BG. Last night I received an email about a friend who had a stroke two weeks ago, so am interested in the treatment meds for stroke too.

In 2011, the Cochane group reviewed the evidence at that time and decided insufficient data to make any conclusions about statins and stroke. http://www.cochrane.org/CD007551/ST...ischemic-stroke

This small study concluded there could be a benefit if patients IRL actually continued taking statins. Seems many stop taking it due to those side effects that the drug companies are good at downplaying and under-reporting. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20047571

A small study in 2009 of discharge records in Greece that indicate a benefit of statins in secondary prevention of stroke. http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/703444

2015 Prosper study also supports use.
http://circ.ahajournals.org/content...016183.abstract

Best wishes for a complete recovery.

Last edited by JEY100 : Sun, Sep-11-16 at 12:57.
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  #3   ^
Old Mon, Sep-12-16, 09:29
andante andante is offline
Senior Member
Posts: 178
 
Plan: Atkins 20
Stats: 237.6/150/155 Female 5'9"
BF:
Progress: 106%
Default

Thank you so much for those links... Now I'm off to read them.
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  #4   ^
Old Mon, Sep-12-16, 10:40
Bonnie OFS Bonnie OFS is offline
Senior Member
Posts: 2,573
 
Plan: Dr. Bernstein
Stats: 188/150/135 Female 5 ft 4 inches
BF:
Progress: 72%
Location: NE WA
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Thanks for the topic & info. Because of leg pain my doc made noises about putting me on a statin - apparently to deter blood clots (I refused statins when testing last year showed my cholesterol to be high). But the bp testing showed the veins to be clear. More tests are needed to find out why I hurt.

Not being able to fully understand & explain to a doctor why I shouldn't take a statin, I was thinking of asking her why I should. And I would expect links to studies that show a benefit to someone who doesn't have heart problems. I doubt if she'll be able to come up with much, if anything.
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