Monday, September 18, 2017

Statins and Sucide

Opinion, not advice.

Doc wanted me to go on statins, so I took another good look at the data. So what does it really show?

"So I have a thirty percent chance of dyeing in the next ten years."
What are the odds on statins?
"Well you should be on statins!"

First off there is a problem with the total numbers treated in the study. It seem that there are quite a few people who start but stop quickly. The study's seem to just cross these of as non compliant. Yet I here there are some that statins just do not agree with; instant muscle pain, other discomforts. They make a quality of life decisions, live without statins until death. Possibly quicker, or shorter life, but by how much, nobody knows. Well one study show days more. Days, not weeks.

Then there is the suicide rate; three times higher on statins, and the doctor says there is no causal link and eliminate the suicide deaths on the all cause deaths. So it becomes all cause but suicide. Bullshit. Suicide is a quality of life subjective decision. There were more people who felt there life was poor, not worth leaving on statins. So what is the issue? Muscle pain, loss of strength, actual muscle cell death, there is no reasonable recover from that. Well the statin folks want to eliminate them from the study. If included, the sales pitch data tanks.

So when one adds back the dropped out, and suicides, there is no benefit; it appears to be better to stay off statins. Even if one was to try them and stop if there are quick side effects, the benefit is not there... unless one had family history or real history. So where does that leave us /me?

Doctors and preachers are two of the oldest professions, along with robbin, looting, or the legal equivalent, soldiering. So after we realize that truth in the professions are less that virtuous, it is up to the doctors to provide studies to show benefit, else I call bullshit. Just like religion; provide evidence of a god or fo. Proof of a long history in a belief of a god just does not cut it. 

3 comments :

  1. Really great post about Statins. Now doctors have computer programs that expect them to push statin on patients. No chance of changing the program. The medical administration then judges doctors based on how well doctors follow the program. Bad medicine is now programed into medicine.

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  2. I would strongly advise AGAINST the use of statins unless there is a compelling family history. I've heard too much anecdotal evidence of degraded quality of life, including my own mother, who was almost disabled by muscle pain & weakness when taking statins.

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