What med to take? - High Cholesterol Message Board

makingitright · 05-27-2005, 08:29 AM

Does anyone know of a cholesterol med that does NOT effect the liver? My husbands liver enzyemes are slightly high so the dr. put him on Zetia, but all the info I've dug up on it still says that it can have a negative effect on the liver like the other drugs his dr. avoided because of his elevated liver numbers. alt 105, ast 52. Hep tests came back negative, so they are not sure why his liver is "upset". Are there any meds that have a less effect on the liver that we could check into?

Thanks to anyone who can help!

cathyinto · 05-27-2005, 09:50 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by makingitright

Does anyone know of a cholesterol med that does NOT effect the liver? My husbands liver enzyemes are slightly high so the dr. put him on Zetia, but all the info I've dug up on it still says that it can have a negative effect on the liver like the other drugs his dr. avoided because of his elevated liver numbers. alt 105, ast 52. Hep tests came back negative, so they are not sure why his liver is "upset". Are there any meds that have a less effect on the liver that we could check into?

Thanks to anyone who can help!

How high are the cholesterol numbers? Have you worked on the diet to lower the cholesterol. I significantly lowered my cholesterol by eliminating "senseless" carbs, mostly by choosing low glycemic load foods. There have been several (hundreds?) good posts by people suggesting diets to try before jumping to medication.

makingitright · 05-27-2005, 12:07 PM

Thanks for the response. Yes, he's working on his diet. He's lost about 6 lbs with about 25 more to go!

His numbers are 284 total

Triglycerides 151

HDL 64

LDL 190

I know that the triglycerides is OK and the HDL is great but the LDL is so high, that's why the doctor advised the Zetia. He's been dieting for two weeks now, plus he's working out, and has not yet started the Zetia, because of the liver worries.
thanks again

makingitright · 05-31-2005, 02:31 PM

anyone else know any drug that would not harm the liver as a possible side effect? I'm not sure if I mentioned it already or not but we are working on his diet like crazy and he is losing. However, even with his HDL being a great number we have to do something. His father had his first heart attack at 47. My husband is 40, so we'd like to take care of this as quickly as possible.

Thanks!!

Uff-Da! · 05-31-2005, 03:31 PM

Maybe someone else does, but I know of no drug to help cholesterol that is recommended for someone with liver problems. What exactly are you doing with regard to diet to lower cholesterol? Perhaps some of us could add some additional changes which could be helpful.

One supplement which you might want to research is Pantethine, which seems to have shown some success in improving the lipid profile. Plant sterols and psyllium (like Metamucil) might also be useful. Research studies have been done on all of these. I can't link them here, but you should be able to find them with a little looking.