Lipitor And Such

notyou311 replied: "Try it. It could lower your cholesterol and save your life. Ask the Dr. about Zetia. It works differently and is easily tolerated."

nursekuba replied: "Well, with your cholesterol being that high, I'm afraid the diet and exercise thing won't bring it down enough. I would suggest trying the lipitor and seeing how it works. If you have bad side effects you can always stop taking it."

emperor_chino replied: "I take 10 miligrams a day and have since I was 5, so 8 years. My dad has taken 80 miligrams for 28 years. We have hyperchlorestoralimia and both have our readings in the 300s without Lipitor and in the low 200s taking it. It helps keep the blood vessles clear. Side effects are minimal."

iceemama replied: "I take lipitor and haven't had any side effects. I know everyone is different but I agree you should try it and then stop if necessary. With Zocor, my hair fell out and I stopped it. You also may ask your dr. about taking fish oil pills. I take them with my lipitor and it has helped my cholesterol numbers greatly. Good luck to you."

noxcuses4me replied: "Given your set of circumstances, yes---in a heartbeat (no pun intended). By definition, if you had angioplasty, things *aren't* "normal." You have narrowed, diseased blood vessels.Your #1 aim is to minimize the risk of disease progression. Getting your cholesterol down is critical to this. It may not be a lifetime prescription---you may find that lifestyle changes make it unnecessary at some point. However, with your family history, it might well be something you do require for the long run. Lipitor is not risk-free---but you are in a very, very high-risk category, in terms of your cardiac status---so the risk vs. benefit ratio of the drug leans very heavily toward taking it. Stay healthy!"

stephen k replied: "I do take lipitor. My cholesterol was not as bad as yours (Mine was "only" 283) but with a history of high cholesterol in the family, the doctor felt we should take preventative measures. Just no grapefruit or grapefruit drinks OK?"

Spark replied: "You are at risk of developing heart disease as one of the risk factors is genetic history. It is a good idea to reduce your modifiable risk factors like high cholesterol. You should take the Lipitor prescribed for you but if you get bad side effects from it there are other cholesterol lowering drugs that might not have the same side effects. Ask your family doctor if you can't stand Lipitor."

stevemeister replied: "Uh... WOW!!... that Spark guy really knows what he's talking about!..."

kc2mfh replied: "I take the Lipitor pill 80mg. I just got out of the hospital too. Got the same procedure with 2 stents. Lipitor and a slew of other drugs I have to take now for the rest of my life. Yes Heart Disease runs in my family too. I survived a recent Heart Attack just last Friday 9/7/07. I never knew how vulnerable I am. Plus I am under 49. Your never too young to have a heart attack. Check with your doctor and find the right meds you can tolerate. Honestly pal you don't want to go what I did. Live Long and Prosper... :-)"

self-employed replied: "You need to take something because you're a walking time bomb. Try the Lipitor and if you have bad side effects they can try you on something else. I promise you, the side effects of a heart attack are worse."

davidt replied: "take the lipitor,save on stents,if it does not work,their are other drugs for lowering cholesterol,give it a try"

Tim B replied: "Eat less animal fat such as cheese, eggs and meat."

mistysmum replied: "Take it. It is not renowned for side effects. Your regular dr will monitor any. Would you rather go through a heart attack or open heart bypass surgery, than take a little pill every night? Grow up..."

Why don't doctors warn you about serious side effects from Lipitor and Zocor? I have taken Lipitor off and on for a few years. I began hearing about side effects such muscle weakness, joint pain and liver damage and I had been experiencing side effects myself, so I did some research and found some frightening reports. I stopped taking it 10 days ago and still have symptoms. Is there permanent damage?www.medications.com/go/se/Lipitor

Alternatives to lipitor? looking for anyones personal experiences with reformulated alternative meds to Lipitor. My Insurance wont consider it to be the "preferred" med, which makes it $20 more than every other alternative. Should I stay with the Lipitor or try an alt, such as Vytorin or Zocor Asking my doctor was something I already knew (thank you though) and dont worry I would not be stupid enough to make a potentially dangerous move by making a med change without consulting my doctor. A smart person always takes all information into consideration. Was hoping to get some personal experiences out of this, possibly someone who tried lipitor AND switched to something else. I fully comprehend that each person can respond differently to the very same med.

car_craze_gal replied: "I like Zetia"

big_csf replied: "The best thing to do is take the list of drugs your insurance company will pay for to the Dr's office and he/she can decide which is the best alternative for you."

kids and cats replied: "You need to discuss this with your doctor. Explain the problem and ask them if they could recommend an alternative. Don't take medical advice from here. You never know who is offering the advice, and you really don't want to take prescription advice from the kid working at the 7-11 or washing cars at the local Sunoco do you?"

Louie replied: "I could not take lipitor, so zocor is pretty much the same thing... took it for years...it lowers your chlolestrol... but vytorin is a pill that is half zocor and half something else.... I take that now... it lowers chlol with the zocor part and the other half of the pill either raises your HDL ( the good stuff) or it lowers the LDL ( the bad stuff)...I forget which... but never had any side effects with either of these"

My brother has a 1,900 triglycerides level. Has anyone know someone like this? Both of his doctors say they have never seen such leves in anyone. He is loosing weight, has changed his eating habits, he's taking, Lipitor 80 mg, Tricor 145 mg, Omega 3 and Niacin 1g and exercises everyday now, yet he cannot low down the level. Anyone has any ideas?

red_tear replied: "I have an idea. Get him off the cholesterol lowering drugs, lipitor and tricor, and get him onto a triglyceride lowering drug. I would recomend a combination of a fibrate a statin and niacin."

dcrc93 replied: "very high no ive never heard of it eating low cal food and heart healthy ones that have the heart on the label like Quakers oats,Cheerios ETC ect fish oil tablets from walamrt if over wt lose it and exercise"

Sally replied: "Don't know anyone with triglycerides that high, but my husbands were 400 and he tried everything with no lowering results till he started to watch his sugar intake, sugar has a big influence on these levels. He eats very little sugar, watch food labels, some foods you think are healthy are full of sugar. Also eat legumes, such as kidney, pinto and black beans. He eats at least 1/2 cup daily mixed with onions, green peppers and a little light Miracle Whip. Continue with the exercise. Within one month his triglycerides came down to 102 and his total cholesterol came down to 120. His cardiologist was amazed at what he achieved in a short period of time with diet and exercise. Wish him well."

I take 80 mg of Lipitor after 3 heart caths. My LDL is 19 and HDL is 54. Should I worry about side effects? I have had 3 stents implanted in my RCA with 3 different PTCA's in 18 mos and 2 heart attacks..Is 19 in LDL too low? Are other parts of my body going to be negatively impacted by cholesterol values this low?Why would my doc keep me on such a high dosage with such a low cholesterol reading?

K8 replied: "When was your last heart attack? When you have a heart attack, your cholesterol levels will be falsely lowered on a blood test for about a month. Also, unless you are experiencing side effects, no; you don't need to worry about them."

billyvnilly replied: "No, you really can't have too low of a LDL, and YES your doctor will keep you on a high dose of the cholesterol drug, because you are at great risk for restenosing those stents. You should continue whatever blood thinner, antihypertensive, and cholesterol drug your cardiologist has you on. The negative impact of the cholesterol drug can be monitored with liver function tests (blood work) and/or the presence of muscle aches."

christina c replied: "If you are not currently experiencing any side effects such as chest pain, back pain or muscle pains etc.. then it should be fine. The high dose is just a preventative measure as a precaution."

abetterway2earn.com replied: "First review what Dr. Louis Ignarro, currently at UCLA and one of three who were awarded the NOBEL PRIZE by hearing what he has to say about cardiovascular disease including resolutions even for cholesterol at: Now watch this movie DRAMATIZATION with Dr.Ignarro's discovery, by Dr. Harry Elwardt: MOVIE & INFORMATION ONLY Please let me know if you would like to learn more at Hope this helps, Ernie Clinical Research with emphasis in health care prevention"

Dr Frank replied: "Broadly the lower your total cholesterol the better. I am on 80mgs of atorvastatin and have been for many years. Provided you get no overt side effects such as muscle,hepatic or renal problems, all of which your GP should be regularly monitoring you for, there ar no long term problems. You are also looking for as low a cholesterol HDL ratio as possible. There was a little bit of work done in the states looking at bringing total cholesterol down to less than 1 mmole. This did appear to marginally reduce pre-existing plaque deposits. With generalised disease you need all the help you can get. Interestingly are you on one anti-platelet drug,aspirin would be a minimum requirement or 2, clopidogrel as well? To be honest the biggest issue for the NHS with both high dose atorvastatin and long term clopidogrel is probably cost rather than efficacy or risk. I have a strong suspicion that when both these drugs come off patent and their cost punnets we will suddenly see more patients on clopidogrel and more on high dose atorvastatin. The same happened when the price od simvastatin plummeted to pennies. The standard dose went up to 40mgs, when before 20mgs or even 10mgs were used. Atorvastatin is both a more potent drug and is tolerated in much higher doses."

Rhianna Returns replied: "Because the lower the cholesterol, the lower the risk to health and it needs to be kept low to prevent cardiovascular events. Providing you can tolerate the dosage, there is no issue. As Dr Frank has said, you will regularly have liver and kidney function tests and of course if you do develop muscle aches, report it to your GP."

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