Re: Digest Number 507

[Guest guest]

BoeglinMorel wrote:

Currently on 80 mg. daily of Lipitor, plus Lopid

Triglycerides are high still

Hi BoeglinMorel,

Has your doctor checked the following risk factors?

* Homocysteine

* Lp(a) - Lipoprotein (a)

* CRP - C-Reactive Protein

All 3 of these when elevated indicate " inflammation " .

Inflammation is the problem, not cholesterol.

I'm surprised you can still play tennis while taking the

max dose of Lipitor. Just 10mg can cause devastating side

effects. If your trig's are still high, are you by chance

eating the typical low fat - low cholesterol - high carb

diet?

Simple carbs, especially sugar, can cause trig's to soar.

Simple carbs are the white foods:

- sugar, rice, potato, flour

When they told my husband to cut out all fat, he figured

sugar was OK, so he replaced IC with sorbet. Sorbet is

totally fat free and pure sugar. Instead of eggs, he ate

cereal every morning for breakfast, most containing sugar.

He now eats IC in moderation, butter, whole milk, eggs...

Yes, all the things he was told NOT to eat, but are actually

good for you. We also eat lots of fresh fruits and veggies

and a good portion of protein at every meal. Saturated

fat is not bad either; it's transfats that are unhealthy;

anything hydrogenated or partially hydrogenated.

Since his trig's can elevate much easier than mine, he also

takes cinnamon capsules. Two 500 mg capsules daily lowered

his trig's from 300 to 150 in 3 months.

Fran

[Guest guest]

BoeglinMorel wrote:

Currently on 80 mg. daily of Lipitor, plus Lopid

Hi again BoeglinMorel,

The info below is directly from the PDR. Of special interest is the

last paragraph. I also forgot to mention that cinnamon stabilizes

blood sugar levels.

Fran

Why should Lopid not be prescribed?

There is a slight possibility that Lopid may cause malignancy,

gallbladder disease, abdominal pain leading to appendectomy, or other

serious, possibly fatal, abdominal disorders. This drug should not be

used by those who have only mildly elevated cholesterol levels, since

the benefits do not outweigh the risk of these severe side effects.

If you are sensitive to or have ever had an allergic reaction to Lopid

or similar drugs such as Atromid-S, you should not take this

medication. Make sure your doctor is aware of any drug reactions you

have experienced.

Unless you are directed to do so by your doctor, do not take this

medication if you are being treated for severe kidney or liver

disorders or gallbladder disease.

Do not combine Lopid with any of the cholesterol-lowering drugs known

as " statins, " including Lescol, Lipitor, Mevacor, Pravachol, and

Zocor. This combination increases the danger of serious,

muscle-wasting side effects.

Source:

http://www.pdrhealth.com/drug_info/rxdrugprofiles/drugs/lop1234.shtml

[Guest guest]

Chicago — Two new studies deal a double blow to hopes

that cholesterol-lowering statin drugs could help

prevent cancer as well as heart disease.

In one report, researchers analyzed 26 rigorous,

randomized studies involving more than 73,000 patients

and concluded that drugs such as top-selling Lipitor

and Zocor had no effect on the risk of developing or

dying from any form of cancer.

The findings appear in Wednesday's Journal of the

American Medical Association.

The other study, published in the Journal of the

National Cancer Institute, found that

cholesterol-lowering drugs, including statins, were of

no benefit for preventing colorectal cancer.

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“We were very hopeful that we would verify there was

an anti-cancer effect,” said C. White of the

University of Connecticut School of Pharmacy, who led

the analysis appearing in JAMA. “We ended up showing

no change in cancer or cancer death.”

White said the new findings — as well as the rare but

potential side effects of statins, which can include

liver damage and muscle pain — should discourage

doctors from prescribing them solely to prevent

cancer.

People should continue taking them to lower

cholesterol and prevent heart attacks, he said. “It

really is a great drug for heart disease,” White said.

Hope for statins as cancer fighters was sharpened by

the fact that so many people already take them to

lower cholesterol and the drugs are widely considered

safe. Previous research, including animal studies and

observational studies of people, had suggested statins

might prevent various types of cancer.

For example, researchers looked at medical records for

1.4 million patients treated at 10 Veterans Affairs

centers and found that those taking statins had lower

rates of breast, prostate and lung cancer than those

who hadn't taken such drugs.

And a study of Israeli patients published last year

showed a 47 percent lower risk of colorectal cancer in

people who used statins for at least five years.

However, these were not randomized studies — meaning

patients were not randomly picked to receive statins

and then studied to see what effects the drugs had.

Researchers consider randomized studies to yield the

best evidence.

The colorectal cancer study was observational — the

weakest sort of evidence — but very large. Researchers

found no link between statin use and colorectal cancer

when they looked at data on more than 132,000 people

enrolled in the cancer prevention study.

In an accompanying editorial, McLaughlin of the

Prosserman Centre for Health Research in Toronto,

wrote “... it remains premature to conclude that a

large chemoprevention trial with statins that is aimed

at reducing colorectal cancer risk is warranted.”

White also believes it is time to stop spending money

on more studies of cancer and statins.

However, Dr. Gruber of the University of

Michigan, who led the Israeli study, said the new

analysis is valuable but suggests that more research

is needed.

“When you see contrasting conclusions like this, it's

often an opportunity to learn more,” Gruber said.

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