Maybe it’s recent. I’ll ask him about it. If insurance will be amenable. If reasonable cost I’d pay out of pocket, although I’ve already bought 900 4mg pills from India,
RapMet
#1309
That’s a pretty good amount, you are all in on this “self-medication” journey lol.
BTW you got lucky on receiving all your shipments, mine was shipped on Sep 25 and has been stuck in customs at JFK since 10/01. Most likely has been thrown in a dust bin somewhere, but some have reported having theirs stuck for a month or more and still got them.
RapMet
#1310
Out of curiosity why would he want to keep it away from him (in your opinion). Could it be he gets a kickback (if there is such a thing) from the pharma that manufactures Atorvastin? or maybe he hasn’t investigated enough, or maybe he’s aware of some “significant” side effect?
Reason for asking is that I’m currently taking 2.5MG Rosuvastain and contemplating to going on another one of these classes of drugs. I was set on Atorvastain untill @CronosTempi mentioned some common side effect of ATOR that PITA didn’t have? So now I’m a bit confused and also unclear on which one would be a better choise for someone that is within the normal LDL but would like to still see it a bit lower. I guess, being a doctor (imaginary one in my case 
) isn’t as simply as it seems LOL
Davin8r
#1312
If the doc mistakenly thinks it’s brand-only, he might assume it’s not coverable by insurance and doesn’t want to waste time fighting a lost cause on insurance prior authorization headaches (which already consume far too much of our time).
1 Like
L_H
#1313
yes, this study showing a reduction in arterial stiffness from vit k2 was run for 3 years. I suspect it took a long time to get significant results. A 50% reduction in arterial stiffness is pretty remarkable though
https://www.thieme-connect.com/products/ejournals/abstract/10.1160/TH14-08-0675?device=mobile&innerWidth=393&offsetWidth=393
It seems its gone generic and is quite cheap now - see GoodRx.com
4 Likes
AnUser
#1315
4 mg x 90 tablets is $100 at GoodRx, so that’s not so bad at all.
It’s sold by Teva so yeah it means it’s generic, ignoring the price and all.
2 Likes
jnorm
#1316
@DeStrider Do you have any studies on the combination of statin+ezetimibe handy?
I’m currently on 5mg rosuvastatin for a few weeks now with no side effects. I also have ezetimibe on hand, but will wait to see what rosuvastatin alone does before I add it in. But I recall seeing something posted here that ezetimibe+statin led to worse outcomes?
The combination of Ezetimibe and Statin: a new treatment for hypercholesterolemia - PMC.
5 Likes
Neo
#1318
You can measure your degree of cholesterol absorption vs production to see if you may be good or less good candidate for Eze
1 Like
jnorm
#1319
Considering switching after seeing ezetimibe was linked to lower risk of PD, whereas rosuvastatin was linked to increased risk.
1 Like
Pitavastatin 4mg can be obtained for around $0.37/pill from Jagdish as well
2 Likes
I have posted a paper on synergistic or benign co-ingestion of pitavastatin and telmisartan. However I have also come across a possible note of caution when it comes to the interaction between pitavastatin, allopurinol and valsatran. There was rat verification:
Quote:
“The reporting rate of rhabdomyolysis for pitavastatin in the JADER database was 0.09, and it increased to 0.16 in combination with allopurinol. Furthermore, the rate was even higher (0.40) in combination with valsartan. Additionally, necrosis of leg muscles was observed in some rats simultaneously treated with these three drugs, and their creatine kinase and myoglobin levels were elevated. The combination of pitavastatin, allopurinol, and valsartan should be treated with caution as a multiple drug-drug interaction. Since multiple drug-drug interactions were detected with decision tree analysis and the increased risk was verified in animal experiments, decision tree analysis is considered to be an effective method for detecting multiple drug-drug interactions.”
3 Likes
Damn. I think I may be intolerant to Lipitor (Atorvastatin) as well as Rosuvastatin. After using it for 2 months daily, I am developing muscle weakness in my thighs similar to what I experienced with Rosuvastatin. It’s been noticeable when I walk. It has been ever so gradually getting worse. I may have to cut the dose, try EOD or give up on statins altogether. 
I hope I am wrong. Maybe taking a statin isn’t worth the drop from an LDL of 67 to 48? Thoughts?
3 Likes
RapMet
#1323
Since your LDL of 67 is already normal/very good I personally would NOT take anything to lower it further if such medicine has even the slightest negative side effect. If what you are feeling is true (because of Lipitor), I would definitely stop it. and see how it goes for a while and see if any of your biomarkers change much.
3 Likes
Paiva
#1324
A some time ago i used pitavastatina with no legs pain. As iam wanted apob/ldl lower, moved to rosuvastatin, then the pain upset me. Discountinued and move to Repatha with good result! Mybe any attempt with PITA worth ?
2 Likes
Ambient
#1325
Perhaps try the statin EOD as you mentioned. Seems it is a legit way to dose statins.
I am sure you already have checked but there are some studies on statin use EOD.
I have even seen comments from people in random YouTube fitness channels say they take a statin just a few times a week.
It’s something to think about if EOD eventually causes those muscle issues.
2 Likes
AnUser
#1326
I think the best approach if you want to use statin is to change again to for example pitavastatin (livalo) making sure to get your labs (liver) before and after, and every now and then.
2 Likes
RPS
#1327
I had the same problem with all the statin types.
Given you managed to go 2 months before it occurred, maybe try one month on and one month off. If that doesn’t work try one month EOD and one month off.
Certainly take a break now and maybe try again at the beginning of December.
(I am yet to follow my own advice as my ApoB level continues to trend down with Ezetimibe and Bempedoic Acid, but if that starts flatlining at too high a level I will try the above with a statin).
3 Likes
