Am I being over prescribed?

I'm not an expert, either on mainstream medicine (the monopoly that our government supports) or alternative medicine (which our government will not test products to see if they are effective to to ensure that they even have the advertised products). You might want to do a lot more research on your own, or even see another doctor for a second opinion. I don't know whether your excellent BP figures are before or after taking medicine.

 

From my research, I have found conflicting information and advice. So it is difficult to determine who is right -- and of course the government isn't interested in an objective determination.

 

For both BP and cholesterol, there are natural alternatives that what I would call an honest doctor would recommend first. I can tell you that both BP medicine and cholesterol medicine can cause problems. I have read that cholesterol medicine changes the body's way of controlling cholesterol -- so if you get used to taking it, you will have to take it for the rest of your life, since you have terminated your body's natural defense. There are alternative medicine experts who point out that many people who die of heart attacks have low cholesterol, and who say that even though the medicine lowers the cholestorol readings, there is no reduction in the number of deaths.

 

I take lisiniprol (although higher dosage) because my BP is too high otherwise -- much higher than your good readings. I constantly cough as a result. And I have a lot of trouble getting it up (impotence). Other BP medicines also have had side effects.

 

My cholesterol is barely above 200, which used to be considered good. The pharmaceutical companies keep lowering the figures -- I think, to sell more drugs. It seems to me that if they didn't know what they were talking about when they said 200 was OK, then maybe they don't know what they're talking about now.

 

This site has some good material on cholesterol, as well as BP. Then there's WebMD and other sites. Maybe you could just do an Internet search. Read everything you can, and make up your own mind. There's a lot of information. I doubt that you have a BP problem, and you should determine when if ever your cholesterol gets high now. Unfortunately, it's harder for you to check your cholesterol.

 

I hope others will offer their advice as well. Roy

I am not a doctor but I think your GP has prescribed the BP meds to prevent HBP, which could be a problem with the cartiod artery issue. You have excellent readings. Occassional spikes are normal and can be attributted to things like activity or stress. It is when the BP remains at the elevated levels that you have a problem. I did take lisonopril for a while and then I developed the cough. My doctor switched me to Micardis and I now have a BP of 105/70 with a pulse in the 60's like you. It sounds like you live a very healthly lifestyle, which is what many doctors recommend first when the cholesterol is high or borderline high like yours. This is the reason your dotor put you on the statin for your cholesterol. Also, your GP may be more aggressive with your cholesterol as a result of the cartiodal artery issue. Your cholesterol numbers are getting better, but what were your other numbers like HDL, Trigs and CHOL/HDL ratio? All the numbers of your lipid panel are important. It may be that those numbers are not falling into place like the TC and the LDL are doing. This may be the reason for the higher level of the statin. These are questions you need to ask your doctor at your next check up. (What does the total lipid panel look like? What are the target numbers we are working for? Why those numbers? Is the statin working to bring these into line? Is this dose too high? What else can I do to bring these numbers into the target zone?) I would worry if your numbers get too low, like TC below 120. I have had my cholesterol lower too much by medication (TC of 105) and you will feel like crap. Good luck. Reta