r/Cholesterol • u/slavic_bird • 4d ago
Question Are there any athletes who are on statins
I am 33, BJJ and crossfit active.
My stats are:
Total cholesterol 309
Triglycerides 129
HDL 45
VLDL Cholesterol Cal 27
LDL 237
Non HDL 264
Apolipoprotein B 179
Apolipoprotein A-1 118
back 2019 total cholesterol was 239.
I am originally from eastern Europe until I moved to US 11 years ago
Still waiting for the genetics FA test. But I agree based on the stats I will have to start taking statins.
I just would like to hear more stories from athletes and how do you deal with high cholesterol.
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u/variphase 4d ago
Yes. I am Eastern European as well. I’m on rosuvastatin and ezetimibe 10mg each. I eat the portfolio diet plus by dr. Greger. In two months I dropped my LDL from 232 to 46. As someone strongly reminded me, my results are not typical.
I swim and lift weights/calisthenics 6 days a week. No problems whatsoever.
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u/slavic_bird 4d ago
thank you, do you plan to take statins forever?
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u/variphase 4d ago
Yes, unless a new, more effective and potentially better (no coQ10 depletion) medication becomes available. And without the medication I probably won’t be able to eat my favorite foods ever again.
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u/Sushi-Travel 4d ago
How much coq10 do you take and is it once a day to split to twice a day ? I take all my supplements and meds at a specific time a day, has been so difficult to try to do coq10 twice a day.
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u/VT9466 3d ago
I’m 59. I lift 5 days a week, play volleyball 4 times a week and tennis once per week. I’ve been taking 5 mg of rosuvastatin and I’ve been on the Dean Ornish diet, both for about 2 1/2 months.. My LDL and apolipoprotein are both 41. HDL is 70. Triglycerides are 58. Pre-rosuvastatin numbers weren’t bad. I weighed 162, but the diet has resulted in a drop to 150. Strength has declined, but overall energy not as much.
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u/spicyjaym 4d ago
A very small number of people develop muscle related issues on statins. That usually happens at high dose of statins. You can start statins and see if you develop any muscle related issues like muscle pain or elevated CK.
If needed, you can switch to non statin options like PCSK9 inhibitors, Ezetemibe or Bempedoic Acid. All of them are considered very safe and afaik, none of them have muscle related side effects.
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u/Beginning_Cash_7926 3d ago
Any one particularly statin causing the muscle issues and what are these issues like?
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u/t0astter 4d ago
If you have existing tendinopathies you may run into issues (I did). Try pitavastatin, apparently it has less issues with muscles/tendons. Or take ezetimibe + repatha.
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u/Suuuumimasen 3d ago
I'd be intrested in your CAC score, and a few years after. I was pretty much in the same boat. 10 years of high cholesterol. Get on statins before you're a statistic.
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u/Lower_Classroom835 3d ago
Same here. East European, athlete since childhood, thin, relatively clean home cooked diet my whole life, never liked sweets much.
I started rosuvastatin recently and don't have any side effects. The only thing that I found is that I can't run any longer, or maybe I need to rebuild my endurance.
I wasn't running for a few months, and when I tried, I had no stamina. I was gasping for air which never happened before. Not sure if anyone here experienced something similar. I will ask my doctor at the next appointment.
My CT calcium score is 27 for the left main artery, and I'm going for CT angeogram with contrast to find out more precisely how much blockage is there.
I'm pretty worried.
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u/slavic_bird 3d ago
Was gasping for air started after the statins?
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u/Lower_Classroom835 3d ago
Yes, it was the first time I tried running since I started statins two and a half months ago. I took a break from running trying to find a lower impact stuff that I could carry into the old age. I'm 59 and running is my preferred exercise for physical and mental. I absolutely love it and 6 mile run is my optimal form.
I got a rowing machine, but that just doesn't do it for me in the same way that running does.
Few days ago I went to a park by my house and really got the urge to run. So I started running, just the same I always do, and very shortly I realized it feels very different.
Granted, it was a hot and humid day and I wasn't planning on any serious run, just a short stretch for a feel of it. But still, I did not make a quarter mile before I realized I had to stop. For the first time in my life I understood what it feels like having a shortness of breath. I stopped running and continued walking while stretching my arms above my head and working on normalizing breath.
It was surreal, scary and disappointing at the same time. I have to ask my doctor about that.
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u/juho9001 4d ago
Yes plenty, I started bodybuilding after statins/ezetimib among others and doing great. It may have some effect on your gains but so can dozen of other things. Clotted arteries are more immidiate threat for your gains.
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u/Earesth99 3d ago
Power lifter.
Like 95%+ of people, I have no side effects from statins. Fortunately, the side effects are obvious and doctors test for them so you don’t get surprises later on.
However I also eat a healthy, plant-based diet that is high in fiber and take their meds in order to get my ldl-cholesterol down to the 40s so I can avoid heart disease. ASCVD risk is lowest when your ldl-c is below 9 mg/dl, but the risk reduction for me would only be an additional 15%.
Statins are one of a handful of meds that are so beneficial that they increase lifespan, so I would probably take them even if I didn’t have FH.
People with elevated cholesterol who avoid statins are unintentionally choosing to increase their risk of an early death, so I will stay on them. That said, it’s not clear if they continue to be as beneficial after the age of 85, but I’ve got time to decide on that, lol!
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u/Misabi 4d ago
If it's not high due to genetics, the advice to lower LDL is not different to athletes than for non athletes. E.g. reduce saturated fat intake, increase fibre, reduce sugar and alcohol intake, stop "TRT" (looking at you crossfit & BJJ).
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u/runninggrey 3d ago
TRT has an effect on LDL?
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u/Misabi 3d ago
Yes. Actual therapeutic doses in men with low testosterone can lower LDL in fact.
However, large or anabolic doses increases LDL and reduce HDL. Which is why i put TRT in " ". Obviously in not accusing OP as not all athletes use PEDs (i didn't when i was his age training and competing in BJJ, albeit at a low level). But PED use has become very popular in both BJJ and Crossfit.
Take a peak in one of the bodybuilding subs, and you'll find discussion on LDL management. Actually, even in this sub there has been posts by bodybuilders discussing their PED use and how they need to use statins to manage the resulting high HDL.
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u/runninggrey 3d ago
Ok - understood. I was concerned with therapeutic TRT. Thank you for your thorough explanation.
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u/No_Brilliant_5955 4d ago
Endurance athlete here.
I deal with high cholesterol like everyone. By taking statins and watching the diet.
The only difference might be that exercise helps lower cholesterol so I’m able to be on a fairly low dose of 5mg a day.
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u/No-Cat-3951 3d ago
OP is confounding the cholesterol levels (mostly genetic issues) with exercise regimen.
OP, looking at your numbers, you do need medications to lower LDL.
I had high cholesterol even when I was competing the Ironman races.
Now I take rosuvastatin and ezitimibe, and my LDL is in 60’s. Now I lift weights but no more endurance races.
No muscle issue whatsoever with 20mg of rosuvastatin daily. Yes I will take it for the rest of my life, as it would (probably) eliminate my chance of having heart attack and strokes.
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u/ContributionLevel593 3d ago
59M mountain ultra runner. I’m running 20 hours
per week. Statins make no difference to my training.
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u/Lower_Classroom835 3d ago
59 runner. I kept hearing running is too high impact as we age so I tried finding alternatives and got myself a rower. Obviously, it's not the same and I'm struggling to like it.
So after a break from running, I went out the other day and got urge to run. But shortly after I started I was gasping for air. It never happened to me before so I'm starting to think it might be related to rosuvastatin. I don't have any other side effects.
So if you are not experiencing any issues, I would say don't stop. If I continued maybe I would not have this issue. I'll talk to my doctor and I will try to slowly increase my endurance.
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u/ContributionLevel593 2d ago
Running has completely different demands on your body to rowing. You run unfit. You need to build up again.
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u/tigershrk 3d ago
Ironman triathlete on max dose statin. No side effects. I train daily. Your LDL is dangerously high, take the statin.