Our MD wants to lower our son's cholesterol from 120 to less than 100 by putting him on lipitor - we are concerned because there is no data on what the long term side effects would be - so we plan to work on improving diet and exercise for the next 3 months and if there is no improvement revisit the idea of using a statin. Anyone with thoughts on this or experience with putting type 1 children on statins please reply. Thanks - Heather
I would have to ask if the benefit of putting him on a statin to drop 20 or 30 points outweighs the risks of being on the medication. Are there reasons, besides being at T1, that put him at a high risk for complications of running at 120, which is a perfectly normal cholesterol level? How are his triglycerides, HDL and LDL? Statins can be very hard on the liver. If your son has to have a statin to keep his cholesterol at less than 100, then you are looking at long term therapy with a statin. Definitely something I would question. I don't think Lipitor is even FDA aproved for children, not that it isn't done. If it were me, I would get a second opinion with a pediatric cardiologist. See if a cardiologist thinks that the combination of being a T1 and having a cholesterol of 120 is cause for concern that would warrant a statin at age 12. My guess is no. Good Luck!
I would also question the doctor on this one. There are many other statins that have been around longer (and may have more info on use in children, since lowering cholestorol is not the only thing they can be used to treat.) It also seems odd that 120 is being considered high unless your family has a history of very high cholestorol. Or are there are additional diet/exercise/lifestyle changes that could be tried to try to lower it if he feels that is really important? I'd for sure be trying those first before starting a drug in a 12 yr old.