Statin ???

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squeeksmom

Deceased
I was told by someone that once you start taking a statin drug - lipitor, zocor, etc -- that you can never stop taking them. Is this true?? I'm gonna knock my doctor into the middle of next week if it's true. I'm trying to eliminate my lipitor and replace it with red yeast rice. I've been cutting my 10mg pill in half (5mg daily) and taking 4 600mg red yeast rice capsules a day.
I go in for my yearly physical next week, and if my cholesterol numbers are still good, I want to eliminate the lipitor and just take the red yeast rice.
Anybody know about this?

Thanks,
squeeks
 
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summerthyme

Administrator
_______________
Squeeksmom... sure doesn't sound right to me! I know several people who stopped... some because they finally wised up to the pharmaceutical baloney they were being fed, some because they had terrible side effects.

What you may have heard is something to the effect that "if you stop taking them, your cholesterol will go back up"... in other words, it's NOT a cure. No kidding!! But, they forgot the rest... there is NO evidence that people who take those things, even if they get "good" results with lower cholesterol, actually have fewer heart attacks or strokes or live ANY longer than those who avoid the drugs.

Summerthyme
 
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squeeksmom

Deceased
Thanks, summerthyme! That's a relief. Since red yeast rice contains statin, I'd just as soon try to control my numbers with it - if I CAN!! I, too, have heard about all the bad things they cause, so I'd rather not take em.
Thanks, again.

squeeks
 
A

Amazed

Does too have a life!
I'm alive to tell you that you can go off statins. I've been on 2 different ones (Lipitor and Crestor) and within weeks of taking them, I could hardly walk because my muscles hurt so much. I quit each cold turkey. Never again will I take them.
 
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trueclimber

Contributing Member
squeeksmom, did you know in several states you can have lab work done w/o doctors orders.

The reason I bring this up is because You can monitor Your own progress on your cholesterol. On main stream medicine you can check and see if statin drugs are making that much of a significant difference in your cholesterol to keep taking and also check your liver functions to make sure they are in the norm (that statin drugs aren't damaging your liver). If taking "alternative" medicine, red yeast rice, you can check to see if it is doing the job.

Also, if you have the lab work in hand you can discuss this with your doctor then. Plus you will know where your numbers are and know what is normal for you. There are several online labs you can look into. There is a link to one such lab in my sig. You may find the site to be very informative. There are many reasons why people chose to use or not use this kind of service, but you can look into what lab work is available to be proactive in your health.

I see no reason you coundn't go off statin drugs other than your cholesteral going back up and by how much, you won't know til you get your lab back.
 
ainitfunny

ainitfunny

Saved, to glorify God.
The statin drug manufacturers say do NOT continue taking statin drugs if you get bad muscle pain from them. I did too and they can cause PERMANENT DAMAGE if you are sensitive to them and keep taking them.

Red yeast rice IS BASICALLY THE SAME THING, that is where statin drugs come from. I found my THROAT swollen enough to be CLOSING AT NIGHT interfering with my breathing!! I had to stop the red yeast rice too!

They also can cause NEUROPATHY which is a fate worse than death for those who suffer it badly, CONSTANT PAIN requiring even the strongest pain killers, then eventual numbness and loss of nerve control. Even the nerves to the heart, intestines, eyes, hands, feet, skin, bowel and bladder control etc can become involved and destroyed. My husband describes his neuropathy (from diabetes) as "Like being roasted alive".
 
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squeeksmom

Deceased
true climber, no, I didn't know that - thanks for the info, and I'll check out the site in your sig.
I've been off the Lipitor for over 6 weeks now - with my Dr's blessing - he said "don't let your alternative medicine mind totally over rule your scientific mind", but he did agree to let me try the red yeast rice and monitor my numbers to see what happens. I won't go back on the Lipitor - I didn't even realize how much pain it was adding to my life (I have arthritis, so I usually figure joint pain is from that) until I stopped taking it. Pain in my hips, arms and shoulders - bad enough to keep me awake at night - has gone away. And it came on sooo slowly, that I never thought to attribute it to the Lipitor.

hitssquad - does taking CoQ10 make a difference? I was taking it for a while, but it's so danged expensive!! I finally found red yeast rice powder on line so I could make my own capsules, and it's much, much less expensive - but I've never been able to find CoQ10. Any ideas?

Thanks, all!!

squeeks
 
Funky Pioneer

Funky Pioneer

Contributing Member
You want to lower your cholesterol? Elimiate all breads and grains from your diet, and refined sugars. Take milk thistle, phospitadyl choline and your tests will come back normal in 2 weeks. I swear. It worked for me.
 
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squeeksmom

Deceased
FP, I take two "0" capsules of milk thistle a day. Should I take more? What is phospitadyl choline????
We're preppers!! How can we eliminate breads and grains from our diet?? :lol: The refined sugars aren't a problem, don't use much of that anyway. DH is diabetic, so I've pretty much eliminated sugars.

squeeks
 
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goatlady2

Deceased
The reason you cannot find bulk CoQ10 is because Japan has a lock on the production and it only leaves their country in capsule form. Instead of trying to eliminate bread and grains, start eating oak bran or even oatmeal every day - it takes a few months but this food DOES lower "bad" cholesterol significantly.
 
hitssquad

hitssquad

Inactive
CoQ10 powder is available from BAC

Hi folks,

Sorry I haven't responded to this thread in a while. I forgot to check back. CoQ10 is available in powder form from Beyond-a-Century:
http://www.easycart.net/BeyondACenturyInc./New_Products.html#2030

30 grams for $64 (about $2/gram). BAC has a good reputation as a reliable retailer, but it's rumored that a lot of their product is sourced from China (i.e., not as good as Japan or Italy). I don't know wherefrom their CoQ10 is sourced. I suppose someone could ask them. They are usually pretty helpful over email and phone. I know that they take all of their own products and take their health seriously, so I don't think they would carry products that they thought were drastically inferior or poisonous.

BAC also carries idebenone, which is a CoQ10 analog and costs less:
http://www.easycart.net/BeyondACenturyInc./Antioxidants.html#2065

Some people supplement with a mixture of 50%/50% idebenone and CoQ10.

To maximize absorption, CoQ10 should be taken with black-pepper-extract (piperine) or black pepper itself (also, black pepper flavonoids are good fat-soluble antioxidants -- search PubMed for info on this). It should also be taken with oil or oily foods (you don't need a lot of oil for this -- a little is just fine) since it is fat-soluble.

Also, you might want to be careful to not take too much CoQ10 at once. It is good for your mitochondria in small amounts, but large amounts can cuase it to over-produce oxidation products -- thus burning it out. Burned-out (e.g., aged, senesced) mitochondria is a permanent condition and broadly affects health (the "always tired" feeling and general mental and physical weakness of older persons is largely a result of mitochondrial burn-out), so for long-term health we should be careful to do what we can to keep our mitochondria from aging.
 
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