So here I am 3 months after stopping my 10 mg of Crestor.( Read my past post) I replaced it with a daily intake 2000mg Vit C and 2000mg Lysine and also Vit K2 mk4 10mg and 100mg Ubiquinol. All I have researched on these Vitamins and their effect on CVD is in the positive but due to 20 years of being told consistently that Statins are the answer I find myself thinking about taking a reduced statin of 5mg Crestor on alternate days which even to me sounds ridiculous but that is the state of mind one finds one self in after years of taking them and being told they are the only answer . The two and fro is certainly not conducive to good health . I was to start the statin last Mon but as yet i have not done that . I had made my mind up to start it this Wed but before doing it researched if the statin would interfere with the Vitamins I am taking and found that I could be undoing all the good the vitamins were doing me by taking the statin. I know many of you have stopped your statins and would appreciate any input as I am sure like me your decision would not have been a easy one . How many of you re started the statin again, and more importantly how many of you stuck to your guns and what was your reasoning and mind set . Any help appreciated . John.
Statins the mental bogey man. - Cholesterol Support
Statins the mental bogey man.
I stopped statins about 18 months ago after taking them for over 10 years- they didn’t prevent my atherosclerosis progress. I ended up needing a bypass but my research on web found Esselstyn, Ornish and the China study - all saying a whole food plant based diet was the answer to controlling weight and cholesterol. I have been on this for 4 years since my bypass and it seems to be working for me. I am now on no meds apart from daily aspirin.
I know your dilemma though, I happened to see my cardiologist and he suggested taking statin every other day but I will stick to what I think is the best by eating natural whole foods and avoiding meat and dairy.
Thank you Bob my experience was very similar to yours .On statins for years only to have three arteries blocked requiring bypass. I was told just imagine how worse it could of been if you hadn't been taking statins. I cant prove it but I suspect the statin hastened the blockages . I will have a look at the China study.
Stopped Statins after 3 months and that was 5 years ago. My advice is dont touch them provided you are prepared to go the extra mile on other methods which it sounds like you are. Switch to a Med' diet and before anyone tells you there is no such thing as a med' diet simply adopt the one used in the study which produced the results that outperformed Statins. keep the supp's up as I do and get daily moderate exercise which is better than infrequent burn outs.
Did some data analysis myself on the China Study raw data which you can read (2nd and 3rd entry down) at
heartattackandthenhs.wordpr...
Thank you Mark it makes interesting reading . Did you reduce your cholesterol significantly on the Med diet ?
I stopped my statins in October 2016 but did so gradually from January 2016 to October 2016. I had my bypass surgery March 2015. I have remained off of statins.
Although the vitamin C and lysine are very helpful, you must address the underlying issue which is diet and lifestyle. Pharmaceuticals are band aid solutions, you must address the underlying cause.
Eliminate all sugar and sweeteners. Eliminate simple carbohydrates from your diet - ex. white flour products - bread, pizza, pasta; rice, white potatoes. You can replace with quinoa, spelt, barley, brown rice, whole grain bread, pizza, pasta. However it is best instead to increase your intake of vegetables, legumes, and fruits.
Pauling Therapy - Vitamin C needs to be up around 5,000 to 6,000 mg per day, as long as you have normal iron levels, Vitamin C is not toxic. Lysine has to be at the same level, and you should also get Proline 2000 mg per day.
Thank you sos 007 your advice is very encouraging. I do intend to up my Vit C which is Ester C 1000mg by Nutra life . There are so many different brands out there it is hard to know which one to take. My main meals lunch dinner,now always have a good portion of freshly diced Kale, carrot, bell pepper red onion, garlic broccoli etc. . My concern is I do eat at least 3 large portions of fresh fruit and some yoghurt,a measured quantity of meat and fish twice weekly but in the main I feel i'm doing a lot more for my CVD than I had been for the past twenty years which consisted of 10mg Liptor and a very regimental low fat diet which excluded all sugars and fat which I thought would be enough to see me through. I can still recall the shock of being told after my angio gram I was 90% blocked LAD and 75% in the other arteries ,I hasten to add that in that diet I did not consume many vegetables or fruit I just mainly concentrated on getting the fat and sugars out of the diets . I was so lean that more than one staff on the cardio ward commented ,Oh Mr. Newton there's not much of you my reply was I believe i'm carrying a bit of weight in the arteries.
Johnally, I enjoy your British sense of humour (I live in Canada). Perhaps I might be able to shed some light on your situation.
The endothelium can be damaged in a number of ways - usually from an inflammatory diet, but also through sheer stress caused by elevated blood pressure. You can have high blood pressure due to excess body weight, high sodium intake, but also through extreme exercise such as those who frequently run long distances. The body's defense mechanism tries to repair the damage to the endothelium and the first choice is collagen, but in the absence of sufficient collagen it secretes more cholesterol for the repair. Unlike collagen, cholesterol leaves behind an atheroma that over time increases in size and results in the blockages.
In order for the body to make collagen, it requires large quantities of vitamin C, and lysine. The 100 mg recommended daily allowance of vitamin C, as suggested by the establishment, is just enough to keep you from getting scurvy, however the optimal amount is much greater. Based on vitamin C synthesis in animals, and factoring in body weight, it is believed that we need to ingest somewhere between 4,000 and 20,000 mg of vitamin C daily.
Ascorbic acid (vitamin C) often comes in powder or pill form. Either way, when metabolized, our body removes up to 80% of it. Therefore taking regular supplements or buying raw ascorbic acid and mixing it yourself into water with a little baking soda, is not the optimal way to get a sufficient dosage.
I have found a delivery method with greater bioavailability - liposomal vitamin C. Each packet contains 1,000 mg of vitamin C, but because it is encased in a liposome the gastric juices cannot break it down, so it passes through the stomach, through the upper intestine and directly into the lower intestine where it is fully absorbed directly into your body's cells and blood stream. Each dose is the equivalent of 4,000 mg in pill or powder form. Since it is not broken down by your digestive tract, you don't need to worry about bowel intolerance or any allergic reaction. The lab that makes this product suggest 2 packets a day, for liability purposes. Since I've done extensive reading on vitamin C I know that it does not have any toxicity even in massive quantities, so I take 4 packets per day. The interesting thing is that when taken in this form, each additional dose increases the absorption in a logarithmic fashion, so 2 packets is not 2 x 4,000 mg, it is more like 2.5-3 x 4,000 mg. or the equivalent of 10,000 to 12,000 mg in pill or powder form. Therefore I'm probably getting the equivalent of 30,000 mg per day.
Side effects? Lots of energy, and we'll see at my next blood test, what other impact it will have. So far when I was using the pill form, my Lp(a) the most atherogenic component of LDL cholesterol, also believed to be genetic and not controllable, dropped by about 30%.
By the way, the saturated fat theory of heart disease has long ago been discredited. That said, the brain washing is so comprehensive that even I have difficulty eating anything high in fat, although I eat lots of nuts and use lots of extra virgin olive oil. I do have full fat goat milk daily with my breakfast tea and also have feta and plain Greek yogurt daily without any negative consequences. In fact my HDL is ridiculously high (good) at 2.3 mmol/l.
Check out this website and video on the product I use:
Here are the distributors in the U.K.
Abundance & Health Ltd.
+44 (0)20-3239-4907
Email Distributor
Natural Dispensary Ltd
+44 01453 757792
Email Distributor
Wholesale Health Ltd
+44 03337 777 333
Email Distributor
Good luck my friend.
livonlabs.com/liposome-enca...
I was trying to source the best Vit C and came across this link. I did buy this product before seeing the link, i have now ordered lipolife manufactured in Scotland which is a true liposomal It is the only company in Europe and for the most the rest of the world that produces its own Vit C after China. I am also looking at the sachets by liveon labs which I think would be a good product as it is not exposed to light.
Sincere thanks to you sos 007 for all of this information which you have put so succinctly. I will read the posts that you have sent which I am sure will enlighten me . I take my hat off to you for the courage shown coming of your statins while having four stents ,that must have taken some doing. I am buoyed by your action as you obviously believe 100% in the action you are taking. I do hear you when you say you still look at the fat content on meat . There must be so many of like minded people who have been subject to years of receiving the wrong information about diet and Pharmaceuticals. I live in Australia but I am originally from England . So pleased you enjoyed the British sense of humor ,I have tried this on the medical profession as a last resort when I trying to argue a point on statins of which I always get the stock answer, stay on them we know better . Now if they had said to me this isn't funny then I would agree by saying your damn right it isn't especially from where i;m sitting and what I'm having to listen to .hahaha.
Every man made medicine has side effect!, fresh fruits and veg give allergy reaction to some people.
Statin as primary and secondary medication do help some people. After any heart procedure statin as a secondary medication do help with blood flow and blood velocity.
I have been in a discussion in South East Asia where cardiologists were discussing station as secondary medication. Our body tells us what to do and what not to do.
Take care.
I don't know what to think or do. By the sounds of this cholesterol thing I must be on deaths door and ready to drop. I took statins for many years. The highest dose possible. I ended up pretty much bed ridden and always in pain. I up and quit one day. I was at a 5 two months later - up to a nine ,two months later up to an 11 . So what now? you guys are freaking me out at your numbers. Am I dying here or what? I had no quality of life on the statins and don't want to go on them again.
Have you tried to address your dietary and lifestyle issues? Are you at your optimal body weight? If you address the root causes, then you don't have to worry about cholesterol. Even so, total cholesterol on its own has little value as a risk-measure. Get a blood test called NMR Lipoprofile. It breaks down the LDL cholesterol sub-fractions and gives you a more accurate risk assessment.
Read my post on this subject here:
healthunlocked.com/choleste...
Other tests that you can take to determine if you have significant risk are:
- MPO - Myeloperoxidase - inflammation in the arteries
- high sensitivity CRP - general inflammation in the body
- Lp-Pla2 - risk of plaque rupture
- Fibrinogen - blood platelet stickiness (potential for blood clots)
- Homocysteine - blood coagulation tendency - read more here:
drbenkim.com/articles-homoc...
It begins with the elimination of sugar and simple carbohydrates in your diet and then following a whole foods, plant-based diet, with daily exercise.
Good luck.
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