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10 Things Your Primary Care Doctor Does That Should Make You Run for the Hills
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Dr Orrange received her BA in Biology at the University of California San Diego and a Masters Degree in Health Sciences at the Johns Hopkins University School of Public Health She received her MD from the USC Keck School of…
FAST FACTS
Statin use linked to drop in PSA level!
Should Statin use be universal? We joke about putting Statins, the cholesterol lowering medications, in the water but it is really amazing how many unintended effects the Statins appear to have.
A recent study found that Statin use was associated with a small, statistically significant and dose-dependent decline in prostate specific antigen (PSA) levels. That decline was most pronounced in men with the largest decreases in low-density lipoprotein (LDL) and those with the highest initial PSA levels. A debate ensued after this study was published October 28th about whether this means Statins lower PSA making detection of prostate cancer more difficult OR do Statins lower PSA and the risk of cancer.
This study merely found that among 1,214 men prescribed a statin (Atorvastatin, Lipitor, Crestor, Pravachol) between 1990 and 2006 PSA levels declined significantly. After starting a Statin, the median PSA decline was 4.1%. This decline was most significant among men with pre-statin PSA levels greater than 2.5.
Does this mean Statins drop the PSA level and thus drop the risk of prostate cancer? We aren't sure yet. What this could mean is that Statins drop PSA levels and may make it harder to detect those who should be biopsied (with PSA > 4). This question deserves to be answered and probably will be....in time.....
To all the men on DS: finally a blog just for you. I promise more, consider this Men's Health blog # 1.
Dr O.
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Displaying comments 14-1 of 14
Got a Question?
My uro says it is the cardio that should decide when to take me off Plavix so we can go for brachy. Meanwhile we are wondering why PSA has dropped in a linear fashion from 6.44 to 3.55. Any ideas?
Don't fall for it.
I was referring to the ORIGINAL testing & studies done prior to a drug's approval by the FDA, certainly NOT USCSD's study.
During the first 6 yrs I was on lipitor, my dr didn't do the proper liver tests even tho I had a family history of liver issues AND I had thyroid AND fibro!
I lived all over the country and seen drs and have been told it's in my head & blown off more times than I care to count. I lost my mother because of an arrogant dr who said he would do one thing and then did another because he thought he knew everything. I almost lost my husband because of a dr who let him walk around with pneumonia. This same dr blew off a BULLSEYE rash on my vet's child!!! My daughter went TWO years being undx'd w/a tumor on her ovary! I've lost count of the number of drs she saw during that period. And, even tho they SAW it on an ultrasound, they just decided she'd hadn't emptied her bladder as instructed (even tho she used the restroom at the facility right before the test and right after they told her to!!!! So at 17 she had to have emergency surgery (where the hospital LOST her after surgery) to have the tumor & her ovary removed. And this is just the tip of the iceberg on my personal experiences and they all happened in different states (except for the idiot who can't dx pneumonia or Lyme)!
So what if MOST patients tolerate statins without any problems? What about the hundreds of thousands (or more) of us who don't?????? Are we just marginalized? Oh well, too bad that the quality of their lives and their health has been ruined.... Just like a LOT of drugs today, statins are a fairly new drug and we really don't know their long term effects yet.
The physical & psychological damage uneducated drs do to their patients is unconscionable, to say the least! SHAME ON the pharmaceutical companies. SHAME on the FDA and mostly SHAME on the dr's who are so careless with their patient's lives!!!
I just pray that no one else has to go thru what I and millions like me have (and continue to have) had to endure because of statins and all the other drugs with nasty side effects.
By the way, two of those three went on to reduce their cholesterol levels to normal range in less than 6 months by making a few adjustments to their diet and taking some natural supplements. My brother, father, and another friend were subsequently diagnosed with high cholesterol and went straight to the natural route (knowing what happened to my mother) and were able to get back to the healthy range in less than three months.
So yes, I do think it is amazing just how many unintended effects statins appear to have. And there are obviously better ways to reduce cholesterol if physicians would just give patients a little guidance. My family/friends got their guidance from the associates at Whole Foods.
2) Of course you need to be watched closely on statins but remember most patients tolerate them well...without any problems.
3) Most academic institutions (USC included) dont allow drug companies on the premises...no drug company pens, etc are allowed in MOST academic facilities anymore...this is a study published in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute.
Dr O.
Is it really ok to create a one-panacea-cures-all for innocent consumers without addressing the SERIOUS and DEBILITATING side effects??? (See Univ of CA San Diego's recent massive study.) I called phizer to report the life-altering side effects that I am now stuck with and asked what phizer was doing to follow up, I was basically told that the small percentage of people who suffer side effects didn't warrant more research. Too bad for us hundreds of thousands of people...I guess we don't matter! All that matters is the money going into phizer's coffers.
Here are a couple of ideas:
1. How about creating a research pool where the pharmaceutical companies deposit their research monies and then an INDEPENDENT agent oversee ALL research instead of the drug companies? Maybe we'd get less biased results.
2. How about employees of the drug companies and the FDA, as well their family members take part in the clinical trials for a minimum of 5 yrs (10 would be better)? And if these people like and feel comfortable with the side effects, THEN and ONLY then, can they release the drug on the unsuspecting public.
3. How about drs become more educated (ie, read more than the slanted drug co brochures) about drugs? Or better yet, each dr's office employ a dr whose sole job is to be up on all the INDEPENDENT prescription drug research, then taking the patient's best interest into consideration, determine the best meds and dosages AND FOLLOW up w/the patient, LISTENING to (and not blowing off) their concerns about how the meds are affecting them.
I am furious that the majority of the medical community gets on the band wagon with these studies because I would doubt (based on personal experience) that they even know any more than what the drug reps and pharm co's tell them. In this day and age, w/HMO's and big medical conglomerates pushing drs to see more and more patients and the pharms handing out samples of drugs that supposedly cure everything, what dr has time to do his/her own research?)
4. How about the pharms & physicians INDIVIDUALLY dose people based on things like gender, weight, absorption rates, other meds being taken, etc.? The minimal dose fits all means that our kidneys must work overtime to filter out the normal over-inflated doses. Being on meds for years, especially multiple meds, will take its toll on our bodies in ways we can’t imagine.
All I can say is BUYER BEWARE!!!!