Anyone have info on Lescol XL I too am so scared of meds - High Cholesterol Message Board

babs15 · 03-17-2003, 12:56 PM

Hi everyone, I see there is another person who was worried about a statin. I have taken Lipator but my doctor took me off it because my liver #'s were too high. I generally felt all right on it - did get sort of stabbing pains in one arm. Now many months after I have been on nothing he wants to put me on Lescol XL 80 mg. My #'s: Total-290, HDL-67, LDL-190, Tri-can't remember but he said it was excellent. The point of my writing is that I know I have to take this medication in the evening. So I am afraid to take it and go to sleep. Also does anyone know when they say dinner time or bedtime. Does it really matter (just that it is in the evening?) I take high blood pressure meds and thyroid meds. I just don't know why I am so nervous with this new medication. Please help.

hunter44 · 03-17-2003, 03:00 PM

babs - do you really want to take a drug for cholesterol. IMHO your numbers aren't off the scale, your TC/HDL is only slightly high. HDL and Trig numbers are most important and TC/HDL and Trig/HDL ratios are most important. Do some reading and research/searches on these factors. Find out your trig number because it is important. Wealth of knowledge on the web and with slight diet adjustments you should not have a problem bringing your numbers to desired, low risk ratios. Takes a little(maybe a lot) of work but worth not taking the drugs, JMHO.
Good Luck

arkie6 · 03-18-2003, 12:12 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by babs15:
...My #'s: Total-290, HDL-67, LDL-190, Tri-can't remember but he said it was excellent.

Based on those numbers, your triglyceride level would be approximately 165 mg/dl. While that number is not too bad, I wouldn't consider it excellent either. Ideally you want to see this number under 150 and excellent would be under 100 mg/dl. Your triglyceride/HDL ratio is 165/67=2.46 which is pretty good. The lower the better, with a ratio less than 2.0 indicating a low risk of heart disease. Moderate risk would be a ratio of 5.0 or higher and the higher the ratio the higher the risk.

While your numbers place you at low risk of heart disease, there is room for improvement. What kind of diet are you following if you are following any kind of particular diet? What about exercise and activity levels? These should be addressed first before I would even consider going on life-long drug treatment.

Alan