I just got my numbers from my dr. Please help me understand
tc 297..ldl212....hdl..51..trigs175 ratio..5.8. My last testing 4/15 my tcwas 335...ldl 225....hdl 65...trigs 139. My dr said the ldl should be under 100 and my ratio should be 3.0. My questions is this Why did my hdl go down and my trigs increase. Does fish oil capsules drop hdl? Anyone ever take pravachol? He wants me to start taking it right away. I was given a prescription months ago, but im afraid to fill it. Is it a statin?

Hdl is related to trigycerides. With high triglycerides hdl will go down. Your ldl is extremely high and yes pravachol is a statin. You may need more than pravachol to bring it down.
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I just got my numbers from my dr. Please help me understand
tc 297..ldl212....hdl..51..trigs175 ratio..5.8. My last testing 4/15 my tcwas 335...ldl 225....hdl 65...trigs 139. My dr said the ldl should be under 100 and my ratio should be 3.0. My questions is this Why did my hdl go down and my trigs increase. Does fish oil capsules drop hdl? Anyone ever take pravachol? He wants me to start taking it right away. I was given a prescription months ago, but im afraid to fill it. Is it a statin?

Pravachol is not very effective..even at 40..80 mg doses, especially given your high LDL. I would ask him to have you try Crestor..10mg of that is more effective than 80 mg Pravachol! I take crestor with NO problems. Pravachol did not work well for me at all.

rahod, i already have asked for crestor and he said no. He said if i can't tolerate lipitor then i probably won't tolerate crestor. I think i'll just try choles-off. Even a little drop is better than none. If i go strictly vegetarian for a few months, without any fats at all, will this lower my ldl? Also does fish oil capsules cause your trig to rise and your hdl to drop?

Have you tried any of the "bile acid sequestrants"? or Niacin? They work differently and are not statins.

I am trying to lower my cholesterol naturally first, and if that doesnt work, I will try the bile acid sequestrants first before a statin...and then if that doesnt work, I'll ask to try Niacin.

rahod, i already have asked for crestor and he said no. He said if i can't tolerate lipitor then i probably won't tolerate crestor. I think i'll just try choles-off. Even a little drop is better than none. If i go strictly vegetarian for a few months, without any fats at all, will this lower my ldl? Also does fish oil capsules cause your trig to rise and your hdl to drop?

How does he know unless you try it :confused: I had problems with Lipitor that I don't get with Crestor :D

I don't think Crestor would be the best choice if you've already had trouble with other statins. Crestor is aggressive and I've heard rumor from some in the medical field that it may be taken off the market soon because of problems like those that Baycol caused.

I've had great luck with 40mg Zocor. There is a new drug out combination Zocor and Zetia. I think I would let a few more guinea pigs try it out first. I believe your numbers do warrant using a statin if your body can tolerate it.

No, i haven't tried any of those thing yet. Being diabetic i have to use caution in trying different things. The last thing i tried was zetia, which isn't working for me. I get a sneaky feeling im going back on lipitor. i prefer not to, but being diabetic and my cholesterol so high im at a loss. When i go back to the endo in Sept. i will follow his advice and take a statin. Of course, i won't be able to exercise too much then. Until that time, i'll try the cholest-off by Nature Made. Thank u all for your help.

I don't think Crestor would be the best choice if you've already had trouble with other statins. Crestor is aggressive and I've heard rumor from some in the medical field that it may be taken off the market soon because of problems like those that Baycol caused.


Crestor is not another Baycol :rolleyes: and it's NOT going to be pulled from the market :).

Got this from a source:

August 4, 2004 6:28 PM GMT - Public Citizen's latest attack on Crestor sees the consumer protection group calling for an FDA investigation into AstraZeneca [AZN.L]. Despite the seemingly continuous flow of negative publicity surrounding Crestor, prescription growth continues. It seems that AstraZeneca is winning the PR war and growth of Crestor looks set to continue.

AstraZeneca is facing yet more negative publicity over its cholesterol drug Crestor (rosuvastatin calcium). Public Citizen has called for an immediate criminal investigation to determine whether AstraZeneca delayed the disclosure of adverse reaction reports involving Crestor.

AstraZeneca has called the latest allegations about Crestor "irresponsible and inaccurate", and said that it has "operated diligently in accordance with the strict reporting procedures of the FDA". While the FDA says it is looking into the consumer group's charges and will "take appropriate action if necessary," the agency also says it is "presently unaware of any delays in reporting".

Analysis of Crestor prescription trends in the US shows that each Public Citizen statement causes a slight drop in the number of weekly prescriptions. However, once the publicity recedes, prescription growth continues. It seems unlikely that Public Citizen will stop its attacks, but AstraZeneca's PR machine seems to be overcoming these difficulties as growth of Crestor continues.

The rumors are circulating through some doctors offices! My brother was on Crestor for a very very short time. In that short period he became short of breath, was dizzy, blacked out, had severe lower back and leg pain, was so fatigued that he could hardly go. His description of how he felt was like he had just been ran over by a truck. He ended up having a heart cath because his doctor thought he was on the verge of having a heart attack. His arteries were clear. They took him off the Crestor and he is feeling decent again but not completely over it. I would avoid the Crestor.
Another note Lipitor will soon be able to advertise that it can prevent future heart attacks. Evidently there is enough proof out there now that they will be allowed to make that statement.

The rumors are circulating through some doctors offices! My brother was on Crestor for a very very short time. In that short period he became short of breath, was dizzy, blacked out, had severe lower back and leg pain, was so fatigued that he could hardly go. His description of how he felt was like he had just been ran over by a truck. He ended up having a heart cath because his doctor thought he was on the verge of having a heart attack. His arteries were clear. They took him off the Crestor and he is feeling decent again but not completely over it. I would avoid the Crestor.
Another note Lipitor will soon be able to advertise that it can prevent future heart attacks. Evidently there is enough proof out there now that they will be allowed to make that statement.

I don't know enough about your brother to comment. I've been on Crestor for over 3 months with ZERO problems. BTW, if Lipitor get's to claim that it can help prevent future heart attacks, you can rest assured that Crestor will be able to do the same. In order to claim that, the drug must have been tested over a substantial perod of time..Crestor is new..Lipitor has been around for 8 years (or more).