Saturday, September 04, 2010 David asks

Q: I'm 48, male, had mild heart attack at 41 with blocked artery. Tried statins - had bad side effects; Cholestoff, Red yeast rice. Same thing. Lost 20 lbs. Walk 2 miles/day. Diet. What elsecan I do

to lower bad cholesterol? I take 2 grams of Lovaza to help triglycerides. Works great. Total cholesterol is about 200; HDL is 38, LDL is 121 (doctor wants it below 100).

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Answers (1)

David1951

9/ 4/10 9:34pm

David

first understand that statins work in secondary protection not by lowering cholesterol but by lowering inflammation..see here:

http://www.spacedoc.net/statins_inflammation_cholesterol

you can get the same antiinflammatory effect from fish oil :

http://www.spacedoc.net/atherosclerosis_heart_attacks.htm

http://www.spacedoc.net/omega_3_availability.html

finally the best way to lower cholesterol is to lower the bodies need. among the many uses of cholesterol in the body is for repair of damage, especially damage to the artery walls see the following on that:

http://www.ourhealthcoop.com/pauling.htm

other potential sources of damage are high glycemic foods...

cut out sugars (especially fructose), white starches (especially wheat flour) and the sweeter fruits.

and finally understand that for all cause mortality, levels of TC in the 200 to 260 range produce the lowest mortality....see here (table 5 and 6) :

http://dspace.lib.kanazawa-u.ac.jp/dspace/bitstream/2297/7526/1/ME-PR-MABUCHI-H-1087.pdf

and here (skip down to "why lower cholesterol anyway?):

http://www.spacedoc.net/cheerios_fda

David

9/ 5/10 6:41pm

Much thanks! Wow! I was told not to worry about taking a multi-vitamin (which is fine - since most of the OTC versions, especially Centrum, give me reactions). But I am on 5000 IU of Vitamin D - since my levels were way too low (a byproduct, they say, of having been on statins!). I take 2 low dose aspirin a day in addition to my 2 grams of Lovaza. If I can find a "pure" vitamin that includes B6, B12, Folic Acid, and Vit. C, - that won't interfere with my betablocker - I plan to take it. Any recommendations?

I deeply appreciate your information. I found it very helpful!

David1951

9/ 5/10 7:33pm

David

I take individual (not a multi)

I take a 2500mcg sublingual B12 (disolves under the tongue)

200 mg B6 generic

400mcg folic acid also generic

I take 2 grams 3 times per day vit C (with meals)

http://www.iherb.com/NutriBiotic-Ascorbic-Acid-Crystalline-Powder-16-oz-454-g/24191?at=0

you can also get the B12 in a shot

I take the Vit D 5000 IU twice per day but my level when tested two years after statins was 17

I was disabled by statins and even now after 3 years have not recovered so if you still have symptoms of side effects let me know as I can point you to info on that.

common long term statin damage:

chronic fatigue

muscle pains and weakness

nerve problems: numbness, burning,tingling, muscle twitches, spasms, cramps

memory problems

brain fog (confusion)

very rapid eyesight changes that don't revert after stopping statin

see a more complete list here:

http://www.statinvictims.org/statin-drugs/ menu on the right side starting with "blood"

David

9/ 6/10 8:45am

Once again, I thank you for your input. I'm sorry that you had to go through your bad journey with statins. I truly understand. Your message gave me a chill. While I have had muscle spasms and pain over the years on statins, my other symptoms seemed to have been "blown off" by the docs. Now, as I look back, I can see a pattern... anxiety and depression (I'm normally a very optimistic person - but on statins, I got so depressed at times), eye sight changes (going rapidly from 20/20 vision to now not being able to read without bifocals - all within a couple of years... just told that it's because I'm in my 40s), periodically not being able to "find the words" to say what I want to say, feeling "lost" while driving at times.

I'm now on Crestor 5mg one time a week as an experiment to see if that is enough statin. I've only taken 3 weeks worth (3 pills) and some of those same symptoms - though milder - are coming back. This has been a 6 year journey for me - since my heart attack.

Thank you again for sharing your insights. You cannot even begin to know how much that means to me!

peace.

David1951

9/ 8/10 11:37am

David,

I suggest you STOP the statin

I also suggest that you visit the spacedoc forums for more info from other victims as it is unlikely that you will fully recover from statin damage and may even get worse if you over exert yourself.

the following is from a Q and A on the site:

8. Question: What evidence do we have that statin damage - specifically, muscular pain and weakness - can linger or recur after the medication is discontinued?

Dr. Graveline: We have thousands of such cases. Dr. Beatrice Golomb, director of the statin study at UCSD college of Medicine has recently reported that 68% of all statin myopathy cases become permanent. From my own record review I know she is correct. And peripheral neuropathy is 100% permanent. And the original drug company incidence figure of <2% for myopathy is now over 10% and closer to 20%, I believe. With millions of people on statins, think of the legions of people out there with permanent muscle pain and weakness. It is a tragedy beyond belief.

Dr. Golomb's study is the basis for the side effect symptom list I sent you to earlier...

also you should check out chelation for your athero:

http://www.spacedoc.net/chelation_heart_disease.htm

and David, you can't begin to know how much it means to me when I can help someone through this...even more so when I can help them avoid this.... after a lifetime of doing many things this is almost the only rewarding thing of which I am capable now

go to www.spacedoc.net join the forums, I and many others are there to help you through all the information

Q: I'm 48, male, had mild heart attack at 41 with blocked artery. Tried statins - had bad side effects; Cholestoff, Red yeast rice. Same thing. Lost 20 lbs. Walk 2 miles/day. Diet. What elsecan I do

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