I know that Thriftyfun is not primarily an advocacy site, but am I furious this morning so I am giving it a shot. My DH (aka Joe) has just spent 3 days in the hospital because his liver count was up. He was having nausea and other symptoms which I don't need to discuss here. He is a a colon cancer survivor so any digestive problem gets me really riled up. Since you folks don't know me well, you need to understand that you do not want me mad at you.
What I want to warn you about is the possibility of liver damage from statin drugs. Joe has been instructed not to take his pravastatin any more. After a couple of days without them his count is getting to be near normal.
I am on an anti statin rampage and I intend to alert every one I can. If you or someone you know is taking statins for cholesterol, please urge them to stop.
By Marty Dick from Knoxville, TN
I also would caution people against taking statins. I was on them for 5 years before noticing any ill effects, and then the excruciating cramps started - gradually in my legs (calves, shins, inner thighs, toes) at first, then later in my forearms, sides, and across the rib cage.
The doctor did not link these cramps to statins at first, as I had previously not had any side effects but, after many tests (heart stress test, ECG, scan for Carpal tunnel, scan for gall bladder, all coming up clear), she finally took me off the statins and ALL the symptoms disappeared immediately.
As I said, these cramps were excruciating. I would wake up screaming on most nights. Taking Magnesium as suggested by the doctor also did not help. Now I occasionally have the odd cramp, maybe once a month, but they are very mild. I have since read many reports on the internet of many adverse reactions to statins, and would never touch them again!
This page contains the following solutions.
Do you have trouble remembering which type of cholesterol is the "good cholesterol" and which is the bad? Here's a simple mnemonic that occurred to me:
Last year at my yearly checkup my doctor said my cholesterol was was up and I was on the verge of needing medication. I was surprised since I usually eat a balanced and healthy diet.
Having been recently diagnosed with high cholesterol I have decided to change some of my eating habits, along with exercise and having to take Lipitor. I have divided the 7 days of the week as follows for my main meal:
Here are the questions asked by community members. Read on to see the answers provided by the ThriftyFun community.
Has anyone tried "Cholesterblock" for high cholesterol, and has it justified the claims made for it?
Marty from Saint Charles, IL
I have not used this product, but use another awesome product that keeps my cholesterol lower, thus I do not have to take a prescription. I will be glad to tell you about it, if you want another option. It works for me and many others. You can call me at 972-722-1948.
I have not tried the product you mentioned. But I have used Smart Balance margarine. It works. It actually lowers your cholesterol.
I have not used Cholesterol but if one did and wanted to find out if it worked they need to have a blood test for HDL and LDL then after a few months on Cholesterol another blood test.If the HDL went up and the LDL went down then it probably worked for you.
I was about to order this and found two posts on the net that said they had no results from using this product. One said he had tests done by his doctor before and after 30 days with no change in cholesterol.
I tried it. I used the home cholesterol test they sent me for free before I took it. I then took it for 30 days and checked my levesl with the second free home cholesterol test they sent. It went down 18 points. From 222 to 204. Not bad in 30 days. I'll test again in 5 months.
Scott
I read about CholesterBlock over a year ago in Prevention Magazine, but could never find the product locally. I have been unable to take the statin drugs or other cholesterol drugs that doctors prescribed for me, due to severe side effects. I have tried many other remedies, but nothing brought my cholesterol down significantly; therefore, I was very skeptical about CholesterBlock, but wanted to try it.
for Bobbie Gillettee: please email the name of the awesome product that keeps your cholesterol low. I need to lower mine because my recent cholesterol reading is 250 and my cardiologists advised to get it down to within normal levels. My Problem is I cant use the statin medication presribed as it has adverse side effects on me. Please email to tonytinsay AT yahoo.com as ur earliest convenience. thanks.
I started Cholesterblock in Nov., using the reader provided, and it was within a point of my doctor's reading a week later. I recorded it by digital camera for evidence if my cholesteral did not go down after taking the dosage prescribed for a few months (for the money-back guarantee).
I have been using Cholesterblock for just a few days,so can't say if it works as claimed.
Try Cholesterol Care by EWI. It really works!
I have used Chloest- off by Nature Made - as well as other plant statin products - when I eat particularly fatty foods - and drink only red wine/lite beer and drink lots of TEA - all of which have made my good cholesterol sky high - so overall my cholesterol ration is really low - 2 to 1....
I tried it. It didn't work as well as I expected, but I was impressed with the company. They send yu a free home cholesterol test with purchase. Then, if you call them again, they will send you a second one. So I tested my cholesterol before and after. It went from 210 to 206. I was hoping for more.So I called them again and sent it back for a full refund. All of it was really easy. The guy on the phone said that they effect the cholesterol from food. And I eat really well so that might have been why it had not worked that well for me.
So if you have a healthy, low fat diet, I probably wouldn't try it. But if you don't they seem to be a great company to work with.
Hope that helps
After 1 month of taking Cholesterblock, my cholesterol lab values dropped from 287 to 258. However, I had to stop the product due to the side effect of extreme fatigue, as much as what the statins caused. The B vitamins included with the preparation did not adequately replace what was being leached out. Sadly, I'm still searching for a solution to hypercholesterolemia.
Do not try the Cholesterblock...their advertising is misleading and you will have many charges on your credit card. I am currently fighting repayment of a charge
I do know of two things that when taken together will definitely reduce your triglycerides and cholesterol markedly. They are not market for this purpose, as far as I know. I am actually a cancer patient, and I have found this out incidentally. Fot the kind of cancer that I have, the cancer cells actually eat cholesterol, so really there is no benefit to me from this. These are not garlic or something that is normally sold for this purpose.
I am unsure how I should get the word out on this. I am not sure they would work for everyone, and there are actually a lot of things sold as these supplements that have no value whatsoever, or they have additives that are very unhealthy or are not protected from oxidation, which makes one of these supplement worthless
If you have any idea what you think I should do with this information, please let me know. My idea was to get a website up about various health issues, and only ask people to try it. If it worked, I would like people to donate to one of a number of organizations for my specific type of cancer.
Is there a better way?
Alex Maas
a.maas AT cox.net
Editor's Note: Hi Alex,
Because ThriftyFun has very good indexing, it would be good in any case to post it here. If you do start up a website, you can post the link as well. Unless we feel that what you are proposing is dangerous, we will post it. You can also ask that people give to your cancer organizations.
I was on statins(Lipitor) and they made me feel terrible.
I switched to slow acting Niacin (1000 mg @ night).
My cholesterol plumetted!
No side effects, but you have to build up slowly to the full dose
I just finished taking Cholesterblock for 30 days 7/7/07 and i am very happy to tell you that it works.'
Started with 200 and went to 167 cholesterol in 30 days. The 200 was hospital lab and the 167 was the test kit they sent. I took a kit test before my hospital lab test and they read the same 200.
I'm not a fan of cholesterol lowering medications. I dont think that cholesterol is the enemy, it's just an indication that something is not working right in your body. So they may in fact lower your cholesterol but havent done anything to solve the original problem.
They work in your liver and while longtime cholestrol medicine use does lower heart disease risk it also increases cancer risk.
Despite that my husband takes Ezetrol and refuses to stop. But he is very conscientious about actually getting the blood test printouts from his doc from regular blood checks. And studies them.
He discovered on one that while his cholesterol was continuing to go down his triglicerides were rocketing. Had he not discovered this himself his doc would never have noticed or cared.
Take an active interest in your health care. Nobody cares about your health as much as you do.
one of you mentioned cholest off. it's cheaper and closer to home - if you buy the 240 count (available at Osco, etc.). two tablets provide 522 mg of beta-sitosterol (I had to call nature made to get this info), the major ingredient in both as well as in Prost8 (a mail order prostate relief supplement that's more expensive than either of them). cholesterblock contains 600 mg in one. no daily requirement for beta-sitosterol has been established, but they both recommend a similar intake (4 cholest offs vs 2 cholesterblocks for 1044 mg vs 1200 mg beta-sitosterol).
Alex Maas, are you out there?
my husband has high cholesteral and awful lipids under his eyes. He done a job round a doctors house who highly recommended eating walnuts. (as if he's not nuts enough!!!) but hes trying it anyway and definately his lipids are looking a little less.
RE: Cholesterblock Reviews
Post By blankuc (Guest Post) (07/06/2007)
"I was on statins(Lipitor) and they made me feel terrible.
I switched to slow acting Niacin (1000 mg @ night).
My cholesterol plumetted!
No side effects, but you have to build up slowly to the full dose "
I've been reading many reviews on Cholesterblock and am finding a great deal of people saying that the Niacin is working as well as the claims and even better.
Thanks.
dj
It's crumby. DON'T BUY IT.......
Cholesterblock works! I began taking it about a year ago. My overall cholesterol reading went down 40 points in six weeks time. I recommend it always to my friends as a first course of action before taking the statin drugs.
I started with a level of 300 after my heart attack. I went through all the statins and they worked a little but the side effects were unbearable. I stopped taking anything for my cholesterol and just started avoiding trans fats and that took me from 200 to 75. Yes 75 from just avoiding "French Fries".
I have been on Cholesterblock for 2 years and my it has kept mine under 200 which I was never able to do before. I was on Zocor for nine years until it started to effect my liver and haven't been on that since 2001. I do like it and will continue to use it.
Cholesterblock has worked extremely well for me. My cholesterol was over 300 and within two months, my cholesterol dropped to 168. I was thrilled because I had taken every prescription out there for reducing cholesterol, non of which worked and Lipitor caused my liver enzymes to go up. I will continue to take Cholesterblock because I had discontinued the use of it thinking that I was okay.
Unfortunately, my cholesterol went back up to over 300. In addition, I purchased a cholesterol monitoring unit (it cost around $100 at Walmart) that looks like a blood sugar monitoring unit. Therefore, I am able to get accurate measurements for my cholesterol, LDL, HDL and triglycerides.
Yeh, it worked for me. I am about to order 2 bottles of 60 cts. today. My MD gave me a statin, I tried it for a few days but had some side effects. Cholesterblock, exercise and diet helped me bring down my choles level.
ThriftyFun is one of the longest running frugal living communities on the Internet. These are archives of older discussions.
I need tips on how to lower my cholesterol. Any diet tips and easy meals to fix that are low in cholesterol would be helpful.
