I was taken off of Lipitor years ago. It was giving me muscle weakness and pain. Doctor put me on Zetia. It was doing the job reducing my cholesterol. Than a couple years ago the insurance decided not to cover for Zetia because it was not as beneficial as statins. So I came off of cholesterol meds altogether. Until this summer when the insurance suddenly decided they would cover Zetia again. And I do fine on Zetia which is not a statin. I go back in this spring to see how my cholesterol levels are doing. I think the dropping of Zetia sounds pretty suspicious. Sorry you are having so much pain Jo.
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Chris, I have been taking Zeitia for a while very small pill (thinking 10mg) but it does not effect the reading much. What type of dose are you taking? I was wondering if an increased dose would get #'rs down but doctor kind of poo-pooed that idea.
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I have also done some research on this for my mother. and found out that cholesterol was blame by the way of faulty science. The truth is that inflammation and oxidation of the LDL is the real problem. Reduce inflammation and free radicals and it is supposed to do the job. i have sense gotten my mother off statins, because she was getting neuropaty,a sore joints and memory problems.
But through all of the research I had done I did find a natural supplement that is supposed to balance out cholesterol real well with no side effects except for possible occasional heartburn. It is called Citrus Bergamot
A couple good books to read on the subject are the Great Cholesterol Myth, and Statin Drugs Side Effects and the misguided war on Cholesterol. I found them to be very informative. And both are written by doctors, and the first one was written by a cardiologist.
So from what I found I would say that the use of statins is a very bad idea and much worse then having high cholesterol.
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Right now Iām taking the same amount as you. 10mg Zetia. I just started taking it this summer and am yet to be tested to see itās affect on my bad cholesterol. I was doing fine with it before the insurance decided it was non beneficial. But I also was pre-menopausal and had reduced my body fat down to 25%. Could have been related to that. I also have hashimotos. So there is a lot of variables to deal with right now. Iāve regained half the weight I lost. So my main focus is working on getting my weight back under control by diet, exercise and getting my meds balancedā¦I hope.
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The first quote about sums it up. My clinic no longer even check my cholesterol levels because my consultant (Endo) believes that all T1s should be on statins (āso thereās no point in checking my levelsā).
In any event ātotalā cholesterol levels are not informative because total cholesterol is made up of LDL-cholesterol + triglycerides (high levels = bad) + HDL cholesterol (high levels = good). There is even now evidence that LDL cholesterol is composed of different components. The most important parameters seem to be LDL levels and LDL:HDL ratios.
In my case, my most recent total cholesterol level (last taken 3 years ago) was mildly elevated entirely due to a very high HDL figure. I refused to go on statins, and since then the clinic will longer test my levels.
My advice to the OP is to ask for a breakdown of cholesterol into components. If LDL levels and LDL:HDL ratios are high, consider a different statin. Simvastatin is most commonly prescribed in the UK because it is cheaper than chips. However it also has a terrible record of side effects such as muscle pain. Avoid it?
Joel
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Hi Jo
As you know, Iāve been T1D 43 years now, and have had pressure from my GP to go on statins (wouldnāt engage in any proper discussion with me about this, either!) while my endo has looked at my results and is perfectly happy for me not to go on the things.
In my research about them, I found dietary info here, which I am trying: http://heartuk.org.uk/health-and-high-cholesterol/healthy-lifestyle/healthy-eating
My total chol was something like 5.6 if I recall (with high HDL), andā¦to be honestā¦the few changes I had to make to my diet are unlikely to make much of a difference as I wasnāt a big user of, for example, milk or butter anyway!
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Hi thanks hunni will take a look at info. Really kind of you x