I am blessed to be so healthy, but I'm very glad that I have always refused any medicine that the doctors shove at me. As it turns out, the side-effects of most meds are worse than the ailment they are meant to treat. My doc wants me to take meds for high cholesterol. I've read the warnings on all those meds. Tell me why I should risk liver and kidney disease just to lower something that occurs naturally in my body? I'm never sick and I feel great, so I think it would be foolish for me to take anything chemical. I see my doc twice a year whether I need him or not.
Every drug company has an iron in the statin fire. It will take some major evidence before the first negative study comes out on them.
I took Lipitor for three months and it dropped my cholesterol 100 points. Doc wanted me to keep taking it to balance LDLs and HDLs but I said no. I can do it nutritionally. I took tocotrienols and changed my diet. Three months later, all was in perfect balance. I'm posting on a physicians board about Lipitor, and several docs have contacted me to see exactly what it was that worked for me.
The Protein Power Plan diet reputedly lowers blood pressure and cholesterol. It's a very easy diet to follow and you might find that it works for you too. The book, The Protein Power Plan, is available at amazon.com and all over the place. Written by two physicians, Mary and Michael Eades, who have had excellent results with thier patients.
Thanks, Nan. After physical therapy most of the summer, my back is a lot better than it was, but I'm sure the glucosamine would be beneficial.