Dr. McDougall's Online Discussion Board

I had stents put in Nov 1. I had high blood pressure at the time, but lipids were as follows:

COMPONENT YOUR VALUE STANDARD RANGE FLAG
Cholesterol 129 mg/dL <=239 mg/dL
Triglyceride 72 mg/dL <=499 mg/dL
HDL Chol 38 mg/dL >=40 mg/dL L
LDL Calc 77 mg/dL <=159 mg/dL

Now I am on Atorvastatin 40mg/day and Dr. insists I stay on it for life and hints that he (and other medical persons I've encountered since stents) believes everybody should be on statins. I don't want to be on statins. On the other hand, I did have pretty severe blockages (in spite of <150 cholesterol for at least the last four years). The coronary rehab I went through was useless. By aggressively interrogating one of the staffers, I finally got him to admit that they actually do know the benefits of plant based treatment. Even their lifestyle questionnaire makes it clear they are aware of the benefits of plant based treatment, with separate pages for plant foods and animal foods, but they refuse even to suggest it as part of their rehab program because "it's too hard". Those were the exact words used by Ron at Adventist Coronary Rehab in Portland Oregon. A healthy diet is too hard. What I really want is a "plant based" doctor, but there are only two in the Portland area, one of them is now a teacher at OHSU. The other is in the wrong HMO system for me.
But I digress. Can I get off statins? When? What cholesterol level should I shoot for? Is there really any benefit to being on statins? Thanks.

Hi there! Curious - why did you get stents? Were you having a heart attack? What was/is your blood pressure?

omrsramsay wrote:I had stents put in Nov 1. I had high blood pressure at the time, but lipids were as follows:

COMPONENT YOUR VALUE STANDARD RANGE FLAG
Cholesterol 129 mg/dL <=239 mg/dL
Triglyceride 72 mg/dL <=499 mg/dL
HDL Chol 38 mg/dL >=40 mg/dL L
LDL Calc 77 mg/dL <=159 mg/dL

Now I am on Atorvastatin 40mg/day and Dr. insists I stay on it for life and hints that he (and other medical persons I've encountered since stents) believes everybody should be on statins. I don't want to be on statins. On the other hand, I did have pretty severe blockages (in spite of <150 cholesterol for at least the last four years). The coronary rehab I went through was useless. By aggressively interrogating one of the staffers, I finally got him to admit that they actually do know the benefits of plant based treatment. Even their lifestyle questionnaire makes it clear they are aware of the benefits of plant based treatment, with separate pages for plant foods and animal foods, but they refuse even to suggest it as part of their rehab program because "it's too hard". Those were the exact words used by Ron at Adventist Coronary Rehab in Portland Oregon. A healthy diet is too hard. What I really want is a "plant based" doctor, but there are only two in the Portland area, one of them is now a teacher at OHSU. The other is in the wrong HMO system for me.
But I digress. Can I get off statins? When? What cholesterol level should I shoot for? Is there really any benefit to being on statins? Thanks.

What was your diet like during those four years when your total cholesterol was below 150? Recovering from heart disease is a gradual process, and likely most who suffer an attack initially adhere to an extensive standard post-MI medication regimen. Many eventually suffer some muscle pain from statin thereby, and are inspired to withdraw gradually as healthier lifestyle & strict WFPB diet become more solidly fixed. Years down the road (unless you find adhering to a ‘healthy diet’ in order to stay alive is REALLY ‘too hard’), if successful, then you may find yourself only taking a baby aspirin as your entire ‘post-MI’ medication therapy. That, and a B12 is all I am taking after getting two stents nearly 10 years ago. Remember, lab #s are only a guide. As Dr. McDougall says, “IT’S THE FOOD”!