Statins??

#1 killer is heart disease so if you need them I’d worry more about that than side effects.

I started on one and had zero problems for 6 weeks. Told myself my fears were misplaced and felt foolish for worrying. Then, woke up one day and it hit me like a ton of bricks. Legs were on fire and achy. Was completely fatigued, could barely keep my eyes open by 3p, despite a decent night of sleep. My brain was in a total fog and had some confusion. The scariest part was the memory loss. Many friends and family told me that I kept repeating conversations and couldn’t remember things they’d told me in the immediate past. Stopped the drug and it took about 1.5 mos to get back to normal. Switched to another statin and have had no problems at all.

Some people tolerate them well. A good starting point, again depending on your levels, is fish oil.

One of the newest and very effective medications is Vascepa, which is derived from omega-3 fish oil and is the first of its kind to be approved by the FDA as a prescription. It contains the ingredient icosapent ethyl, which is a highly purified and stable EPA ethylester that has been shown to lower triglyceride levels.

Much of the above was copy pasta, but fish oil got my levels back in line. Vascepa is not cheap and you insurance probably won’t pay unless statins alone aren’t working.

So try fish oil to start. Pro-tip: keep it in the freezer and you won’t be burping up sardines all day.

Been on & off since July because the idiot at the VA can't give me a straight answer. If i take it every day, loads of water retention, noticeable stomach bloat with muscle soreness and like clockwork at 3pm I'm whipped. If I cut back to 2-3 times a week I don't have any of those issues but I'm not sure if it's helping with cholesterol.

I guess what I should have said is don’t let fear of side effects stop you from taking them.