Saturday, October 31, 2009

Cholesterol

I was wondering if anyone who reads my blog has a problem with high cholesterol and cannot take statins.
I cannot take statins. They give me muscle pain and fatigue.
My cholesterol problem is genetic from my mother's side of our family. The only way I can lower it is with diet and exercise, but because my liver produces more cholesterol than it should, mine is always going to be high.
I tried 3 different statins, also tried Zetia. Have tried flush Niacin and Red Yeast Rice. I already take 3000 MG of fish oil every day. I also take Flax Seed Oil, Garlic Tablets, Vitamin E and COQ10.
I take low dose aspirin, but my cholesterol is still high.
I had a friend over on "Not Over The Hill" tell me that her husband also has genetic high cholesterol. He was put on statins but they were destroying his liver, so the doctor took him off of them. She said he started taking Centrum Cardio and his cholesterol level went from 256 down to 180. Centrum Cardio is a multi-vitamin and mineral supplement that also contains 400 MG of Phytosterols which have been proven to lower Cholesterol.
I already take a multi-vitamin and mineral supplement, but I found a product called Bayer Heart Health Advantage. It is nothing but 400 MG of Phytosterols per tablet. You take 2 of them a day. I'm hoping that they will help me to lower my cholesterol.
If anyone has taken either of these products, I would love to hear from you.

6 comments:

  1. Try eating oatmeal at least four days a week. Since Cliff started doing that, they've cut his Lipiror by 75 %. I couldn't believe it!

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  2. I tried oatmeal before. It makes me gag so I gave up on it. Funny, because I love oatmeal cookies. Go figure.

    Kay

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  3. Hi Kay, In 2004, my doctor put me on Lipitor--and I was on it an entire year before realizing that it was ruining my right leg/foot... I was having so much trouble with that leg--but never associated that pain with the statin. AND--neither did my doctor. I finally got off--and will NEVER take another statin as long as I live. My leg is still not right--and never will be.

    Anyhow--my cholesterol wasn't THAT high--and I haven't been on anything for it since, other than some of the same things you mention (Red Yeast Rice, CholestOff, CoQ10, etc.)... It still runs a little high--but so far, I haven't taken any other meds.

    My hubby, on the other hand, has high cholesterol problems in his family, and has been working with our doctor on his numbers. He has YET to have to go on meds. She took him OFF of the Omega Fish Oil (so you may want to get off of that) and put him on the Niacin --which we weren't taking at the time. She also told him to start using Metamucil(for the fiber) ---which he does religiously 3 times a day. The Metamucil helped the MOST --and he's doing fine now. He uses the powder and mixes it with orange Crystal Light. He buys the generic stuff at Walmart.

    SO--that gives you a couple of things to do.

    Good Luck!!!!! Not a fun problem to have!
    Hugs,
    Betsy

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  4. I had a check up an my cholesterol and Triglyceride were high. He was more unhappy with the Triglyceride then the other, a first for me.I took lipitor for one month and it was way down. So I guit taking it, the stuff scarces me. Now I just don't know what to do. He didn't listen to me when I said I have muscle pain.
    Patsy

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  5. Red Yeast Rice is a "natural" statin, so I stay clear of it. High doses of the flush Niacin also gave me the muscle cramps, so got off of that too. My doctor took me right off of the statins as soon as I told him about the muscle pain. I've been taking the Wal-Mart fiber for about 2 years now.

    Kay

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  6. Interesting blog entry...I'm not taking anything...I do have high cholesterol. I'm sure one day I'll pay for it. I have good cook living with me and it is so hard to be good!

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I appreciate your comments. Thanks for stopping by.
Kay