Dosage of Medications

As I stated earlier this week, my cardiologist increased my lipitor from 10 mg to 40 mg. So far, I have been able to tolerate the additional dosage . There is much research out there pertaining to the amount of lipitor(and other cholesterol lowering) drugs. Here is one study I found with two groups, one taking 10 mg and another taking 80 mg.

High-Dose Lipitor fo Heart Attacks: How Effect, How Safe?

There are good & bad results. The people taking the extra dosage definitely lowered their LDL, but the people taking higher amounts of lipitor suffered from side effects such as liver irritation, changing liver enzyme levels. Like many things in medicine, the results are mixed.

The best advice from doctors should still be a combination of life style changes -
1 - take your meds
2 - control your weight
3 - s good diet - low fat & low cholesterol
4 - exercise
5 - less stress

How to you get people to do this! Changing your lifestyle is so important, BUT very difficult. In my case it was all the above. STRESS - doing too much, job, coaching, extra activities(church president, family responsibilities, getting ready to retire, watching too much news on TV, etc, etc,etc! DIET - Not eating right because we are so busy.(And a love of sweets!) EXERCISE - Not having time for exercise. So.... it is time for a change and focus more on my health.

So, again find the balance, not just taking more medicine.