Cholesterol medications

<>Your Doctor may prescribe cholesterol medications if you cholesterol has been elevated. He may also want you to lose some weight, if you are overweight, and increase your daily exercise.

Since having high cholesterol will put you at risk of heart disease or stroke, you must follow the regimen prescribed by your Doctor. The most common cholesterol medications prescribed are from a group called statins and they are listed below.

Note - The information below was obtained from the American Heart Association.
It states that most of statins' side effects are mild and generally go away as your body adjusts. Muscle problems and liver abnormalities are rare. If you have brown urine or muscle aches and pains, contact your doctor right away.

Side Effects:
Upset stomach
Abdominal pain
Gas
Cramps
Constipation
Muscle soreness, pain and weakness
Liver abnormalities

Commonly prescribed statins include:
Atorvastatin (Lipitor)
Fluvastatin (Lescol)
Lovastatin (Mevacor)
Pravastatin (Pravachol)
Rosuvastatin Calcium (Crestor)
Simvastatin (Zocor)

The American Heart Association also lists other groups of cholesterol drugs below.<>Fibrates
Fibrates are best at lowering triglycerides and in some cases increasing HDL (good cholesterol) levels. These cholesterol meds are not very effective in lowering LDL (bad) cholesterol. That's why fibrates are generally used in people whose triglycerides are high or whose HDL is low, after reaching LDL goal.

For people with diabetes, it's still questionable whether increasing HDL cholesterol with fibrates in the presence of low LDL levels (lower than 3.4 mmol/L, or 130 mg/dL) will be more beneficial than statin therapy alone. Studies are ongoing.

Side Effects:
Upset stomach or diarrhea
Increased risk of gallstones
Increased effect of blood-thinning medications
Anemia

Some commonly prescribed fibrates include:
Bezabifrate (Bezalip)
Fenofibrate (Lofibra, Tricor)
Gemfibrozil (Lopid)

Resins
Resins are also called bile acid-binding drugs. Your body uses cholesterol to make bile, an acid used in the digestive process. These medicines bind to bile, so it can't be used during digestion. Your liver responds by making more bile. The more bile your liver makes, the more cholesterol it uses. That means less cholesterol is left to circulate through your bloodstream.

The effect of bile acid sequestrants is to lower LDL cholesterol by 10 to 20 percent. Sometimes these drugs are prescribed in combination with statins. When combined, they can lower LDL-cholesterol by over 40 percent.

Side effects:
Constipation
Stomach irritation or diarrhea
Gas/Bloating/Heartburn
Dizziness

Some commonly prescribed medications include:
Cholestyramine (Questran, Prevalite, L-Cholest)
Colestipol (Cholestid)
Colesevalam (Welchol

Nicotinic Acid
Nicotinic acid, also called niacin or vitamin B3, is a potent lipid-lowering drug that works in the liver by affecting the production of blood fats. It's used to lower triglycerides and LDL cholesterol, and raise HDL ("good") cholesterol. Niacin comes in prescription form and as "dietary supplements." Dietary supplement niacin is not regulated by the U.S.

Recent studies suggest that lower dosages and newer formulations of niacin can be used safely by people with diabetes who have good glycemic control.

Side effects:
Skin flushing
Dizziness
Skin rashes
Stomach irritation
Elevated blood glucose
Liver damage
Headache

Some common products in this category include:
Niaspan (prescription)
Niacin (over the counter)

Taking your cholesterol medications as prescribed is very important so you can get the best results. Just make sure you talk to your Doctor if you experience any side effect.

Disclaimer

The information in this section and throughout this site is not meant to diagnose and does not provide any legal advice whatsoever. It is recommended to consult a physician if you have any questions or concerns regarding illnesses, prescribed and over the counter medications including, supplements, herbal and any other types of medicines.