I had a fun time with my internal medicine doctor today. If you don’t want to read further, the upshot is I’m still not taking statins (or anything else). 😎
For those new to my ongoing saga, I’m 16 months carnivore tomorrow at age 66 (tomorrow, that will be true anyway) and spent several years in varying degrees of low-carb and keto prior to that. My A1C has been fine for the last 10 years. My cholesterol has been all over, depending on previous statin usage. My weight has generally been too high, though I’ve been active.
Anyway, after going carnivore 16 months ago, my overall cholesterol shot up, though my triglycerides came down. I also had back surgery in mid-2022 and knee replacements in Jan 2023. I’ve been dealing with a lot of healing.
After the back surgery, I told my doctor no more statins, and he agreed. But as my overall numbers rose, he became concerned. We agreed that I should get a CAC score, which was not 0. I also got a duplex carotid ultrasound, which showed nothing (yay!), and an imaging stress test, which showed some constrictions. However, the imaging showed the same thing as was discovered ten years ago with no increase. As this corresponded with going low-carb (sometimes more keto than others), my thinking was that I hadn’t increased the damage in 10 years.
In mid-2023, I had more blood work done, which showed a bit of.a drop in overall cholesterol, lower triglycerides, and slightly more HDL. I reminded my doctor I’d predicted this based on recovery from surgery (and carnivore for the improvements). He suggested I see a cardiologist to consult.
That doctor told me I needed to be on statins (or something else), and if I said no, I was choosing to commit suicide. He also stated that 100% of cardiologists would agree with him. For the record, I don’t think 100% of any group agrees on everything, and as we in the tribe are aware of cardiologists who don’t agree…well…let’s say I won’t be visiting him again.
So, here I am several months later with new blood work. My cholesterol has dropped another 20 points (though I don’t care). My HDL is up again, and my triglycerides dropped even further. My A1C dropped from 5.6 to 5.5 (it had been 5.6 for a long time, but I’m happy for a lower score). Even with “white coat syndrome,” my BP in the doctor’s office was 120/75.
I had to laugh at all this because I’ve also really increased my intake of fats over the past 6 months and I wasn’t skimping before.
He and I reviewed the cardiologist’s recommendations (and my opinion of him with my doctor). My doctor was careful to say that that cardiologist thinks I should be on statins. He didn’t say he thought I should be on them. I’ll get a new CAC to compare with the last year’s reading. My doctor’s final word as I left was that he wasn’t at odds with me about what I was doing and felt I was fine. He’s a good guy, even if he does have to mention statins occasionally.
I’ve healed so much over the past couple of years, not just from the surgeries but metabolically because of PHD and folks like you. My blood work is super unless you work for big pharma. I take no drugs of any sort. My arthritis has cleared up. My weight is healthy and stable. I’m more active than most folks I know, including many younger ones. I sleep well. I feel I’ve taken control of my health and can stand up to any bad medical advice without a problem.
When I got home, I had a celebratory meal for the day: a pound of ground beef cooked in extra tallow with six egg yolks added. I can feel my HDL rising even as I sit here. LOL!
Check out my ride on Strava.
Check out my ride on Strava.
