I have had high Cholesterol all my life, even when I was a string bean. Now 58 years old and weight gain, it has gone up and is 224 total. My doctor wants me on a statin. I tried one before and had severe muscle spasms. I eat right and walk. Any other Holistic ideas?
High Cholesterol: I have had high... - Cholesterol Support
High Cholesterol
Read more about...
38 Replies
•
Take 400 mg flush free niacin instead- works much better and except for some tingling (due to widening arteries) totally without the dreaded side effects of statins (increases your HCL too)
• in reply tosheepshead
I had a total of 300 total cholesterol and did not want to go on statins. SO I am taking red rice yeast and it has brought me to 225 total. I read the reviews of the flush free niacin, I am impressed. Should I stop the red rice yeast and just do the niacin? Also people are starting at the 250 mg first, Do you think that maybe wise?
sheepshead• in reply to
Read the write up on niacin at the website of the Linus Pauling Institute - up to 1,5 grams there are hardly any issues, but you have to decide for yourself after reading all the evidence. lpi.oregonstate.edu/mic/vit...
• in reply tosheepshead
I am confused as reviews all around say flush free Niacin is the best. no side effects.. But your link says flush free is not.. I have BP issues borderline and I would think the flush free is better, safer.
sheepshead• in reply to
No - I am not saying that at all. Niacin and Niacin flush free are exactly the same vitamins with the latter an antagonist against flushing added.
Additionally, you cannot really see flushing as a side effect as occurs with pharmaceutical junk either, since it is totally harmless, just inconvenient.
Are you sure? I thought "flush free Niacin" was actually inositol hexanicotinate, which isn't shown to reduce cholesterol.
Whole food plant based diet. Research Dr Caldwell Esselstyn or Colin Campbell. You may find that you don't need to take any meds
• in reply toDJ100
I have read on Colin Campbell. I just looked up the other Doctor. My only thought is I have to buy the book, which is fine, but is this easy to read and not going to tell me to go Gluten free?
224? Guess you're not in the UK. Is that 5.9 mmol/l?
Try plenty of oats, especially a portion of oat bran fibre; plant stanol/sterol esters as food (here in Europe we have brands called Benecol & Flora Activ).
For breakfast I tend to have a bowl of Bircher Meusli (the original idea, before the cereal companies started the sawdust types). I make it up in advance on a Sunday night - 250g rolled oats, 50g oat bran, 200ml fresh orange juice, 100ml cold water. Mix together & put in a sealed container in the fridge. Each morning I have a 5th of it, mixed with some natural yogurt (or skimmed milk will do). You can add chopped fresh fruit or grated apple, which is even better for you. Keeps me going until lunch time.
We also have a Swedish brand of milk-substitutes called Oatly oatly.com/ - I guess there are similar outside EU. I started using it because of the beta-glucan for Cholesterol, but my daughters are trying to cut down on animal products and also like it as a cow-juice substitute (we're all veggies anyway). It's the most potable of the milk substitutes I've tried.
It's not necessarily cutting down on the amount of cholesterol you eat, but getting rid of excess cholesterol your body is making, which those two suggestions will do.
However, don't dismiss the statins, as different types & doses will work differently on your body - one of the older ones may have been responsible for the spasms, but a different one may well not have the same side effect. Talk openly to your doctor about it.
• in reply to
Thanks,,,I am checking into the oatly milk... Also on your breakfast recipe can you convert the amount to like 1/4 cup or 1/2 cup. Not sure if we have the Meusli.... Did you have high cholesterol before you did these ideas? I was a vegetarian for 15 years and my levels were still high.
I only know my total is high at 224. triglycerides are high.
I have the genetic cholesterol problem - FH (thanks Dad), so in the US measurement my highest total CH was 731 (18.9 mmol/l). Happened to be highest when I was eating a vegan diet some 30 years ago, but cholesterol is barely connected to what I eat - it's my liver, etc, creating it.
For those of us with such a high level, although using the correct foods will help a little bit, drugs are the most effective treatment. Fortunately here in the UK we only have to pay a set amount per drug - or buy an an annual prepaid prescription for $175 which covers all your drugs for the year. I actually get all mine free as I'm also a diabetic (thanks Mum). I've been on statins for about 25 years and am currently I'm on maximum doses of Fenofibrate, Rosuvastatin and Ezetimibe. I've had no side effects from any of my current drugs. I did get a side effect from a new diabetic drug a few years ago, so stopped it pronto (the drug was later withdrawn as too many people got genuine problems).
Bircher Muesli isn't usually found in shops as such - it is just a recipe. I use 1.5 cups rolled oats, 1 cup fresh orange juice & 1/2 cup water. Apparently grated apples are essential (now they tell me!) added before serving. You could just soak normal muesli overnight, but the mixture of grains tend to react differently to soaking.
• in reply to
I know oatmeal helps. I recently bought a Vitamix blender and have been doing the celery, carrots, tomato, ginger, cucumber blend, I sometimes add cinnamon . I have high BP also. (Hypertension). The juicing as quickly brought down my top number on BP. I am hoping this will help my cholesterol. I can not take statins... Looking into flush free Niacin which seems so have great reviews and recommendations. In the US healthcare and medicine is over priced. US makes a ton of money on selling prescriptions and pushes them. If I took BP medication it raises your weight thus raising my Cholesterol.. (crazy).
• in reply to
That is a lot of medication.How come they don't use only one medication?
• in reply to
Different actions. So for example, one drug could be making my liver decrease cholesterol in general, another drug decreasing say LDL, another one prompting the body to make more bile to get rid of cholesterol in the blood.
Another example - say statins on their own would reduce my cholesterol by 25%, and ezetimibe also reduces it by 25%. Taking both would actually reduce it by 65% through combined effect. There is a pill that has both statin & ezetimibe in it, but that means you can't change the dose of just one of them, so I get separate pills.
There is also a new class of drugs called a PCSK-9 inhibitor which will also help lower LDL. It's injected just under the skin once every two weeks.
• in reply to
The shot under the skin, what do you know about that ? I have muscle spasms on statins..I am lost on what to do....Medication adds to the problems with their side effects.
• in reply to
I know of one chap who couldn't tolerate statins, or several other anti-cholesterol drugs. He eventually found that Ezetimibe worked well for him.
Please have a look at heartuk.org.uk/statins-and-...
• in reply to
I read your link. Sounds like statins are not that bad or am I reading it wrong? what is your opinion of that article? The latest result was a total cholesterol 319 for me....
• in reply to
Some people will get side effects from Statins, including some muscle problems. Some people not taking it will also get exactly the same problems! However, those experiencing the side effects are in the minority of people taking it.
Sadly, "Only a few people get a side effect" does not make good headlines to sell newspapers with.
jamesensor• in reply to
25% have serious side effects. In my case it destropyed half my muscles.
Do you have a source for that 25% claim?
• in reply to
Kathleen,
Store shelves are full of nutritional “magic pills” that allegedly lower cholesterol.
Some work (but have bad side effects). Some don't work.
All are still money-makers for their manufacturers.
Here's my take on supplements that appear in the media most often as cures:
Garlic: It will spice up your food and it will lower cholesterol to some degree - But, it has a corrosive effect on the gut lining and is a powerful anticoagulant, leading to internal bleeding.
Red Rice Yeast: That's where they found the molecule that statins are based on. It lowers cholesterol really well, but it does it the same way a statin drug does. So I'm concerned it will produce the same liver and brain and muscle and kidney damage.
Policosanol: This beeswax derivative got lots of attention when a study showed it worked as well as statins. But another study couldn't replicate the results. It doesn't work. Then it was found the researchers in the first study had financial conflicts of interest.
Gum, guggul and artichoke leaf extract, the supplements I recommend, are safe. They lower cholesterol and there are scientific studies to prove it.
To Better Health (yours!)
wgwright84• in reply to
My cholesterol at 16 was also 18+ mm ol. I was playing sports 6 times a week, eating healthy. Tried all statins including the regime you described above. Nothing but muscle pains and no reduction in cholesterol. My lipid consultant is now putting me forwards for the pcsk9 injection, which I hope to God helps as ct scan or coronary arteries show some plaque, and I am now 31 and don't want to die yet.
• in reply towgwright84
Sadly, fitness and diet don't really touch FH, as you've found out, although stanols, oat fibre and the like will have a small effect. Have you tried Ezetimibe on its own, and/or cholestyramine? I hated the latter - a fine gritty powder - but now you can get tablet forms of similar products; it can be a problem fitting it around the timing of other medications. None of those have muscle problems as a side effect. However, PCSK-9 inhibitors are supposedly very good for cutting LDL, and although legal, are not approved yet by NICE (so the consultants have to go through making a bid to their board to get it).
Had any genetic testing yet to find out which faulty gene you have (found out today that mine's a faulty LDL Receptor gene)?
The genetic testing is useful not only to you, but to any children you may have in the future, your parents and any other relatives. Once they've worked out which faulty gene you have, they can just look for that fault in your relatives (which is much cheaper to do).
At 27 when I first found out about my FH, I assumed that I'd not live beyond 30. I'm now in my mid-50's.
wgwright84• in reply to
Yes I have had the gene test, (but forgotten what type) so has my mum who also has FH but not to such a bad degree as me. I have tried everything over the past 15 years. I had severe stomach pains taking cholestyramine within a day of starting it. Stuck with it for 6 weeks, stopped taking it and then the stomach pains were gone the next day. My ldl levels will not budge, but hdl seem to be almost OK.
• in reply towgwright84
Well, at least you gave it a reasonable chance!
I used to feel sick quite often after taking the stuff, partly because swallowing often made me gag. I persisted with it for some time back in the early '90's, then tried again in the early '00's.
My current consultant has discussed the tablet form with me, but as it blocks the actions of other drugs taken between one hour before & 2 hours afterwards, it would be impractical to use. Didn't get stomach pains.
From the research that I can see online, the PCSK-9 inhibitors look pretty well tolerated, with few side effects.
• in reply to
I take Red Rice Yeast in capsules. Gene testing,not done anywhere around me. DOes it make a difference, I think they figure you have it that's all that matters. I am also your age. I think it all comes down to the liver. PCSK-9 inhibitors not sure about them have not read about them..
DakCB-UK• in reply to
Fitness and diet do make a difference to my FH but not enough to hit the targets in the guidance.
Red yeast
• in reply toAbbey2
Doing that for a year still have 225 total which is down from 380 with Red Yeast. I have muscle pain and weakness but better then statins. I have to get it lower still. I take 600 mg of the Yeast.
A side effect: "Muscle aches and weakness. This can lead to a rare but serious condition called rhabdomyolysis."
Sounds like those from statins, but in fact is from red yeast rice. But that's not very surprising, really.
Statins will lower cholkesterol and reduce the risk of heart attacks slightly. Some people have side effects. In my case Avorstatin gave me leg pains and destroyed half my muscles. It is worth taking but if you get pain stop immediately. Weight loss and diet without fats can also help.
Yes, diet modification can work wonders for lowering the cholesterol.
If you eat butter, lard, fatty meat and meat products, such as sausages, full fat milk, cheese, yogurt, palm oil and coconut oil than the cholesterol levels will rise. These foods are rich in saturated fats and should be limited.
Plant foods do not contain cholesterol and are low in saturated fats, thus vegetables, fruits and other plant based foods should be included in the diet. These foods are cereals, oats, barley fruit, soya foods and drinks, pulses and beans, seeds and nuts.
Also, you might have heard about avoiding foods like eggs, liver and kidneys, and seafood such as prawns as they are rich in cholesterol. Though we do get some of the cholesterol from these but you don’t need to limit them as they are low in saturated fat.
In addition to the holistic treatment, sometimes staring on a really low dose of statin can help with the cramps, and sometimes other medication like fibrates or ezetemibe can help.
Disagree with paragraph 2.
Are you a doctor to make the last paragraph statement, what data evidence?
Human body produces 80% of cholesterol on body demand. 20 % from the stuff that goes through out mouth!
The question is why the body is demanding to produce cholesterol?
Hello,
UK, GPs do not get the correct medication at first, it is by trail and error!!
Try this, if it is not working we can go for another medication!
Please do come back with positive comments, it is imperative we all understand what is best for us humans today for healthy life.
Statin medication is offered as primary medication to lower cholesterol, this works for some people but not to every one, the question is WHY? do we want lower cholesterol.
Statin as secondary medication is to help with blood flow after a heart procedure is necessary.
Views on, BMI, food intake count, fat, fatty food, hidden sugar, free sugar re all changing!!!
In UK, NHS guide lines work for some people by not for all.
Food intake control and regular exercise can help towards a healthy life.
An example, a retired GP can have a heart attack?, we humans needs to look after our health ,y food intake control and regular exercise.
Not what you're looking for?
You may also like...
High cholesterol
I was on statins for years as I had a bad family history. Came off then in may and just had my...
High Cholesterol
Hi, I'm new here so looking forward to hearing how other people cope with high cholesterol. Mine is...
High Cholesterol
I am fairly fit! Always watched my diet as I have dairy intolerances, so am careful what I eat.
I...
High cholesteroL
I was feeling unwell recently and the doctor did a blood test. All was okay except a very high -...
High cholesterol
This is my first post. I am 32 years old and I have hypothyroidism too. I was initially found to...
High Cholesterol
High Cholesterol
High cholesterol 
