Dealing With Cholesterol Without Statins

[B R Shooter]

I have reactions to statins. I've been on probably 5 different types and have a reaction one way or another. Even Zetia. So my qest is to try and keep the numbers down to a level where my doc doesn't go ballistic. My biggest fear is insurance. If I had an cardio issue, and I wasn't keeping my cholesterol down by prescription, they could have a case of denial.

I'm aware of most non-statin "remedies", fish oil, red yeast rice, policosanol, beta sitasterol, etc.

What has worked for you?

[Grandpas50AE]

My doctor also wanted me to take statins to get cholesterol down, but I refused and instead elected to use Flaxseed Oil. I use the gel caps. Flaxseed oil has Omega3's and Omega6's just like fish oil, but the Flaxseed Omega6's are already in desaturate form while the fish oil is not. Omega6's have to be converted to desaturate form for your body to use them, so I decided on Flaxseed Oil. Over the last two years my HDL has gone up to almost 60 (the good ones), LDL has dropped from over 200 to 140 (the bad ones you want to lower), and the triglicerides are now under 80. My doctor no longer suggests or recommends statins because he has seen the steady improvement just using the Flaxseed Oil.

Hope this helps; good luck.

[mold maker]

I really can't say what works. My total numbers have always been low, and the HDL numbers are high. Even so the Dr insist on me taking a statin. I to, have had reactions to several, and so far the simvastatin has the least side effects. Of course I don't like the dangers involved, but He's the Dr. At 70 which is worse, my already low numbers, or the drugs?

[44man]

I too had a reaction. I am just short of 75 and have a very high level but my good stuff is also very high.
I have to think it is a hoax to sell drugs. I tried the junk for a short time and quit fast. Your body makes the stuff and it is needed. I eat tons of real cheese, real butter and a 1/2 pound of bacon is just a start.
I will always think it is genetic when something happens to you and drugs will solve that problem but will kill you in other ways, faster then the first problem.

[41 mag fan]

6 yrs ago i got my Cholesterol and triglycerides checked. My bad cholesterol was 475 and my triglycerides were so high they were off the chart (as my dr told me). So he put me on meds. I stayed on them like 2 days and said heck with that, I don't want to take pills.

3 yrs ago, I got "papered" for the coal mines and started belt and aircourse examinations. Daily walking 5-7 mi, and on the weekly aircourse exams I'll walk an avg of 13mi.

Went 3 mo ago finally and decided I need to actually let the dr give me a checkup and all.

Bloodwork comes back and my bad cholesterol was 204, triglycerides were normal, as dr said, so no meds. After looking back at what i had and what I'm at now, he told me to keep exercising and I'll not need meds.

High cholesterol, heart disease ect ect runs heavily on both sides of my parents families.
I think exercise is the best thing or prescription for me.

[kenyerian]

The only thing that works for me is Diet. Oatmeal for Breakfast, lots of fish etc.

[felix]

Half jar of Olives for lunch 6 days a week; wash off salt. No red meat except for 1 time per week. In one month all was fine for me. ... felix

[btroj]

Diet and excercise. Obesity and a high fat diet are contributing causes.

There are older drugs such as Questran that can help too. It works by binding bile salts in the intestine so they are not reabsorbed in the large intestine. Ike contain large amount of cholesterol based salts to aid in breaking down fat in the diet.

Personally, I like the responses that mentioned diet and excercise. Those are the real answers. Your body is like your car, take care of it and it will take care of you! If you abuse your car and don't treat it well is it really a surprise when it breaks down?

[Bulldogger]

I also cannot take statin drugs. They work so well after two days on minimum sample dose, I felt like every joint was bone dry.

I do this: Oatmeal several times a week, plenty of vegetables (a little pat of butter to ease them down), cut down red meat and bacon/sausage (unless wild game sausage and not too much fat in) down to once a week. Eat more venison and other game meats for red meat, make beef a treat. If venison, etc., OK to eat 2-3 per week. Use peanut oil or olive oil instead of butter. Splurge on fancy olive oil with flavor, so you'll want to use it.

Changing your diet shouldn't be a punishment, rather, you're just trying new things. I don't skimp on fresh food items, get the best for the money (I don't automatically buy the most expensive, of course). Garbage in, garbage out, as they say. Treat yourself to fresh leafy greens whenever possible.

And get some walking in. It is as easy as parking a little farther from the storefront, not driving across the parking lot to get to another store in the same block, or getting off the bus/train one stop early, etc. It doesn't mean having to set aside an hour a day to stare at a TV while on a treadmill while on a $1000/yr gym membership.

These got my good cholesterol up, bad down slightly. It evens out. Also I don't take everything the Doctors say at face value. They are encouraged to push statin drugs because they are now generic and cheap. When I started watching my cholesterol levels, the "bad" level tipping point was 225. Now it's 190, and I believe it is because of cheap statin drugs. However, since my family are mostly 250+ cholesterol level folks (Mama was at 360 when she finally found an anti-statin that didn't give her aches), I figure that we're normally high cholesterol folks. Only one close relative has had a heart attack which might be related to heart disease, all the rest either died from accidents or lived past 80 (and Great Granny made it to 104 cooking everything in lard or bacon grease until she was 90).

Review your family history for heart disease and decide what level is good for you. Getting several miles walking in every week alone will extend your life, cholesterol or not.

Bulldogger

[Wayne Smith]

Some of it is a drug selling scam. Some of it is old research that has not been re-done since we can measure more accurately.

For heart attacks you need to pay more attention to triglycerides than cholesterol. You might look up information on cholesterol ratio rather than absolute numbers. If your good cholesterol is very high the MD's will think it is a problem when there is absolutely no current research that supports that assumption.

Realize that medical research is amazing, but the successes that have occurred in the past ten or so years leads us to believe that there should similar amazing success in every area, and that is not possible. We are still years away from understanding the body, if we ever do.

High total cholesterol may be related to stroke, and if there is a history of stroke in your family you may need to monitor that value more closely. If there is a history of heart attack monitor your triglycerides.

Exercise is a major factor in reducing both. I am not talking about a casual walk, but exercise that causes you to break out into a sweat and is cardio as well will reduce these values.

[Jim Flinchbaugh]

So some if you folks are saying that the statin family can cause joint pain?
Mr doc recently switched me from simvistatin to a Lipitor generic,
and I feel like every joint on my body has been twisted 180 degrees ever since.
I had not made the connection to the switch / pain till I read the above.

I honestly have always wondered if the drugs really lower the levels or simply skew the test numbers?
Seriously, how do we know?

[btroj]

Not generally joint pain as much as a muscle pain.

If you are having ANY potential side effect from ANY medication you need to speak to your physician.

[Reg]

My doctor also wanted me to take statins to get cholesterol down, but I refused and instead elected to use Flaxseed Oil. I use the gel caps. Flaxseed oil has Omega3's and Omega6's just like fish oil, but the Flaxseed Omega6's are already in desaturate form while the fish oil is not. Omega6's have to be converted to desaturate form for your body to use them, so I decided on Flaxseed Oil. Over the last two years my HDL has gone up to almost 60 (the good ones), LDL has dropped from over 200 to 140 (the bad ones you want to lower), and the triglicerides are now under 80. My doctor no longer suggests or recommends statins because he has seen the steady improvement just using the Flaxseed Oil.

Hope this helps; good luck.

How much of the flax seed oil do you take ? Any particular brand ?
Thanks

[square butte]

Do a simple web search for "natural treatment for high cholesteral" . You will find enough ideas there to keep you busy for quite a few years. Having worked in natural health care for 20+ years, I can tell you that many of the ideas there will work to one degree or another. And you will find a few that will work exceptionally well for you. Just gotta try em and use a little diciplne. You will find the right ones shortly.

[bearcove]

Watch "Forks over Knives" Streams free on most places. Netfix Amazon...

[Rick N Bama]

Like others I can't take the Statins without having joint pain. Right now I'm on a product called "Welcoh" which is doing a good job, but it's very expensive even with my insurance kicking in. As soon as this prescription is finished I'm going back on a powder that is mixed with water called "Prevalite". Both do a good job of controling the numbers, but the Prevalite is a Generic that cost me about 1/4th of the Welcoh cost.

Rick

[32ideal]

felix what type of olives green or black?
32ideal

Half jar of Olives for lunch 6 days a week; wash off salt. No red meat except for 1 time per week. In one month all was fine for me. ... felix

[felix]

What ever tastes best to you. ... felix

[runfiverun]

they both taste good with some olive oil and minced garlic on them.
a little feta cheese, crackers or some pita bread.
hard to beat as a lunch or snack.

[B R Shooter]

Well, I'm 57, not overweight, and I can do more work than most 57's I know, and I keep quite busy when not at work here at home. Do I do exercises? No, I do a pretty fair amount of walking and climbing stairs at work, then work at home. We eat our own food, rarely eat out at fast food or restaurant. And our food is non-gmo, and organically grown. No commercial fertilizers are used. We eat a real variety of foods, lots of veggies and we do eat meat. We butcher a couple pigs each year, and the beef we buy is locally grown. Not that it means it's better per se, but it is raised on grass and grown feed. We do buy chicken and turkeys, but try to buy "organic".

I don't recall the numbers of my tests, they aren't way above the norm, but enough that the doc says it needs to go down.