[Joanna-J]

Joanna,

You were wise to drop the Crestor. Most docs will deny this because they haven't heard it from the pharma reps or the AMA, but high cholesterol is a symptom of low hormones (thyroid, T, E, etc.). Lowering cholesterol doesn't fix the underlying problem, and triglycerides are far worse for plugging arteries than cholesterol is, but statins do not lower triglycerides. Furthermore, there is no proof that statins extend lifespan, but there is a lot of money to be made in selling and monitoring their use.

Candace was spot on about Co-Q10 supplementation when on a statin. At least one statin maker tried to get FDA approval for a statin combined with Co-Q10, but the FDA denied the application. Most doctors know nothing about nutrition so they never mention the need to supplement with Co-Q10 to prevent the muscle weakness.

Thank You Monika for reinforcing what I had already felt about the regular taking of Crestor or other statins. All I know is that I felt terrible while taking it, once I stopped and switched to 1000mg of garlic daily I felt much better plus my LDL counts continued to stay lower. My doctor still insists that I should return to taking Crestor. but I also know that he is regularly visited by the big pharmaceuticals and given all kinds of free samples and who knows what else. So of course he is going to be a pusher of their products.

A perfect example is thalidomide the "wonder drug" of the late 50's which was supposed to cure just about anything from insomnia, coughs, colds and headaches to morning sickness and initially sold over the counter. Even after years of data showing how dangerous it was during pregnancy causing fetal abnormalities and killing and mutilating thousands of babies it was moved to a prescription only drug rather than being banned which took public outcry and years of numerous court battles to get rid of it.... sort of.

Instead the manufacturers just claimed that it now cured leprosy and some forms of cancer and despite being proven to be less than effective on leprosy and have caused numerous secondary issues with cancer patients it along with analogs of the original drug continue to be prescribed to this day.

So is it safe to trust the big drug companies? Absolutely not. If there is a dollar to be made peddling snake oil they will and they will coerce or bribe any regulatory body they need to in order to push the crap they make.


Joanna