Anyone take flax seed oil?

[KYShooter73]

The doc has put me on various cholesterol meds. I just can't take them. Muscle aches and pains as a side effect are just too much. Does anyone take flax seed oil and in what dosage? Have you seen any remarkable results in your cholesterol numbers? Thanks.

[jmort]

I know someone who was directed to take cholesterol meds and they did not want to, so they started taking large doses of vitamin C and went back for testing and cholesterol was "normal." I have taken flax seed oil and it seem to help with back pain, but who knows. I'd try the vitamin C. Can't hurt.

[steelworker]

My wife and I also take Red yeast rice pills. It seems to work for us.

[mroliver77]

The flax seed oil helped some with pain early on. You need to watch quality. Evening primrose oil is another good one.
I wont take the cholesterol meds either.
J

[waksupi]

Try oatmeal for breakfast every day.

[btroj]

Co-q 10 is good for reducing the likelihood of muscle pain from the statins.

Ask your MD about Questran. Sometimes ya gotta go old school.

[gmsharps]

If you can't do the statins you probably can't do red yeast rice since it has the same statin properties but smaller doses. I had the same side effects as with the statins. I use Fish Oil in the morning taking 3 1000mg gel capsules. Try Niaspan also. The Niaspan is the supposedly non flushing version of Niacin but I take it at night and you better eat something with it or you will still flush. It only last about 4 hrs and it is not pleasant. Start with 500mg and work your way up to a 1000mg. That seems to work some but not as good as the statins but the side effects are tolerable. The idea of oatmeal is one of the best but you have to keep at it but there are some good versions of oatmeal out there these days. Diet and exercise are the real key. Get the Cardio at least 3 times per week for at least 30 minutes. Eating Broccoli , Asperagas, Brussell Sprouts. Kiwis are also good. I also do Flaxseed oil at night 2 1000mg capsules. I started out with my cholestrol at over 1000 and after several years of trying everything it is now down to just over 200. Thats even with my current location that has absolutely terrible food for eating healthy. You have to find out what works for you and only change one thing at a time to see the effects. When you are trying to get things regulated you will be doing blood tests pretty regular to see what makes the changes. Good luck it can be a long hard battle but ti beats the alternative.

gmsharps

[Bzcraig]

Wife gave me flax seed oil, niacin, lecithin and fish oil, don't remember dosage and lowered my overall cholesterol by 42 points over a year. It has slowly been creeping back up since I stopped. I don't like taking pills.

[smokeywolf]

I take the ground flax seed in my morning cereal or oatmeal. Also take 3 fish capsules a day. Eat a little less meat than I used to. I drink 1 to 2 glasses of high tannin (Malbec) red wine each day. Exorcise is one of the best reducers of cholesterol.

[Jal5]

I am trying statins less frequently than the recommended dosage due to side effects. I seem to tolerate it twice per week. Will see how my tests are next month.

[KYShooter73]

Thanks folks. I may try the fish oil and vitamin c thing too. The way I eat oatmeal, I think it would be worse for me....plenty of butter, sugar, and toast.

[Wayne Smith]

Exercise, exercise and exercise! Everything else is a bandage approach. Exercise is how you change the way your body functions.

[MtGun44]

If you won't change the diet, all the BS around the edges can't fix it. Start with a decent diet, add some
reasonable exercise, then the fish oil and you should make some progress. A lot of the common American
diet is pretty bad for us, and making some adjustments is sometimes resisted, but it is the main answer.

I have not tried flax oil, but was doing 1000 mg Niacin until I started having vision issues, doc took me off
of Niacin right away.

Bill

[bangerjim]

Agree with MtGun44.................! Diet......diet.......is everything.

Niacin in any form can really eat at your stomach, so be careful. Worse than asparin. I know fro personal experience!

I have been taking Zetia for several years and the DR wants to see my levels even lower, so he put me on generic Lipotor. Holy reaction, Batman! I had every symptom on the list within 3 days. Stopped that crapola immediately.

Statins not only cause all the above described things, they mess with your liver, forcing it to release sugar at night which cause a diabetic's morning sugar level to go thru the roof. That is why I quit taking Crestor 5 years ago. Could not control my blood sugar levels in the AM.

Now I am taking CoQ10 and Chlorystramine powder. Metymucyl will also work for some (but it has it's "side effect" too!)

I have noticed when I quite eating oatmeal at the beginning of summer, my cl levels went up. I cannot eat hot cereal when the temps are in the mid 90's at breakfast!!!!!! And you cannot load the oatmeal down with butter, sugar, cream and all the stuff that makes it tollerable to eat!

Good luck!

"getting old is hell...........and then you die"

bangerjim

[rockrat]

Haven't seen much improvement with flaxseed oil.

Doc put me on a statin, got off of it after about a week, making my feet hurt to the point to where I could't hardly walk.

Doc tried Zetia, works pretty good, no pain. I think its a statin and something else, but if so , the statin dose was low enough to not bother me. Started with 10mg. Nope, severe gastrointestinal distress, went to 5 mg, that was OK. Durn stuff is $$$. Don't know what your cholesterol was, mine was 202 and the Doc was having a fit. Its now 171, last test

[Ehaver]

as stated by many other, all the pills are just Band-Aids. Try the oatmeal without the butter, use brown sugar. Find substitutes for the "bad fats" that are not man made nightmares in a plastic container.

Fish oil would be a good start, before buying look at the contents, you should shoot for 800 mg of EPA and DHA oils, not just a bottle that says 1,ooo mg per dose. Also try green tea, if you are sensitive to caffeine get de calf. Make your own, not the store bought stuff with sugar and fake tea. use honey to sweeten. And if you like fried food, try using Coconut Oil for your future frying. It is really good stuff.

also, Magnesium citrate for the muscle pain may help, also lowers cholesterol!

Refrences to the above statements...
http://www.wholefoodsmagazine.com/supplements/features/reduce-high-cholesterol-nutritional-magnesium
http://www.livestrong.com/article/472737-magnesium-cholesterol/
http://www.bing.com/search?q=green+tea+lower+cholesterol&FORM=AWRE

[KYShooter73]

My diet is horrible, and exercise habits are non existent. I like tea, I may look into that. I need to get exercise for more reason than just the cholesterol. Blamed my lack of exercise on my leg plates and screws forever now, but getting fatter and fatter makes that worse too. Gotta do something, Im just 40.

[DougGuy]

We use flax oil in baking bread and muffins. We only use olive oil and real butter in cooking, use the toaster oven a lot in broiling fish, steamer in cooking veggies, avoid fried foods, fast foods, and above all margarine and butter substitutes. I don't do whole milk and generally prefer soy or almond milk. Walking can knock down bad cholesterol help good cholesterol.

You likely won't change cholesterol numbers by sitting around. Diet helps a LOT but it isn't enough without exercise.

One more thing.. If you go into a grocery store, all the good foods are around the sides and back. Produce, dairy, meats, fish. The center aisles have processed foods that are nothing but bad.

[Ehaver]

Have you ever tried an eliptical? Very low impact. Can usualy be found cheap on craigs list. And if you have a hand primer, you can kill two birds with one stone, so to speak.

[shooter93]

There is also a lot to be said for MODERATE alcohol intake too, doesn't have to be red wines although they appear to be the best. Very few doctors will tell you to drink though.

[firefly1957]

I have a total cholesterol around 200 but good cholesterol is low and doctors put me on statins that went bad with bloody noses and muscle pain after about a week . So then i was put on niaspan one of the little known side effects of that is muscle damage after a couple years my left shoulder froze with no injury needed surgery to get use back . I am cooking with coconut oil now and trying to keep weight down i take fish oil but it did not have an effect on my numbers . I need to find a new doc last one would not listen at all just wanted to pass out the latest pill and give a vegetarian diet.

[Wayne Smith]

Oatmeal for two, one diabetic, one allergic to milk. 8 dried apricots, quartered. A generous 1/2C of traditional Oatmeal. One cup soy milk, one cup water. Microwave in large bowl 12min @ power 9 in my microwave. Mix in 2 golf ball sized spoonfulls of peanut butter, we use the kind with just ground peanuts. Provides the mix of carbs and protein I need and - it's good!

[kenyerian]

Oatmeal, exercise and no junk food works for me. i tried fish oil but it just made me belch.

[mroliver77]

My Doc will only give statins as a last resort. He hates giving meds when there are better ways to fix a problem. He also has been working on cash deals with medical procedure suppliers. He gets $23 for a 15 minute visit. $750.(insurance) tests were $50. cash.

Another plus for exercise, is it promotes testosterone production!

[oldgeezershooter]

I work out with free weights and an elliptical machine twice a week and try to watch my diet, lots of protein, very little bread, whey protein shakes after working out, Co-Q10,beta-carotene and multi-vitamins, maple syrup or honey to sweeten oatmeal and such. Try to walk as much as possible and still help a friend do carpentry work.
My doctor said I had the body of a 50 year old (I'm 35) Just kidding I'm 70.

[Moonie]

I take flax oil and fish oil every day. 2 flax oil caplets in the morning one at night, 2 fish oil morning and 2 more at night. My doctor was amazed at how quickly my cholesterol came down. It is now in the normal range and stays there.

[armexman]

Dr. Manuel is in!
I too had problems with Cholesterol.
I now walk everyday for 1 hour, cool down and load boolits instead of watching tv; take two caplets of Flax, fish and olive oil (big honkers). Drink Almond milk instead of soy (soy may make you effeminate;)) for Lactose intolerance. Drink so much water at work and home that the City utilities dept. has sent me warning letters to lower my drinking water consumption;). No more Fast Food either.
The results: lowered BP, lowered cholesterol (by the way, I walk with the printed results at work; all others will tell you that their Doc say they are fine with a bag of chips in their hands), controlled blood sugar. I now fit comfortably in a size 38 pants and have dropped four suit sizes, sleep like a baby too. Lost 37 pounds
To reiterate: Exercise, exercise, and more exercise.

[ga41]

old fashion oatmeal and ground flax seed here

[Newtire]

Haven't seen much improvement with flaxseed oil.

Doc put me on a statin, got off of it after about a week, making my feet hurt to the point to where I could't hardly walk.

Doc tried Zetia, works pretty good, no pain. I think its a statin and something else, but if so , the statin dose was low enough to not bother me. Started with 10mg. Nope, severe gastrointestinal distress, went to 5 mg, that was OK. Durn stuff is $$$. Don't know what your cholesterol was, mine was 202 and the Doc was having a fit. Its now 171, last testI'd say that 202 is barely above normal since 200 is still in the normal range. Then there is the matter of having more HDL than LDL. I'd say, if your HDL is higher than LDL, you have nothing to worry about.

I had started taking the Zocor seriously about 2 years ago-even though they put me on it since 2005 when I had a heart attack. My cholesterol has always been under 200 but since the HDL was too low, they got all shook up.

I just ran out of Zocor about a week ago and noticed that now the tingling and achy feeling is all gone in my left foot. My ankles were swollen to the size of a diabetic person but I wan't even close to that on my last blood test. My ankles are back to normal in just a week.

I mowed the yard today without having to stop and catch my breath once each trip around the yard. I'm not taking that **** anymore.

Now, I am not a doctor but can figure a thing or two out and Gee...lemmee see...who am I going to listen to-myself!

[GoodOlBoy]

I take a couple of flax-fish-borage oils at night, along with a coconut oil. Dr recommended nighttime because that's when the ol cholesterol tends to spike, and the omega3s help level it out. So far it has worked VERY well for me. My cholesterol went from high to normal in fairly short order. Try to make certain the pills you get are high quality and don't have SOY in them. The soy dang near counteracts the good qualities of the omega3s.

GoodOlBoy

[MaryB]

Mid 50's and my cholesterol levels are great. But I use a LOT of olive oil, only real butter. Olive oil/vinegar on my salad almost every night and I use an organic cider vinegar with the mother so it is still alive. Natural products are way better than statins that will kill you.

edit: this is the cider vinegar you want to find and use http://bragg.com/products/bragg-organic-apple-cider-vinegar.html

[jcwit]

Well I'll go the other way, without modern medicine and the shots and pills I'd be gone long ago. I'll stay with what the Dr. Prescribes and if the Lord is willing continue to live the time he gives me.

In a nutshell statins are a med that keeps me alive, 70 and still going strong.
I wonder how many would seek home remedies if the Dr. Informed they had less than a 25% chance of living because of cancer.

[MrWolf]

My doc has been trying all different statins on me to reduce mine. I dont see a problem as it is only about 230, used to be 300. I have bad reactions to statins but I did find a red yeast I can tolerate. I have high good cholesterol but numbers still high. Will know in three weeks when blood work is done if it helps. I have taken flax seed and fish oil for years.

[Wayne Smith]

If your MD's are telling you the issue is heart risk the research that separates out triglicerides from colesterol strongly suggest that it is the trigliceride levels that are related to heart attack, not overall colesterol or 'bad' colesterol. Ask your MD's about that research.

[Newtire]

If your MD's are telling you the issue is heart risk the research that separates out triglicerides from colesterol strongly suggest that it is the trigliceride levels that are related to heart attack, not overall colesterol or 'bad' colesterol. Ask your MD's about that research.Boy, now I am confused! The new VA doc that I have said that they don't even worry about triglycerides anymore. Something's screwy here huh? I'm going to check on that Wayne, thanks! I do believe there is something to the Statins though not agreeing with me since I do have the feeling back in my foot now and the other symptoms have started to go away. Too many other people I know have had similar symptoms.

[doc1876]

red all of the suggestions, and I agree with several here. I have been nutritioning for several years. The oatmeal, flax seed are both good. I also have had high cholesterol, and have controlled it with this following concept:
the real butter, ABSOLUTELY NO polyunsats. I mean, how many polyester suits have to give their life for me to have imitation butter. also I take 8 thousand units of C, 6 thousand of D, 3600 of lecithin, 200 of B, and 6 thousand units of garlic. I am sure that the garlic is one of the most important ones, as it also helps to lower high blood pressure. I have lost 25 lbs, and feel better than I did when I was 40, I am now 58.

btw, the cholesterol meds that they put you on WILL take out your liver, so by all means, stay off of them. My great aunt had 800 numbers, and she lived to be 94!

[MrWolf]

Told the doc I am more likely to get Alzheimer's than I am a heart attack, so I don't really care about the numbers. My Mom showed symptoms at 55 and passed four years ago, which means I have a 70% chance of having it. Lucky for me I started on DHA years ago and I noticed a difference in memory and concentration. I am 54.

[destrux]

If you do decide to start eating flax seed or taking the oil, be warned.... work up to a full dose gradually. It's got a pretty strong effect on your bowels... it's like drinking a jug of motor oil if you go full dose right off the bat.