Re: A poll among the member's please

All,

I started on Lopid (a fibrate) and was on that for about 5 years. My total cholesterol used to be around 220 on Lopid.

Then a new doctor put me on Lipitor. I was on that on Lipitor (10-20mg) for about 7 1/2 years - it lowered my cholesterol to around 170(TC) at one point. When my doctor combined it with Tricor (for triglycerides) I developed severe muscle pains and weakness within 2 months and went off both drugs and have been afraid to take either fibrates or statins since.

My total cholesterol shot up to 264 when I came off the meds.

Since then I have tried:

Vitamin-C (3 grams/day)
L-Lysine (1-2 grams/day)
CoQ10 (50mg/day)
Vitamin-E (400 IU mixed tocopherols every other day)
Ester-E (400 IU every other day)
Omega-3 Fish Oil (4grams/day - total 2grams EPA + DHA)
750mg Inositol Hexanicotinate (Niacin) /day
Folic Acid (800mg/day)
Aspirin (81mg/day)
Eat oatmeal (with oat bran) about 5 times a week.
Take supplemental cinnamon.
Take green tea 3-5 times/week.
Cut back on saturated fats, trans fats, sweets.
More fruits and veggies - less red meat.

What made the most difference (not counting statins) however was when I went on Policosanol (20mg/day). My total cholesterol dropped about 15% after 8 weeks. I haven't had a blood test since (been too busy) but hopefully the Policosanol will have reduced my numbers further at my next test.

If not, I am considering giving Vytorin a try - but I am really afraid to do this because of the time I had with the Lipitor plus Tricor. When I had the muscle problems, I was really afraid I was going to be an invalid for the rest of my life - it took over 10 months to start feeling better (fully recovered now).

I do feel better than when I was on Lipitor (and far far better than when I was on Lipitor + Tricor) - I have more energy, can jog further. Have lost about 20 pounds over the past year.

HubbleRules
:cool: