New vaccine

[yorkshirephil]

33 minutes ago, jeanlyon said:

As a  74 year old I am lucky to be in good health (so far), but I really don't like this drug society that we live in.  To explain, I am on no medication at all.  2 years ago I had a 5 year check up with the doc.  Bloods, urine, cholesterol etc etc.  I also have low BP.  Went back to get the results.  all perfect, no history of heart or stroke in family, liver fine, kidneys fine.  Doc then says "of course you are at 10% on the Q risk register, so at this time we would be recommending a statin".  I said carefully "How many people over 70 are not 10% on the Q Risk register?"  she looked at me and said "I take it you don't want a statin then"?     damn right I don't.

 

This doling out of pills to people who don't need them is just plain wrong in my opinion.

 

 

That is pretty much how I look at it, however as you say you are lucky to be in good health, and long may it continue, I have low blood pressure and a slow heart beat (56bpm) this is comparable to an athlete, yet both my parents died of heart disease when they were reasonably young, if they had the medication and technology then I am sure they would both have lived much longer? . There is of course the other side of the coin where taking drugs has given millions of people better health and an extended lifespan. 

[Scriv]

59 minutes ago, jeanlyon said:

As a  74 year old I am lucky to be in good health (so far), but I really don't like this drug society that we live in.  To explain, I am on no medication at all.  2 years ago I had a 5 year check up with the doc.  Bloods, urine, cholesterol etc etc.  I also have low BP.  Went back to get the results.  all perfect, no history of heart or stroke in family, liver fine, kidneys fine.  Doc then says "of course you are at 10% on the Q risk register, so at this time we would be recommending a statin".  I said carefully "How many people over 70 are not 10% on the Q Risk register?"  she looked at me and said "I take it you don't want a statin then"?     damn right I don't.

 

This doling out of pills to people who don't need them is just plain wrong in my opinion.

 

 

I agree wholeheartedly with you here, Jean. I had the same conversation a couple of years ago. Different if they are needed because of medical/family history of course. If anything is thought necessary for that, I'd take medication - but not blanket prescribing.

Edited February 11, 2021 by Scriv

[Bloodaxe]

One of my neighbours was prescribed Statins but stopped taking them, not  very long afterwards he had heart problems and needed a Bypass Operation.

 

 

I

 

[grapau27]

1 hour ago, jeanlyon said:

As a  74 year old I am lucky to be in good health (so far), but I really don't like this drug society that we live in.  To explain, I am on no medication at all.  2 years ago I had a 5 year check up with the doc.  Bloods, urine, cholesterol etc etc.  I also have low BP.  Went back to get the results.  all perfect, no history of heart or stroke in family, liver fine, kidneys fine.  Doc then says "of course you are at 10% on the Q risk register, so at this time we would be recommending a statin".  I said carefully "How many people over 70 are not 10% on the Q Risk register?"  she looked at me and said "I take it you don't want a statin then"?     damn right I don't.

 

This doling out of pills to people who don't need them is just plain wrong in my opinion.

 

 

I understand at that time doctors were offered bonuses to get people on to statins.

My cholesterol was just under 4 and it was recommended because I was on HBP tablets but I refused.

After my heart attack the cardiac surgeon insisted I took a high dose 80mg atorvastatin which I have since had the dose halved to 40mg because my total cholesterol was 2.5.

Edited February 11, 2021 by grapau27

[kalos]

9 minutes ago, yorkshirephil said:

That is pretty much how I look at it, however as you say you are lucky to be in good health, and long may it continue, I have low blood pressure and a slow heart beat (56bpm) this is comparable to an athlete, yet both my parents died of heart disease when they were reasonably young, if they had the medication and technology then I am sure they would both have lived much longer? . There is of course the other side of the coin where taking drugs has given millions of people better health and an extended lifespan. 

Fully agree with you Phil , I wasn't one for tablets ,that was until I needed them and we are so 

lucky as you say to have the "other side of the coin" option which in my case has helped me

and brought my heart flow back to normal levels . Due to this my medication has now dropped 

from 8 tablets to 6 different meds per day. The only supplement was a vitamin D due to not

getting out  which as the weather warms up that will also cease . My message is if you do not 

need them but if and when the time comes follow your DR's advice , I also avoided taking 

Statins & Aspirin until I really needed them .

[Harry Peterson]

Most, if not all, of the proper medical evidence is very much in favour of statins as a preventative measure, providing a number of protections.

 

My wife and I discussed the evidence with our GP and decided to follow the advice to take them. The supposed side effects have recently been shown to be largely imaginary (no greater than placebo) and neither of us has suffered any of the reported side effects at all.

 

We’re following the scientific advice!

[Adawn47]

51 minutes ago, jeanlyon said:

As a  74 year old I am lucky to be in good health (so far), but I really don't like this drug society that we live in.  To explain, I am on no medication at all.  2 years ago I had a 5 year check up with the doc.  Bloods, urine, cholesterol etc etc.  I also have low BP.  Went back to get the results.  all perfect, no history of heart or stroke in family, liver fine, kidneys fine.  Doc then says "of course you are at 10% on the Q risk register, so at this time we would be recommending a statin".  I said carefully "How many people over 70 are not 10% on the Q Risk register?"  she looked at me and said "I take it you don't want a statin then"?     damn right I don't.

 

This doling out of pills to people who don't need them is just plain wrong in my opinion.

 

 

 I agree that doctors like to hand out pills 'just in case', but a lot of what they are advised to offer patients by the medical bigwigs is precautionary medicine. You're lucky Jean and must have inherited  some very good genes. My  mum had issues with high BP and strokes, and dad had a heart condition. I'm 74 in April and have had medication for my high BP for over 30 years, and because of dad's heart problems have recently also begun to take a statin as an added prevention against a stroke. Other than high BP I am perfectly healthy. Do I want to take the tablets? No. Do I want to avoid a stroke? Absolutely.

Avril

[Josy1953]

1 hour ago, jeanlyon said:

As a  74 year old I am lucky to be in good health (so far), but I really don't like this drug society that we live in.  To explain, I am on no medication at all.  2 years ago I had a 5 year check up with the doc.  Bloods, urine, cholesterol etc etc.  I also have low BP.  Went back to get the results.  all perfect, no history of heart or stroke in family, liver fine, kidneys fine.  Doc then says "of course you are at 10% on the Q risk register, so at this time we would be recommending a statin".  I said carefully "How many people over 70 are not 10% on the Q Risk register?"  she looked at me and said "I take it you don't want a statin then"?     damn right I don't.

 

This doling out of pills to people who don't need them is just plain wrong in my opinion.

 

 

Like you I am in good health and don't take any medications.  It does concern  me how many people I know who are taking statins but I don't know how many of them really need them. David takes them because of his heart problems.

[grapau27]

2 minutes ago, Harry Peterson said:

Most, if not all, of the proper medical evidence is very much in favour of statins as a preventative measure, providing a number of protections.

 

My wife and I discussed the evidence with our GP and decided to follow the advice to take them. The supposed side effects have recently been shown to be largely imaginary (no greater than placebo) and neither of us has suffered any of the reported side effects at all.

 

We’re following the scientific advice!

If a medical condition requires long term medications we should take them.

Are you taking Statins is asked on the holiday insurance form and the premium is increased if you are so if your cholesterol is under recommended levels it is best to discuss with your doctor why  if he wants to put you on Statins.

[Scriv]

3 minutes ago, grapau27 said:

If a medical condition requires long term medications we should take them.

Are you taking Statins is asked on the holiday insurance form and the premium is increased if you are so if your cholesterol is under recommended levels it is best to discuss with your doctor why  if he wants to put you on Statins.

Oh I  didn't know that premiums increase if you're taking statins... 😞

[yorkshirephil]

Just now, Scriv said:

Oh I  didn't know that premiums increase if you're taking statins... 😞

It depends who you are insured with to a degree, I would argue that if you are on statins your premium should be reduced as something is being done to reduce your cholesterol, albeit statins are sometimes given as a precautionary measure especially if heart disease runs in the family.

[grapau27]

3 minutes ago, Scriv said:

Oh I  didn't know that premiums increase if you're taking statins... 😞

All part of the health declaration you need to answer on your holiday insurance form.

Any new illness or increase in medication they need to know.

Not giving information could invalidate your insurance if you need to claim.

Graham.

[Esprit]

Well said Jean.

 

The last medication I took (reluctantly) was Aciclovir for Shingles but didn't feel I really needed it and certainly didn't reduce the itchiness. 

[Gettingwarmer]

Just had the Pfizer vaccine at my local Minor Injuries Unit. All well.

[kalos]

4 minutes ago, grapau27 said:

All part of the health declaration you need to answer on your holiday insurance form.

Any new illness or increase in medication they need to know.

Not giving information could invalidate your insurance if you need to claim.

Graham.

 

I have just done a dummy fake run Graham on a compare site I first declared a statin 

and put I have never been advised and never had raised cholesterol levels. the price did 

not go up  yet when I put I had been advised to take meds to lower and put my cholesterol

levels had been raised in my life time .. Then it went up in price .

So it could be linked to the condition once you declare the statin as well .  Like Phil said 

some companies don't charge, others do but either way if your taking it, as you say it needs 

to be in your declaration.

[jeanlyon]

I have two friends who were on statins, one for slightly raised cholesterol.  One had such terrible side effects, a hacking cough and bad joint pain that she stopped taking them and both problems disappeared.  the other friend also had side effects and stopped them.

 

A survey of over 30000 women in Sweden aged over 70 found that those with high cholesterol lived longer than those with low.   There is also a very good book by a doctor in Scotland who does not believe that cholesterol plays any part in plaques in arteries.  It's called the Great Cholesterol Con.

 

Also I read this article  "

Adults age 75 and older may not need statins.

Their doctors usually prescribe statins to prevent heart disease. But for older people, there is no clear evidence that high cholesterol leads to heart disease or death."

 

 

[yorkshirephil]

8 minutes ago, kalos said:

 

I have just done a dummy fake run Graham on a compare site I first declared a statin 

and put I have never been advised and never had raised cholesterol levels. the price did 

not go up  yet when I put I had been advised to take meds to lower and put my cholesterol

levels had been raised in my life time .. Then it went up in price .

So it could be linked to the condition once you declare the statin as well .  Like Phil said 

some companies don't charge, others do but either way if your taking it, as you say it needs 

to be in your declaration.

I know we have gone off topic but I am going off off topic which shouldn't matter as we are not on topic anyway. This reminds me of a few discussions with my insurance broker regarding car insurance and what constitutes a modification. I have always used winter tyres, until I retired (not to be confused with re-tyred) that is, yet with some insurers that was classed as a modification to a car even though you were safer with winter tyres and generally less likely to have an accident, if you informed your insurer you were OK whereas if you didn't it could be used as an excuse to not pay out. So the principle is talk to your insurer and get something in writing whenever possible.

[grapau27]

32 minutes ago, Gettingwarmer said:

Just had the Pfizer vaccine at my local Minor Injuries Unit. All well.

Happy for you.

Take 

Graham.

[grapau27]

18 minutes ago, jeanlyon said:

I have two friends who were on statins, one for slightly raised cholesterol.  One had such terrible side effects, a hacking cough and bad joint pain that she stopped taking them and both problems disappeared.  the other friend also had side effects and stopped them.

 

A survey of over 30000 women in Sweden aged over 70 found that those with high cholesterol lived longer than those with low.   There is also a very good book by a doctor in Scotland who does not believe that cholesterol plays any part in plaques in arteries.  It's called the Great Cholesterol Con.

 

Also I read this article  "

Adults age 75 and older may not need statins.

Their doctors usually prescribe statins to prevent heart disease. But for older people, there is no clear evidence that high cholesterol leads to heart disease or death."

 

 

Myopathy is a big risk in over 70s taking Statins.

[grapau27]

20 minutes ago, yorkshirephil said:

I know we have gone off topic but I am going off off topic which shouldn't matter as we are not on topic anyway. This reminds me of a few discussions with my insurance broker regarding car insurance and what constitutes a modification. I have always used winter tyres, until I retired (not to be confused with re-tyred) that is, yet with some insurers that was classed as a modification to a car even though you were safer with winter tyres and generally less likely to have an accident, if you informed your insurer you were OK whereas if you didn't it could be used as an excuse to not pay out. So the principle is talk to your insurer and get something in writing whenever possible.

Absolutely.

Fitting Alloy wheels,spoilers etc come into modification category as they increase the risk of cars being stolen.

[Esprit]

2 minutes ago, grapau27 said:

Absolutely.

Fitting Alloy wheels,spoilers etc come into modification category as they increase the risk of cars being stolen.

I had a Ghost immobilizer fitted to our replacement car following the theft of our previous car off our drive. Made no difference to the premiums as the Insurance companies say that Thatcham approved security is adequate. Didn't stop our keyless entry/start up car getting nicked though! 

[Harry Peterson]

1 hour ago, Scriv said:

Oh I  didn't know that premiums increase if you're taking statins... 😞

It's one of those odd situations that arises because of the algorithms insurance companies use for cheapness and speed instead of clinical judgment.

 

Statins suggest underlying problems, so the premium increase (if indeed there is one) is based far more on the underlying problem than the statin itself.  The reality of the situation is that the statin is prescribed to lessen any risk - not increase it.   And the NICE guidelines strongly support the use of statins as a preventative measure.

[Angel57]

1 hour ago, Esprit said:

Well said Jean.

 

The last medication I took (reluctantly) was Aciclovir for Shingles but didn't feel I really needed it and certainly didn't reduce the itchiness. 

I also took that when I had shingles. My understanding is that if taken early enough it reduces the severity.

[bee-ess]

Had my AZ jab this morning, all quite painless (literally !). Warned might feel a bit under the weather in the next 24 hrs but small price to pay really. Very pleased it has been done.

[Esprit]

10 minutes ago, Angel57 said:

I also took that when I had shingles. My understanding is that if taken early enough it reduces the severity.

You're probably right Angel57. I did delay going to the doctors, but the NHS 111 lady insisted I should get seen.