Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by wickhamster on November 7, 2011 at 4:40pm

My doctor put me on Crestor for a month and my cholesterol went from too high to quite low ... sorry, forgotten the figures. But it was really good. :) After a month stopped taking it, and a few months later still good.

• ▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Laura S. on November 8, 2011 at 2:09pm

So, I'm toying with the idea of trying other things. But something has to actually work to get the doctor to leave me alone! In that appointment this week I proved I was over medicated on thyroid, and stains (had I actually taken the full dose he gave me).
Wondering....does Red Yeast Rice work or have the same side effects?
What can I try?
Again, I have no histery of heart disease, but had much dental inflammation over the years. Normal everything except LDL which went to 70 after less than two weeks on Pravastatin 10 mg, and I didnt even take a pill every day.

• ▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by MossDog on November 8, 2011 at 2:56pm

Red Yeast Rice has the same potential for problems as statins. Different people react to different statins in different ways. Some people may not tolerate Lipitor but are fine on Crestor for example. So red yeast rice may or may not cause problems. The main issue I have with Red Yeast Rice is concern that you may not get consistent dosing and/or it may have impurities in it as it is not near so heavily regualted as statins as it is considered a dietary supplement. Red yeast Rice is where the idea of statins came from :-)

Other options include trying to really increase your fiber intake specifically soluble fiber (why you hear oatmeal is so good). You can find this in psyllium fiber supplements. The other thing you can try is plant stanols/sterols. You can get them in Promise margarine (there is another that escapes me), they have sterols in Promise "shots", I have also seen it in Orange juice. You eat these at the same time as something with cholesterol (meat or eggs) and this has been shown to reduce cholesterol by approx 10%. Problem with plant sterols are they can be pricy. If you ARE eating carbs then you also need to ensure your saturated and trans fat intake is low. If you are on a Low Carb diet saturated fat dosen't seem to be a problem. If you do not eat low carb you might consider it. People seem to see a quite significant decline in cholesterol on this diet. This is all I can think of right now..... Oh wait- can't forget exercise. If you are already exercising pick up the intensity and duration.

• ▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Laura S. on November 8, 2011 at 3:02pm

Mostly I barely eat.
I eat about 12 grams of carb for breakfast, and maybe 20 for lunch.
Nothing major unless I go to dinner and then I bring half my plate home.
I buy low fat everything else.
Endo simply gave me no chance to try anything else, though my other doctors wanted me to try these sorts of things first.
I just cannot sort out statin pain from my fibromyalgia.

• ▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by MossDog on November 8, 2011 at 3:19pm

Actually I had a similar issue. I have restless leg syndrome (RLS) and was wondering if Crestor was contributing. The problem is, RLS is so cyclical for me it was difficult to tell if Crestor was contributing or not. What me and my PCP decided to do was to go off the Crestor for 1 month and do a baseline CPK (lab that shows muscle damage). I then took the Crestor for 1 month and did a repeat CPK. I also the followed that up with a CPK 4 months after the restart of Crestor. In my case this showed that Crestor was not causing any sort of muscle damage. I can afford to do all these labs because I do not have to pay if I have them drawn at the hospital.

Endo's and PCP's are so aggressive about statins because the cause of death for 3 out of every 4 PWD is some form of Heart Disease. I do not necessarily agree with the strong push for statins but I can see why they do it.

• ▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Laura S. on November 8, 2011 at 3:21pm

I wonder if you can safely take one every other day?
That was an awfully amazing drop from taking half a pill and missing some along the way!

• ▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by MossDog on November 8, 2011 at 3:36pm

Not sure about every other day. The Pravachol package insert suggest the half life is only about 2 hours but the effect on cholesterol is over a much longer period. When you had your cholesterol checked had you taken it just the day/night before or had it been the 2 days when you got the labs drawn?

• ▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Laura S. on November 8, 2011 at 3:44pm

14 hours before the lab......

• ▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by MossDog on November 8, 2011 at 4:23pm

So that makes it tough to say whether taking it every other day works. If you decide to keep taking it I would try to get the next labs done when you have not had it for a few days.

Permalink Reply by sonic fiftytwo on March 7, 2013 at 7:03am

It worked VERY VERY well for me.

I stopped taking it because I ran out.

I noticed one *pain in the butt* side effect, but can't be 100% certain Crestor did it.
Anal leakage. Constant anal leakage.
Since I ran out, the anal leakage seemed to go away.

I see my endo next week to get new Rx's for everything. Sheesh. What a ton of money I get to spend...

• ▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Prince on April 10, 2013 at 1:24pm

I actually have ZERO side effects and I've been taking a statin since I was diagnosed (almost). I take one low dose of Crestor every other day (in addition to a daily baby aspirin). My lipid panel is really beautiful. I want to frame it sometimes.
My endo told me if I had any side effects to stop it. But so far so good.

• ▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Brian (bsc) on April 18, 2013 at 4:25am

If I had this intolerable side effect, I would sit in every seat in my doctors waiting room and make the doctor recognize the side effect.

For a very critical view of statins, check out the movie I just posted in the video section.

• ▶ Reply

• ‹ Previous
• 1
• 2
• 3
• Next ›
• Page