Crestor & High Cholesterol

it all depends on the cholesterol. I have familial hypercholesterolemia and even with diet and exercise and losing weight,my cholesterol doesnt go down like it should(my liver doesnt process it normally like other people,its a rare genetic disorder). I have tried many ways of eating,I have exercised and in the past I have taken zocor,prevastatin(prevachol) and a few others and zocor helped bring it down some but not a lot. I have went off them due to side effects a few years ago(side effects vary from med to med and person to person). I started taking the zocor again and had some really bad side effects only 3 days after taking them(severe back pain,neck pain, NO energy,extreme fatigue,and no strengthen,I couldnt even carry a laundry basket of clothes(I lift heavy weights so that should not have happened). I had to go off of them and am not taking livalo. today is my first day on that medicine.

I get retested every 6 months. for some just diet,eating healthy and losing weight will bring down their cholesterol,others not so much. @MiamiSeoul how does your dr know you have blockage? has he ever done tests to see the blockage and at what percentage(usually a cardiologist does this)? high cholesterol doesnt always mean blocked arteries though.as for being weaned off the meds it all depends. sometimes you can go off the meds after your cholesterol is within normal ranges,but sometimes you have to continue taking them. there is no real way to know except with trial and error.I tried going off them and it didnt help.I tried for a few years. It went down some without meds but not enough,so Im back at square one.

for me I have to cut down or have low amounts of saturated fats,I cant have fried foods,white flour products(cookies,cakes,pancakes,etc-not that I eat a lot of those things) no white rice.I have to avoid beef,pork and lamb(I dont eat lamb),I have to watch my sugar and sodium intake(has to do with the genetic defect). I have to have low fat or no fat dairy.so for me its fruits,veggies,whole grains,fish,chicken, some seafood(which I love),nuts and seeds.

If you have heart disease there is a lot of evidence that using a statin prevents recurrence of heart disease. It is best to stay on it if this is the case unless you cannot tolerate it. If that's true you could ask to switch to a different med in that family. If what you have is not considered heart disease, ask about your 10 year risk. There is a calculation that tried to predict who is at highest risk of developing heart disease and who could benefit most from a statin. Of course what your doctor tells you trumps anything I have to say because they are more familiar with your health history. Also, 30 min of exercise 5x a week or more has also been shown to reduce risk of heart disease if that helps motivate you.