Has anyone tried zetia? I would like to know if it works and have had any side effects.
Zetia: Has anyone tried zetia? I would... - Cholesterol Support
Zetia
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seekingSunshine
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ZETIA is a brand name of the EZETEMIBE drug - I take ZIENT which is another brand name of the drug. I daily take 10 mg of ZIENT and 20Mg of CRESTOR statins - I have reduced my cholesterol from 8.7 down to 3.9 mmol/L and LDL from 6.6 to 1.67 mmol/L - with no apparent side effects. I have highish levels of calcification/hardening of my heart arteries and also loss of sight in one eye due to Central Retinal Vein Occlusion - both of which have high cholesterol levels as a risk factor.
Thank you for the response. I did not know one would take in conjunction with a statin. I asked doctor about an alternative to my statin and Zetia was what he recommended trying.
Yes - there is even a "pill" which incorporates both. My understanding is that the two types of drug do different things - statins reduce the production of cholesterol in the liver and EXETIMEBE reduces the absorption of cholesterol in the lower gut . These drugs are not for "lazy" people who do not wish to change their lifestyles ( eating, exercising, smoking, etc) - they are for people who have done all of these things and still have extreme levels of cholesterol (like me 
) It could be that some people are not able to tolerate statins - so perhaps EZETIMIBE is another avenue. For me, even the stains could not reduce my levels of cholesterol and going to higher dosages is not advantageous - hence I take both drugs ( without any perceptible ill effects - but maybe my left leg may drop off in a few years??) . But at the end of the day, nobody really knows and we are all going to eventually die so better still to enjoy today while we still have it .
Zietia is not so benign if one also had high Lp(a) plus migraines and family history of heart disease. Here is a case of elevated liver enzymes 10X normal and one of the rarely reported incidences that was investigated. Zietia also regulates up cholesterol production so you might not want that and It is a sterol blocker originally used for people who are hyper absorbing fats so it was used with a statin but did not save lives so was discouraged from use.
May I suggest you consider a plant based diet- no animal products, no animal fats, no dairy, cut out junk food, added sugar, oils and processed food and you will find your cholesterol levels drop naturally. Make friends with pulses, whole grains eg barley, quinoa, brown rice, buck wheat, etc, veggies, fruit with a light sprinkling of nuts and seeds. There are no side effects other than good ones: lowering of blood pressure, lowering of triglycerides and lipids, weight reduction, bags of energy and great mental well being. This will start to happen within a month. Replace your white pasta and rice with brown increasing your fibre content and making meals plant based. Good luck and I promise you will not look back. Look up websites like forksoverknives.com or pcrm.org for transition programmes and recipes. This way you will address the causes of high cholesterol and other inflammatory chronic diseases not just the symptoms.
Yes, i have considered and have made changes, but I am sensitive to nuts and seeds, so that cuts out many good stuff. 
You can enjoy dairy if it originates from sheep or goats. The medium and short-chain fatty acids do not have a detrimental effect on your cardiovascular system, in fact they actually help. Olive oil is also beneficial - you can avoid all other oils.
I have achieved what you're trying to achieve so feel free to connect with me privately.
I am on a plant based diet. Alot of fresh fruits such as apples, strawberries, blueberries, pineapple.
Salads with onion, peppers, cukes as well as steamed broccoli, cabbage, zucchini, cauliflower, eggplant and summer squash as well as steamed onions and peppers.
I eat alot of hummus, have tried bulgar wheat and occasionally quinoa. I make vegetarian whole wheat pasta with low sodium sauce that my husband loves as well as vegetarian chilli focusing on onions, peppers, kidney and black beans.
Breakfast can be 2tbsp yogurt for digestion, Cream of Wheat which is high in iron, light wheat, or rye bread with Benechol lite spread which is plant based. Coffee has Carnation Original Liquid fat free creamer in it.
Also take a Plant Sterol
I don't miss the meats a bit, have naturally lost weight and feel so much better.
Don't miss the meat a bit!
Hope this helps.
Concur both ThePlanter and Concerned comments above. It can only help if you adopt what they suggest. It may not reduce your cholesterol to the same levels as statins but its the ratios HDL/TC and Triglycerides that I concentrate on as they seem to be the most important markers.
I was unable to take statins so I tried Zetia which did decrease my LDL from the 170s to the 130s. The doctor was surprised since he had seen very little effect in most. However in most cases the Zetia was in addition to taking statins. I no longer take Zetia due to the availability of Repatha which has my LDL down to below 80. But Repatha is very expensive and many insurance companies reject any requests for the drug as was mine until my 2nd stent was put in. Tend to agree with some of the other comments. The best route is diet and lifestyle but you need self-discipline.
Thanks for the info about Rapatha.
Thanks, intermittent fasting does make me feel better.
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I haven't personally tried it, but I have read extensively on cholesterol treatment protocols and have learned that combining ezitimibe (zetia) with a low-dose statin is more effective with fewer side-effects than a higher dose of a statin alone.
As always, a commitment to dietary and lifestyle modification should be your first approach in dealing with the symptoms (elevated cholesterol) of coronary artery disease.
All drugs have side effects so be prepared and try and approach your medical condition with natural strategies as I've suggested.
