I read all this from the beginning and man was that a long haul. Thanks for the excellent insights and info. My question is what would be the maintenance when a proper level of LDL/HDL is reached? For example taking a statin, ezitimbe and Bempedoic acid would one then just wean off the eze and BA and roll with the statin?
MESO-Rx
Anabolic Steroids
Who here is on a statin?
- Thread starter Juicedhead
- Start date
Ghoul
Member
If you want to cut down to one, keep the statin. While they all lower LDL, the potent anti-inflammatory effect of the statin protects the cardiovascular system and reduces risk beyond the improvement in lipids.
Raiders789
Member
Hey everyone, just wanted to share something that happened to me yesterday -
So my dad and I were driving to a christmas party yesterday. He's a board certified MD in pulmonology, sleep medicine and critical care and outta nowhere as we're driving on the highway (he's driving) he starts having horrible foot cramps and literally had to pull over and let me drive the rest of the way. He told me its his lipitor (atorvastatin) and he'll just get horrible cramps every once in a while but said its worth it for its cholesterol lowering. I'm like "you know there are newer statins that don't cause muscle pain and other non statin cholesterol lowering meds, right?" and he literally just straight up was like "yeah but those ones don't work."
Convinced him to read up on the new statins like pita and rosuvastatin but idk, that was just such a shock to me lmao. I'm sure you all are familiar with how behind most doctors are with "new" info and drugs but that was a huge shock to me. And after that he was going on about how people are irresponsible because they don't take their lipitor but like ngl I'd be skeptical if I were getting awful cramps like he did lmao.
Atorvastatin is the most prescribed statin in the US by a lot even though rosuvastatin is much less likely to cause muscle cramps and is also very cheap. Most docs just start with lipitor or keep ppl on it because its "good enough" - but why not opt for the more effective/cleaner drug if its available? or throw in an ezetimibe because it literally has 0 sides and will let you lower the total mg of statin? Thank god for indian pharma lmao
So my dad and I were driving to a christmas party yesterday. He's a board certified MD in pulmonology, sleep medicine and critical care and outta nowhere as we're driving on the highway (he's driving) he starts having horrible foot cramps and literally had to pull over and let me drive the rest of the way. He told me its his lipitor (atorvastatin) and he'll just get horrible cramps every once in a while but said its worth it for its cholesterol lowering. I'm like "you know there are newer statins that don't cause muscle pain and other non statin cholesterol lowering meds, right?" and he literally just straight up was like "yeah but those ones don't work."
Convinced him to read up on the new statins like pita and rosuvastatin but idk, that was just such a shock to me lmao. I'm sure you all are familiar with how behind most doctors are with "new" info and drugs but that was a huge shock to me. And after that he was going on about how people are irresponsible because they don't take their lipitor but like ngl I'd be skeptical if I were getting awful cramps like he did lmao.
Atorvastatin is the most prescribed statin in the US by a lot even though rosuvastatin is much less likely to cause muscle cramps and is also very cheap. Most docs just start with lipitor or keep ppl on it because its "good enough" - but why not opt for the more effective/cleaner drug if its available? or throw in an ezetimibe because it literally has 0 sides and will let you lower the total mg of statin? Thank god for indian pharma lmao
MentEFresh
Banned
Most doctors literally don't learn and especially don't care to learn anything beyond what they learned in medical school or residency. They just go with what they knew then and are comfortable with.
And with cramps that bad, I can see why there's so much hysteria about statins, its just widespread trauma from Atorvastatin. If they gave sides like that to me I'd probably refuse to take it as well, but with the new options, theres no reason not to take it.
Meatgazer
Member
I read through this thread and have been taking rosuvastatin. I started Pitavastatin two days ago (from telyrx). I’m wondering , when you switch from one drug to another, how confident can you be that it is what they claim. Is there a concern that telyrx would send me a different statin instead. Is Pitavastatin more expensive and more likely to be counterfeited. Can janoshik even test for that?
Ghoul
Member
Thanks for sharing that. Unfortunately clinical inertia is a thing, and docs stick with the meds they’re familiar with. I nearly had a “breakup” with my PCP over Pitavastatin (she “caught me”, fucking Walmart reports all prescripts filled through them to a central database) though she called later and apologized, saying after doing more research I was right.
The “doesn’t work” thing was something I heard from my PCP too, initially, because Pitavaststin, developed by a Japanese pharma company 1/100th the size of the giants, doesn’t have the huge multi decade trials the statins from the big drug companies did. But the flaw in that logic is that in the last few years, it’s been firmly established that cardiovascular risk is reduced by the same amount regardless of the means by which LDL is lowered, so that removes the uncertainly over whether Pita reduces risk like statins from larger companies.
At least he’s smart enough to know reducing LDL, even with the sides, is crucial. There’s an army of flat earthers out there rocking 200+ LDL who think they’ll be healthier as a result. Even more prevalent are doctors who just don’t care enough to even adhere to the outdated guidelines they’re supposed to,
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Ghoul
Member
Yes Jano can.
Pitavastatin is a fairly cheap generic, a niche med, and unlikely target of counterfeiters, especially in the US. What are the markings on the tablet, and what color is it?
By the way Telrx prices for Pita are outrageous the last time I checked. $150 for 3 months or something? You can get a prescription for $30 and 90 delivered from a US pharmacy for $55.
Once you have it should be easy to get your doctor to pick up refills. If you have insurance it may be $5-15 every 3 months, and if you’re over 40 it’s free. Most insurance companies are dropping the pre authorization requirement in 2026.
Ghoul
Member
Unfortunately genetics will spring back once the meds are stopped. However, if LDL is very low and you want to drop one, imo, Bemp can go first, it has some small risk of tendon weakening over the very long term, while Eze and Pitavastatin have nearly no risk of any issue. But if you’re only willing to take one, take the statin. Unlike Eze and Bemp, the statin will lower systemic inflammation by around 50%, which has major health benefits.
Raiders789
Member
For real lmao, I've been looking around online and seeing a bunch of anecdotes like that as well.
My dad and all his doctor buddies I've met are all incredibly intelligent people - and all doctors are - but they 100% like to just stick to what they know. And they are so busy treating patients I'd bet keeping up to date with newer, more effective options doesn't even cross their mind.
I was talking to him about GLPs recently, and he's prescribed semaglutide off label for a few patients but I got the feeling he didn't even really understand how the drug works. And when I asked him why not tirzepatide he didn't even know it targeted both the GLP1 and GIP receptors or how it compared to semaglutide. He's also under the impression that its just a "shortcut drug" (which i somewhat agree with), but wasn't even aware of their improvements in inflammation, endothelial function, liver fat, and insulin sensitivity. Obviously he's not a diabetes specialist, or a cardiologist/endocrinologist, but I wish there was more of an emphasis on learning about new treatment options/breakthroughs across medical fields.
This is why I'm such a huge fan of how progressive meso is in harm reduction. Lmao i wish I could have just been like "yeah dad I'm taking 5mg of rosuvastatin with 10mg ezetiminbe that I bought from a sketchy dude from India to counter my anabolic steroid induced hypercholesterolemia and it works great! No muscle cramps!" But hopefully I can get him to switch.
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Bumpygooch
Member
10mg rosu with 10mg ezet, along with 5mg/week of Reta and my most recent LDL was 50. For reference, with hypercholesterolemia, my high was 250.
JhnCLMB
New Member
Anyone here know of a source for AZD0780/Laroprovstat? It's an oral PCSK9 inhibitor on the horizon, wondering if any chinese labs are making it yet. LDL currently hovering around 40 with 10mg rosuvastatin, 10mg ezetimibe, hoping to get it sub 20.
Bob1990
New Member
I am on Rosuvastatin 5mg since September my levels were:
Total Cholesterol: 13.4 mmol/L
HDL: 1.2 mmol/L
LDL: 11 mmol/L
Had my bloods done couple of weeks ago and now I am at:
Total Cholesterol: 8.65 mmol/L
HDL: 1.11 mmol/L
LDL: 6.94 mmol/L
I take coQ10 supplement just normal not ubiquinol.
I've checked it when I was doing my bloods too.
CoQ10: 3.71mg/l range is: 0.66-1.89
Google says its okay to have it higher COQ10 but what higher is safe ?
Can you advise on this one lads ?
Also I've added Citrus Bergamot drops just now apparently works too on cholesterol whats your thoughts @Ghoul ?
As I mentioned above I've got hypercholesterolemia too..
I wish to somehow protect or bump up my HDL while lowering LDL
as you can see my HDL is already low but LDL still far away from good...
Total Cholesterol: 13.4 mmol/L
HDL: 1.2 mmol/L
LDL: 11 mmol/L
Had my bloods done couple of weeks ago and now I am at:
Total Cholesterol: 8.65 mmol/L
HDL: 1.11 mmol/L
LDL: 6.94 mmol/L
I take coQ10 supplement just normal not ubiquinol.
I've checked it when I was doing my bloods too.
CoQ10: 3.71mg/l range is: 0.66-1.89
Google says its okay to have it higher COQ10 but what higher is safe ?
Can you advise on this one lads ?
Also I've added Citrus Bergamot drops just now apparently works too on cholesterol whats your thoughts @Ghoul ?
As I mentioned above I've got hypercholesterolemia too..
I wish to somehow protect or bump up my HDL while lowering LDL
as you can see my HDL is already low but LDL still far away from good...
Ghoul
Member
There is no known toxic blood level of Coq10. Doses up to 1200mg / day and 10mg/l in blood have been proven safe. The limiting factor is temporary digestive symptoms. Your level is perfect, and since you’re clearly converting to the active form (this will fall with age though), there’s no need for ubiquonol for now.
You are at extremely high risk, and someone who’d qualify for a PCSK9 inhibitor by nearly any standard. HDL is the least of your problems.
If you tell me which country I may be able to guide you as to how to get approved for Repatha. You could really use a CAC score which I can look into as well, since every country approaches this differently.
-Do you have a family history of heart attacks and strokes?
-How old are you?
-Blood pressure?
nullandvoid
Member
Got the rest of my PCT247 order today, which included some Bemp/Eze tablets. I'm not keen on the tendon rupture risk. The absolute risk is low, but it's still more than placebo. I'm also usually the one that gets corner case symptoms of everything, so... I'll try it and drop it quickly if I get any telltale signs of tendon anger. I hate wasting these standalone Ezetimibe tablets, though.
Ghoul
Member
Watch for rising uric acid levels, more frequent tendon “popping”, and easy bruising. Those are the symptoms that usually show up first when you’re susceptible to the crystalline buildup that trashes tendons. It can happen in weeks or months in susceptible individuals.
I’ll also add this. I’ve reluctantly tossed meds I stocked up on because I learned something afterward that made me decide to not use them. I once discarded 1000 Telm/amlodipine combo pills for this reason.
It sucks, but I’ve leaned to consider it the price of tuition, and move on. Your body isn’t a garbage can to dispose of meds you’ve decided aren’t worth the risk.
nullandvoid
Member
Claude is really dicking things up this week. Looks like I'm going to have to switch again. Grok seems better (right now). It used to give me dead links constantly, but it seems more willing to go out and get fresh info now. Gemini has memory issues that completely ruin my intent of using it. ChatGPT has pissed me off more than any of them with the nannying, stonewalling, withholding info, and outright lying. Anyway, Claude told me there would be no warning signs, so I'm glad there will be something to observe instead of just a "pop." I'll pick up uric acid on my next labs, too.
BendigoShafter
Member
Agreed. I've got some UGL Chinese meds like Telmisartin and Isotretinoin that I won't ever use because I have since gotten genuine versions from India which I trust more.
I also purchased a couple years worth of finasteride and then switched to dutasteride. Sigh.
nullandvoid
Member
I've got high hopes for this Bemp/Eze combo. I bought over a year's worth. Faith-based purchasing.
Ghoul
Member
Free AI is garbage. You’re the product on those not the other way around.
New England Journal of Medicine keeps a leaderboard of best models for medicine.
Open AI advanced models are consistently at the top, but you need a paid subscription to access the correct ones.
Rather than spending a few hundred bucks a month, you can “rent” a seat in a corporate multi user account for a tiny fraction of the cost to get the same type of pro account as an individual. It’s all a bit “shady” but more grey area than illegal. Be prepared to pay with crypto and follow some convoluted account set up instructions.
