Originally Posted by Sure-Oz (Post 6625851)

That's pretty cool...

My doctor is a family friend as well and wants a check up at the latest with me after 3 months but mentioned i should try to get in sometime after the first month like yours said. Did you have any side-effects btw? or even remember?

Originally Posted by Sure-Oz (Post 6625831)

Very true, i will def. ask him specifically but I can understand the possible issues, maybe for more so for people that drink alot all the time, which im surprised he didn't say anything to me about it i just had to look it up on the net. Appreciate you taking time out to respond, thanks.

Originally Posted by DaneMcCloud (Post 6625865)

No, I haven't experienced any side effects after nearly three years.

After my first blood test at one month, he said my muscle enzymes were slightly low. But, I didn't (and haven't) felt any difference in my body (and I walk at least 20 miles a week in our neighborhood hills), so I'd know if it were truly an issue.

Good luck!

Originally Posted by Silock (Post 6465185)

The problem is that cholesterol scores do not differentiate between the cholesterol produced by the body and cholesterol from food. So, eating food with less cholesterol may improve scores. It also may not. People that eat low cholesterol food may have good scores. They may have bad scores. People with bad diets may have bad scores and may also have good scores. The thing is that the score itself is simply a total of the HDL (good), LDL (bad) and triglycerides.

So, while one might have a good "score," they still might have low levels of HDL. That's not very good. Conversely, one might have a bad score because they have a lot of HDL in their system. The total score itself isn't very useful.

Again, I'm not saying that diet has no effect. It absolutely does. The foods you eat can have very long-term post-prandial effects, which can negatively influence scores by creating artificially high triglyceride count that may not be present all the time. You can also use your diet to get more beneficial levels of HDL.

I'm simply saying that eating cholesterol isn't going to cause your body to start magically producing all bad cholesterol with none of the good. That's genetics. Sometimes, a person can do all the dietary things possible to get a good "score" and still have too much LDL and/or triglycerides.

Originally Posted by DaneMcCloud (Post 6625743)

Really?

My doctor, who's head of Internal Medicine at UCLA never even cautioned me before beginning Simvastatin nearly three years ago. And we fully discussed my alcoholic intake (2-3 drinks per night, maybe 4 on the weekends).

The most important thing to monitor is your muscle enzymes. If you're taking a statin and suddenly have muscle cramps and pain that you hadn't had before, you must tell your doctor immediately.

Make sure you have your blood checked every month for the first three months, then at six, then yearly after. If everything is fine and you feel fine, you'll be okay.

Originally Posted by BIG_DADDY (Post 6644893)

It would take an act of god to get me to ingest statins.

Originally Posted by Metrolike (Post 6644896)

I hope you have good genes, then. It sucks losing parts of your brain.

Originally Posted by BIG_DADDY (Post 6644900)

Thank god big pharm is here to save us all. Knock yourself out.

Originally Posted by BIG_DADDY (Post 6644893)

It would take an act of god to get me to ingest statins.

Originally Posted by Metrolike (Post 6644907)

Yeah, the average life expectancy increasing greatly over the last century had nothing to do with anything. Natural cures work, why do we even need medical progress?

I understand not liking "big pharm", but you're taking it a little too far. There's a line between cautious and unreasonable, and I'm pretty sure you've crossed it at some point.

Originally Posted by DaneMcCloud (Post 6644934)

LMAO

I've been taking Simvastatin for three years with absolutely no side effects. My dad avoided going to the doctor for more than 20 years until at my insistence, he went. It turned out that he had 99% blockage in three arteries and 50% in the other. It was amazing that he was even alive. He had stents and immediate angioplasty. It's been two years since his surgery and he's been on statins and Plavix and he's been just fine.

Do you think I want to end up like that? Whether you realize it or not, 90% of the time, this shit is genetic. Taking a statin is preventative medicine because just maybe, I might not be as lucky as my dad if I don't.

Originally Posted by kepp (Post 6463719)

Nah, you're thinking of sashimi. If you find a good sushi place, you'd like it. Spicy tuna roll...yum.