What You Need to Know About Your Cholesterol Medication
Depending on what your body needs and the problems you are experiencing will determine what type of cholesterol medication your doctor will prescribe for you. These medications will help by:
- Lowering your LDL (bad) cholesterol
- Decreasing your triglycerides, a type of fat in the blood that also increases the risk of heart disease
- increasing your HDL (good) cholesterol which helps protect against heart disease.
One of the most common classes of cholesterol medication are statins. Statins decrease LDL and triglycerides and slightly increase HDL. Altoprev, Crestor, Lescol, Lipitor, Mevacor, Pravachol, and Zocor can all be found in this class.
Some of the side affects that you should look out for when using any of these statins are constipation, nausea, diarrhea, stomach pain, cramps, and muscle soreness.
According to the Mayo clinic
most cholesterol medications are well tolerated, but effectiveness varies from person to person. If you decide to take cholesterol medication, your doctor may recommend periodic liver function tests to monitor the medication’s effect on your liver. Also remember the importance of healthy lifestyle choices. Medication can help control your cholesterol — but lifestyle matters, too.
I think the main thing to remember when taking cholesterol medication is that it is not an end- all cure- all, and should be used in conjunction with a healthy diet. Often times once the user changes his diet, the medication can be decreased or is no longer needed.
