problems with taking statins?
369052
I had the same problem with side effects. I try to watch my diet but my system manufactures cholesterol no matter what I do. I understand that they are working on new anti-chol. drugs that work in a different way. Maybe that will be the answer. What does your Dr. suggest?
191007
For some people, yes.  Cholesterol can be tricky.  Some people just are going to have high cholesterol no matter how carefully they watch what they eat.  But many can respond quite well to dietary and lifestyle changes.\n\nDiabetes--I've had my husband on cinnamon for about 3 months and it hasn't done a thing for him but a friend of his started taking at about the same time and says exactly the opposite.
378333
There is all kind of diet pills out there. I've taken alot of them. The last two I tried were Liptopril that worked but I found myself getting angry alot while taking them. And then, Trimspa, that stuff works too. And it has no caffeine or caffeine like stimulants. But if you are allergic to shellfish then you can't take it.
25465
Possible Side Effects of Liptor (Atorvasatin) : SIDE EFFECTS that may occur while taking this medicine include dizziness, headache, nausea, diarrhea, constipation, gas, or stomach upset/pain. If it continues or is bothersome, check with your doctor. THIS MEDICINE MAY INFREQUENTLY cause muscle damage (which can rarely lead to a very serious condition called rhabdomyolysis). Stop taking this drug and tell your doctor immediately if you develop muscle pain, tenderness, or weakness (especially with fever or unusual tiredness). CHECK WITH YOUR DOCTOR AS SOON AS POSSIBLE if you experience joint pain, chest pain, or swelling in the arms or legs. CONTACT YOUR DOCTOR IMMEDIATELY if you experience yellowing eyes and skin, dark urine, change in the amount of urine, black stool, or severe stomach pain. IF YOU EXPERIENCE difficulty breathing; tightness of chest; swelling of eyelids, face, or lips; or if you develop a rash or hives, tell your doctor immediately. Do not take any more doses of this medicine unless your doctor tells you to do so. If you notice other effects not listed above, contact your doctor, nurse, or pharmacist.
164736
Depends on the dosage omega 3 you are taking, I have taken omaga 3 capsules and I only had to take one a day for high cholesterol as adviced by my doctor. Is this the adviced dosage, prescribed by your doctor, If so you should talk to him about it and your sicknees. Maybe it has nothing to do with it or maybe he can adapt the dosage, I wouldn't take any drug or lower or higher the dosage whithout asking for advice from my doctor. Talk to your doctor about it.Good luck
769311
I had alot of issues a few years ago with different health problems.  After taking 2 a day and eating more yogurt, the problems are gone.  I don't know if it's in my head but if I run out, I start noticing problems again.  I pay around 7 dollars a bottle and I keep them in the refrigerator.  Good Luck!
991015
Apparently when Astra-Zeneca studied the drug (generic rosuvastatin), people of Asian (and therefore Japanese) descent taking the drug were found to have twice the levels of Caucasians taking the same amount of drug.  By starting at 2.5mg, it would be quote-unquote "equivalent" to starting at 5mg for people of other ethnicities.\n\nExcessive drug levels of these "statin" drugs can cause myopathy and/or rhabdomyolysis, a potentially fatal condition due to muscle breakdown.  This is the sort of thing that took Baycol off the U.S. market a few years back.
1064620
Yes. My old cardiology practice had a lipids clinic. We would often try a patient on different statins in order to find one that they could tolerate. One statin didn't appear to be better (or worse) in causing symptoms than another.
1144044
Take over the counter niacine, it lowers the LDL and elevates the HDL.  It really works, I use it, and my LDL was abnormal.
153097
Vitamin E is good but when medication causes this problem there is not a lot you can do. Discuss this side effect with your doctor! Being a nurse i know this is a common problem associated with quite a few medications. Especially those used to treat heart problems and highblood pressure. Some times it just takes patience and time. Good Luck and really be sure you talk to your doctor. He or She may be able to find a alternate medication for you.
413624
The doctor who prescribed it to you should have given you some dietary guidelines.  Call the office and ask.  The prescription should have also come with an information sheet which would tell you if there's any foods you should avoid while taking it.
616046
I'd say diet is probably key.  Watch your fat intake - especially trans fat.  Eat less red meat. Exercise. Drink red wine.  Check with your Doctor or nutritionist.  It's good to get a baseline bloodwork check and then make some diet changes and get the bloodwork done again to see if you lowered your cholestrol.  Some people still need cholestrol lowering meds to help.  HTH's
786840
Your doctor can prescribe a statin for you to help and for yourself you can add omega 3 fatty acids (I take fish oil tablets).\n\nOh yes, keep fit as well.
390586
Aspirin will help your risk, but it not at all a substitute for the statins.  You do need to drop the cholesterol levels..you can try diet and excercise first, but if it does not work, statins are very good drugs to take.  You can also ask your doctor about more natural options like Benechol and fish oil.  \n\nFYI, here is a very neat tool that assesses your own risk of heart disease:\n\nhttp://www.chaicore.com/h2hv2/intro.html...\n\nFollow the tool until the end. It is based on data from several large studies. It is important to note that its answers aren't the "absolute truth," but rather the best estimations of it as based on our studies to date. In the last segment of the tool, you can add or delete aspirin from your regimen and see how that affects your risk. That's the benefit. Then you have to think of the bleeding and ulcer risk, but if you are otherwise healthy and have no personal or family history of these conditions, then you are probably ok.
204783
Eat right, stay away from foods with high cholesterol and frozen/canned food. Maintain the balance of your daily meals
597229
I am also 50 something and have already had a clogged artery in the heart that required a stent.\n\nSimple diet modifications can help. Just doing away with most meat and eating losts of fruit brought down my cholesterol from the 220-240 range to the 190s.\n\nHaving found out my problem in an airplane at 29000 feet I can say from firsthand experience that this would be a horrible way to die. It is not necessarily slow and it scares the daylights out of you. After the blockage was treated it took me several years to get over anxiety stemming from it.\n\nLet your Dad know that he does not have to die from this. He may be thinking it is genetic and that there is not much you can do to control it. This is not true many times.\n\nMy advice is to start doing everything natural that you can. I do not know if it is true but there is one article that claims Bromelain (you can get it at a natural helath food store) will clear your arteries. One lady took it and had a followup angiogram that showed no blockage. I had some pain in my back once and it went away not long after I took Bromelain. Maybe it was all in my head but I doubt it. It is a natural anti inflammatory , digests protein and helps keep the blood from clotting. Obviously if cholesterol is high you should follow a Doctor's advice for lowering it. Some Doctors are enlightened about using natural substances to help.\n\nRegardless of what else he does , tell him to eat 5 pieces of fruit a day. The pectin in the fruit binds with the cholsesterol and flushes some of it out.
431285
Recent studies have shown that reducing cholesterol to ultra-low levels with statin drugs can begin to reverse hardening of the arteries.\nOther than that, do not smoke, make sure your blood pressure is under control  and keep your cholesterol down via statins.\nIf diabetic, keep that under control also.