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Old 01-08-2013, 04:09 PM   #81
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A 50 the Dr. started me on 40mg of cholesterol medicine and 20mg of blood pressure. That was after a couple of years trying to lower cholesterol by exercise and diet (plus low dose aspirin) I was/am a 15-20 mpw runner and ate pretty healthy. At 53 I'm off the blood pressure meds (the result of ER) and after the latest check up the Dr. suggested I cut my Lipitor in half. Dr. has always said he didn't like what meds did to toxicity in the body.
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Old 01-10-2013, 09:15 AM   #82
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Went to a new doctor and he immediately took me off two pills and ordered a full set of labs which I did today @ 7:30am. Lab tech was professional and personable and I was out of the office in under a half hour. What impressed me about this new doctor was his philosophy that good health can be greatly assisted by a good diet and reasonable exercise. He said he was not a pill pusher, nor did his group use nurse practitioners. A patient is there to see the doctor and not a substitute. So I'm glad I switched and we'll see after the tests what my pill intake will look like.
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Old 01-14-2013, 09:40 PM   #83
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57 years old zero pills. Past 12 years drink a smoothie for breakfast that I make with lots of greens, flaxseed, matcha,
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Old 01-14-2013, 09:43 PM   #84
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Cont- blueberries and other fresh fruit- all organic and great tasting!
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Old 01-14-2013, 10:08 PM   #85
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Zero RX types, but.....
4000 IU's D3
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Old 01-14-2013, 11:24 PM   #86
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My doctor described cholesterol medicine as an insurance policy you pay for in your 40's-50's-60's to give you the best odds of being able to live an active 70's and 80's (plus or minus a decade). Since the cost of taking statins is low, I've been buying that insurance, taking 10mg of Lipitor, for the past 8 years or so. I also take a baby aspirin, fish oil, and multivitamins daily.
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Old 01-15-2013, 10:32 AM   #87
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I take a cholesterol pill, vitamin and a baby aspirin. And of course........my liquid med's.
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Old 01-15-2013, 07:05 PM   #88
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Originally Posted by scrinch View Post
My doctor described cholesterol medicine as an insurance policy you pay for in your 40's-50's-60's to give you the best odds of being able to live an active 70's and 80's (plus or minus a decade). Since the cost of taking statins is low, I've been buying that insurance, taking 10mg of Lipitor, for the past 8 years or so. I also take a baby aspirin, fish oil, and multivitamins daily.
The cost (in terms of your health) of taking statins may actually be higher than you (and your doctor) think. Here is a quote from one of the articles below:

"... the use of statins in this population is not without considerable risk. Statins frequently produce muscle weakness, lethargy, liver dysfunction and cognitive disturbances ranging from confusion to transient amnesia. They have produced severe rhabdomyolysis that can lead to life-threatening kidney failure."

After doing a lot of research on statins, I personally would not take them.

The truth about statin drugs

5 reasons not to worry about your cholesterol numbers
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Old 01-18-2013, 01:34 PM   #89
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OK, I'm nearly 65 and I know my health isn't as great as when I was a young man. I never took medicine and I never went to the doctor--but about 50 I hit a brick wall!!!!! Today I suffer from high blood pressure and type 2 diabetes as well as a host of other ailments. It seems every time I go to the doctor, which is now very frequently, I get a new pill or an upping of the dosage.

I currently take 15 pills a day and was wondering how I compare with others.
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none

I could of started in 2004 with diabetes and Cholesterol drugs but I made drastic changes in my diet (I already exercised a lot) and they have been both normal since then....
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Old 01-18-2013, 01:51 PM   #90
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none

I could of started in 2004 with diabetes and Cholesterol drugs but I made drastic changes in my diet (I already exercised a lot) and they have been both normal since then....
Can you elaborate on the changes? My doctor tried to put me an statins 4 years ago. cholesterol about 260. I said no thanks I have a better chance of surviving a coronary event than some the possible long term side effects of the drugs.
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Old 01-18-2013, 02:40 PM   #91
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Can you elaborate on the changes? My doctor tried to put me an statins 4 years ago. cholesterol about 260. I said no thanks I have a better chance of surviving a coronary event than some the possible long term side effects of the drugs.
I read Dr. Bernstein's "A Complete Guide to Achieving Normal Blood Sugars". I also use to read everything on his forum.

I use to eat a lot of fruit , carbs, and low fat diet.
Now I eat a lot of fat, almost no fruit, and 99% of my carbs. come from Vegetables.

My fasting blood sugar was 147! and my triglycerides were over 500. My good cholesterol was 37 and my total was 213. Weight 205 at 5ft 11in.

Now fasting 99-104, triglycerides 99 , good cholesterol 59 and total
cholesterol 194. Weight 177.
the big change in cholesterol was the ratio of my good to bad cholesterol.

Back in 2004 I also got a glucose meter and started testing my sugar levels after each meal which pretty much eliminated fruit and most of the carbs.
I use to eat.
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Old 01-19-2013, 06:41 AM   #92
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At the start of this thread I said none...now it's one:


So.......(and this is an aside from the 'main' story).....a couple days before we left Mexico my bursitis was acting up, (from swimming), and I'd just got out of the shower and lifted my arm, (in front of the mirror), to massage it.....quel horreur....both my armpits are BLACK.

DW Googled it, and it 'appears' to be a sort of fungal infection.......more on that later.


About 02:00 a.m. the morning of the 15th, (we're scheduled to fly back to Toronto around 04:00 p.m.), I wake up in the dark room with the feeling that my nose is running.....go to the bathroom to blow it, (so as not to wake DW),......it's dripping alright....dripping blood.

(Now...I'm 70 years old and never had a nosebleed in my life.)

Tried to staunch the flow.......got dizzy & clammy....lay down on the tile floor.....DW woke our friends, about 03:00 a.m., and it was decided I should go to the local hospital.......which is only a $3 cab ride away.

See a doctor...he doesn't speak English and we don't speak Spanish....but we do have a dictionary.

My BP is WAAAY up......they give me a sub-lingual medication to bring it down.....and the doc calls our hotel and talks to an English speaking desk clerk.......back to the hotel....clerk explains I need medication, (dr's given me a prescription), so it's back in the cab to town to an all night pharmacy, (which is shuttered up).....cab driver rattles the bars, (guess this is how it's done there), and we get the prescription filled.

Pack up our stuff...leave the hotel for the airport.

Flight arrived in T.O. an hour early, (lots of turbulence on the way), picked up the car and arrived home about 01:00 a.m. ....next morning found that our doctor is off on 'partial paternity leave' and only pops in the office to sign prescriptions....so typed up an overview of what had happened and left it with his receptionist.

THEN.... Wednesday night....another nosebleed. Down to Belleville Hosp emerg. BP higher than in Mex, (even WITH the pills I'm taking)......they ran an EKG, took blood tests, but seemed more fascinated by the black armpits than anything else.....I said that MY concern was the BP, and I didn't really CARE about the armpits. (But I guess THEY get lots of high BP cases and no black armpits.......told them I was going to go viral and put them on YouTube.)

Got home from emerg about 04:00 a.m.......starting to get just a little exhausted at this point.

Then...the next night and the following morning three more nosebleeds..

Saw our Dr yesterday, (he too is fascinated by the black armpits, and is following up to see what the hospital included in their blood test, and what might have been omitted), and I'm now on BP medication.

I'm the same weight now as I was when I ran a marathon 29 years ago, and I work out daily, but I guess you can't fight genetics.
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Old 01-19-2013, 06:48 AM   #93
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Nemo, you have to promise to follow up with us. I'm sure your doc will get your BP where it needs to be but the black arm pit thing is a new one!
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Old 01-19-2013, 06:58 AM   #94
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Nemo, you have to promise to follow up with us. I'm sure your doc will get your BP where it needs to be but the black arm pit thing is a new one!
+1

What did you have to eat in Mexico? The docs aren't the only ones fascinated.
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Old 01-19-2013, 07:13 AM   #95
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Nemo, you have to promise to follow up with us. I'm sure your doc will get your BP where it needs to be but the black arm pit thing is a new one!
Here, (for your viewing (dis)pleasure), is a pic DW took last night; they're starting to fade, (with all the other activity going on we didn't think to take photos earlier).

(Our doc is investigating the possibility that something has affected my blood coagulation and that these are 'bruises' rather than some kind of infection....whereas at the hospital I believe they might have felt the opposite.)

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Old 01-19-2013, 08:34 AM   #96
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Wow... Scary...
some thoughts...
Acanthosis nigricans - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Unexplained Bruising

Sheesh... good luck... quick recovery.
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Old 01-19-2013, 08:45 AM   #97
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Wow... Scary...
some thoughts...
Acanthosis nigricans - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Unexplained Bruising

Sheesh... good luck... quick recovery.
Scary indeed......but....I'm not obese, not diabetic, exercise regularly, eat lots of fruit & veggies, and don't bruise easily........so, with luck, the similarities are just coincidental........but it's now filed under "Check this out".

Thanks.
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Old 01-19-2013, 09:34 AM   #98
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Your skin tone is very light, so any bruising would show up pretty strongly. The members of the Amethyst clan have that in common with you - we can kneel on a hard surface for 10 minutes, and come away with bruised knees.

That said, I don't see the usual pattern of bruising turning brown/yellow as it fades. Also I see what looks like a red bite-y thing at the top of the bruised area (well above the armpit). Any chance "something" bit you while you were swimming in Mexico?

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Old 01-19-2013, 10:03 AM   #99
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That said, I don't see the usual pattern of bruising turning brown/yellow as it fades. Also I see what looks like a red bite-y thing at the top of the bruised area (well above the armpit). Any chance "something" bit you while you were swimming in Mexico?
I think that's just where I may have scratched at it.......the other armpit is the same/similar, so the odds of two simultaneous underarm bites I'd venture are quite high.

It's an enigma.....small wonder the doctors honed in on it.
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Old 01-19-2013, 10:05 AM   #100
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Your skin tone is very light, so any bruising would show up pretty strongly.
I think that's from the flash...I'm still quite tanned right now.
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