Wellness

[Q4u]

If anyone wants information regarding Statins, go to Spacedoc.com. It sounds quack-like but it's written by a Doctor, an ex-astronaut and someone debilitated by Statins.

First, not everyone has a reaction to Statins, but I sure did. I was on them a year before I realized the connection to Statins, that my weakness (couldn't go up stairs without hanging on and with difficulty) and couldn't open a bottle of water.... I had strong electric-like pains in my lower legs, enough to make me cry. Long story short.. I was having a reaction to the Statins!! My doctor didn't believe me, but after my own extensive research I believed I was... so I carefully weaned myself off this med.

My Cholesterol was never very high, it was borderline.

I got a new doctor and she believed that if I changed Statins I would be able to tolerate it. So I tried it.

I did not tolerate it and the same thing started happening. I stopped the med.

This medication is absolute poison to me.

BTW, my muscle strength has not come all the way back. Unfortunately, it usually doesn't, but I'm not a cripple and according to my recent stress test, it didn't affect my heart (which it will do!!). But I walk up stairs and open my own water now and do NOT have those agonizing muscle electric-like pains anymore.

I've also gotten my Cholesterol down to normal. Yes, eating a diet lower in Cholesterol and fat does indeed help. So does a plant sterol product (Cholesteroff). So much so that the doctor is very impressed with my reading of 170.

I'm not advocating anyone do what I've done because we are all different, but get all the information you can regarding Cholesterol, change your diet the very best you can... and really, really think twice before going on a Statin drug. There's a needed place for these drugs but I honestly don't believe that everyone should be prescribed, and most important be your own advocate for your own health!

Good luck~!

[chrystaltree]

I cannot and will not believe that your doc told you that you have a cholesterol problem and advised a low cholesterol diet and then did not give you any guidance or refer you to a nutritionist. Sorry, I'm not falling for that.

[mom2four0418]

This book is excellent!

http://www.amazon.com/Great-Cholesterol-Myth-Disease--Statin-Free-ebook/dp/B009PKIPOE/ref=sr_1_1?ie=...

[AngelPuppy1]

Thanks so much for all the tips and advice. My dr.'s office simply called, gave me the results and said you need to start taking Lipitor right now. That was it. No more information, no more advice. That's the way they do it around here. They don't want you to question anything. Just do what they say and never think of alternatives. It's most disheartening.

[RedTop]

Shortly after my Dad passed, Mom learned her cholesterol was slightly above normal. Her doctor talked to her about starting medication to quickly bring it back to a normal range. I urged Mom not to take cholesterol medication, because of the fact her system just does not tolerate most medications, and I was sure she couldn't handle a statin. I urged Mom to change her diet; cut back on the bacon, sausage, ham, and eggs, and eat more oatmeal and cheerios. When she saw the doctor again in 3 months, her cholesterol had dropped 20 points. Limit red meats, and eat more chicken and fish.

[addiegal]

I was ""pushed"" to take a statin against my instincts....I took it for a good while and I ignored the signs of muscle pain. Then I developed a rash and I believe liver inflammation. I then stopped taking the statin but will always believe it caused problems that are still with me. I do think these drugs are prescribed too often and too soon.

[hckynut]

Statins are not the devil for everyone. The best way to try and get your HDL/LDL ratio down to a good percentage ratio usually is something like this. Eat natural as much as you can and keep saturated and hydrogenated fat levels at a point that you can deal with it. Aerobic exercise has been proven in many studies to help bring these ratio numbers down.

Total cholesterol numbers are not the end all. The most important number is the ratio percentage between the HDL/LDL/VLDL levels. The lower this number the better.

Been on Atorvastatin(generic for Lipitor) since my 1st heart attack of July 5th, 2003. I have not had nary a problem with my body or muscles during that time and all of my blood workups have shown nothing wrong with any of my important organs. I have not had high numbers since the 1960's when 350mg/dl was an acceptable number. My ratio of HDL/LDL has always been 2.0 or lower, so high cholesterol has not been a problem for me.

However with both of my heart attacks, even though all my numbers were about as good as you can get, I still had a right coronary artery that was 100% blocked. Why? Beats me and my Cardiologist as I have been a lacto-ovo vegetarian since the mid 1970's and my hobbies all involved running/skating/elliptical and many other aerobic and anaerobic exercises.

What caused them. Our best bet, my Cardiologist and myself? Genetics, I did not get to pick my mother.

If you can stay off Statin meds that would be good for you. There are some that cannot do so because of genetics or some other things over which they have no control.

[Marienkaefer2]

Five years ago, when my doc told me to watch out for cholesterol and bp, I did the following. Limit or avoid altogether the obvious foods: ice cream, whole milk and yogurt, high fat cheeses, pies, cakes, etc. Butter..just a tiny but on toast. No cream in coffee. Every little bit helps. Limit sugars, especially HFCS. That meant, limit sugars. Eat lean meat, like chicken and fish.. more veg and fruit of course. Avoid high fat dressings, toppings. Avoid processed foods and fast foods Do increase fiber intake. Increase intake of HDL fats, like salmon. I also take omega supplements. Increase exercise! I can.say this was the single biggest factor for me...Regular workouts and strength training. My favorite exercise is walking up and down hills in my neighborhood, and Pilates. My naturopath also recommended red rice yeast, but I never tried it.

[addiegal]

I tried the red rice yeast extract and could not tolerate it either. It is a "natural" statin.

I couldn't take the niacin prescription or OTC, it caused neuropathy. Most of these meds can affect the liver. It is not just the muscle pain, there is a more serious muscle inflammation called Rhabdomyolysis. Which can lead to kidney failure. While this is rare it does happen to some...so, I would try to avoid taking them if diet, exercise and omegas would work for you!

[ThinkOutsidetheBox]

I "accidentally" dropped my cholesterol by 40 points in about six months. I say accidentally, because although my father and his side of the family have all either suffered or dropped dead of heart attacks before age 50 (five brothers in all and their father), and although my total cholesterol number had my doctor squawking, I did nothing to try to reduce my total cholesterol number. I believe looking at just the total cholesterol number is hooey, and the CRP, LDL number, LDL particle size and especially the triglyceride number are all far more important (all of that was fine for me). I have always avoided hydrogenated oils and high fructose corn sugar, and my cholesterol was 220 when I was eighteen and worked out four hours a day, almost every day in the military. I did three traceable things which may have worked together to drop my number. 1) I began taking two capsules of Doctor's Best Natto-Serra daily on a completely empty stomach (must be empty) for my back pain, but this enzyme is known to reduce cholesterol and plaque build up like Drano going through a sink clog, 2) I began taking 10,000 IUs of vitamin D-3 daily along with a vitamin K blend (if you take D you must take K to keep calcium from depositing on your arterial walls and then attracting plaque), 3) I tried to develop a habit of taking two tablespoons of Metamucil (psyllium fiber) daily. I believe the Natto-Serra was the most significant factor in my cholesterol drop due to the time I started taking it, but the others probably helped too. As someone mentioned, if your thyroid is off, then your cholesterol gets screwy. Mine is off, and my research has shown that correcting low vitamin D is a first step for thyroid help (not a thyroid drug as doctors commonly believe). My vitamin D was dangerously low, but is much better now. Psyllium fiber is known to help cholesterol, just as the oats someone mentioned does as well. I am going to keep some of the other suggestions here in mind. I do not personally agree with statin use except in the most dire, the patient is going to drop dead anyway types of cases, because having taken several years of human biology and anatomy classes throughout my life, I understand just how vital cholesterol is to so many functions in the body. It is also not the CAUSE of heart disease. That, as outlined in the Great Cholesterol Myth, is inflammation, followed by a cascade reaction that then ropes cholesterol into sticking to the arterial walls on the lesions caused by inflammatory damage. Research is now showing that the cholesterol is actually trying to help heal the lesions. That full explanation is best left for the books on the subject though. Good luck!