Hate my cardiologist | Arthritis Information

 

I have the worst cardiologist in the world. She (yes a woman), is such an arrogant 'thing'. She wants to put me on one of those heart drugs that lower your cholesterol (like lipitor), but I don't need anymore drugs (3 RA drugs are enough). I'll have a fight with her as she insists on trying to push me into what I don't want to do. (she wouldn't let me OUT of the hospital when the other doctors said it was OK....over Thanksgiving!) Honestly.

Does anyone take lipitor? The side effects are awful and I think you are on these for life? Right?

does anyone know if you can mix mtx, prednisone, and lipitor?

thanks, sarah

hurts. I went to a seminar on inflammation a year ago. The whole eight
hours was about inflammation if you can imagine. covered all inflammatory
diseases. one of the things they stressed, and this was not a pharmaceutical
company that put this on, was the use of lipitor, zocor, crestor, etc to bring
sed rates and crp levels down to normal. inflammation can cause a lot of
damage to our bodies so these drugs take care of that. think of it that way.
even if it were for short term until you can do other things to keep your
cholesterol levels down, maybe by diet or other ways. that is the way i am
looking at it right now. since one of our main goals with this disease is to
get inflammation controlled, maybe these drugs wouldn't be so bad....for the
short term.

My husband has been on a generic of Lipitor for several years and he has not had any side effects. The doctor just checks his liver, etc. every 3-4 months.

I understand how you feel about taking more pills. I take 16 different ones a day. But sometimes, it's just necessary. I think I would trust the cardiologist.

Good Luck,

Nini

the other thing i wanted to add is that the statins have not been approved by
the fda yet for treatment of inflammation so it is doubtful that our insurance
companies would pay for this drug unless we have high lipid levels. as
much as I hate medication, i am seriously thinking of asking to be put on
one of these meds to protect my heart as this RA can do damage and I feel
that I need all the help I can get at this point.

I talked with my cardiologist about lipitor. I was on it for about 3 years.  My HDL levels are slightly elevated, but when my liver enzymes got too high I had to go off MTX, which basically crippled me. The remicade didn't work nearly as well.. Sooo I made a decision that I am saving my liver for MTX.. no statins etc.

The cardio isnt crazy about it  but it's my body and I know all the ramifications. I am extrremely compliant about all my other meds and eat very nutritiously..Soo  it really is up to you.

 

You might check with your Dr's about the supplement Red Rice Yeast.  Hubby turned down statins and with a little diet tweaking and this supplement his levels are in the normal range now.  Just an option.

My old PCP wanted me to go on a statin for cholesterol.  I was very concerned about the side effect on muscle aches, since I already have fibromyalgia.  My rheumy backed me up on that.

My PCP had a very difficult time understanding that I'd rather risk a heart attack than add to my daily pain.  However, he did let me take Zetia instead.  I've since changed PCP's but stayed on the Zetia.  It doesn't do as much as the statins, but it does help and it makes me feel a little safer.

I am in a similar boat.  I just got labs back that said my cholesterol is 301!!!!!  YIKES.  I am 36.  It was running in the 230 range for a couple of years but jumped in the last 6 months.  I already have diarrhea and neither my pain doctor, who is the one who ordered the test, or the rheumy, who ordered it the last time have said anything about treating it.  Not sure if that's because I am just too sick to even worry about it or just what.  I m overweight due to steroids and inactivity from the ra, I am just over 190 lbs at 5 foot 8.  My uncle had a triple bypass in his late 40's and my grandma who is old has heart problems.  Not sure if I should insist someone treat me for this or just let it be for now.  I just don't even know if I have the mental or physical energy to deal with another medical issue.

Dear Micheleb, That's exactly wht I told her. I'm aready taking 3 meds for this RA, and she knows I hate pills. (before my heart valve repair) she put me on Lipitor and I HAD a heart attack and was hospitalized. A doctor from her 'group' came into the emergency room took one look at me and said 'why didn't you call sooner' (sooner than what???) They gave me Lazix the diuretic in the emergency room and I wondered why she didn't give it to me in the first place. That was Thanksgiving and she made me stay for 4 days!! I coulda killed her!! Just one horror story about this woman. I'm not taking Lipitor!

sarah

hurts, are they having you take potassium with the Lasix? It is extremely important and can negatively affect your heart as the diuretic gets rid of your potassium. Potassium is a mineral that your body needs. If you are retaining fluids, you need the Lasix and thus the Potassium. Taking them makes me feel much better. Before they put me on it I was having a lot of chest pain and pain into my legs and feet.

I don't decide my medical care on the number of pills I take. I decide on the reason I am taking any pills. I take over 17 a day. I would love to get it down and keep asking the doctors to do so. They just added the Zocor to mine because of high cholesterol. But the only one they are willing to get rid of is the Prednisone which is the hardest for me. Of those 17 pills, many of them are vitamins but all of them prescribed.

And, Michele, I would ask. That is a very high rate. You are putting your heart at more risk. Whether you choose a pill, an alternative med (be sure to check for any potential interactions) or a really strict diet, you must address the cholesterol problem.

I'm glad to learn that this can help reduce inflammation in my body, because mine is so high.

Hurts, if you are not feeling confident in your doctor's care for you and I can see why you wouldn't be, there are lots of good cardiologist out there. Call around to the different cardiac units at the hospitals in your area and ask if they can refer you to a good one. I think the problem is that you no longer trust this doctor to take good care of you. With what you said I can see why.


Don't know which RA drugs you're on but perhaps one of or a combination of the drugs are raising havoc with your cholestrol levels.  Have the doctors taken the time to determine if this could be a problem?  If not, ask your pharmacist for they are the only ones who truly know what the potential side effects of the drugs we take and their combinations affect us.

thanks for the great replies, yes I do take potassium, but when I told her I was on Prednisone, she didn't respond! I'm trying to get a diff. doctor but in this area ALL OF THEM belong to the same 'group', so if I switched they would all know her, etc. I'm going in for a ecco cardiogram on May 3rd, so after that I'll figure out which doctor to change to.  They act so funny when you reject one over the other and a reluctant to go against the word of the other doctor. They stick together! It is causing me some stress, about this women who refused to release me when I knew I was okay to go home! She also got real 'agitated when I insisted on changing 'rooms' after 2 people died in the beds NEXT to me.  She said, "you can't be moving all over the hospital' , WELL, I SAID , I'M MOVING!! , She's into control or something.....or something!

sarah

Its funny, none of my doctors have even suggested I take anything for the cholesterol!!  I am watching my diet though but exercise right now is just not an option.  When things settle down a bit, I will make an appt with my regular doctor who is an internist to ask about my levels.  I thought 301 was awful high as well.

Hi micheleb, mine is 220 and she's saying she would put me on a low dose...no way! Can you believe this woman...

sarah

michele, 301 is high. Mine was 240 and that was high. I think it is because they expect your primary to address it. It's just not where their focus is.

Sarah, I hit that same reluctance among doctors who don't even work in the same group or know each other. But just stand your ground that you really feel like you need to have a second opinion and that you heard that they were really good. Do as little as possible in the way of bad mouthing the other doctor. But it is your body and you just need to feel sure about how you are being treated and that a second opinion would just make you feel more comfortable. Besides, you have a right to it. As uncomfortable as you are with this doc, I don't see how you can stay with her. And yes, she sounds like a control freak.
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[QUOTE=Bonny] You might check with your Dr's about the supplement Red
Rice Yeast.  Hubby turned down statins and with a little diet tweaking and
this supplement his levels are in the normal range now.  Just an option.[/
QUOTE]

Bonny, I have never heard of this and am going to look into it. Have not had
my cholesterol checked for a couple of years but I'm sure it is above normal.
I am now running scared about high cholesterol since my rheumy died of a
massive heart attack and had untreated high cholesterol and was a health
food nut. He did everything right except go on a med as nothing else would
have helped him. Anyway, thanks for that info. I am a mess at the moment . was just starting to get pain slightly under control when the doc put me on thyroid meds and crestor for the cholesterol. nobody told me it would cause muscle pain. this morning i woke up in terrible pain. i looked up the medication on the net and found out all about it . does anyone else have this problem and does the muscle aches get better . if not i think i would rather high cholesterol. allyHurts, my husband was on Lipitor a few years ago. His liver levels from that ended up coming back pretty high so the dr. sent him to an internist who was a nutrition specialist. He ended up prescribing him PRESCRIPTION strength (this is important) Fish Oil pills, (Omega 3's I guess) and flax seed oil pills, and teaching him how to modify his diet. Hope that helps you. I understand the worry for you though as our livers are so compromised from our RA meds that it seems crazy to add one more "liver-stressing" drug to the mix. Stick to your guns with that dr. I hate pushy drs!
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