On Monday night, I stopped taking ezitimibe, my chosterol-lowering medication. I've been prescribed with another one, and I'll start on that one next week sometime.
We thought - Chuan and I - that we'd give my liver a little rest. It's been working really hard, since November '16, handling the load of medications that has assaulted my system, hasn't it?! Time for a little holiday, minus one medication.
Ezitimibe has a half-life of 19-to-30 hours, so there's quite a bit of it still circulating in my system, even after five days.
An unexpected outcome of this 'rest', is that there is a noticeable easing of the pain I've had in my right shoulder, right hip, and right knee. No need for Sherlock Holmes on this one: Most cholesterol-lowering drugs have the lovely side effect of joint-pain, among a whole host of other lovelies. (See here for my other medications, and their side effects.)
Years and years ago, I was put on Lipitor (a statin), in an attempt to lower my cholesterol. Yes, we do seem to have a little problem with that, don't we? I took it for a month or so, but my right shoulder kinda froze - there was limited movement - and it was very painful. So, I got off the medication, and the shoulder un-froze itself and I was as good as new. My cholesterol level also righted itself, and all by its lonesome, too.
This time around, I didn't relate my aching right side to ezitmibe - until I stopped taking it. And now, I am enjoying an almost pain-free shoulder, hip, and knee - and, like I said, it's only been five days. I'm expecting the pain to be out the window, soon!
Then, I'll start on Lipanthyl (fenofibrate). Here's what WebMD says about it:
Fenofibrate is used along with a proper diet to help lower "bad" cholesterol and fats (such as LDL, triglycerides) and raise "good" cholesterol (HDL) in the blood. It works by increasing the natural substance (enzyme) that breaks down fats in the blood. Fenofibrate belongs to a group of drugs known as "fibrates." Lowering triglycerides in people with very high triglyceride blood levels may decrease the risk of pancreas disease (pancreatitis). However, fenofibrate might not lower your risk of a heart attack or stroke. Talk to your doctor about the risks and benefits of fenofibrate.By the way, my triglycerides are in a good place.
The side effects:
- severe stomach/abdominal pain,
- persistent nausea/vomiting,
- yellowing eyes or skin (jaundice),
- dark urine,
- unusual muscle pain,
- tenderness, or.
- weakness especially if accompanied by fever or flu-like symptoms.
The complete - and scary - list of side effects can be found here.
With all medication, we have to balance the risks of the presenting problem (in this case, high LDL levels) against its possible side effects. I read the list of side effects and think that this drug is probably going to kill me much faster than my IPAH is!
I'm going to do a Pooh Bear and think-think-think about this for a while.
Some good advice, below:
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