High Cholesterol Support Group

only been on it a month....having a cardiac panel done next week...to check on the liver and other things.....

no problems yet...seems to be working

Find the side effects of Lipitor at http://www.internationaldrugmart.c...

hi, I'm curioius Lee, what is your cholesterol now. In a post you wrote it was 500, like mine, so I'm very interested to see where it is now.

And just a thought about my own situation. I'm really surprised when I'm told that I must go on statins or I'll have a stroke or heart attack. Aside from getting my carotid artery tested, I've never been offered any other testing to see if there is any sign of plaque or blockage. Hmmm.. am I falling thru the cracks???? *s*

I would call the dr up and ask about those tests. Very good point you make. On top of the statins I would definately start taking an 81mg aspirin daily. I had to go off statins and the Zetia did not work, just reduced my bank balance. My levels went thru the roof, my tri-g's were so high they could not even measure the good cholesterol. I am now on gemfibrozil and my levels are all starting to get back to where they were when I was on statins...I also added 500mg slo release non flush niacin. Hoping that will
aid in lowering them better. Good luck to you.

I am now on gemfibrozil and it work for me too lowing all for me like the statins i was started on.

hi gals, and thank you for your response regarding meds, etc. to lower cholesterol. So after lots of bullying by my doctor to go back on some med, at least Crestor, I did and take my blood work next week. Most readings are 500, and would guess it's gone down about 50 points with 10 mgs of Crestor. I guess the problem before was ... 80 mgs of Lipitor and 10 of Zetia were just too much to take, at least for me. I'll keep you posted and hope to hear how things are going your way.

About 20% of those taking statins like Lipitor experience notable side effects. About 5% taking lipitor experience "debilitating" side effects. I say debilitating because thats the most common word patients use. Those who have underlying metabolic conditions such as thyroid issues, heavy drinkers, or any other endocrine issue are in the high risk group to experience these side effects from statins. The most common side effects are Muscle pain and weakness, memory problems, and sexual dysfunction. Most people who discontinue the statin will begin to recover right away. Some people can take months to years to recover, but it is possible to have permanant damage. You are very fortunate not to have any side effects. I wish you the very best. I hope this answers your question.

thank you MedLab for the great post. I'd read before that statins can cause side effects if the person has thyroid problems, which I do. Also my chiropractor told me that people of Scandanavian descent (like me), are likely to have 100 to 200 points higher than other nationalities. Unfortunately, the cardio doctor didn't know any of this and I think took it personally that I wouldn't go on statins again. But I am trying to cooperate and am taking 10 mgs of Crestor. This is after being off statins for 3 years with a better memory, coordination and all around general health.

Meadow, I can understand why you would want to cooperate with your doctor, yet I understand why you are hesitant to go back on a statin.

You might want to welgh the risk/reward factor of crestor.

The reason a statin causes memory problems is because it inhibits the production of LDL chlesterol. Cholesterol is vital to memory. 50% of the dry weight of the brain is made up of cholesterol.

Statins also can cause sexual dysfunction. Why? Because all steroid hormones are manufactured from cholesterol.

Statins can cause muscle fatigue, spasma and cramping. This is because LDL carries cholesterol to all the tisues in your body, and makes repairs and gives structural integrity to cells.

Statins do lower cholesterol, but will crestor saves lives? According to recent studies NO. Just as many heart patients in the crestor group died as the placebo group.

Dear Med Lab.... thank you for the great message. I've read a little of what you said, but never could get the words out to tell the doctor. But will next time. Especially the part where Crestor doesn't save lives, so why the heck are doctors upset when we don't take Crestor, etc??? My personal wish is that every doctor who prescribes any type of medicine would look at boards like this and get more informed from this point of view and not the point of view of the pharmaceutial companies that fill their offices. Again thank you so much!!