Thanks - and it is definitely voluntary. I feel like I've finally cracked the code. I wish I had figured it out sooner, but no sense dwelling on the past. Diet culture really did a number on me for most of my life. It feels great to give all that bullshit up and just work on mastering the basics. And seeing results.
I lost 28 pounds during the plague, which was a good time to go about it. When someone asked (and my doctor of 12 or so years did not) I'd tell them I'd discovered an old diet that people had forgotten about. It's called the Don't Eat so Fucking Much diet. I honestly didn't find it all that hard. It took very few lifestyle changes, and was mostly just a matter of paying attention.
That said, I have gained half of it back since life resumed to normal, so I might not know WTF I'm talking about.
Thanks for the input. It does sort of feel like a scam (doctor's pushing certain drugs) though I'm certain statins save lives. And it may be that I will have to give them a whirl. I just think I should at the very least be given 6 months to try and see if I can make a difference without drugs. I really resent that pharmaceuticals are the default, especially when you have a patient making positive changes. Of course, being a new patient she probably doesn't see that. But I did tell her and I would've hoped she had listened to me.
Everybody lies, or so I've heard. Doctors that actually listen to patients are increasingly uncommon, IMO. I do have a couple, though. From my experience it tends to be the PAs that actually pay attention to you and try to help you. I'm sure statins do help a lot of people. I just don't feel the need for them, myself. My numbers are borderline (like exactly, always within +/- 2 of the line), and the likelihood is that the kidney will bump me off before the cholesterol will. I don't honestly know anybody that's been able to bring theirs down naturally (I really wonder if it's a myth that people can). In Adami's case I'd take them and not think twice about it, though (even though I definitely get his stance on taking meds--I'm a tough it out kind of guy, myself).
For me it was BP medication, which was super-critical in my case, and like the statins I know they really do save lives. My previous doctor was amendment about what he prescribed though, despite several objections on my part. I'm on generics now and doing just fine. I don't see any need that I had to be on the expensive brand name stuff he'd prescribe. Not to mention that one of them was making me fucking insane.
And to be fair, I don't think he (or any other doctors, necessarily) was on the take. I used kickbacks facetiously. I do think smokin hot pharmaceutical reps, golf junkets, and catered lunches everyday do have a way of convincing them that new and shiny is necessarily the way to go, though.
I hate the statins on a philosophical basis. I, and no shame in admitting this, cried like a baby when I took my first pill. That's just a me thing since it's medication. I've since just adapted but hate them. Side effects were muscle cramping for a few days but have subsided and no other side effects I can notice.
No results yet. I'm almost 3 months on them and have my first follow up in a week and a half. Hoping it'll be good.
My overall cholesterol was dangerously high, so were my LDL levels.
It very likely will be. The things really do work. I took them for a couple of years (quit after the transplant) and they did bring my numbers down. They went right back up to my normal baseline afterward.
Topic: What pissed you off today? (Read 123033 times)
