I have heard it said many times including on this board that once you go on statins you are on them for life. Does anyone know specifically why that is? :confused:

Is is that if you stop them you get a rebound effect making your numbers worse than if you had never used them???

I can't imagine why someone would not be able to just stop taking them if they wanted to (or worse if they had to) because of bad side effects.

I have heard it said many times including on this board that once you go on statins you are on them for life. Does anyone know specifically why that is? :confused:

Is is that if you stop them you get a rebound effect making your numbers worse than if you had never used them???

I can't imagine why someone would not be able to just stop taking them if they wanted to (or worse if they had to) because of bad side effects.

In order to reap the benefits of statins you must CONTINUALLY take them. Once you stop, you go back to baseline readings in a relatively short period of time. There are no "rebound" effects, so you can stop taking at any time.

The only way to get off them is to make major changes in your life style. That's a tall order for many and most would prefer a pill a day.

Some people just HAVE to take them because all the changes they can possibly make just aren't enough to get a good lipid profile...and yes, take them forever or til something better comes down the Pike!

Somebody who already has arterial plaquing or heart disease may use these drugs in ADDITION to life style changes to guarantee that what courses through the bloodstream adds as little damage as is humanly possible to the damage already done.

My brother got off of them due to major bad side effects. He has picked up his level of exercise greatly in hopes mainly of raising his HDL.

The only way to get off them is to make major changes in your life style. That's a tall order for many and most would prefer a pill a day.


You also have to take in consideration that for some people the only solution to get the cholesterol down is by medication. Statins are not the easy way out. Some people have a genetic defect, so it doesn't matter how much they exercise or that they eat a low fat diet, it wont help. I know cause I´ve been in that situation. The only thing that will help in this case is medication.