Lowering My Cholesterol

It’s been a while since I wrote anything here - but I am still alive and kicking.

After a few problems with Inegy and Crestor - I was eventually put on Ezetrol (ezetimibe) which works by reducing the cholesterol absorbed from the gut. I am not sure if this drug will be having much effect because my diet is usually fairly good anyway - i.e low in fat.
I had a bit of a scare at Christmas when I was getting lots of chest pains. I ended up in A&E on Christmas Day to see what the heck it was. With the family history and high BP history - I was kept in for tests. The final diagnosis was inflammation of the lining of the heart - Pericarditis. While I was in I had an angiogram which was all fine. My cholesterol was 5.1 - which is not too bad. 

I don’t worry as much about the cholesterol now - but keep taking the Ezetrol and try to keep off the fatty foods  most of the time. 

I took myself off the last lot of cholsterol lowering drugs that my doctor prescribed - and felt a lot better after a couple of weeks. After a couple of months I mentioned it to my GP -  a month ago - who said to try another one Crestor. Now - unlike my usual self - I didn’t google it or look up any info on it - I just took it for a month. Last week I started noticing I was feeling more tired than usual and my back started aching again. I also felt the need to urinate more than usual . I decided it may be the Crestor - and I stopped taking it 3 days ago. Today I looked up some information on Crestor - and found that  there was some controversy about it in 2004.

"A 39-year-old US woman  died of a muscle-destroying condition linked to Crestor, a consumer advocate claimed in Washington. citing 16 cases of serious side effects in urging a ban of the drug.

It won US Food and Drug Administration approval in August 2004 , after a delay because of safety concerns. In studies, Crestor also was linked to some cases of kidney abnormalities not seen with other statins.
The FDA decided to approve Crestor, saying it appeared to be slightly more potent than other statins and thus may be important for some patients.

To lower the risk of side effects, FDA recommended starting doses of 5 mg to 10 mg, and said patients should never exceed 40 mg.

But records from the FDA and health agencies in Canada and Britain show life-threatening side effects occur even at those lower doses, said Dr. Sidney Wolfe of the consumer advocacy group Public Citizen, in a petition filed with FDA Thursday seeking a ban."

I feel a lot better just after 3 days off the Crestor - back pain almost gone. What do I do now?

After about 10 weeks on the Inegey - which is a combo of a statin and ezetimibe - I have stopped taking them. After a bout of unexplained vomiting and generally feeling unwell , loss of appetite I blamed the Inegy. It could be someting else - but since I started taking them I have been feeling depressed, getting back pain, and also lost interest in sex. I have been off the statin - (simvastatin) and ezetimibe mixture for two weeks now - and feel a lot better. I haven’t told my GP yet - but I know I should soon.  I need to tackle my lifestyle now - more exercise is the main thing I need to be doing. So less blogging too.

I still have doubts about the whole "cholesterol is bad" - after reading several articles. I need to investigate more about the effects of cholesterol - and will try and put any findings on here.

I found an article  from the UK Daily Mail - which basically says that all the hype about cholesterol and statins and heart disease is a load of rubbish - pushed by the drug companies to make more profit. The author has written a book - and seems to know his stuff. He explains how all the theories about diet and cholesterol and heart disease can be disproven . Makes me think about coming off the statins. I have only been on them for 10 weeks - and haven’t noticed any real problems . But I have had more headaches and a runny nose and I was vomiting  yesterday for no apparent reason. I also feel tired all the time. None of these are severe — but maybe it is the statins causing it.

Full article here..

Have we been conned about cholesterol? | the Daily Mail

Many products containing oats claim to lower cholesterol. I found out that the "active" ingredient is beta-glucan soluble fibre.  In order to ba able to declare that a product containing oats can lower cholesterol - oat products must contain at least 0.75 g beta-glucan soluble fibre per serving, or in an amount that is customarily consumed in a day that makes a reasonable contribution to a healthy diet.

One study showed that 3g of beta glucan fibre could lower cholesterol levels by abou 7% and LDL by about 10%.
Not major changes - but every little helps.

I remember reading somewhere that blueberry juice contains someting that is good foe lowering LDL. I still haven’t got my actual LDL and HDL levels from the doctor - I must ring them later. I have been buying Tropicana Blueberry Blen (Apple and blueberry juice) - it’s a bit dearer than my normal Orange Juice for breakfast - but you can’t take it with you! (Money I mean)

I know that many of the bad effects of cholesterol can be offset by exercise. That is something that I know I don’t do enough of. I have a bike, I live in a scenic rural area of Ireland, I work from home  and even have an exercise bike inside too - so I have no excuse really do I. Motivation is probably my downfall - lack of it. Time is another factor , as well as doing work from hoem (web design etc) - I look after a 4 year old son as well as generally being the main "home-maker". There is aleays something to be done - and exercise gives me a sense of guilt because I always feel I should be doing something else. I will ahve to change that attitude if I want to live beyond 50.

There are loads of spreads and yoghurts and drinks that claim to lower your cholesterol - and they all contain sterols. Benecol - Flora Active - you must have seen them. I have not tried them - mainly because they seem expensive - and also because I’m on the prescription tablets.

According to the British Heart Foundation website again -

"

Plant sterols and stanols are thought to reduce the absorption of cholesterol by our intestine . This reduction in absorption makes the liver remove more harmful LDL cholesterol from our circulation, thereby reducing the amount of LDL in the blood. It is believed that plant sterols and stanols lower the total cholesterol level and the level of harmful low density lipoproteins (LDL), but seem to have no effect on the heart-friendly HDL cholesterol levels or triglyceride levels.

Studies suggest that if you consume 2-3g of plant sterols/stanols, this can reduce LDL cholesterol levels by 9 - 20%, although there is considerable variation between individuals.

Plant sterols/stanols have been added to margarine spreads yoghurt and milk products such as Flora Proactive and Benecol. The British Heart Foundation does not endorse any specific products, although there is evidence that they can help to reduce blood cholesterol levels."

Olive oil is always recommended for people with high cholesterol - but cooking with it may not be such a good idea because it has a relatively low smoking point and is not really  suitable for cooking at high temperatures (e.g. frying). The smoking point is the temperature to which an oil can be heated before it smokes and becomes discoloured and is the visual indication that the oil is decomposing. Heating oil beyond this point will not only affect the flavour of the food but can also result in the formation of trans fat and damaging free radicals. It is also sensible to avoid re-using cooking oils or eating foods cooked in oils that have been continually reheated

I am taking a statin in the form of simavistin in a product called Inegy - I found this info on the British Heart  foundation website:

Statins have relatively few side effects, but we need to consider their possible interactions. For some time, we have been aware of the need to ensure that people who take statins should not drink or eat large quantities of grapefruit juice or grapefruit. However, recent evidence suggests that people who take simvastatin should avoid taking grapefruit juice or grapefruit altogether as even small amounts could significantly increase the effect of this particular statin drug. However, if you’re taking another statin, such as atorvastatin, then grapefruit juice (or the grapefruit) can be taken in small quantities.
Committee on safety of medicines (2004): ‘Current problems in phermacovigilance’ Statins and Cytochrome P450 interactions. Vol. 30 Oct. 2004 1-2.

I used to like a drop of grapefruit juice in the morning - but I won’t be drinking it anymore…