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.