Q: I was just reading peoples comments about the statin medications that brought a couple of things to mind. I was on a statin med for about 10 days and was taken off of it. The pain and other side effects were terrible. I was really hoping for a better response from the medication because of being diagnosed with peripheral vascular disease. Are all statin medications know for the same side effects? Secondly, are there any other cholesterol lowering medications that can take the place of the statin meds? Thank you
in advance for your answers and a great web site.
A: Most people who get muscle pain as a side effect from one statin medication will have the same problem with a different statin. However, everyone responds differently to drugs so a change may work for you. Discuss this further with your doctor. A good discussion of the risks of statin treatment can be found in this article at the Mayo Clinic site.
You also may want to talk to your doctor about taking Niacin, vitamin B3. Many feel it helps lower cholesterol. A common side effect is flushing. To learn more about Niacin go to this article at the U.S. National Library of Medicine site.
(11 votes, average: 3.91 out of 5)
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I take a time-release form of Niacin from Costco, and don’t seem to have any problem with it.
The only thing that lowered my cholesterol safely was diet and lots of exercise. I lowered my total cholesterol in 2 years from 280 to 155. Try getting on that bike and sweating, getting your heart rate up and blood pumping.. I guarantee you will lower your cholesterol, plus all the other benefits of exercise, which I won’t go into, but they are commonly known.
Before taking Niacin I had mid-range LDL cholesterol and below the normal range of HDL cholesterol. Since I started on them my LDL is unchanged and the HDL has increased to the low end of what is considered normal. To get this effect you need Niacin not Nicotinamide, another form of B3.
Red Rice Yeast 600-1800mg per day may help you with high cholesterol. Of course along with that a low fat and low carb diet will also help.
Niacin has been known to cause liver problems in high doses. Discuss this with your doc and have liver function tests done periodically
I take red rice yeast and garlic oil . My cholest
went from 300 to 186 in 3 mos. and must get physical
active.
I am taking pharmaceutical graded antioxidants and chelated multiminerals, vitamin D, and BIOmega which has allowed me to go off (with my doctor’s blessings) all statin drugs. My husband had triple bi-pass surgery 2 years ago takes Quinone along with the above that I have listed, and has been off all statin drugs for the past 10 months. No side effects, more energy and feeling strong and healthy. Drugs are not always the answer.
I take Red Yeast Rice supplement. It can be found at Walmart for 8.00 dollars for a months supply. It lowered my colestoral 70 points. It also regulates the digestive system. Since it is a natural supplement, there are no side effects, except your fisces might be a brick color at first, since that is the color of the Red Yeast Rice. It comes in a capsule for better absorbson. You take two a day with a meal.
Try red yeast rice. It has worked wellfor me. I have had a stent for fifteen years. Also have you CRP checked. Many physians now believe it has more to do with a low CRP (inflamation. Take the B Vitamins and folic acid for that. Believe me with my heart issues, I have dealt with all the issues.. Doing a low carb diet has brought my cholesterol down quicker than anything. However, it is better to eat lean meats and fat free milk products along with low carbs. Hope this helps you.
I tried taking Red Yeast Rice in place of Crestor which bothered my legs terribly;however, the RYR affected me as bad as the Crestor?? I have no idea what to take??
The pharmacist warned that simvastatin could deplete your body’s nutrient and vitatmin supply. I went through hell on this drug and will not take it again if my life depends on it. Fatigue, lack of motivation, inability to sleep, and every muscle in my body ached. Because I am a mental health professional and work in a medical clinic part time, I figured I either had lupus, depression, fibromyalgia or chronic fatigue syndrome, none of which I had ever suffered before. Then I got that notice, talked to my doctor, took the simvastin out of my medication line-up, and within a short time, all of those sytems disappeared (except for my arthritic knees which I had before taking the drug.) The pharmacist said they have known for some time about the depletion of vitamins and nutrients. You don’t mention that.
This is another really poor answer from the “good doctor”?!? In due course, the statins will go down in history as one of the worst, toxic drugs foisted on the American public. There is tremendous dumbing down effect, muscle problems, and they are extremely hard on your liver – a most appropriately named organ. As your liver health goes, so goes your health generally. Ubiquinol (the most readily absorbed form of COQ10, especially for mature and elderly adults) is an absolute must supplement as the statins deplete COQ10. Better yet, get off the frickin’ statins and take COQ10 anyway.
I tried 3 supplements to reduce high cholesterol. Without question, the most effective was red yeast rice, 600 miligrams twice each day. Total cholesterol went from 225 to 167 consistently after 60 days. Red yeast rice, however, will not increase good cholesterol (HDL). Niacin can increase HDL, so I take that too. The non-flush niacin is not nearly as effective as plain old flush niacin and no-flush niacin is more likely to be a problem for your liver than just plain niacin. Larger dosages are required to effect cholesterol, so I gradually worked up the dosage. I always take niacin with meals to dampen flushes, as well. I started with 100 mg. twice per day with meals, and gradually increased the dosage to 1000 mg. twice per day. I barely feel a flush now when I take the dosage with food.
Policosanol is also helpful to many people in lowering cholesterol.
My results are not unique. My wife’s cholesterol went from 212 to 146 on only red yeast rice, improved diet, and regular exercise.
We also are very diet and exercise and health supplement conscious.
Good luck, and all the best!!
With all due respect to all opinions, informed and uninformed, my advice to anyone worried by his or her cholesterol is to read the book “The Homocysteine Revolution”, written by Kilmer McCully, MD, “Lipitor, Thief of Memory”, by Duane Gravelin, MD, and it won’t do any harm also to surf the website http://www.thincs.org, the site founded by the cholesterol skeptics.
Before deciding on any medication for control,I completed a lipid profile first and reviewed my Triglycerides score, my LDL and HDL scores and Cholesterol/HDL ratio. I finally settled for the medication Fenofibrate medication 160mg on account of my unhealthy Triglyc erides score. I also watch my Chol/HDL ratio but I am not so depressed by a single Total Cholesterol score. I also complete
a Liver & Kidney Function Test ( every 6 months) for continual assessment of
any side effects.
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