Triglycerides

How dangerous is it to stop taking medication for cholesterol and triglycerides? Is there anything otc to sub?

Public Comments

1. Yes, and no. How high do you want your BP to go?
2. You should not stop your medications without first talking to your doctor. If you want one of Many alternatives try using the Old World remedy of "Garlic."
3. I TAKE 1 200 MLG OF LECITHIN AND IT WORKS.I HAVE USED IT FOR 25 YRS
4. I've been taking them for 15 years and was never told anything about the dangers of stopping. You can take time released Niacin. Heard the other day that the manufaturer of Mevacor is trying to get the FDA to approve it over the counter.
5. i work in a pharmacy and although there is nothing as effective as prescription drugs especially the newest one's Dr recommended garlique for me because the vytorin i was taking was making me sick. There are other otc's available at your local health food store, He also suggested 1 bowl of oatmeal each day. Hope this helps
6. Many experts believe the answer to that question is "NIL" but the official medical profession still disagrees. But this a much too controversial and complex issue to cover adequately in a Yahoo Answer. So suggest you do a Yahoo Search or Webcrawler search on "Cholesterol Scam" to find out the whole truth about this issue . Then form your own conclusion.
7. I was put on Lipitor by my doctor and started getting side effects: muscle weakness, joint pain, dizzyness etc. Did some research and found out that some people end up total cripples from these "statins", so I stopped taking them. After 4 weeks I feel better. Look up www.spacedoc and other websites. One study found that PEOPLE WITH LOW CHOLESTEROL HAVE MORE HEART ATTACKS THAN PEOPLE WITH HIGH CHOLESTEROL. But the best approach is: lose weight, get exercise, eat healthy food. Enzyme CoQ10 can counteract the side effects. I also recommend vitamin E 500mg daily to stay young!
8. Consult your doctor first before stopping any medication. If you wish to seek an alternative over the counter to lower your cholesterol and triglyceride levels, take Vitamin B3 (Niacin). First start at 250mg 3 times a day, and slowly increase the dosage until you feel your face gets flushed. That's the Niacin flush which means you've taken too much. Back off the dosage a bit until your body gets used to the dosage and try increasing again. Ideally, you should be around 1,000mg to 2,000mg 3 times a day to be effective. Do not exceed 2,000 mg. One more thing, if you remain on your statin drug, please take CoEnzyme Q-10 100mg once a day along with your medication. All statin drugs inhibit not only cholesterol production, it also inhibits CoEnzyme Q-10 production which is necessary for many metabolic functions and muscles. The heart is the highest user of CoQ-10, to deprive it would increase the risk of heart disease.
9. do not follow the recommendation for niacin, the dosage is way way too much. There is an alternative but that depends on how high you blood lipids are. If you are very seriously high then meds are the only thing. If you are just about border line you can try things like red rice yeast or cholest-off from nature made. With these and a careful diet you can drop levels up to about 30%. If you need more than that stay on the meds. they can lower lipids maybe 60%. But taking that much niacin is toxic.
10. well yes it is a drug just like cocaine so it is not recommended that you just up and stop taking it cold turkey. You need to talk to your dr. and let him know that you want to stop taking the med and believe me he will try to talk you out of it but that is how he makes his money. Then there are many things to take but I would not recommend and OTC drug like you get a any big name drugstore because you still are taking a drug. I would recommend you talk to the herbalpharmacist.com and ask Dave what you should be taking or my recommendations would be take Omega-3's Cod Liver oil (www.drrons.com), Herbal Supplement-Advanced Cholesterol Formula by Healthy Resolve(800-728-2288) or Omega-3s Hemp Seeds (nutiva.com)
11. I HIGHLY recommend going to the library and getting the following two books: The Paleolithic Prescription, and The Naturopathic Diet. I had high cholesterol/triglycerides for years, and was going to be put on Lipitor. Then I read these books, changed my diet, and my lipids have come within normal ranges. My doctor was pretty impressed and said he was no longer worried about it.