First a little background. My numbers have been slowly rising W/O statins for years. my doctor wanted me to go on meds but I refused because my ratios were still OK. Here were my numbers early this year. Tot=263, hdl=63; ldl=185;tri=77. I agreed to go on the lowest level of Zocor which easily did the trick with no side effects. last month, doc checked liver function: slightly high: AST=48; ALT=71. She suggested that we try Zetia to see if any impact on liver.

I started Zetia (10mg) Tuesday evening. On Wednesday morning, felt bloated, gas, gas, everywhere, stomach pains, tired. I also have just come off of shoulder surgery and was on Lortab for pain. I associated the side effects with that and stopped it but all problems continued. I then read that all my symptoms were potential with Zetia and stopped it after two nights. My issues have gotten better, but still not back to normal.

Sorry for the long build up. here are questions:

Does it make sense for side effects to show up that fast from Zetia? and continue for 4 days after stopping?

My doc thinks it was the Lortab and wants me to try again with Zetia. I wonder if she would say that if she was the one having all the gas problems.

One thought is to just go back to the Zocor and live with slight liver enzyme rise. thoughts?

the other is just to blow off all meds and live with higher numbers. There is no heart disease in my family or me personally. I am 66. Thoughts?

Sorry for long post, and thanks for any thoughts. I see my surgeon tomorrow and GP after that; want to be prepared.

Thanks.
Mike

There are other statins you may want to consider if you want to stay the course with statins, like Phavachol and Lipitor, both of which I have tried for a couple years each. I certainly wouldn't start Zetia before trying the other statins first to see if they are tollerated better.

Some folks like myself have had fantastic luck with Niaspan, which is just niacin (vitamin B-3). You might consider that also.

One thought is to just go back to the Zocor and live with slight liver enzyme rise. thoughts?

I think that's your best choice. Your liver elevations are quite minor and I would just keep an eye on them.

I think simvastatin (Zocor) is a FAR better cholesterol med than Zetia...and lots CHEAPER! Zetia alone is a poor choice for cholesterol control.

Did you ever get a set of lipid numbers while you were on the simvastatin?

First, I was on 10 MG of zocor daily;
results: tot:188, ldl: 106, HDL: 70, AST:43, ALT: 75

stopped all; liver went back to normal

She changed to 5mg
results: tot:217, ldl: 127, HDL: 75, AST: 48, AST: 71

Lenin, my thought is to go back on the Zocor also. It is interesting that cutting the Zocor in half did not change the liver enzyme levels.

Mike,

Ten milligrams Zocor is the lowest I have ever seen prescribed and 5 mg. is minuscule...I would stay with the 10's because you are getting a very nice response. It's quite possible your ALT and AST are slightly elevated with no relatonship to the Zocor.
For reference, most people on Zocor take 40 mg. which is equivalent to about 20 mg Lipitor.

Make SURE you are getting the generic, simvastatin, becasue the price has dropped HUGELY in the few months it's been on the market!

A couple of years ago, I started taking Zetia in addition to my 80mg of Lipitor. And didn't have any side afffect, other than a little tiredness; however, that happens any time they change my meds. The transtion it took to get over the tiredness was worth it because I finally got number numbers down for the first time in years. On 80mg of Lipitor plus 10mg of Zetia I went from the mid to low 200's down to 127! (I remember that number because NEVER have I had a total reading that low!) After that test, we backed off the Lipitor to 40mg and I stayed in the 150 range. Recently, beacuse of insurance issues, I switched to Vytorin (simvastatin & Zeita combo) at 40mg/10mg. My numbers went up a little so they upped the dosage to 80/10. Personnaly, I would give the Zetia another chance...but may be in combination with a statin.