Case Study: Peter
By Andrew Gaeddert
At 66, Peter was in pretty good shape. Running and calisthenics were a part of his daily routine for 28 years in the Marines. Since his retirement, he had slacked off a bit and by last summer, his cholesterol had crept up to a point where his doctor put him on a statin drug. That is when his health took a steep dive.
In six weeks, Peter lost 20 pounds, most of it muscle. His biceps went from 16 inches to 14 inches. The pants that used to be snug were now baggy. His face turned ashen. His muscles were sore, he felt weak, and he had trouble walking. He went back to see his doctor, who took him off the medication. — Peter’s doctor was surprised at his reaction. He had been taking Zocor, one of the older statins, considered relatively safe. Another statin, Baycol, was taken off the market in 2001 when it was linked to a sometimes-fatal muscle-wasting condition, rhabdomyolysis—but the condition is rare in Zocor-takers. In addition, when symptoms do show up, they usually disappear quickly when the patient stops taking the drug. However, five months later, Peter still has not fully recovered.1
Approximately fifty percent of patients placed on lipid lowering drugs quit them within a year, and only twenty-five percent still take the drug two years after starting, according to Dr. William Roberts, editor-in-chief of the American Journal of Cardiology .2
The good news is there are several effective natural solutions. Policosanol lowers LDL, bad cholesterol by up to 21 percent and raises good HDL cholesterol by up to 15 percent.3 In addition, it improves pain-free walking distance for people with intermittent claudication and may improve the overall health of patients with coronary heart disease. In Polilipid®, Policosanol is teamed up with Guggulipid, a species of myrrh that has been effective at lowering cholesterol in Indian studies. Polilipid can be combined with Astra Garlic to help treat cardiovascular degeneration.
Notes
- 1. Kramer, Jill, “Over prescribed Drugs,” Pacific Sun, 16 February 2005.
- 2. Cohen, MD, Jay, Overdose (New York: Penguin Putnam, 2001), 29.
- 3. Gaeddert, Andrew, Health Concerns Clinical Handbook, 3rd ed. (Oakland: Health Concerns, 2004), 186.