My doctor recommended 1000 mg of fish oil twice a day. My cholesterol and triglycerides are both down a bit but I've made other dietary changes so it's impossible to say.

I also declined to take statins any more, despite one doctor actually chasing me down the hall after I'd left his office to give me a pamphlet from a drug company extolling the "research" and benefits. Why take a drug that may or may not help a condition I may or may not get? There are multiple studies to support each side of the debate but what I know for sure is that I had burning pain in my thigh muscles and that they remain weak even I stopped the statins. Also? Thet didn't even work to bring my cholesterol down.

I don't take medical advice from anyone but doctors I have vetted myself. I certainly don't take medical advice from hucksters like dr. oz who gives you 100 different 'cures' for the same ailment. I certainly don't take advice from a forum like totv.

My cardiologist recommends 4,000 mg of fish oil daily. My primary care says it should be 3,000 so I take 3,600.

I was on Zetia a number of years ago My doctor back then described it as a "wimpy drug". If I'm not mistaken, it is usually prescribed to be taken in conjunction with a statin in cases where the LDL is extremely high and the stain alone doesn't lowered enough.

I also agree with your comments on . There is not enough statins in the world to bring my LDL down to a level that would be acceptable to the medical establishment. The I read that there have been studies that have shown that even in cases where the cholesterol has been lowered that there was no difference in the death rates of those taking statins and those not.
Statins do harm muscle tissue to a greater or lesser degree depending on the individual. In some cases atrophy of the muscles has occurred and they will not come back. In my case, I have a lot of arthritis throughout my body so it was difficult to tell if the statins were causing the pain or not.

My Dr at Village Health care just took me off the statins after I asked her about them and the side effects. She said they have a new way to measure if there was a need for statins called "the framingham test". It runs off several indices, like your weight, BP, smoker-non smoker, your cholesterol #'s and what it actually determines is your individual risk for a heart attack. My percentage was below 4%. So, I am off them for now. I have been on statins for over 10 years with no side effects that I am aware of, but who knows how I'll feel once I'm off them. Better, I hope. It was hard to remember my original "BAD" numbers for her to use on the test but I did my best. Anyway, many years ago a Doctor at the old practice I went to and only saw infrequently always seemed to favor the old remedies (Vicks vapor rub, hot tea and lemon, that kinda thing, he didn't like prescribing too much) and so he advised me to take red yeast rice for help with the cholesterol. I am back on that now, and I will see what happens. The statin is the only real medication I take and I'd be happy to be off it.
P.S. I may have paraphrased a bit here, but it's what I remember from the conversation with the doctor, if that helps any

<<<I was on Zetia a number of years ago My doctor back then described it as a "wimpy drug". If I'm not mistaken, it is usually prescribed to be taken in conjunction with a statin in cases where the LDL is extremely high and the stain alone doesn't lowered enough.>>>

My doctor also though Zetia was a wimpy drug and wouldn't work for me, but I insisted on trying it. He put me on it 3 months ago 10 mg a day. My cholesterol numbers have gone from 237 to 178 in those three months. Worth a try.

Statins of any nature affects my muscles and liver. I too have been tweaked on a number of prescription . Now on non. Feel better

Just a little info I found about Zetia. Zetia does not make me ache all over like the statins do.


"Statins work mainly with your liver to help lower bad cholesterol. ZETIA is a cholesterol-lowering medicine that works differently than a statin. ZETIA works in the digestive tract, where it helps block the absorption of cholesterol from the food you eat."