High blood pressure from the drug or withdrawal?

[compsports]

Just took a reading at CVS and it was 139/91 with a 71 HR.    Not a great reading but compared to what this has been, I am pretty happy about it.  Will go back to the fire department in a few days to make sure this is accurate and hopefully, it will keep trending downward.

 

Reduced caffeine to instant coffee with 2 teaspoons.    Supplements I am taking are multivitamin, 2000IU of D, a probiotic and colostrum which I started due to it allegedly working well with a probiotic.   Tried a very miniscule dose of Trace Minerals which includes magnesium.  But I could tell that is all I could tolerate.

 

I have alslo focused heavily on greatly increasing my potassium in my diet and reducing my sodium whenver I can.    Alot easier to increase potassium which supposedly is a key to blood pressure reduction.

 

To be continued but hopefully, I can avoid medication.  

 

I wish to god I could take fish oil capsules because they greatly improve my functioning as I mentioned in another thread.   But they seem to be bad news blood pressure and HR wise.

[Meimeiquest]

Well, I have tapered my beta blocker down from 40mg to 25mg.  Unfortunately, the side effects are just

 

getting worse.  If I don't get to sleep before it kicks in, then I'm up for the night.  Soon after I take it, my

 

throat tightens up, my head throbs and I feel agitated.  Then there's no way I'm getting to sleep.  I wish

 

I was weaned completely off of it.  I've been taking a Xanax or a klonopin more often than I want to, just

 

to get some sleep.  I'm headed to the dr. this morning to see about switching to a different beta blocker.

 

I don't feel too optimistic about a different one working since I'm sensitive to everything nowdays.  Maybe

 

it will work long enough for me to wean off it, then I can maybe try a small dose of an ace inhibitor or

 

something.  I know I would feel much better if I didn't have to be on any meds.

 

Thank you Cymbalta for getting me in this mess.

I think another beta blocker may be the same...it's what they do to sensitized nervous systems. You can take appropriate-to-you doses of a beta blocker and an ACE inhibitor together if needed.

[lundeliz]

Meimei, I'm just sort of frozen, afraid to try anything. I picked up the new beta blocker,

 

it's atenolol, but I'm terrified to try it. I really don't know what to do. I have to

 

give myself a day or two to think on it. I suggested the atenolol because it doesn't cross

 

the blood brain barrier, but neither does nadolol, the one I take now. Thank you for your

 

suggestions. Something like that might work if I can just get brave enough to try something.

[wulfgar]

Meimeiquest,

 

You wrote in a thread somewhere that there were a gut connection affecting the vagus nerv and parasympatic system. Could an affected vagus nerv cause raised heart-rate and blood pressure? Do you have more info or references about this?

 

/Wulfgar

[Meimeiquest]

Absolutely. The vagus nerve is a big part of the autonomic nervous system. A hundred years ago when I was in school, an ICU technique to lower BP in an emergency was to gently massage the carotids to stimulate the vagus nerve (not that I ever did it). Don't do that at home, just making a point .

 

I am usually unsuccessful at posting links with my ipad, but you can google "vagus nerve" and "enteric nervous system" for more information from Wikipedia. I think I first heard of the gut communication from Rhi and from an e-seminar from kellybroganmd.com (which is definitely worth the money)..

[Meimeiquest]

I am hoping to try some L-theanine today, with the goal of speeding up my tortoise taper. But in googling it, I see that it is purported to lower blood pressure. Or one could just drink green tea for a low dose. I'm sure many of us would have side effects no one else ever has, living in this alternative universe of withdrawal.

[lundeliz]

Yes, alternative universe.  I took my new beta blocker last night, Atenolol.  SO sick today, very

 

bad nausea, bad pressure headache, and just all over sick feeling.  I didn't sleep well, woke

 

up early, now I don't know which to take tonight.  Go back to my old one, which made me

 

feel the same, just not quite as bad?  At least I think I have pinpointed what is making me

 

feel so bad, just not sure what can be done about it.  I have to find an alternative. I have no idea

 

if I'll be able to take another class of bp meds or not.  So far, I don't think the hydrochlorothiazide

 

is affecting me, so I at least have that, but doubt it alone will control my blood pressure.  One step

 

at a time I guess.

[Meimeiquest]

Well, here is my story about L-theanine. Saturday 200mg, feeling much less tired, but like it might be a little too energizing (I love drugs that increase catecholamines, especially dopamine, but they make me manic). Late on some doses of benzo and beta-blocker, but no anxiety. Sunday 100mg, my husband wrote me a note in discussion-oriented class, "I think you are mildly manic." No anxiety, still have sound over-reactivity. Cut beta-blocker by 0.25mg, no change in sleep, did not wake up with anxiety. Today, drinking lots of green tea, no supplement. Feel a little strange, like maybe pre-manic, almost no anxiety, can feel pulse thudding, pulse 84, typical would be in the 60's,blood pressure 126/60 (but I'm on another BP drug).

 

So I'm going to try to figure out how to safely use green tea/theanine to mute the anxiety from the beta-blocker taper, but that seems to be the only WD symptom that it helps for me, and it is clearly risky for me.

[Meimeiquest]

Day 3 on high-dose liquid green tea to get mild dosing of L-theanine. Really surprised how well it is working. Have cut Toprol-XL by 10% with less discomfort than a 3% cut would normally be. No more mania since switch to tea. Drinking 1/2 gallon a day! I would think this would help BP.

[lundeliz]

I need to taper my atenolol down a little. The pill is so tiny, but I can

 

probably cut it into fourths. It's a 25mg pill, so that is still a 6.25mg

 

drop. That's a pretty big cut. Does anyone know if doses can be alternated

 

with a beta blocker, like take 25mg tonight, then 18.75mg next night, then 25mg

 

next night and so forth. I'm trying to figure how to do it a little slower.

 

The one time I tried to make my own liquid wasn't a good experience. Hmmm, I just

 

had an idea that if I can cut it equally into fourths, maybe I can take 3/4 of

 

the tablet, then dissolve just the 1/4, and take just half of that. That would be

 

a drop of 3.125mg. Well, kinda complicated, but it might work. Any thoughts from anyone?

[wulfgar]

Lundeliz. Are you taking Atenolol for sleep or for blood pressure? I don't know much about beta blockers but atenolol has a short half life of 6-7 hours so alternating doses might not be a good idea.

[lundeliz]

Thanks wulfgar. Yes, I take atenolol for high blood pressure. I have been

 

on a beta blocker for many years for my bp. Thank you for that info and

 

I hadn't thought of that.

[leahy]

Pravastatin - side effects headache, nausea? similar to wd?

 

I have been feeling sick for so long - severe headache, nausea and fatigue. I thought all along it was wd but I was thinking about what else has changed besides my tapering of remeron (mirtazapine) since all I can think about is how bad I feel.

 

I realized at the same time my wd symptoms got worse and grew in intensity that I had also started a statin medication (March 26). I looked up the side effects and bingo - there it is. I'm guessing starting this medication at this time might not be helping my situation. Just wanted to throw this out there for opinions. I'm going to try coming off the statin for a while and see if it makes a difference. Maybe then I can stabilize and get some relief. It's the remeron that's causing the high triglycerides and high cholesterol in the first place. What a vicious cycle.

 

Edited December 18, 2018 by ChessieCat
added topic title to post before merging with existing topic

[brassmonkey]

Hi Leahy-- statins are famous for their side effects.  One of the constant symptoms I have had during my paxil taper has been body aches and pains.  I have been taking a statin for cholesterol for many years.  About two years ago I decided to cut my dose in half, and a lot of the aches and pains went away.  Some of them are still attributable to the paxil but cutting the statins  really helped.  I have had blood work done several time since and the lower dose hasn't harmed my cholesterol numbers at all.  Glad you were able to zero in on it.

[leahy]

Wow! It's amazing how hard I try and then overlook the obvious. Thanks for writing a reply. I was not sure but it makes sense now. I know the statin isn't the whole problem but reducing it just might help a bit. Thank you!

[btdt]

My memory is not great but I did get sick with a lot of things and think tolerance was on of the things I was also on a statin called lipitor. To my mind I quit it the same day I quit Effexor and a few other drugs.  I have later learned one of my sisters who was on no other drug cannot tolerate any statin... she said she would have had to quit her job as it made her stupid she worked for the gov't and needed to think... had she been a floor sweeper she said she still would not have been employable as her body hurt all the time... she quit taking the statin and all that went away.  

She has tried a couple of statins only to find they all have the same effects on her... so that left diet to control her cholesterol she has ordered her doc who she says she trusts implicitly to never mention a statin to her again... not ever.  

 

When I was looking into this I read a lot about it including a site called spacedoc.com a Nasa doctor use to be sure the astronauts were healthy has bad effects from statins this is his site... worth a look. 

Other places I read they can't say for sure what is high cholesterol and what isn't and cholesterol is needed by our brains and bodies maybe lowering it is a bad idea... other reports say it is not cholesterol that plugs our ateries ect but calcium... who knows .. I am not a scientist but it does seems if your eating a sensible diet that maybe cholesterol is not the big problem we once thought it was. Again I am not a doctor but this is what I have been reading ... more research is being done on this now maybe we will know soon.

[leahy]

I have later learned one of my sisters who was on no other drug cannot tolerate any statin... she said she would have had to quit her job as it made her stupid she worked for the gov't and needed to think... had she been a floor sweeper she said she still would not have been employable as her body hurt all the time... she quit taking the statin and all that went away.  

She has tried a couple of statins only to find they all have the same effects on her... so that left diet to control her cholesterol she has ordered her doc who she says she trusts implicitly to never mention a statin to her again... not ever.  

 

When I was looking into this I read a lot about it including a site called spacedoc.com a Nasa doctor use to be sure the astronauts were healthy has bad effects from statins this is his site.

Wow. That's a powerful statement by your sister. I love it. Remeron is notorious for raising cholesterol and triglycerides. That recent physical check up results is what prompted me to CT on remeron (while clueless) that I had not tapered the xanax as well - weaned too rapidly over a month. It sure is a wicked web I've weaved. I'm still sorting things out but SA has been a life saver. Literally. Thank you for the website. I will check it out.

[btdt]

Your welcome when I first found it on a diet website I was trying to lower my cholesterol I thought sure a space site that is all I need but I was not told he was a doctor turns out he is well respected and had a lot of connections to people that helped him something none of us would have access to... I should say most of us as I don't know the status of people here maybe I should say I would not have access to...lol there now I can rest with it that as a fact.  

I straight way sent the link to my sister so she could be validated on her impressions of the medication as she was feeling a bit up in the air about it I think and so telling me of course me being a medication reaction freak at this point she felt safe to tell me all... she was eased by knowing she was not the only one.  I was already on ADs when I started Lipitor I did a round of Crestor too I think just to appease a doctor to my own detriment... I am now done doing that... I am tired of trying to prove things to doctors as it always costs me not them... so over it. I hate not being believed... but I am growing accustom to it. Guess it proves we can get use to anything if we have to.

peace 

[leahy]

BTDT suggested this link about the Side Effects of Statin Drugs

http://spacedoc.com/

 

Excellent website. I am not crazy! Thanks, B. Unbelievable that your sister had to suffer through statin drugs. Impressive that she made her own well informed decisions and listened to her body.

[btdt]

BTDT suggested this link about the Side Effects of Statin Drugs

http://spacedoc.com/

 

Excellent website. I am not crazy! Thanks, B. Unbelievable that your sister had to suffer through statin drugs. Impressive that she made her own well informed decisions and listened to her body.

 

My sister one of them at least was not on them long as she quit taking them.  She did not suffer as much as others I know.  If she had been on other drugs she may not have noticed or blamed something else... she was a clean slate.  I think when your on other drugs with some of the same side effects it is harder to know what is up.  She did not tell me about this till long after I had already quit taking them too odd how some topics just don't come up.  I guess this is how people keep getting trapped nobody wants to talk about their drug use. 

Glad you like the site. 

[leahy]

"If she had been on other drugs she may not have noticed or blamed something else... she was a clean slate. I think when your on other drugs with some of the same side effects it is harder to know what is up."

 

That's what makes it so important to me and I think it would be important information for other ppl here, also. I am having the same side effects from other drugs as well. It gets complicated. It's a comedy of errors. :-)

[btdt]

Comedy of errors is the nicest way I have heard this put... I like it and am going to use it if you don't mind... if only it were funny.  I have a lot of sisters came from a really large family they have been like canaries in the coal mine to me more than once... I do wonder if we are all genetically predisposed to react badly to drugs gladly some have been healthy and not had to take any.  They don't realize how blessed they are. 

We can't be that much alike I am the only one who had a severe adverse reaction to birth control pills they all took them and had no reaction... so that is a curious point. 

peace

[leahy]

Btdt said "Comedy of errors is the nicest way I have heard this put... I like it and am going to use it if you don't mind... if only it were funny. I have a lot of sisters came from a really large family they have been like canaries in the coal mine to me more than once... I do wonder if we are all genetically predisposed to react badly to drugs gladly some have been healthy and not had to take any."

 

I am glad you like my line. Somehow I was thinking of "comedy" to mean more like an extreme combination of things - not so funny. You're right. These lines can come in handy. I like Daltaan's line on (Tilly's thread I think) "Sometimes doing nothing is doing something." I say it to myself all the time when I feel I am not productive which is pretty much all the time lately.

 

I think some people may not realize that they ARE having a reaction to something. Like me and my headaches for years. I'm now guessing a result of me thinking my remeron doses were flexible. Not my fault really but i do feel a bit stupid because it's really so obvious. The Doctor's fault. That's how it was presented to me. "Take more - the side effects (being hungry)are less when you take more."

[leahy]

Definition from Webster's Dictionary - comedy of errors

 

phrase of comedy

1.a situation made amusing by bungling and incompetence.

 

No, not really amusing as the recipients, but the bungling and incompetence part pretty much says what I mean.

[SelmaLady]

Thanks wulfgar. Yes, I take atenolol for high blood pressure. I have been

 

on a beta blocker for many years for my bp. Thank you for that info and

 

I hadn't thought of that.

 

Hi Liz.   I found this post just now.  I know you said that you had to come off the BB.  How did you finally get off?    What if any symptoms did you have ?  I don't know that I am paradoxic to the Qualitest Clonidine but I surely was to the other one.  When I take a Clonidine now my b/p does drop down quite a bit but surely not normal.  I feel really badly just before I take it and my b/p is always quite high before I take it.  Did you find that your b/p went LOWER after tapering and finally getting off?  I know you said that you don't like to measure it so I can understand if you don't know if it went down!  Just trying to figure out what to do with my mess.  

[SelmaLady]

I am in a really bad place with my b/p.  I did try reducing the Clonidine thinking I was having a paradoxical reaction to it but after taking my b/p before and after taking the Clonidine, it was obvious that the Clonidine was actually reducing the numbers.  So I've been trying to incrementally up the dose, beginning with my morning dose.  A few days ago, I began to wake up at 1pm with anxiety and racing pulse.  I took my b/p two mornings ago and it was 175/124!!!  So I upped the morning dose by a larger amount but it was 175/117 again this morning.  From what I read, Doxepin competes with Clonidine and reduces the efficacy of the Clonidine. 

So I guess I'll be upping the evening dose also---I'm still taking less of both morning and evening tabs --  I'm just hoping and praying that increasing the evening dose will help.  This is all so terrifying and I know that I going to a doctor would only result in more/different b/p meds that would absolutely affect my whole precarious chaotic brain chemistry.  Trying not to despair at this point!  I'll try to change my diet and eliminate as much salt as I can but then I'm going to be affecting my hypothyroidism too!  And all of this is being affected by the Doxepin which I can't taper until I can get the b/p meds right.  Catch 22 completely. 

[compsports]

 

Just took a reading at CVS and it was 139/91 with a 71 HR.    Not a great reading but compared to what this has been, I am pretty happy about it.  Will go back to the fire department in a few days to make sure this is accurate and hopefully, it will keep trending downward.

 

Reduced caffeine to instant coffee with 2 teaspoons.    Supplements I am taking are multivitamin, 2000IU of D, a probiotic and colostrum which I started due to it allegedly working well with a probiotic.   Tried a very miniscule dose of Trace Minerals which includes magnesium.  But I could tell that is all I could tolerate.

 

I have alslo focused heavily on greatly increasing my potassium in my diet and reducing my sodium whenver I can.    Alot easier to increase potassium which supposedly is a key to blood pressure reduction.

 

To be continued but hopefully, I can avoid medication.  

 

I wish to god I could take fish oil capsules because they greatly improve my functioning as I mentioned in another thread.   But they seem to be bad news blood pressure and HR wise.

 

Hi compsports.    Have you been able to get your b/p under control? 

 

Yes,  right now, it runs in the low 130's/71.  Most of what I was experiencing was white coat hypertension.  I also have to make sure supplements don't spike it.

[Oneday77]

I have high blood pressure. I am wondering if it might be caused by Cymbalta or the tapering. Anyone else having this issue?

 

Thanks!

[ChessieCat]

Hi oneday,

 

From:  http://www.rxlist.com/cymbalta-side-effects-drug-center.htm

 

"Duloxetine may increase your blood pressure. Check your blood pressure regularly and tell your doctor of any high results."

[Oneday77]

Thank You!

[JanCarol]

Here is what a new Consumer Labs report says about D and Statins:

 

 

Statin drugs and vitamin D

If you use a statin medication for cholesterol lowering, it may very helpful to maintain sufficient blood levels of vitamin D for the following reasons:

 

Statins may work better when vitamin D is adequate:

A 6 month,placebo controlled study in China among people with high cholesterol and treated with statin drugs found that taking 2,000 IU of vitamin D3 tablets

significantly improved cholesterol levels. Approximately half the people in the study began with vitamin D blood levels below 20 ng/mL (i.e., vitamin D deficient)

and about another quarter had levels between 20 and 30 ng/mL. Mean vitamin D blood levels increased by 17.1 ng/mL in the treated group and by 2.4 ng/mL in

the placebo group (due to increased sun exposure because the study ended in June). Compared to the placebo group, which experienced slight improvements

in cholesterol levels, total cholesterol levels in the treated group fell by an additional 22.1 ng/mL, triglycerides fell by 28.2 mg/dL, LDL ("bad") cholesterol fell by

20.2 mg/dL, and HDL ("good") cholesterol increased by 8.2 mg/dL. Improvements were greater when excluding those who began the study with vitamin D

levels of 30 ng/mL or higher (no analysis was reported of just those who had been vitamin D deficient). The researchers noted that these results with vitamin D

may be limited to statin treated patients (Qin, Clin Nutr 2015).

 

Statin related muscle pain less likely with when vitamin D is adequate:

The risk of developing muscle pain (myalgia) and inflammation (myositis) while taking cholesterol lowering

statin drugs appears to be greater when people have lower levels of vitamin D (and keep in mind that severe vitamin D deficiency itself regardless

of statin use can cause bone pain and muscle weakness). A study found that, among statin users, the average vitamin D level among those without myalgia was 34.9 ng/mL, while the average among those with myalgia was 28.4 ng/mL (MichalskaKasiczak,Int J Cardiol 2015). 

 

A small study of people who suffered muscle pain while on statins and had generally blood levels of vitamin D averaging 22 to 23 ng/mL evaluated the effects of giving very large weekly doses of vitamin D2, ranging from 50,000 to 100,000 IU, with a goal of boosting vitamin D levels to 50 to 80 ng/mL. The researchers concluded that 88% to 95% of patients were able to tolerate statins without muscle pain at various time points in the study, although these percentages ignore those who had dropped out at earlier points due to renewed muscle pain. Over two years, 44 of the 146 patients (30%) experienced myalgia myositis and stopped statin treatment, and 70% were symptom free. The study was not double blind, lower

doses were not tried, and, likely for ethical reasons, there was no control group (i.e., patients not given vitamin D but restarted on statins) (Khayznikov, N Am J

Med Sci 2015). As noted in Concerns and Cautions, the dosage of vitamin D used in this study is very high and could be associated long term

safety risks.  JC SAYS:  SEE NOTE BELOW

 

However, based on the evidence, it would seem worthwhile to make sure you have adequate vitamin D levels if taking a statin.

 

Statin related decline in exercise performance is blunted when vitamin D is adequate:

 

While statins can lessen improvements in cardiorespiratory fitness that normally occur with exercise as well as reduce the content of mitochondria (i.e., the

07/03/2017 Vitamin D Supplements Review (Including Calcium, Vitamin K, Magnesium) https://www.consumerlab.com/reviews/_/Vitamin_D/#statins4/25

"energy powerhouses") in muscle cells, vitamin D adequacy may lessen these negative effects. 

 

A study in India among 28 people with type 2 diabetes who were vitamin D deficient (averaging about 10 ng/mL) found that, after 12 weeks of performing moderate aerobic exercise, those given simvastatin (40 mg daily) had an 8.4% decrease in cardiovascular fitness, but if also given vitamin D (60,000 IU weekly — which is a very high dose), the decrease was only 0.6%.

Skeletal muscle mitochondrial content decreased 3.6% with simvastatin but improved 12.1% if vitamin D was also given. Vitamin D alone, without simvastatin, increased cardiovascular fitness and mitochondrial content by 7.1% and 16.7%, respectively (Singla, J Diabetes 2017).

 

More vitamin D is needed to raise blood levels when taking a statin:

A review of clinical trials in which vitamin D was given to people aged 60 and over with low vitamin D levels found that statin users had a 21.4% smaller

increase in vitamin D blood levels than people not using statins (BischoffFerrari,JAGS 2017). It would seem advisable to use a slightly higher than normal

dose of vitamin D if you are taking a statin.

 

NOTE:  Stasha Gominek likes her patients to be between 60-80 ng/ml  (much higher than these studies) for maximum benefit to sleep and headaches.

[ChessieCat]

Copied from the topic:  Again, chemical imbalance is a myth. Stop the lies, please.

 

1 hour ago, papaloapan said:

 

In response to the first post at the 1st page of this thread of Jemima: Indeed the whole high-cholestrol theory of heart disease is flawed, you can read that in the great book "Biology of belief" by Dr Bruce Lipton: "Cholesterol is a lipid molecule that plays a vital role in our day-to-day survival. Cholesterol is an essential component of the membrane whose function is required for the survival of our 50 trillion cells."

 

There was an experiment with rats with samples of blood from them, used to study human atherosclerosis, the hardening and narrowing of arteries that is the leading cause of death in the US. The animals had so much cholesterol that their blood was milky white. Despite their apparently toxic level of cholesterol, these rats did not form endothelial cell plaques typical of atherosclerotic blood vessels. The scientist added an over-the-counter antihistamine drug (for allergy) when he introduced the cholesterol. Because antihistamines could override cholesterol's apparent role in atherosclerotic plaque formation, his work showed that the mere presence of cholesterol was NOT the driving force behind a blood vessel's malfunction. The results of animal studies point to the role that chronic stress plays in the creation of histamine and in the onset and exacerbation of atherosclerosis and promotion of cardiovascular disease. Cardiovascular pathology may instead primarily result from environmental stressors rather than genetic dysfunctions or cholesterol. 

 

The rush to judgement of medical establishment against cholesterol, was fueled by the interests of the pharmaceutical industry, because big pharma came up with their magic bullet as statins, used for lowering levels of cholesterol. To make long story short, in the experiment, the discovery was that the atherosclerosis was caused by stress and not by high levels of cholesterol. Statin drugs help almost nothing only for preventing cardiovascular disease with very little success, but statins are much more toxic and harmful than helpful. The jupiter study was a study manipulated by Astra Zeneca with false information just to create the lie that statins and the lowering of cholesterol helps healing heart disease. 

 

"Though statins accounted for $29 billion in US sales in 2013, their war against cholesterol has barely had an impact in cardiovascular disease. At best, statin drugs lower the actual risk of heart attack by around 0.3% while at the same time producing side effects in 15 to 40% of those using the drug. Recent independent studies have shown that statin use for primary prevention has minimal or no value in reducing heart attacks and mortality (Sultan and Hynes 2013)"

 

 

[papaloapan]

As in the book of "Biology of Belief" says: Despite the research on rats, Dr Bruce Lipton is not advocating that humans load up on antihistamines. The research is too preliminary for that, and biomedicine rushes to drug solutions without fully understanding their side effects. Histamine is a stress-related hormone that prepares the body to deal with anticipated injuries and inflammation when the fight-or-flight response is activated by a perceived stressor. But since histamine is a natural thing that is in our body, and therefore is necessary to some body functions, it is not good to over take anti-histamines in order to over eliminate histamine. 

 

Statins are a class of drugs used to lower levels of cholesterol in the body by inhibiting a liver enzyme responsible for producing 70 percent of the body's cholesterol. Statin drugs were originally intended for high-risk cardiac patients, but someone, likely in sales, came up with the idea that statins might be good for primary prevention to help those at risk in developing heart disease.

All this info is from the book.

 

For further information, I highly recommend reading the whole book "Biology of belief" by Bruce Lipton

[ChessieCat]

I have heard that statins deplete CoEnzyme Q10 and when they were originally produced CoQ10 was included in the statin tablet.  Depleting CoQ10 causes muscle weakness.

[freespirit]

I found this a very interesting read on cholesterol : https://www.amazon.com/Great-Cholesterol-Myth-Disease-Statin-Free-ebook/dp/B009PKIPOE

 

[Orangeblossom77]

As part of blood tests due to being on meds I know I've had what is considered 'good' cholesterol (high HDL, low LDL) and BP while on prozac.

and good blood sugars.

Things like exercise and diet seems to affect mine more than anything else.