Told my Dr. Lipitor makes me feel lousy - no more meds ! - High Cholesterol Message Board

Fuchsia_Lay · 04-19-2003, 02:34 PM

I have fought this borderline high colesterol and triglyceride battle for many years - have been on everything from Lopid to Lipitor.
Told my Dr. the other day I feel lousy whenever on one of these statins and I don't care anymore. If the good lord above wants to take me, he/she/it will when it's time. I don't care anymore. Being off meds for 6 months now - feel better than ever. Am having a Lipid profile done;;;; but the results-- I don't really care. There is much talk that inflammation is the real artery clogger not cholesterol - Dr.'s may have been wrong all this time etc etc etc...
I am at the point - no care anymore - lord take me when you are ready - I don't want to support the BILLIONS of dollars a year LIPID game.

take care all

JeanneMarie · 04-19-2003, 02:57 PM

I had my Doctor ok the CRP test. It shows inflammation in the blood stream. This showed an inflammation in my blood, so from that she started me on Zocor. I have had high cholestrol numbers for years, and this test convinced her that it was time for a statin drug. I hesitantly started on it 15 days ago, and so far, no side effects whatsoever. That doesn't say, they won't start. I just hate taking these drugs, putting my liver with no problems, at risk. I am wondering, I have read that once you start these drugs, you have to stay with them for a life time. They stop your liver from producing cholestrol, and your body then withdraws it from your system, is the way I understand it. So, does this mean..these pills are stopping the liver from functioning correctly, and you have to stay on the statins then? Well, in any case, a lack of excercise and loving cheeses, has done me in. I have changed my diet, and have to get started on doing excercises of some kind. Easy to say, hard for me to do.

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JeanneMarie

john73 · 04-20-2003, 04:44 AM

You may be perfectly fine too!!

We're hearing more and more about C-Reactive protein, LP(a) and Homocystein. The cholesterol myth is beginning to die a slow death.

Even Dr. Michael Debakey, chancellor emeritus of Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, who performed the first successful coronary bypass operation in 1964 and made the first Dacron artery grafts, said that it's not cholesterol thats causing artery disease!

REF: An interview in "Friends of the National Library of Medicine (FNLM)"

Q: What are the biggest remaining challenges for the treatment of heart disease?

A: The ultimate goal of any medical advance is to prevent the disease. To do that, you've got to find the cause. Most problems in the cardiovascular arena come from arteriosclerosis, but we don't know what causes it. We talk about cholesterol and high blood pressure as risk factors, but that's not the cause of the disease.

In another study in 1987, Dr. DeBakey reported that cholesterol levels in 15,000 patients were unrelated to how quickly blockage of major arteries progressed. In another 1,400 patients, all of whom had undergone coronary artery bypass operations, he found that patients with normal or below normal cholesterol levels were just as prone to have clogging recur
in their replacement arteries.

Whereas smoking, a high-fat diet, and high blood pressure place persons at higher risk of developing heart disease, these studies imply that they do not, in themselves, cause atherosclerosis.

ALSO as Liposcience points out:

People with the same levels of LDL cholesterol and HDL cholesterol can have very different risks.
At a given level of LDL cholesterol, a person with mostly small, dense LDL particles has a 3 to 5-fold greater risk of CHD than someone with large LDL.

This may explain why 1/2 the people who have heart attacks have normal cholesterol.

ARIZONA73 · 04-20-2003, 08:49 AM

I think that it is becoming increasingly obvious that cholesterol is only one piece of a rather complex puzzle, and that it is highly likely that many people are being unnecessarily prescribed cholesterol lowering drugs even though there may be no family history of heart disease. Family history means a lot. Should a person with high cholesterol, whose ancestors also had this trait, but had no history of heart disease, be prescribed cholesterol lowering drugs? On the other hand, what about the person who has so-called "safe" cholesterol levels which are well below 200, but yet has family members who have succumbed to heart disease? What should be done in this case? Should he be prescribed drugs which will drive his cholesterol down even further?

zip2play · 04-22-2003, 06:01 AM

My mother died of congestive heart failure over a 15 year period (before statins.) It was horrible to watch.

My lipid results 4 years ago, showed a Total Cholesterol around 260 but an HDL of a miserable 29.(Ratio-9.0) Chest pain on exertion. HIGHEST RISK group. I asked for Lipitor: my total cholesterol dropped 100 points in a month but HDL's only went up to 38...still too low. Lost weight with low carb and HDL went to 36. I've now added cod liver oil and lecithin to my arsenal and last readings were LDL: 90, HDL:56. Total cholesterol 171. Homocyctein a normal 8. (CRP results today) No chest pain since Lipitor.

My BP started going high in my 30's, and I've taken the string of new drugs as they've come out. THESE drugs I'm not too wowed about.

I think the modern meds, especially Lipitor, have snatched me from my grave. At 59, I'm too young to join my mom. After 4 years I've never had a bit of trouble with Lipitor at 10 mg./day except for the pain in my wallet from drug price gouging (welcome to the "free" economy!)

[This message has been edited by zip2play (edited 04-22-2003).]