This subject is very important.
Because information on this subject is very conflicting, readers here should read this information I've collected carefully and discuss with your doctor the best way to approach your
cholesterol or elevated lipid problems before doing things yourself.
Some of the sites I will be posting may have high doses of some supplements.
I don't recommend really high anything, so if you choose to do~~ for example very high dose
Vit C or anything else...~~you should be monitored by a doctor.

The main drugs we have today for cholesterol issues have large tradeoffs.(serious side effects).
So benefit vs risk is an important issue to consider if your doctor wants you to use statins.
Also, be aware than many doctors do NOT understand statin side effects clearly. This is because
they may only listen to drug salespeople and not research for themselves, or take their patients' complaints seriously. If your doctor does not listen to YOU, consider getting another doctor.

This subject comes up on the various boards here often, and it is difficult to keep all the information more easily accessible.

I've just purchased Dr. Jay Cohen MD's book on statins. It is a very interesting read.

I am starting this thread today, so people can come on here and give their experiences with alternative cholesterol issues.

And as time is showing the actual role of cholesterol is not as big as was once thought. Oxidation of LDL and inflammatory markers such as homocysteine and C-reactive protein, seem more instrumental in causing damage to the cardiovascular system.

So I will be building this thread slowly. Please contribute your experiences as well.

The medical tide now is turning, concerning statins and cholesterol.
This first post will be a link fest... for patients who want to see the most
recent opinions on this subject:
Dr. Jay Cohen, MD
http://www.medicationsense.com/index.html
http://www.medicationsense.com/statin_drugs_book.html

Dr. Graveline MD has a good website too:
http://www.spacedoc.net/

And of course, The Cholesterol Myth:
http://www.ravnskov.nu/cholesterol.htm

Many people choose to use alternative supplements for cholesterol lowering.
I'll be adding information about them in the future. This subject is HUGE, and Big DOLLARS
are involved for the drug companies. So in a sense there is a political motivation to
make as much money as possible.

The direction of research is now moving away from statins. There are only two left on patent,
and these will be expired soon. So we already see new commercials on TV and an increase
in media coverage. But the truth is that no new statins are in the pipeline at this time.
And the research is showing that endothelial inflammation of the blood vessels is the real culprit
in cardiovascular disease. So some of the interventions for this problem are moving toward
reducing this inflammation. That is where supplements come in. Some exciting new papers are
appearing on curcumin and resveratrol (from red wine) as being very helpful.

Statins have alarming side effects, with new ones showing up as time passes. Pulmonary fibrosis is recently linked to them. But also they have shown to be causes of peripheral neuropathy, loss of cognition and memory, serious elevations in liver function, and cancer in lab animals. One common effect of statins is their negative effects on the mitochondria of your cells. Statins seem to damage them, and hence the cell can no longer function normally to provide energy.


So readers here, will have to return to this thread, and see what is being posted. All are welcome to ask questions and provide their experiences with this health problem. This is a huge subject, so there will be alot of homework for readers to do here. There is just no way to make this topic quick and easy!

Here are some posts that already have had discussions here on statins/cholesterol:

http://neurotalk.psychcentral.com/thread33964.html

http://neurotalk.psychcentral.com/thread38209.html

http://neurotalk.psychcentral.com/sh...hlight=Lipitor

http://neurotalk.psychcentral.com/thread59339.html

Our Parkinson's forum often has interesting information on statins, as they relate to
Parkinson's disease. Here is a link to the search there on the word "statin":
http://neurotalk.psychcentral.com/se...g_searchinfo=1

And a similar search on Peripheral Neuropathy. We get many visitors who have had negative side
effects/nerve damage from statins:
http://neurotalk.psychcentral.com/se...g_searchinfo=1