Are You Aware of the Dangers of Lovastatin?

If you don't ask about Lovastatin side effects, it's unlikely that your prescribing doctor will tell you what they are. That's why it's important to be aware of exactly what could potentially happen to you if you start taking this drug, as well as the alternatives that you have.

Lovastatin, marketed under the name Mevacor and Altocor (no longer available) and Altoprev, is one of a class of prescription medications called statins. Lipitor, Pravachol and Zocor are some of the most popular. They all act similarly to decrease production of cholesterol in the liver, thus lowering your body's overall levels.

Lovastatin is also prescribed to reduce heart atttack and stroke risk, and decrease the likelihood that someone with heart disease will need surgery.

That all sounds great on paper. However, along with these potential benefits come a host of potential adverse side effects, some of the most serious of which include severe muscle breakdown, kidney failure and memory loss.

Possible Side Effects of Lovastatin

People who have been taking Lovastatin have reported many different adverse reactions to the medication. The following side effects and precautions are taken directly from the official Lovastatin (Mevacor) web site:

Most Common Lovastatin Side Effects:

• Chest Pain
  
  
• Acid Regurgitation
  
  
• Dry Mouth
  
  
• Vomiting
  
  
• Leg Pain
  
  
• Shoulder Pain
  
  
• Insomnia
  
  
• Eye Irritation
  
  
• Tremor
  
  
• Dizziness
  
  
• Memory Loss
  
  
• Erectile Dysfunction
  
  
• Loss of Libido

Other Possible Problems:

The Lovastatin manufacturers warn: "Lovastatin occasionally causes myopathy (muscle disease) manifested as muscle pain, tenderness or weakness....myopathy sometimes takes the form of rhabdomyolysis (muscle breakdown) with or without acute renal failure.

The Lovastatin prescription information also warns: "The drug should be used with caution in patients who consume substantial quantities of alcohol and/or have a past history of liver disease.

So you can see that there are very serious possible side effects involving your muscles and liver, that could prove fatal.

**UPDATE** Earlier this year the FDA made some changes to statin labels, including the addition of warnings about memory loss and confusion, increased blood sugar and HbA1c levels, and drug interactions and limitations. It's good to see that they are recognizing the risks of Lovastatin and similar drugs. Hopefully they will continue to make the public aware.

A Natural Alternative to Cholesterol Lowering Drugs - Avoid the possible Lovastatin side effects

Fortunately, there is a natural alternative to Lovastatin. The best part about it is there are no known side effects and some studies have shown these nutrients to outperform statins. So you can avoid the potential health complications.

Following are natural cholesterol lowering nutrients:

Policosanol - An extract from sugar cane which has been through more trials than most pharmaceutical drugs. It has been proven to lower LDL (bad) cholesterol as well as increase HDL (good) cholesterol.

Guggulipid Extract - An ancient Indian herb that has been shown to lower serum cholesterol as well as lower triglycerides, something that statin drugs don’t do. High triglyceride levels thicken your blood which could lead to blockage, a precursor of heart disease and stroke.

Tumeric Extract - An anti-inflammatory liver protectant that may help lower cholesterol and triglyceride levels.

Green Tea Extract - A powerful antioxidant, green tea has been shown to lower LDL cholesterol as well as help fight off disease and cancer.

Chromium Polyniconate - this organic version of chromium can help lower LDL cholesterol and triglycerides, as well as raise HDL (good) cholesterol.

Niacin (Vitamin B3) - in high dosages niacin has been shown to help reduce total cholesterol levels.

Should you take all of these herbs, vitamins and minerals separately or together in one comprehensive formula?

We recommend that you take these nutrients together if possible for many reasons:

1. Taking each herb, vitamin and mineral separately could prove very costly since you would have to buy a number of different individual products.
   
   
2. Mixing and matching nutrients on your own could be dangerous to your health.
   
   
3. These nutrients have to be perfectly balanced in order to be effective.

What are the advantages to using natural cholesterol lowering ingredients?

1. When you lower cholesterol naturally rather than take prescription medications you can avoid the many side effects of Lovastatin, Pravachol, Lipitor and similar drugs.
   
   
2. Natural ingredients can not only lower LDL cholesterol levels, but also increase the good HDL cholesterol which is important for cleaning out LDL in your body. Cholesterol medications do not help with HDL levels.
   
   
3. With natural ingredients you can lower your cholesterol and also improve the health of your heart and other body systems at the same time.

An Ideal Cholesterol Lowering Formula

We have found a comprehensive cholesterol lowering product that we believe is ideal. It contains all of the natural cholesterol lowering herbs and nutrients we mention above in a perfectly balanced formula.

We researched the company that makes this natural formula and have found that they adhere to strict GMP compliance, which are the highest manufacturing standards in the world. This ensures the quality and effectiveness of the ingredients.

Also, they only use standardized herbal extracts, the purest herbal extracts with the highest potency and therapeutic benefits.

It contains a synergistic blend of cholesterol lowering herbs and minerals along with essential vitamins, minerals and nutrients to help lower cholesterol naturally as well as promote general well-being and health.

The product is a natural cholesterol lowering formula with ingredients that can lower LDL cholesterol levels and raise good HDL cholesterol levels.

This natural product costs a lot less than prescription medications. In hundreds of professional clinical trials the ingredients have outperformed statin drugs in lowering overall cholesterol.

more on our prescription drug side effects page

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