My Doctor Insists I Take Statins to Lower My Cholesterol
Conflicting information makes it a hard decision.
The day after my physical, I missed several calls from the doctor’s office. When I checked my phone, there was a message to call the clinic immediately. This happens every time I have blood work done. Doctors are alarmed at my unnaturally high cholesterol levels and want to see me as soon as possible.
When my blood was tested in 2018, those levels were off the charts at 300, prompting my gastroenterologist to mention a condition I had never heard of, called hypercholesterolemia.
“It’s when high cholesterol is hereditary and not due to lifestyle factors,” he explained. “You’re healthy and not overweight, so your cholesterol is most likely inherited.” The gastroenterologist decided not to put me on statins because my good cholesterol was high, and I didn’t have any other risk factors.
Now, six years later, things were different. The physician’s assistant who performed my physical said it was essential that I start taking a strong statin (cholesterol-lowering medicine) immediately.
I have a low body mass index, exercise daily, and eat fairly well, consuming healthy fats like olive oil and avocados, so there were no lifestyle changes she could suggest that might lower…
