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Reposted for spelling:

Quote:Bottom line, I am feeling pretty good
about this problem, which frees me up to worry about other stuff
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Exactly. I dont worry about heart crap anymore. Unfortunately the side effects from the medications have attentuated my overall quality of life so I don't enjoy anything as much as I should. But, yes, I can direct my attention everything else now.

That nuclear stress test scared the hell out of me. I knew I was not having that one. JG
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Nothing to be scared of. In fact it's one of the best tests short of a cardiac catheterization or autopsy. 1000% better than a regular treadmill test and infinity times better than a meaningless blood test which doesn't really even address your arteries or heart. It's just a statistical inference that sells pills.

My heart, the one the dr was so sure was gonna have an attack, was clear a bell. Even the cardiologist was impressed. Now, if my old man had had a test like that at the same age (43, the same age he had his first HA) do you really think he'd have looked as clear? Not likley.

I'm not really anti-medical establishment but let's face it , some tests ARE wortyh taking. Some just are not.
 
I was on Lipitor when it was a new drug. I was a  guinea pig for the drug company. And my cholesterol wasn't all THAT high to begin with but hey, we're supposed to trust they doctor right?

They want to take one blood test as proof you need to be on medictaion forever and then require that you have your blood tested every 2 to 3 months forever. NOT to check your cholesterol but to make suree the drug isn't killing you via muscle wasting or liver destruction.  But they will insist you must take teh drug or "risk" a heart atack or stroke.  Then you ask them directly OK, so what are MY chances of a H/A or stroke with and without the drugs and they can't tell you. They might say your chances are X% higher trhan average but then they cannot tell you what the average person's chances are.

Anyway... the side effects of the statin were almost everything listed on the box except cancer and rhabdomyelisis. I will be on medication forever to counter act the effects of having my metabolism fried...AND the ill effects that are concomitant with frying one's metabolism. Osteoporosis, weight gain, and last year serious breathing problems that fortunately turned out to NOT be heart problems.

I was also hit with permanent ADRs from an antibiotic.  Peripheral neuropathy mostly. (pain and numbness in my feet and legs. Squelched my exercise routine.

Of course all these effects were misdiagnosed for at least 3 yrs as all new diseases that "just happened" because I was "getting older" (I was 41)  And along with this crap it cost me hundreds of thousands of dollars in boigus tests for conditions I didn't have but the dr wished I had and for theneeded tests that showed the conditions I DID have.  And I will now have to spend 100,000 bucks for medication if I live to  80 and that's a guess. Who knows what iflation will do

Now, of course I DO have insurance but A) that isn't going to give me my health back and  B) Even tho I really didnt pay for all that out of my own pocket the dr was shaking the money tree apparently without regard to my health.  The only new disease we discovered was "Cholesterol Neurosis" on the part of Doctors

If the  Dr wants to put you on drugs for "cholesterol" get the percentages he's worried about and get data on your arteries, They will refuse to get it. Because:  1) The test , cardiac catheterization,  is hazardous,  and 2) In most cases it will eliminate the need for drugs because it will show nice clear arteries.
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Wow, I'd be pissed. I'm really sorry to hear about the damage the drugs caused you.

I agree with you they are pushing these statins like they are candy. I do think it's the pressure from the drug companies that is behind this push.

My ratios look good, I have really low blood pressure, there is no history of heart diease in my family and I have had a healthy diet for years. I am going to refuse to go on the meds.

Here's a link to a high cholesterol message board. They talk a lot about statins there. Many people are ticked off about the use of statins:

http://www.healthboards.com/boards/forumdisplay.php?f=69

Thanks for your post,

-helen
 
Somebody once said to throw out everything in your medicine cabinet except for the aspirin, and not to take anything else.

Sounds like pretty good advice...
 
GD-ER l Scared the hell out of me too.  They had me convinced I was headed for heart surgery any minute... And while they were at it said:
Hey GD-ER! This could have been written by my Dad.
He says "Just stay away from them!" I basically agree
with this view. For example, over the past 10 years
or so (counting specialists) I have seen around
12-14 different doctors, been hospitalized, had two (2)
MRIs, several EKGs and about 5 rountine physicals.
All of this resulted in very little help for my problems.
I would guess 90% of what worked for me was
discovered through my own research on the internet and elsewhere. For example, all meds and supplements
I take (100%) were found by me. Sometimes
you gotta go see 'em, but I lean strongly toward the
"just stay away" approach.

JG
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I agree with the above even though I do go twice a year to the doc basically to get my cholesterol meds renewed. When I turned 40, all hell seemed to break loose. I had some moments when I felt light headed and weak. My GP doc at the time thought I might have MS for some reason. After several scans and a MRI they thought I had some kind of liver disease. Next we do a liver biopsy and after all said and done, they chalk up my problem to chonic hepatitis and gave me a $5 bottle of predizone which lowered my liver enzymes. I took this for about 6 months and never had another problem.

I'm grateful that the docs corrected my problem, but they sure scared the hell out of me and ran up some enormous bills for a $5 dollar solution to the problem. :-/
 
I take heavy dosages of the standard New Orleans drugs - onion and garlic - raw, grilled, fried.

If you croak - it was probably a bad batch - or not enough garlic or a cross reaction with La hot sauce.
 
OOps - I forgot boiled - in Zatarains seafood boil of course.
 
I take heavy dosages of the standard New Orleans drugs - onion and garlic - raw, grilled, fried.

If you croak - it was probably a bad batch - or not enough garlic or a cross reaction with La hot sauce.
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I like all that too......thank God for lipitor.
 
I take heavy dosages of the standard New Orleans drugs - onion and garlic - raw, grilled, fried.

If you croak - it was probably a bad batch - or not enough garlic or a cross reaction with La hot sauce.
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Mix in with crawdads, boiled crabs, and fried shrimp. Dose with a bottle of Dixie beer. (Is that beer still around?)
 
Generic Claritin is extreeeeeeemly cheeep at Costco or Sams Club. I think I paid something like $6 for two 60-tablet bottles.

Wife likes the stuff. Makes me jumpy. I've had way better luck just flushing out the sinuses with a little homemade saline solution in a nose spray bottle.

As with many things, remove the cause rather than treat the symptoms.

But if a costco membership saves you a trip to "The Pusher", thats a good tradeoff... :)
 
Generic Claritin is extreeeeeeemly cheeep at Costco or Sams Club.  I think I paid something like $6 for two 60-tablet bottles.

Wife likes the stuff.  Makes me jumpy.  I've had way better luck just flushing out the sinuses with a little homemade saline solution in a nose spray bottle.

As with many things, remove the cause rather than treat the symptoms.

But if a costco membership saves you a trip to "The Pusher", thats a good tradeoff... :)
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Costco has a pretty cheap lunch too. $1.50 for a polish dog and drink. Again, thank god for lipitor.
 
Yep

Dixie beer and Crawfish. Throw in garlic toes and small onions into the boil - to ah er counteract the salt.

Capsacin aka red pepper is supposed to be good for something also - I forget what.
 
Sooo, no cholestoral tests, no physicals, no fingers up the old wazooooo, no doctors, NO etc... And maybe -- just maybe -- my medical benefits won't kill me... 8)
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My father followed this regimen for almost 10 years.

In his late 60s he finally went to the doctor about a patch of dry skin on his leg. One question led to another and a set of "routine" tests were ordered.

The dry skin was either psoriasis or a side effect of a high-salt diet (since eliminated). The blood test showed a double-digit PSA. A "finger followup" revealed a stage IV tumor and led to a "just-in-time" radical prostatectomy. Other than the PSA he was completely symptom-free, although the tumor could have been found years earlier.

He sees a doctor regularly now. Me too.

I found out six months ago that my total cholesterol is around 293, but my good cholesterol is really high so my ratios are good. -helen
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There's a link between stress (adrenaline release) and rising cholesterol. So anything you can do to reduce the stress might help. In my case it turned out to be tae kwon do, ER, and less coffee (although not necessarily in that order).

I wouldn't continue with any doctor who reaches for a prescription pad before a grocery list. Admittedly it's difficult for HMO physicians to have enough time to get to know their patients, but many chronic medical conditions are more easily (and safely) treated with diet than with technology.
 
razztazz said:
Now, of course I DO have insurance but A) that isn't going to give me my health back and  
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DO THIS NOW:

Go to www.DrDavesBest.com and order a couple of bottles of his pharmaceutical grade fish oil- take 6-10 capsules a day.

He's a board certified internist and anti-aging expert, and if you sign up for his free newsletter, you'll get tons of info on the magic of high-dose omega 3 fatty acid (fish oil)... the mother of all anti-inflammation agents (and all disease, we are learning- results from inflammation).

My bp was fine til I was put on lipitor due to nephrotic syndrome. My arms and hands cramped up terribly.

Turns out lipitor (statins) wipe out your heart's CoQ10, raising your bp. 200mg/day Jarrow CoQ10 allowed be to drop the lotensin they gave me for my lipitor-induced hypertension.

6-10 mg fish oil (Dr Daves- they are not all as pure) solved my muscle aches and helped my asthma.

From one Chester Arthur fan to another... get over to DrDavesBest.com and start eating plenty of fish oil... it CAN ONLY HELP.

If you got high bp- get on the 200 mg CoQ10, too.

Best Wishes- Don't Quit Yet...

Art
 
Fish earl also causes spontaneous brain bleeding. It's a blood thinner with no dose control protocol. I am already on medication that thins my blood as a side-effect. Also, if you get a headache and take aspirin.. more blood thinning. I don't need any more stuff thinning my blood.

I've read the same side effect, blood thinning, listed on the bottles of many of these "herbal" "natural" "homeopathic" type potions.

And the doses they prescribe are outrageous. Just a way to make you piss away more money faster on the stuff.

The "natural cure" industry sounds to me just like the traditional medical industry and the way they hawk all manner of pills that are supposed to help ...."something"... something we didnt know we suffered from and that ONLY recently has been declared a threat that needs to be treated. They are just appealing to a different audience
 
banjsalv.jpg
 
As with anything, pick a product or topic and somebody will hate it, a study will say it will kill you or at least cause sterility, and somebody here will be a self-professed expert for one side, the other, or both...
 
razztazz said:
Fish earl also causes spontaneous brain bleeding. It's a blood thinner with no dose control protocol. I am already on medication that thins my blood as a side-effect. Also, if you get a headache and take aspirin.. more blood thinning. I don't need any more stuff thinning my blood.
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Razz, I'm no fish oil expert. But I can tell you this...

UCSF Anti-Coagulation Dept. just started me on warfarin (7.5mg) due to my high proteinuria (17g/24h). I also take aspirin. They asked me all the Rx and non Rx drugs, vitamins, minerals I take- and I specifically asked if the 6-10 g/day fish oil would be a problem- and she said no, but if I had signs of bleeding, we'd stop the fish oil. She was not so worried about my large fish oil intake to reduce it or stop it up front.

I treat your concerns with great respect, and if I were you- maybe I'd do the same thing. But I have a feeling that your info on fish oil may not be entirely accurate... I don't know. I retract my order for you to take fish oil, but I still think it might be interesting for you to go to the site I mentioned, read more (he's got peer-reviewed references in bulk), and maybe even email him.

Obviously, your situation is very serious. I am convinced that for most people on statins, quality fish oil should be taken to minimize known side effects- ditto CoQ10.

As for the hilarious, clever poster who entered the snake oil cartoon above- attaboy!
You, sir, are a bleepin' comic genius!
 
moghopper said:
banjsalv.jpg
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I'd bet John Hartford is smiling down from heaven!!

"the houses and the streets runnin' here and there,
like a crossword puzzle on the landscape.
Looks like a 'lectric shaver now
where the courthouse used to be.
The grass is all synthetic,
And we ain't really sure about the food.
The only thing that we're sure about
Is those steamboat whistle blues..."
 
Art said:
I'll email this to Dr. Dave and report back his response. He has used IV fish oil in hospital ICUs to successfully treat arrythmias (I'm sure I spelled this correctly).
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REWahoo, just got this email from Dr. Dave:

Hi Art sorry I was unable to open your link to find out what it was about but I suspect you sent me the link to an article about fish oil and defibrilltors not being a good mix. If that is the case the lead article was in Jama and flies directly in the face of last years New england Journal article that showed that fish oil reduces the need for defibrillators by decrease V fib.

The Journal article got almost no air play except for me. the Jama article is all over the news all over the world.

AS soon as I saw the word" Jama" I knew it would be a negative article They are so deeply in bed with the pharmaceutical companies that support them that they only print negative articles when it comes to Alternative medicine. if you submit a positive one it will never get past their editorial board. If the link was something else, pardon my rant! Doc
 
So fish oil is either good for you (and good for Dr. Dave's bank account) or bad for you (and good for the pharmaceutical company's bank account). :confused:

Reminds me of the old joke about how saliva isn't harmful unless swallowed in small amounts over a long time period... ;)

REW, who thinks the entire argument is a bit fishy and will just stick with an occasional dose of Dr. Bethancourt's Amazing Snake Oil Liniment...
 
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