Cholesterol to take meds or not????

irtata43

I have high cholesterol, my doctors are pushing meds at me and Im running from it as hard as I can. The possible side effects scare the bejeebers out of me. Plus I don't want to live with having to go for blood work every 4/6 months. Im pretty sure not only does diet contribute to the high cholesterol but also genetics play a big factor. I've read some on fish oil and see it also has the risk of some serious side effects. I was just wondering if any of you face this problem and have any advice for me. Thanks in advance..

emscat78

I have known I have had very high cholesterol since I was 10 (total cholesterol 275). I have been a vegetarian since I was 11. I am now 32 and I know my high cholesterol is mostly hereditary. I have fought being on medication for years, but know it's time to get serious about it. I have tried simvastatin and found it gave me joint pain. I am now on pravastatin with no problems. I also take flax seed oil. I work in a healthcare facility and most people tolerate fish oil very well. Most people also handle cholesterol medications very well. If your cholesterol is high for dietary and not hereditary reasons, give it a try on your own. But you still need to have it monitored with bloodwork every six months to see if it is going down.

kbanzhaf

Before I lost my weight, I was on cholesterol medicine for four years or so. At my annual physical, I asked my doctor about going off of it because my legs hurt all the time (I was taking Lipitor). He said that side effect would have been immediate, not cumulative. I went off of it on my own. The following week, when they called to let me know my blood sugar was elevated and they wanted me to come back in two months to have it checked, I told them I had quit taking the Lipitor and already felt better. Long story short, two months later, my blood sugar was still elevated, and my cholesterol had skyrocketed.

My doctor then sent me to a nutritionist who basically told me....write down everything you eat, keep your total carbs to 15 or under (15 grams = 1 carb), and try to get some exercise.....I had been walking on a daily basis, but after I started to lose some weight doing this, I bought a treadmill, and then (despite getting shin splints so bad I needed some surgery), the weight really started coming off. In about 15 months, I lost right at 70 pounds. I regained about 20 (but was still in a healthy weight range), have lost five of that, and would like to lost 10 more.

Yes, cholesterol is both a combination of diet and heredity....but if you can lose the weight, you may be able to avoid the medicine. Since I lost the weight 3+ years ago, my cholesterol and blood sugar levels have both been in normal ranges, and the only prescription medicine I take is for hypothyroidism.
K

Stefani74

My husbands cholesterol is very high. However, he has tried 3 different meds and has developed side effects to all 3. Now we are eating healthy, both trying to lose about 20 lbs, and we are about to start a workout program together in hopes to get his cholesterol down. If his numbers don't go down, he's going to have to try another medication. So hoping this works!! I hate all the side effects of medications! Good luck to you!

juliana1977

The first time the dr. said I had high cholesterol I was 11. Since then it has been up and down depending on how much junk I had eaten that year. Everybody on my mom's side of family has very high Cholesterol. Mine right now is 233 and I also refused to take meds. At this tiem what really scared me was my triglicerides at 500. Our body produces cholesterol (it is not fat, it is a waxy thing that if we have too much it accumulates in the arteries) plus we also get it from food. After convincing my dr. that I need to try to lower it without meds he told me to keep cholesterol intake to 180mg a day. So far so go. Also to keep fat intake to 20% of total calories to lower triglicerides (triglicerides is fat that we eat.). So far so good too!
When taking any kind fat choose the monounsaturates one: olives, olive oil and other oils such as saffoil and sunflower oil, nuts/seeds and dark chocolate. In a very small amount b/c they are full of calories like all fats. But these ones can actually improve cholesterol and heart conditions.
I take up to 4000mg of fish oil everyday and up to 2 tbsp of flaxseeds everyday.
My mom has very high cholesterol even after keeping a very restricted diet, working out one hour 5 days a week and taking medicine. It is hereditary but it need to be controled.
I will be rechecking my cholesterol and triglicerides next month, cant wait to see improvements. I really dont want to go into meds yet.

irtata43

Thank you all so much for your replies. Im trying to gather as much info as I can so I can make an informed decision.

uk_angeldust

Hello fellow cholesterol fighters!

Hope you are all well!

It is nice to know there is a group on here for high cholesterol issues! I was very relieved to find some 'friends' who I can relate to!

Ok so here is my background story/sob story:

I have always been healthy and relatively active so it came as a huge surprise when I was told I have insanely high cholesterol levels 9.8 mmols (normal for my age is 3) which is about 3.2 g/l (normal for my age is 1.5). the first time I found out about the high levels was about 2 months ago - at that time it was 9.6. I started going on a diet and since then lost 3 kilos and ate lots of fish, olive oil, avocados etc .

Yesterday I consulted my doctor after being on a diet for about two months and had another blood test only to find out it went to 9.8!! The doctor then explained that my cholesterol is a hereditary condition (yes I was also very dubious at first!) and no matter how hard I exercise or diet, without medication it will not go down. She was very shocked at ages 28, it was so high!
So as of yesterday I have been taking pills called CRESTOR 5mg which of course was very hard to accept! i never had to take any pills or meds in my life!!!

So I have now decided to exercise a lot more and keep up the diet as I don't wanna die young .... not to mention having to take meds my whole life!

So if you are in the same position, please share your story and feel free to add me!!!

All the best,

your new friend!

Fat Fighter!

katierush

I've been on cholesterol medicine for about 10 years now. It is definitely hereditary (two out of four children are on meds...another one has cholesterol over 200 and eats mostly a vegan diet and exercises ofter...the fourth and youngest sibling has never had hers tested--I'm sure that will be high. Our dad has had high cholesterol and heart troubles starting since his late 30's. I know that my cholesterol will always be high, and I will probably have to increase my dosage as well. If you don't have a history of high cholesterol in your family, try losing weight with good foods and exercise. Good luck.

uk_angeldust

ty for your support

BigBoneSista

There are cholesterol fighters I just don't know how high your level is. My mom eats real oatmeal and she takes niacin to help keep her off the other meds. She is also eating healthier.

fasttrack27

Got my counts under control with hard excercise and healthier eating. My mom's whole side has high cholesterol so I got some of that, plus years of not-so-great food choices. When I first was made aware of it, I THOUGHT I made some changes that would help. I re-tested and was still high so they put me on a med. It helped my counts but not a ton. I decided to get serious and got off the meds, started working out a ton (safely building up, of course) and watching the diet even closer. Got re-tested again and counts were better than when on meds! So now I keep up what's worked for me which is hard, kick your butt, excercise 5-6X/week.

I use flax seed but not fish oil. Fish oil seems to have some controversy. My doc said it wouldnt do much for me, but my parents doc and a trainer-friend suggests it. Who knows. I also read some articles how there is limited control as to what actually gets put into fish oil and there was some scary and yucky test results. Good luck!

afred29

My opinion is to take the medication. I work in the Cardiology field and the doctor I work for harps so much to the patients about cholesterol control. Yes you can lower your levels with diet and exercise but for most people that is not enough to get your numbers to optimum levels. Also if you start taking the meds and then go back to have your levels checked and there great, Don't stop taking your meds. A lot of patients think they are cured of high cholesterol but infact it's the meds just controlling the levels. Good luck.

LoriT129

I know I am jumping on this thread late but was browsing through the comments looking for similar information. In June of last year I was told that my cholesterol was way to high. I don't remember the number but it wasn't healthy and actually scared me. I have been fighting going on cholesterol meds for the past 2 years and when my doctor told me that my cholesterol was the super sticky kind (there are 3 kinds: A, AB, and if I didn't do something I was going to die a young death, I decided it was time to get out of denial and do something about it. I was scared to start taking the meds. They put me on Crestor first and I didn't tolerate it very well. They then changed me to pravastatin and I have had NO problems whatsoever with it. I also take an aspirin and I HIGHLY recommend that if you don't take the meds for cholesterol, please be sure to take an aspirin if you can tolerate it. If you haven't been told (or tested) to see how sticky the cholesterol is, please do so. It is so important to be informed and learn how you can make the changes in your body so you can be healthier. I asked the doc if I would be on it for the rest of my life and she said that I didn't have to be if I made the right changes. So, our deal is this, I lose 50 lbs. and then go off the meds for 3 months and get my bloodwork checked. If it remains within range then I can consider myself off the meds with a promise to have it checked 2 times a year to make sure everything keeps looking good! I will stay on aspirin no matter what. Hang in there...know there are others out there who struggle with those decisions as well and do what is best for you.

Stefani74

My husbands cholesterol is very high. However, he has tried 3 different meds and has developed side effects to all 3. Now we are eating healthy, both trying to lose about 20 lbs, and we are about to start a workout program together in hopes to get his cholesterol down. If his numbers don't go down, he's going to have to try another medication. So hoping this works!! I hate all the side effects of medications! Good luck to you!

Just in a month my husband's numbers have gone down tremendously! He goes back in 3 months to have it checked again and if his blood pressure and cholesterol are still low enough the doctor is going to take him off both meds for a trial period. He did put him on another cholesterol med two weeks ago....so we aren't sure if it's the meds helping or it's the diet and exercise. Hopefully he can get off the meds for good!

uk_angeldust

what meds do you guys take? I am on Crestor (1 month so far) but it is giving me headaches! anyone else experienced this? if u have changed meds, what do u take now?

ty!

soysos

I strongly advocate that before taking any new medication you should consult your pharmacist first, most of the time they know more about how they work and what to expect than the physician that prescribed it.

the way most of those drugs work is by inhibiting the body's ability to produce cholesterol, the long term effects of messing around with bodily functions is not well documented. in an ideal world this should only be used as a last resort, unfortunately it is vastly over prescribed.

LoriT129

what meds do you guys take? I am on Crestor (1 month so far) but it is giving me headaches! anyone else experienced this? if u have changed meds, what do u take now?

ty!

I took Crestor and had headaches as well as feeling as if someone was poking me with a needle in my legs and arms. Crestor is one of the stronger ones. I am now on Pravachol and have had ZERO complications.

Soyos...in an ideal world we would all be healthy and wouldn't need to have this discussion. Statins have saved millions of lives in helping to prevent heart attacks. It is a preventative medication that is proven safe and effective. In an ideal world my husband wouldn't have been born with a genetic disorder that raises his cholesterol to dangerous levels. For people like him, it is the only solution. For people like me...diet and exercise will help but until I reach that point, I am very grateful that there is a medication out there that will protect my heart and keep the cholesterol from causing a blockage that could kill me. I'm pretty psyched about seeing my children grow up and meeting my grandkids one day.

kbanzhaf

I took Lipitor for several years, but asked my doctor about going off of it due to joint pain, leg pain, etc. He told me no, because if it was the Lipitor, it would have been an acute onset, not chronic, but if you go to Lipitor's website, it tells you the onset of the pain can be gradual.
Long story short, at the same time, I was diagnosed with elevated blood sugar.....the doctor wanted to check it again in two months, so since I knew I'd be going back in, I quit the Lipitor cold turkey. In less than a week, I felt SO MUCH better. But, at the two month check, my cholesterol was high again.
So, my doctor sent me to a dietician, I changed how I ate and my portion sizes, I started walking (religiously), and 10 months later at my annual physical, I had lost about 55 pounds, and both my blood sugar and cholesterol were within normal ranges. I continued to lose, and am now about 60 pounds lighter than I was was when I began this journey. I was down about 70, and I am working on losing about five to ten pounds again now.
Almost five years later, my cholesterol and blood sugars continue to be in normal ranges.
Kaye