In those things which we commit to practice we can master, and with mastery we have the freedom to use these skills whenever we desire, without this practice we are slaves to our inability.
In those things which we commit to practice we can master, and with mastery we have the freedom to use these skills whenever we desire, without this practice we are slaves to our inability.
I don't think co enzyme Q is bad for you, i just don't know if it is good for you in any way. the last time I looked at the data there wasn't any clear benefit.
Some people get muscle aches on every statin they try. It sounds like you may be one of them. Zetia is a non statin that can lower LDL. It has pretty much no side effects as it blocks LDL absorption in the gut. However its effectiveness at actually preventing heart disease hasn't been proven.
.
Well, it has taken me six weeks to get in to see the doctor, but finally did the deed today. I have agreed to take 20mg/day Zocor generic and go back in six weeks to see how we're doing.
She said that, given my family history (both parents, as well as uncles on both sides of family), the chance of my getting the cholesterol levels down to an acceptable level without the drugs was slim to none. She also said that she suspected that i would have to be bumped up to 40mg, but we'll try 20mg for six weeks.
I was surprised to learn that the drug reduces the cholesterol levels all it's going to in a six week period. Was also surprised to learn that if I miss for two or three days, my levels will jump right back up to where they are now.
Anyway, I don't think I stated my appreciation for the input and opinions in this thread. Not that anyone is all that interested in my particular lab results, but I'll post the results in six weeks just for the sake of the discussion.
Help stamp out, eliminate, and do away with redundancy.
Macro, I take what you take. I get 20mg/day too. After one month my total dropped from about 240 to just under 200. After 6 months it snuck up to 204. After one year it was 170. I tried to control it through diet and nutrition to no avail. I took the medicine and didn't worry too much about diet, and started running more, too. Good luck.
I've been to dinner at Jimmy Buffet's house, and I've eaten it at a homeless shelter. And there's great joy and harrowing terror to be found in both places.
-Todd Snider
Something to keep in mind about the percentage of people classified as obese is that the government changed the standards defining obesity in the late 1990s. Basically, within one second, an additional 30 million people were declared to be "obese."
I'd like to find the full article but only found a synopsis. http://econlog.econlib.org/GQE/gqe142.html
I thought it was interesting that, in 2002, if you used the pre-1998-modification standard, obesity rates actually decreased between 1980 and 2002.
Another update, again just for the sake of the discussion and not because you need updates on my Rx activity:
After six weeks the Zocor did what it was supposed to do. My cholesterol levels were all within acceptable ranges, albeit at the upper end of the scale on a couple of them. She had intended to increase the dosage to 40mg, but the blood screen has revealed that my liver functions are now elevating. Going to check them again in four weeks, but if they have gone even higher, I'll have to stop the drug, let my liver functions go back down, and try something else.
All statins work through the liver, so switching to another one won't be an option. I'm disappointed, but hopefully something will work out. If I understand correctly, there are four classes of cholesterol-lowering drugs, and statins are only one of those four.
Anyone else had to stop taking statins because of this problem? What did you end up getting that worked?
Help stamp out, eliminate, and do away with redundancy.
I think it is great that you were willing to try the drug and have followed up with it. These are signs of a smart patient. I would ask, if I were your pharmacist (and I am only a pharm student), if you are taking any other medications or, very important, supplements. Ultimately, you may just need to try another statin, though they work the same, they are still different in structure and may interact differently with HMG-CoA reductase. Edit: Sound like your doc has nixed this idea, did not mean to contradict.
Zetia is another drug that might be tried. It acts to prevent the absorption of cholesterol in the intestine. The subsequent decrease in cholesterol stores in the liver leads to an increase of clearance from the serum. It can be pricey and might require a prior authorization from your doctor for your insurance to pay for it.
Another set of drugs is the bile sequestering agents, Cholestyramine being one. These keep your body from reabsorbing bile (which is made with cholesterol). This leads to an increase in sythesis of LDL receptors in the liver and a decrease in the LDL of the serum. They tend to cause some GI problems and may decrease the absorption of fat soluable vitamins like A and lipophilic drugs. I do not beleive they cause problems with liver enzymes.
To answer the other question about Co-Q, it is sometimes used to decrease the muscle pain some get when taking statins. Although it is generally very safe, you should still consult your physician or pharmacist before starting a supplement.
Can you tell we just got done with cholesterol drugs in pharmacology and med chem?
Last edited by BoxingRed; 12-02-2009 at 03:53 PM.
Not because of Liver function, but every statin I've taken has given me bad joint and muscle issues. Lipitor, Crestor, Zocor, Pravachol all have bothered me...
My Dr has not tried Zetia yet, and I don't know what other options to take, think that the CoQ-10 will help with my joint issues when on the Zocor/Pravachol etc??? I've not been taking it lately.
In those things which we commit to practice we can master, and with mastery we have the freedom to use these skills whenever we desire, without this practice we are slaves to our inability.
They have me confused, so I am reading what each of you say with focused attention.
Each time I took the statin drugs the liver panels went up. By accident once when having blood work and urinalysis done to check the liver panels and other they accidentally checked off the wrong box on the blood work form and subsequently checked the LIPASE and it was out of whack too. I subsequently read that the pancreas has something to do with trygliceride production or something. In regard to the LIPASE The doctor turned to me and said, “what do you do with that”. I did not know at the time that the LIPASE was about the pancreas. So naturally the results tend to scare me, and the doctors remarks did nothing for my courage. Each time he wants to put back on satins the liver panels go up, at one point even the blood pressure was up. I took myself off all his meds and all went back to normal. Of course the cholesterol and triglycerides went up. So now I am trying to intensely, very diligently trying to stay away from any input or intake that increases those and eat diligently what “they say” lowers the bad, and increases the good. I keep forgetting that I came up with more than normal muscles and joint aches and pains that seem to be reduced now to. So I am confused on the good and the bad or concerns of it all.
One good side effect from dilligently eating what "they say" has been significant weight loss over the past twelve months. Unfortunately in that period also I was putting stuff on my foods to flavour them in quantities that I was ignorant about that increases bad cholestrol and tryglicerides up and have hence stopped those practices completely, but it has only been a couple months on that last part.
Additional problem that occurs is that I also see a digestive care doctor who is very much concerned with the liver and pancreas evaluations, that I don’t know how to react or respond to, it makes me very uneasy with limited patient knowledge and being a bit of a ping pong ball perception wise between the two doctors. I am going to get his opinion in the middle of January on how to proceed.
I don’t know and those blood works of liver and pancreas scare the hell out of me to the point of anxiety when I get negative results on them.
Last edited by Spring~Fields; 12-03-2009 at 03:00 PM.
Help stamp out, eliminate, and do away with redundancy.
I'm on Lipator. I'm getting muscle aches and pains from it.
Considering the research that surfaced a few weeks ago regarding the ineffectiveness of Zetia at preventing atherosclerosis, I'd advise saving your money on an extremely overpriced drug with little clear benefit. Based on that research, you'd be far better off with a prescription niacin, which will not only reduce the bad LDL level but also increase your good HDL level. Plus, it's loads cheaper as well!
Someone recommended Niacin to me about 20 years ago. He was a vitamin addict and said to take twice the recommended daily dose. I did it for a couple weeks and never went back to it. I don't know if it affected my levels at all, but I was beet red for most of the day and a little warm.
The latest Doctor put on the prescription for Lipator: Take 1/2 tablet daily to prevent Heart Attack. It gets my attention now.
Last edited by RBA; 12-03-2009 at 08:35 PM.
Board Moderators may, at their discretion and judgment, delete and/or edit any messages that violate any of the following guidelines: 1. Explicit references to alleged illegal or unlawful acts. 2. Graphic sexual descriptions. 3. Racial or ethnic slurs. 4. Use of edgy language (including masked profanity). 5. Direct personal attacks, flames, fights, trolling, baiting, name-calling, general nuisance, excessive player criticism or anything along those lines. 6. Posting spam. 7. Each person may have only one user account. It is fine to be critical here - that's what this board is for. But let's not beat a subject or a player to death, please. |