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The side effects of Lipitor and other cholesterol lowering medications known as statins, has created much controversy in recent years. That is why many people are now looking for natural alternatives to statins to avoid the possible Lipitor side effects.

What is Lipitor and how does it lower cholesterol?

Lipitor and other statin medications are the prescribed drugs for lowering LDL "bad" cholesterol levels. The other more popular ones are Pravachol, Zocor and Mevacor. The worst part is that many doctors recommend statin drugs even for patients who don't have high cholesterol, just as a precaution. This is really, bad practice and for the money, I suppose. It is unbelievable that you are asked to take a drug which you don`t need in the first place!

The thing is, Liptor and other statin drugs work by blocking the enzyme that your liver needs to produce cholesterol. Although Lipitor has limited effect on HDL "good" cholesterol, it does lower your LDL cholesterol. However, side effects of Lipitor can be very serious. Doctors should be more careful when prescribing it for their patients.

What are the side effects of Lipitor?

The side effects are headaches, nausea and fever. Not only that, there are other serious problems with Lipitor.

In fact an FDA approved statin called Baycol was recently pulled off the market due to serious side effects and even deaths.

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Two of the most troubling potential side effects of Lipitor are extreme muscle pain and muscle disease, known as statin induced myopathy, and serious liver problems.

A look at the following excerpts from the official Lipitor web site stated:

"Lipitor is not for everyone, including those with liver disease or possible liver problems". "Your doctor may do simple blood tests to monitor liver function before and during drug treatment."

"Tell your doctor about any unusual muscle pain or weakness. This could be a sign of serious side effects."

So be warned and donot start with statins unless really necessary or as a last resort when all other medications and treatment failed!

Other potential side effects of Lipitor

Added on to the serious muscle and liver problems many research has shown that side effects of Lipitor could lead to sexual dysfunction and performance problems. As well as loss of memory, in addition to personality changes and irritability.

ABC News - Cholesterol Drug Warning.mp4

Cholesterol news2 continues....

Other dangers regarding prescription cholesterol lowering drugs are:

1) While cholesterol lowering drugs do lower LDL (bad) cholesterol, they have limited effect on HDL (good) cholesterol. No effect on triglycerides (fats), an equally important heart disease risk indicator.

2) Statin medications decrease your body's supply of CoEnzyme Q10 (CoQ10), an essential nutrient for heart strength and function.

3) There are natural cholesterol lowering substances, some of which have been shown to outperform statins in lowering cholesterol, without the possible side effects. Like niacin which is a natural food.

That`s all from Cholesterol News 2

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