In recent years it seems that almost everyone I talk to is having problems with high cholesterol and/or triglycerides. While a lot of this is probably related to our age, it also is a problem for younger people.
My cholesterol levels had climbed slowly during the 90’s while I was under a heavy stress load and getting little exercise. Finally, when my total cholesterol reached 279, which isn’t all that high a reading compared to some, my doctor seemed concerned enough to prescribe statin drugs. The main problem was that my LDL or “bad” cholesterol was 199, where it should have been no more than 100. The ratio of “bad” to “good” was not a healthy one.
Initially, my doctor prescribed Crestor. The first time I returned for a repeat of the lipids test, my cholesterol level was almost normal. I was happy about that for a while. Then, very slowly, the pain I had experienced in my muscles for years started to increase. After a few months, I realized it took a great deal of effort to even get in and out of the car. I literally had to pick each leg up with my hands and put it in or out of the car. I have since heard of others who described the effects of statins on their muscles exactly as I did.
My doctor said that was one of the side effects of statins, which can also cause liver damage. He hoped I might be able to tolerate a different statin. So he tried me on Lipitor, with exactly the same results. Ditto for Zocor. Finally we tried Zetia, which is supposed to work in the intestines rather than in the liver. But it was no better. With each of the medications, the cholesterol would go down impressively, but the muscle pain always increased. And each time, it increased so gradually that it took a while for me to make the connection between the statin drug I was currently taking and my worsening pain. Every time I discontinued taking a statin for a while, my pain would eventually fade away to a level I could live with, but the cholesterol levels started climbing again. Each time I started a new statin, the pain would begin to gradually increase till once more I could barely get around.
Apparently, that is not unusual, as my doctor said he had other patients who couldn’t tolerate any of the statins for the same reason I can’t take them. He said he knew of no other option besides having me take several “natural” remedies concurrently instead of the statins. And although he mentioned a few, he basically left it up to me to do the research and decide what I wanted to take. I had already tried a few of them, but only one at a time, with disappointing results.
So I decided to attack the problem with everything I could find. After much research, I decided on Red Yeast Rice, Policosanol, Omega 3-6-9, and garlic tablets, in addition to eating all the oatmeal I could force down. It wasn’t long before I could hardly stand the sight of oatmeal. I could never eat the same thing many times in a row, so I started alternating oatmeal with Cheerios, which I never cared for, but have learned to eat. I don’t eat either of them on a daily basis, although I probably should.
I soon gave up on the supposedly odorless garlic tablets because it seemed I always had a bad taste in my mouth and felt constant nausea when I took them. But garlic is supposed to be very helpful in reducing cholesterol if you can take it. Fresh garlic may be even better than the tablets, but I shudder to think what garlic does to a person’s breath.
For the last few months I have been taking the following:
Triple Omega 3-6-9 (fish, flax, and borage oils) twice daily. I plan to increase that to three times daily, as that is actually the recommended dosage. I buy these through Vitamin World in the mall, but they can be bought online at www.vitaminworld.com. The thing I like about them is that I don’t get the reflux from the fish oil as I have with every other fish oil capsule I have ever taken. If one can tolerate the usual fish oil in whatever form it comes, it should be very effective. I just can’t take it, so was happy to find it in a form I could live with.
Red Yeast Rice, which I had been buying at Wal-Mart
Policosanol, also bought previously at Wal-Mart, but lately they don’t seem to keep it, and I couldn’t find it anywhere else around here.
So I went online and found a product through Vitacost.com called NSI (brand) Red Yeast Rice with BioCosanol, which contains a more effective form of Policosanol than that I had been taking before. The most highly recommended kind of Policosanol is made from sugar cane wax, although I apparently was doing well on the kind made from rice wax. This product from Vitacost is made from sugar cane wax. This capsule contains 1200 mg. of Red Yeast Rice and 20 mg. of Policosanol. I take one capsule morning and night.
While I try to watch about the kinds of fat I eat and try not to eat a lot of sweets, etc, I really don’t do a very good job of controlling my diet. My husband retired a few months ago and we have been on the go almost constantly ever since. I find it very hard to eat right when away from home.
I also try to walk more than before, which is supposed to be good for raising the good cholesterol and lowering the bad. But again, I haven’t done well with that, although I’m working harder at it now.
The good news is that in spite of my shortcomings, when I went back to have my lipids tested a couple of weeks ago, both my cholesterol and triglycerides were almost back down to normal. I was particularly pleased that my “bad” cholesterol level had dropped dramatically.
My plans are to continue taking the products I have been taking, plus an extra Omega 3-6-9 capsule daily, to increase my walking, and to work harder at eating a healthy diet. I believe that will soon have my lipids completely back down to where they should be. But for now, I must give the Omega 3-6-9, Red Yeast Rice, and Policosanol credit for almost all of my success.
It’s so good to feel that I now have some control over my cholesterol and triglycerides without taking the drugs that caused me so much pain. I know many people have such high cholesterol levels that they have no choice but to take the statins. But perhaps by using these and other natural products, they might be able to cut down (with their doctor’s blessing) on the amount of statins required to control their lipids.
Many people can take the statins with no apparent harmful side effects. But for those who can’t, as well as for those who just prefer not to take statin drugs, hopefully these products can help them as they have me.
