Zocor...Why?

[robertjamieson]

I'm new to this site, but very interested in what I've discovered.

September 16, 2006 before Zocor
Lipid Panel
Trigycerides 83
Cholesterol 112
HDL 47
LDL 47

November 28, 2006 after Zocor
Lipid Panel
Triglycerides 69
Cholesterol 100
HDL 48
LDL 38
Chol/HDLC Ratio 2.1

Had a severly block carotid artery and under went endarterectomy on September 20, 2006. Put on Zocor and Atenolol. I was already taking Quinaprill 40mg daily before all this.

Finally asked doctor to take me off Atenolol...tired, breathing messed up, etc. Stopped taking Zocor although doctor still thought a statin was important. Stopped Zocor on my own.

With the above info...why would Zocor be a "good thing?"

Thanks,
Bob

[sos_group_owner]

Hi Bob & Welcome to the Forum,

Your doctor prescribed Zocor to prevent restenosis (closure) of your endarterectom.

Quinapril is an ace inhibitor (lowers BP) and Atenolol is a beta blocker (also lowers BP).

Your cholesterol levels are extremely low before and after Zocor. Please read Dr Graveline's article: "Your Cholesterol is Low? Watch Out!"
http://www.spacedoc.net/low_cholesterol.html

The primary benefit of statins (Zocor is a statin) ~ statins control 'inflammation'.

Dr Graveline's Statin Alternatives reduce and prevent inflammation, are anti-oxidants, reduce platelet stickiness, control (toxic) homocysteine and have the same anti-inflammatory affect as 20 mg's of Lipitor (or any statin equivalent), without side effects.

"Statin Alternatives" are NOT intended to reduce cholesterol levels. Statins (as do statin alternatives) reduce the type of inflammation that leads to heart attacks and strokes. The fact that statins also reduce cholesterol levels is 'irrelevant'.

Source: http://www.spacedoc.net/statin_alternatives.htm

Dr Graveline's Statin Alternatives
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Buffered Aspirin - 81 mg (contains beneficial magnesium)
CoQ10 - 100 to 150 mg (gelcaps - NOT powdered) with some Vit E
* Folic Acid - 400-800 mcg
* B6 - 80-100mg
* B12 - 200-250mcg
* (all 3 of these B Vitamins control Homocysteine)
Omega 3 (Fish Oil or Cod Liver Oil) - There is no upper limit
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Notes:

CoQ10 should be gelcaps (not powdered in a capsule), contain some vitamin E or taken with vitamin E.

Vitamin E should be d-Alpha (natural) and NOT dl-Alpha (synthetic). An even better source of vitamin E is one that contains both tocopherol and tocotrienols and from all eight sources: alpha, beta, gamma, delta.
Good article that discusses "vitamin E":
[http://www.vitamine-factor.com/family.htm]

CoQ10 can lower BP, so if you are still taking Quinapril, monitor your BP when starting and increasing the dose of CoQ10. My husband used to take 2 BP meds (Enalapril & Atenolol) but takes only 300 mg of CoQ10 daily now. His BP is usually about 111 over 78.

If you are "aspirin sensitive", grape seed extract (GSE) is a good alternative (reduces platelet stickiness/prevents blood clots).

Fran

[robertjamieson]

Thank you very much for the feedback and appreciate the recommendations. With diet I have reduced cholesterol to that lower level of 100...HDL 48, LDL 39. Without getting in trouble with plaque buildup again, what's the best way to increase the cholesterol in a good way? I'm eating low fat foods, staying away from saturated fats and avoiding trans-fats altogether as best I can. Balance health is what I'm looking to and for.

[sos_group_owner]

Hi Robert,

The low fat (no fat) - low cholesterol is not a healthy diet. Avoiding trans-fat is excellent, but low fat (especially low in saturated fat) is not healthy. Please read Dr Graveline's article: "The McCully - Heart Protection Diet"
http://www.spacedoc.net/mccully.htm

I'm not sure what your LDL cholesterol was before your endarterectom, but if it was way below 100, LDL cholesterol doesn't appear to be the cause of your blocked artery. Lowering LDL cholesterol is a bandaid approach, which does not 'correct' the problem. It's when LDL cholesterol becomes 'oxidized'.

Informative article by Dr Malcolm Kendrick:
"Is Heart Disease All Due to Blood Clots?" - [http://www.thincs.org/Malcolm.htm#clots]

Excerpt: " Things that create "free radicals" and oxidized LDL... Smoking, high blood sugar levels (diabetes), stress... Risk factors that damage the "endothelium" include elevated levels of homocysteine, blood sugar, insulin, cortisol (stress hormones), triglycerides, smoking and deficiency in some vitamins, such as C and the B's."

~~~
Increasing saturated fats, specifically coconut oil and butter, increases HDL. Coconut oil, rich in lauric acid, has strong antifungal and antimicrobial properties. Butter contains these beneficial fat soluble vitamins: vitamin A or retinol, vitamin D, vitamin K and vitamin E.
Great article all about fats (and the flawed "evidence" supporting the Lipid Hypothesis) by Dr Mary Enig: "The Skinny on Fats":
[http://www.westonaprice.org/knowyourfats/skinny.html]

Your triglycerides are very good, but just keep as eye on your intake of the 'white foods' (sugar, flour, bread, rice, potato). Pasta is probably the least likely to raise triglyceride levels.

Has your doctor checked your homocysteine (Hcy) levels?

Although most labs say that <11 (and even as high as 15 micromoles per liter of blood) is a healthy level for homocysteine (Hcy), there is no safe "normal range" for (toxic) Hcy. Optimal Hcy levels should be 6.2 or less. For each 3-unit increase above 6.3, there is a 35% increased risk for myocardial-infarction (heart-attack). (American Journal of Epidemiology, 1996, 143[9]:845-59)

Epidemiological data reveal that Hcy levels above 6.3 cause a steep, progressive risk of heart attack.
(American Heart Association's journal Circulation, Nov. 15, 1995, 2825-30)

In addition to folic acid, B6 and B12, some might also need TMG (trimethylglycine), P-5-P (pyridoxyl-5-phosphate), zinc, inositol and/or choline to control Hcy.

Excerpt from an excellent article that explains homocysteine: "There are three biochemical pathways used by the body to reduce homocysteine. In one pathway TMG donates a methyl group which detoxifies homocysteine. In this reaction, TMG is reduced to DMG (dimethylglycine), that familiar-product sold as a supplement for its energizing effects. In the other routes, folic acid, B12 and B6 convert homocysteine into nontoxic substances. Some people can't utilize one or another of these pathways. That is why a combination of all these nutrients is most effective for lowering homocysteine. In some people vitamin B may not be efficiently converted to its active co-enzyme form, pyridoxyl-5-phosphate. In that case supplementing with pyridoxyl-5-phosphate would be necessary. "

Source: "CHOLESTEROL IS NOT THE BAD GUY!!!" ~ by Dr. Deb Baker [http://www.y2khealthanddetox.com/truthchol.html]

Hope this info is beneficial.

Fran

[maguire]

I have been using Serrapeptase to reduce systemic inflammation and Nattokinase as a substitute for aspirin. So far, I have been unwilling to discontinue cardiologists Zocor recommendation.Since neither Serrapeptase or Nattokinase are 'prescription drugs' my cardiologist will not recognise them.