Lipitor-quitting or weaning

[Guest guest]

I have a friend who is wanting to quit taking Lipitor and was trying

to find some info regarding that. I did find one post from JoAnn

that stated maybe starting with a 25% reduction. Anyone have

experience with this, is it necessary to wean off or could one just

stop taking it?

 

Linn

[Guest guest]

, Linn Miller

<linnmiller wrote:

> I have a friend who is wanting to quit taking Lipitor and was

trying to find some info regarding that. I did find one post from

JoAnn that stated maybe starting with a 25% reduction. Anyone have

> experience with this, is it necessary to wean off or could one

just stop taking it?

> Linn

 

Hi Linn!

 

Anti-hyperlipidemic drugs (Statin)drugs have dangerous side effects

and again, there is scant evidence that they lessen our risk of

heart attack! Statins, (lipid-lowering) drugs reduce

the " production " of cholesterol in the liver by inhibiting the

production of HMG Co-reductase and thus alter the way LDL-

cholesterol enters body cells. It inhibits an enzyme that produces

cholesterol in the liver. For this reason it is recommended that

statins be gradually reduced over a period of time to ensure that

the body resumes production of this very important enzyme. We need

to allow these changes to take place to allow for a healthy

conversion over to a more natural metabolism of fats. I cannot

emphasize this enough. Here are some dietary changes which should be

initiated in the meantime.

 

Vegetarian diets reduce high cholesterol levels just as effectively

as statins. Natural plant sterols found in organic plants,

vegetables and fruits, raw almonds, cold-pressed unrefined oils and

viscous fibers found in high fiber oats, barley and psyllium lowers

cholesterol levels. Dietary management is an essential part of

treatment for lipid disorders however we know that adherence to

strict dietary intervention requires daily motivation. High

cholesterol is a known risk factor for cardiovascular diseases

There are safe alternatives that prevent and reverse cardiovascular

disease...

a nutrient dense, low protein diet consisting of organic fruits and

vegetables and essential fatty acid supplementation greatly reduces

our risk.

 

JoAnn

 

Summaries of statin carcinogenicity studies published in the 1992

and 1994

Physicians' Desk Reference (PDR),

 

STUDY SAMPLE--

We tabulated rodent carcinogenicity data from the 1994

PDR for all drugs listed as " hypolipidemics. "

For comparison, we selected a stratified random sample of

anti-hypertensive drugs.We also reviewed methods and interpretation

of carcinogenicity

studies in rodents and results of clinical trials in humans.

 

DATA SYNTHESIS--All members of the two most popular classes of lipid-

lowering drugs (the fibrates and the statins)cause cancer in rodents,

in some cases at levels of animal exposure

close to those prescribed to humans.

 

 

In the meantime, the results of experiments in animals and humans

suggest that lipid-lowering drug treatment,

especially with the fibrates and statins,should be avoided except in

patients at high short-term risk of coronary heart disease

 

PMID: 8531288 [PubMed

 

 

Relation of aggressiveness of lipid-lowering treatment to changes in

calcified plaque burden by electron beam tomography.

Hecht HS, Harman SM.-Beth Israel Medical Center, New York, New York

10003, USA.hhe-

 

The comparative effects of more versus less aggressive low-density

lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol lowering (to </=80 vs >80 mg/dl) on

calcified coronary plaque progression by electron beam tomography

were evaluated in 182 consecutive asymptomatic patients after 1.2

years of treatment with statins alone or in combination with niacin.

 

Despite the greater improvement in lipids in the </=80 versus >80

mg/dl groups, there were no differences in 'calcified plaque'

progression (9.3%/year vs 9.1%/year).

 

We conclude that, with respect to LDL cholesterol lowering with

Statins, the " lower is better " theory is " not supported " by changes

in calcified plaque progression.

 

Publication Types:

Clinical Trial

PMID: 12888149 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]

_________________

 

JoAnn Guest

mrsjo-

http://www.geocities.com/mrsjoguest