Save money with generic drugs

There is nothing worse than finding out that there are greater risks when taking a drug for a life threatening condition than to not take the drug at all. What is the use of taking a drug right now, when you are actually increasing your risk for further health problems or even death? That is an issue with most of the patent stain medications available on the market for persons with high cholesterol. Some of the side effects like muscle pain, rashes or flushing and digestive issues like diarrhea, constipation or nausea are common side effects of many drugs.

But the possibility of permanent liver damage is not something that I would want to risk. The issue is that once you have to take cholesterol reducing drugs you will be on them for life.  If you are fairly old when starting the high cholesterol drugs, the side effects may not mean as much to you; however, if you are younger and diagnosed with high cholesterol, the chance for permanent liver damage is much higher.

My nephew is only twenty two and has been diagnosed with high cholesterol. He is a college athlete and runs both track and cross country and is in very good physical shape. He has a body fat percentage of under ten percent (10%) and eats well most of the time. For him to start cholesterol reducing drugs at his age would mean that he is a candidate for liver damage before he is forty years old.

Due to his current state of health and physical shape he has chosen not to begin taking any cholesterol drugs to reduce statins danger of potentially harmful side effects. If you have to take a stain drug for a long period of time you will need to have your liver function tested in the first six weeks, and then every three to six months until you can be sure that there is no liver damage occurring. This testing will need to be repeated if you have to change drugs or increase dosage to determine any statins danger. You will need to take into consideration the cost of your cholesterol treatment. The problem with current statins is the range of monthly cost for each drug. The prices of the six main statins on the market range from around thirty ($30) dollars to over one hundred fifty ($150) per month. You will need to find the most cost effective drug with the least side effects that works for you.

You have noticed that you are having issues with your cardiovascular system and you go in for a checkup. After the physical exam, blood is drawn to check your various red blood cell levels, white cell counts and how much cholesterol is in your system. About two weeks later, the doctor’s office calls to set up a new appointment and when you see the doctor, he informs you that you have high cholesterol. While this may seem like a death sentence in regards to your lifestyle, it really is not.

Modern medicine can do wonders and even if you want to avoid chemicals in your body there are always some sort of natural alternative that can at least help in some way. With a properly designed diet and exercise program you can effectively bring your cholesterol levels into the proper ranges. In fact, if you are reasonably active, this is what your doctor will want you to try first. This is due to the fact that once you are designated to use prescription statins as the only way to get your cholesterol levels in line; you will have to take them for the rest of your life.

With side effects from patent statin drugs from major pharmaceutical companies ranging from muscle pain to rashes and flushing, to digestive problems to even liver damage it is important to compare statins to determine which one or combination of stains would work best for you. Patent stating drugs also reduce Coenzyme Q10 which is essential for energy transfer and cell growth. You will probably need to take Q10 supplements and niacin to keep your levels in the healthy range.

Another way to compare statins is in their cost effectiveness. With the average monthly bill for statins reaching over one hundred dollars ($100), it is financially prudent to see if there is a less expensive alternative than what your doctor is trying to prescribe first. There have been several economic studies on statins in Europe on these four statins – fluvastatin, lovastatin, pravastatin, and simvastatin. These studies compared the actual cost of each dose for the four statins mentioned along with the amount cholesterol changes were made by each drug as well. When these were combined and analyzed, it was found that lovastatin was the most economical drug used to reduce LDL levels more than twenty five percent (25%).

With the Food and Drug Administrations requirements that all possible side effects be advertised it is now impossible to not understand the potential for problems to arise that have nothing to do with the condition you are being medicated for. With the possibility of permanent liver damage from the use of statins to manage cholesterol levels who would not want to explore the effectiveness of natural statins.

The entire alternative and holistic medicine communities have built their businesses and practices around the use of natural products to replace the use of chemically produced drugs that many times do more harm than good in our systems. Almost every cholesterol reducing drug on the market has liver damage as one of the potential side effects. Also, statins do not effectively treat the problem so that eventually you can stop taking the drug. Once prescribed, it is almost always necessary to stay on some sort of cholesterol reducing drug for the rest of your life.

Because liver damage does not readily show itself in easily seen ways, you will need to undergo liver testing every six weeks to make sure your liver is not building up toxic levels of chemicals. Finding a natural alternative that will prevent toxicity in your liver would be the thing to do. There are actually several natural alternatives to chemically produced statins that have shown great promise with their cholesterol reducing abilities.

A very common plant, cultivated for profit in many parts of the world, has been shown in clinical trials to provide even better results at lowering overall cholesterol levels. It also raises the good cholesterol (HDL) while reducing triglycerides. This plant is cane sugar, and the active chemical found naturally in the sugar cane is called policosanol. Another welcome affect of policosanol is its ability to prevent blood clotting. One of the biggest issues in older people with high cholesterol is an increased risk of blood clotting (#1 cause of strokes).

While everyone understands that refined sugar is to be avoided in your diet, many natural sugars are suggested as alternatives and are digested more thoroughly. Policosanol has been shown in human clinical trials to outperform mainstream patent statin drugs and is a viable natural statin alternative without the dreaded side effects that prescription stains inevitably cause. There are many research studies you can read about the great results that policosanol has shown in reducing cholesterol levels without the appearance of debilitating side effects.