Cholestorol-tablets v. Aspirin?

[kristina]

After my stroke in 1991 I was told to take 75mg of Aspirin per day to avoid another stroke.
I now read that people of a certain age should take Cholestorol-tablets
to avoid strokes and heart-attacks.

My question if this:
Is Aspirin still adequate or should it be replaced by a Cholestorol tablet
or should both be taken? There seems to be lots of confusion and
I ask this because I have recently learnt that people who reach
middle age & beyond are of a higher risk for strokes and heart-attacks
& therefore they should take a Cholestorol-tablet.

I thought an Aspirin-tablet would be sufficient?

Has anyone any experience of discussing this with medics
and the reasoning behind these two medicines?
I also don’t know whether the Cholestorol tablet would
affect the kidney function in ESRF?

Thanks for your thoughts, Kristina.

[BigSky]

They affect the liver more than kidneys.

Lowering bad cholesterol give greater protection against strokes and heart attacks.  With the drugs it was found if lowering cholesterol below the recommended standard of 100 for bad cholesterol people benefited and great reduction in strokes and heart attacks.

I would think it would depend just what your LDL was in the first place whether benefits vs risk would necessitate taking the drug.

[calypso]

Aspirin can sometimes cause stomach probs. Statin drugs can weaken muscles. Though usually not at low doses. If you're worried about side effects of those meds, vitamin E and omega 3 fish oil can also thin your blood and help with cholesterol a bit to supplement you meds rather than increasing med dosage.

[kristina]

Thanks very much for your very quick response,
your thoughts are much appreciated and
you both mention some interesting points
which I shall think about greatly.
I already take omega 3 fish oil and Vitamin E supplements
because I am a vegetarian.
Thanks again, Kristina.

P.S. What is LDL?

[cdwbrooklyn]

Kristina, are you a vegetarian whereas you don’t eat animal meat products and substitute with soy meat products?   Or, are you a vegetarian that does not eat animal products and do not substitute just don’t eat meat or anything made from animal? 

If you are substituting with soy meat products, it is not good for dialysis patients.  However, you can eat it once and a while but it’s not recommended to eat on a routine basis.  First, the soy meat is very high in sodium and phosphorus I mean very high.  Second, since your kidneys are not functioning fully, it’s hard for your body to digest.

Also, I take cholesterol tablets (not meds) and when I started taking them, it brought my cholesterol down from 280 – 230 in three months range.  My doctor has not checked my cholesterol in a while but he has put in an order to have it done.  I’ve been taking my tablets for almost a year now. 

CDW

[kristina]

Thanks a lot, cdwbrooklyn,
this was not only helpful but confirmed my suspicions.
I am a vegetarian & I don't eat meat at all.
I had thought about soya-products, but I had read a few things
which made me avoid it, and now your comments have confirmed
that I did the right thing and I shall not touch it.
Thanks again, Kristina.

[Malibu]

cdwbrooklyn what cholesterol 'tablets (not meds)' are you taking?  I do not have kidney disease but I do have high cholesterol and do not want to take meds for it.  Thanks...

[calypso]

Hmmm. Meat is a high quality protein. Meaning if you avoid it you'll be missing out on some amino acids you can only get from meat. Most proteins are not complete, meaning they have some amino acids but not all, which is why we are omnivores, and a balanced diet (including vegetable and some meat) is best for you. Perhaps you can supplement with whey protein or ask your dietitian what's best for you considering you're a vegetarian.

[BigSky]

Thanks very much for your very quick response,
your thoughts are much appreciated and
you both mention some interesting points
which I shall think about greatly.
I already take omega 3 fish oil and Vitamin E supplements
because I am a vegetarian.
Thanks again, Kristina.

P.S. What is LDL?

Low-density lipoprotein  (bad cholesterol)

[monrein]

I take cholesterol meds since my "bad cholesterol" (LDL) was high.  At first my neph reluctantly agreed that I could try fish oil to see if that would help.  It did, along with pretty strenuous exercise, for a couple of years but the LDL then got out of whack again.  My diet is not the problem.  This is a common problem for those of us on transplant meds.  I now take a very low dose of Prevastatin (Pravachol) after first trying Litpitor which gave me muscle problems.  Thanks for the reminder, I need to check that cholesterol level again.

[KICKSTART]

Kristina, are you a vegetarian whereas you don’t eat animal meat products and substitute with soy meat products?   Or, are you a vegetarian that does not eat animal products and do not substitute just don’t eat meat or anything made from animal? 

If you are substituting with soy meat products, it is not good for dialysis patients.  However, you can eat it once and a while but it’s not recommended to eat on a routine basis.  First, the soy meat is very high in sodium and phosphorus I mean very high.  Second, since your kidneys are not functioning fully, it’s hard for your body to digest.

Also, I take cholesterol tablets (not meds) and when I started taking them, it brought my cholesterol down from 280 – 230 in three months range.  My doctor has not checked my cholesterol in a while but he has put in an order to have it done.  I’ve been taking my tablets for almost a year now. 

CDW

Interesting as i have just gone vegetarian (after seeing all the crap they put into meat products!) and spoke to my dietician about this . I use Quorn as a replacement which i was told is fine but also i was told NO problem with using soya either!

[kristina]

Thank you very much for your kind replies.
I am not taking any cholesterol tablets, as I said, I am only taking Aspirin because of my stroke. My question about the cholesterol tablets was to find information about it. It is interesting what this has thrown up, for example, the question about “is soya good for us or not”. Personally I am a bit nervous about taking soya-products as I don’t know all the ingredients that are put into them and how this would affect me because of my problems with sensitivity/allergy to certain foods.

I know someone who has been having trouble getting their cholesterol down and after drastic measures, and after one year, they are still a border-line-case and their medic suggested they might have to take a cholesterol tablet.

Now what is interesting about this is the fact that they are 59 years old, they weigh 64kg, they are average height, very fit, and they have a low fat vegetarian diet with no alcohol and no smoking. They told me a medic had told them that they could not do more to lower their own cholesterol, but when the discussion got to the "nitty gritty" of the problem, it was revealed that the person had in fact very low cholesterol levels, but there were other factors taken into account, in order to assess the risk-factor which showed this person was a border-line-case, even though they had actually a very low cholesterol level.

But strangely the risk-factor never took into account they were taking Aspirin like myself, but it did take into account they were taking BP tablets, even though their BP was well controlled on those tablets. As I think an Aspirin is also a clot-buster and it thins the blood. So surely this must be helpful in the assessment of the risk factor, so why is it not taken into account?
 
I hope this is not too confusing the way I have put it, but it strikes me that given this person’s case it almost looks as though the pharmaceutical companies are trying to get everyone on cholesterol-tablets?

Of course, there are people who really do need such help, but surely not everybody. Going back a decade or so, medics just measured the cholesterol-level and advised on diet, but now it seems there are so many other factors built in to assess the risk of stroke & heart-disease etc., facts imposed upon the medics by higher authorities, that it almost appears we shall all be on cholesterol tablets sooner or later.

My question also caused someone to raise the point of cholesterol-tablets and their effect on the liver.

I hope you can see why I put this question about Aspirin V. Cholestorol tablets. Why don’t they take into account Aspirin in the risk-assessment? My friend is very concerned about this because we both take Aspirin and we just got to discussing this issue and so I thought I put the question here.

Thanks very much and kind regards to all contributors from Kristina.