Very high cholesterol runs in my family, and I have been prescribed statins and another drug, ezetimibe, to control it. I now suffer from abdominal pain and flatulence, known side effects of ezetimibe. Should I stop taking it?
We offer medications to lower cholesterol levels – a fatty substance in the blood – to reduce the risk of heart attack and stroke.
Statins work by affecting the way the liver works: they prevent as much cholesterol from being produced and help remove it from the blood. Ezetimibe, on the other hand, works by preventing the intestine from absorbing cholesterol from food, which is where the digestive side effects come from.
If a drug does what it is supposed to do, but also causes problems, the doctor and patient should have a serious conversation to weigh the pros and cons.
If someone describes their side effects as mild, the benefits of the drug may outweigh the disadvantages. Or the reverse could be true. Only the patient knows how much the side effects affect his daily life.
If a drug does what it is supposed to do, but also causes problems, doctor and patient should have a serious conversation to weigh the pros and cons, writes DR. ELLIE CANNON (file photo)
Digestive problems can be painful and embarrassing and seriously affect your quality of life.
One option might be to continue the medications if they are valuable, but add another medication to counteract the side effects.
This is something your doctor can handle.
It is also important to note that there are other medications that can be used in place of ezetimibe.
I have had problems with completely emptying my bladder for a long time. When I go, I often have a weak current and have to go again shortly afterwards. I was recently told I needed a hysterectomy because, at age 77, I was experiencing periodic bleeding. Will the surgery solve my bladder problem?
Not being able to empty the bladder completely is known as urinary retention. Combined with a weak flow, these can be the symptoms of a prolapse in a woman.
This happens when the pelvic floor muscles are weak and the structures in the pelvis, including the bladder and uterus, are not properly supported, causing them to bump into each other and cause urinary retention. In this scenario, if a patient undergoes a hysterectomy for another reason, it may improve urine flow.
Women can also suffer from forms of urinary retention if they are chronically constipated, if the uterus is ‘bulky’ – for example due to benign growths known as fibroids – or due to certain neurological conditions that can cause the bladder to not functioning properly, such as multiple bladder infections. sclerosis.
Some medications can also prevent the bladder from emptying completely, including antidepressants and the medications we use to treat overactive bladder and urinary incontinence.
One concern about urinary retention is that it predisposes women to urinary tract infections. Any treatment for urinary retention will always depend on the cause. A hysterectomy is not the treatment of choice for someone with a prolapse. This usually involves pelvic floor exercises or minor surgery to move the uterus away from the bladder.
At the end of last year I broke a vertebra in my back. I went to the emergency room but was not given any treatment. I still have trouble walking or standing for more than a few minutes because of the pain. I requested another scan but was told it won’t happen until December. I’m 79. Are the doctors not taking my pain seriously because of my age?
ANYONE who sustains a fracture should be under the care of a specialist until the injury has healed.
The vertebrae are the spinal bones and can be broken like any other bone, but patients are usually not offered surgery because they can heal on their own. Sometimes a spinal brace is placed to keep it stable and allow the bone to heal in the correct position. Many patients are also offered physiotherapy to build strength in the back.
However, most people with a fracture will have a scan within three months to ensure that the bone is healing properly.
A fracture can also be a sign of osteoporosis – a condition where the bones become thinner. The risk of this increases with age.
Anyone with osteoporosis should be given medication to help prevent further fractures, as if left untreated it can lead to life-threatening injuries.
Most hospitals have fracture clinics where patients can have a DEXA scan – an X-ray that can reveal signs of osteoporosis – and then be referred to a specialist for treatment if necessary.
Waiting another six months for a scan while in severe pain does not seem appropriate or safe. It is possible that a referral to a fracture clinic should have occurred but did not. A GP can use the medical notes you made during your visit to the emergency room, the so-called discharge overview, to determine whether a referral has been missed.
Men: Was Bone Disease Missed?
Are men missing out on essential care for the bone-thinning disease osteoporosis just because they are men?
Last week, The Mail on Sunday broke the shocking story of Steve, who was diagnosed at the age of 71 after a series of horrific-sounding spinal fractures.
He had been going back and forth to his doctor, who kept telling him that his discomfort was simply wear and tear due to aging. Only after another fracture – caused by a sneezing fit – did he decide to pay privately for a bone scan and his disease was picked up.
We have since been contacted by another guy, 75 years old, with a similarly miserable story: he suffered seven fractures, which robbed him of his mobility and independence, before he was given a diagnosis.
Women are four times more likely to develop osteoporosis, but that doesn’t mean men should be put off. I would like to know if you are male and experiencing a delay in diagnosis. Please write and let me know.
AstraZeneca is phasing out its Covid vaccine, ending its short history as one of the key ways we dug our way out of the pandemic.
Blood clots from the AstraZeneca jab were extremely rare and those who had the jab should not worry about the problems that are now developing
Given the amount of negative attention the jab received on social media, it’s tempting to think the move could be due to concerns about side effects, including the much-discussed risk of blood clots.
But the fact is that there are now much more effective vaccines that provide better protection against the new variants.
And actually this was the case by the time the first Covid booster program was launched, which is why everyone got Pfizer and Moderna shots instead.
The most important thing to know about the AZ jab is that blood clots were extremely rare and people who have had the jab should not worry about the problems developing now. If something was going to happen, it would have happened almost immediately.
