I’ve been sitting on this for over a week, waiting for a chance to talk to the lawyer who’s handling my claim for Social Security disability.  Unfortunately, she’s having health issues herself, and hasn’t returned my call yet.

Anyhow, through the last 5 years the doctor at the VA clinic has been “concerned” about my cholesterol levels and has wanted to put me on drugs to lower them.  This year, he didn’t even have a lab on-site to get the results from, but he went full-court press on pushing the statins just based on LAST YEAR’s results.

I swear, being an MD is nothing but legalized drug pushing anymore.

Anyhow, I told him I wanted to see what the results of the NEW blood work were before making any decision, and they could contact me with those results by email.

I got the email the next day.  My results were that the total cholesterol went up over 40 points.  Here is an excerpt of what he said:

“LDL (bad cholesterol) has gone up from 240 mg/dL to 280 mg/dL  Patient has been very resistant to taking statin drugs.  Complications of untreated high cholesterol including heart attack.  I would advise him taking ATORVASTATIN … in order to get his LDL down.  Possible side effects include muscle weakness, muscle pain.”

First – ATORVASTATIN is generic Lipitor.  Notice that the only side effects he mentions are muscle weakness and muscle pain – nothing about LIVER DAMAGE, which all the literature on the health websites claim is the #1 side effect.

Anyhow, I still haven’t talked to my lawyer, but I also haven’t been sleeping well for the last week, mostly because I’ve been stewing over this.  I still want to talk to my lawyer, but I think I have figured out what to say to the doctor.  It would go something like this:

Dear Doctor:  Please notice in my records that I am a Scientologist.  This affects much more than just my attitudes towards drugs that have psychiatric actions.  It is WHY I have an Advanced Directive AND a Living Will, both of which stipulate a DNR order.  It is my religious and spiritual belief that the end of this life is only an opportunity  to begin the next one.  I am happy to discuss health care options that affect the quality of life while I have it, but I have no interest in extending it.  If I have a heart attack, it will be the end of my life, and I’m comfortable with that.  I will not take anti-cholesterol drugs now or ever, and you will not ever bring it up again.

Well, I think that’s what I’d say.