Statins - Boo! I Dont Wanna! I’ve been fighting the good fight against genetics and food for a while now. Like many people, I’m struggling with controlling my cholesterol. As you might imagine, I am not a person who likes to take a bunch of medications just to avoid making lifestyle changes. In general, I prefer behavioral approaches over medicinal ones. Last month was the perfect timing for having a cholesterol test. I joined a gym back in July and have been faithful in going. The gym comes with personal training and I’ve been using that to guide my progress. Even better, a work colleague of mine and I concluded that we were having too many high carb, sugary snacks at work and set a goal for ourselves of no sugary snacks at work for 22 out of the 25 work days in that month. Yeah! I succeeded! Confidently I strode into the lab for my test. Results? Worse than ever. Boo! Doctor’s recommendation? Statins. Boo! I get my healthcare news from journal articles and sources such as NIH and Medscape. So, I’m usually pretty sure that the information I’m getting is of high quality. Frankly, the idea of taking statins terrifies me. Yes, they lower cholesterol, which is extremely important. It’s just that the cost in potential side effects is so high. Now I’m thrown into the middle of an identity crisis. For self-reflection, I categorized my reactions from a Buddhist perspective… - I’m not a person who takes medications to avoid behavioral change! (Ego-clinging) - I don’t want to take a drug for this! (Attachment) - Statins are bad! (Shenpa and Dualism) - I did everything I thought I should and still I ended up in this situation that is completely out of my control (No Ground) Did I miss anything? Grumble, grumble. I must bow to the lesson I have been given to learn. I must be grateful that I live in a time in human history when such a medication is even available. It would be foolish to increase my risk of stroke just so that I don’t have to get over myself. And so I go.
Posted on: Mon, 01 Dec 2014 02:59:22 +0000
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