You have changed the way you eat, opting for low saturated fat choices, and even embracing that exercise routine you swore you would never do. You feel a bit better and the scale is rewarding you for your efforts, but your doctor is still pushing you to reduce those potentially dangerous LDL cholesterol levels even further. Both you and your doctor wanted to avoid adding a cholesterol medication, hoping diet modification and exercise would be enough. But it just hasn't been enough to knock down LDL cholesterol levels below 100. Your doctor has suggested a category of mediations called statins, but you would like to learn more before you make the plunge.
Statin drugs have rapidly become the treatment of choice for many doctor and their names frequent our television sets. Perhaps you recognize these names: Lipitor (atorvastatin), Zocor (simvastatin), Crestor (rosuvastatin), Pravachol (pravastatin), and Lescol (fluvastatin). These drugs work by interrupting the body's synthesis of cholesterol. The benefits of statin cholesterol drugs are wide ranging, such as reducing bad and raising good cholesterol levels, reducing the amount of plaque in your arteries, and reducing the risk of heart attack and stroke.
Pretty amazing stuff, but it seems that most of the time every utopia has a dark side, and this is indeed the case with cholesterol medications. Ironically, the knock against these drugs is that they work too well for some patients!
What, work too well? That's impossible! I thought the goal was to reduce my cholesterol! Yes, No, Yes. In fact when statin cholesterol drugs were first introduced they came a seemingly benign warning that muscle cramps, aches, pain, and weakness could accompany their use. Yet, it rapidly became clear that these drugs could causes a condition called rhabdomyolysis. Rhabdomyolysis is breakdown of muscle tissue creating an unmanageable flood of waste cells that bombards the kidneys and can lead to kidney failure.
The current common side effects for statin cholesterol drugs include: Abnormal results on tests for liver enzymes (temporary), allergic rash, fatigue, headache, nausea, gas, diarrhea, constipation, and low blood pressure.
Less common and potentially serious side effects include persistent abnormal results on liver tests accompanied by hepatitis, abnormally low blood platelet count, emotional depression, memory loss, muscle pain and tenderness, muscle loss, and protein in the urine.
Drug interaction side effects: Certain drugs such as the antibiotic Biaxin (clarithromycin) and certain oral fungal medications impede the body's ability to eliminate statins from the blood. This can be a serious problem, so be and sure to disclose any medications you may be taking to your doctor before implementing a statin drug.
In summary, the facts above are not intended to either encourage or discourage you from taking cholesterol lowering medications, only to lay out the facts. There is no arguing that this type of popular cholesterol lowering medication has helped many improve their heart attack and stroke risk profile. It is also true that almost all medications (both prescription and OTC) come with some side effect label warnings that should be discussed with your doctor.
What Next? Lowering cholesterol, in most cases, is about changing old habits, adopting new healthier habits, and enlisting the help of convention medications such as statins or lowered-cholesterol.com natural cholesterol reducing remedies if needed. Put simply, this basically means finding ways to increase HDL (good cholesterol) and decreasing LDL (bad cholesterol levels). Statin cholesterol medications accomplish both goals and then some, leading many to conclude that the benefits outweigh the risks. In the end very few would argue that knowing the possible risk factors going in is by far the best way to approach any drug therapy, including cholesterol medications.
Rob D. Hawkins is an enthusiastic advocate for the use of safe and effective high quality alternitive health products and natural living, with over 10 years experience in the field. Learn more about natural remedies and natural health at purchaseremedies.com Purchase Remedies.com
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