My first cholesterol fright happened on Veteran’s day last year – mid-November. The numbers were frightening, and I’m sure anyone who gets this bloody news at their doctor’s office has experienced the same overwhelming sense of doom that I did that day. It made me run to the pharmacy and buy Lipitor.
The reason for this post is simple: to share with the people reading it that I did not take the Lipitor, or any other statin drug, or any drug at all, and, three months later, here I am, still typing. And that’s not all. I did a blood test last Tuesday, and got the results today. My gains – or should I say losses – are modest. Very modest. But I have managed to slightly lower the numbers with simple stuff . The hardest was quitting cigarettes – which I love. The change in my diet was simple and easy to do. Oats for breakfast make it very easy to watch what you eat the rest for the day – they sit hugely in your belly for hours without budging. I ate a lot of leaves and fishes. And sprinkled a bit of ground up flax seed on anything I ate, when I remembered. I went for walks – and not religiously. I started out religious, but then eased off on myself. I walked ‘most’ days – which was about four days each week, and between 3 and 5 miles each time. I drank a glass of wine occasionally. I took Benecol – a vile caramel sweetie that doesn’t kill your liver, but prevents absorption of cholesterol. I took Guggul. But again, not religiously. About three – four times a week.
What I’m saying is, it didn’t take drastic life change, or enormous discipline or constant vigilance. Just an awareness of what I was putting in my mouth, and how often I was just sitting on my ass.
And I may be capable of typing a coherent post today precisely because I didn’t buy the fear mongering from that pharma-pimp of a doctor – I could have lost my memory along with my cholesterol, on a statin drug! No, this has not been proven – but the very idea is terrifying! No?
| NOVEMBER 2009 (then) | FEBRUARY 2010 (now) | |
| Total Cholesterol | 232 (high as shit) | 210 (high but not as shit) |
| Triglycerides | 81 (pretty good anyway) | 81 (still pretty good) |
| LDL (bad chol.) | 170 (damn that’s high) | 151 (hmm… seems a bit high) |
| HDL (good chol.) | 42 (poor) | 43 (still poor, but not as poor as 42) |
And that’s my story – I hope it helps people to consider not taking statins. My next drug story may be about anti-depressants… (I’m no doctor, just a high school dropout!)
Tags: Cholesterol, guggul, HDL, LDL, Lipitor, quit smoking, salmon, statins, walking