Owen,
This is [deleted] and I’m writing to see if you can provide help. I’ve been taking your Cardio C twice a day since January. I just had my annual physical and results of cholesterol test showed lipoprotein (a) has gone from 108 to 136.6.
Total cholesterol number is 146; HDL 74 which dropped from 79, and LDL is 60 which dropped from 63.
Niacin which the doctors recommended when it was 108 didn’t go well - I get flu like symptoms. I was on non-flush niacin, 2000 mgs a day but stopped thinking it wasn’t working. Doctors have not responded to my most recent tests but I’m expecting they will advise more medication or try to force niacin which may not be an alternative for me.
Family history - mother died at 55 of heart attack and brother died at 63, my current age, in his sleep. He had a 90% blockage on front artery at age 40. No autopsy but they attribute his death to a cardiac surge?? He was in better shape than anyone I know - had biked 50 miles the day he died.
I’m 5’4” and weigh 106 lbs. Since January, I have cut out all processed foods and diet consist primarily of vegetables and some lean meats, nuts, and berries. Biggest vice is moderate drinking.
My doctor says I’m part of a small group they consider outliers - not systematic with most patients they deal with. I have cut out spin classes because they don’t want me doing high intensity cardio so now am currently training for the AVON walk in September, something I’m not willing to give up.
Current medications are generic crestor 20 mgs 4 days a week and 40 3 days; HRT, D3-5000IU daily, 1200 Fish Oil, Unique E 400 IU, your Cardio C two to three times a day and I take a fair amount of aspirin for headaches so don’t always take the 80 recommended daily.
Lastly, I had a calcium scan done last year and was in the 90% range for females my age so you can see that the prognosis is not good for me.
I was so encouraged by what I read on the Vitamin C and Linus Pauling’s findings but now am wondering if I’m an outlier for that too although I know it has not been much time.
I’m hoping that you will let me know your thoughts/opinions on my situation and am desperate for any advice/help you can bring to the table. I’m expecting the formal results report from the doctors shortly and the recommendations for treatment - my cardiologist and internist agree that we have maxed out on the statin.
If you do decide to respond, I’ll be happy for you to publish but would appreciate it to be anonymous at least for now.
Thank you!
You have been on vitamin C and lysine for 2.5 months, and the problem seems to be an increase in Lp(a), do I have the right? Please share your vitamin C supplementation prior to January? Were you supplementing vitamin C? (If not, Linus Pauling's theory is that not supplementing vitamin C lies at the root of your problems.) So the Golden Rule is to continue supplementing vitamin C every day, not to miss a single day, whether it be Cardio-C, or any other form of vitamin C, mostly as ascorbic acid. Heed Pauling's advice.
Now to your points.
I just had my annual physical and results of cholesterol test showed lipoprotein (a) has gone from 108 to 136.6.
I hope those units are nmol/l! So the issue we have long worried about is that the FDA allows laboratories to "estimate" rather than actually measure Lp(a). So you need to find out whether these results are measured - or merely calculated (and therefore useless). Now if you have experienced a real increase in Lp(a) - I would blame the statin Crestor - in my opinion, (as well as most consumer watchdog groups) Crestor the most DANGEROUS statin-cholesterol lowering drug known. A significant negative property of ALL statin-cholesterol drugs is that they elevate Lp(a). (These warnings are required in the Canadian medical journals, but not the editions intended for the USA.)
Assuming your cholesterol numbers are the standard mg/dl - your total cholesterol is very low, probably 40 points under where it should be, so why do they have you on CRESTOR??? (The standard explanation is that there are "other" anti-inflammatory benefits, other than lowering cholesterol. In my opinion, this is "bunk" based on Big Pharma funded "junk science" aimed at selling more of these $27 Billion dollar per year drugs.)
In my opinion you are being mistreated. Johnwen?
In my opinion, given the statin, you should be taking AT least 200 mg of CoQ10 (to protect from organ failure and heart failure). I might start with 600 to 1200 mg daily, and taper down to a maintenance dose of 200 mg CoQ10. CoQ10 is not absorbed unless it is eaten with fats (there must be bile in the GI Tract). If I were you, I would also supplement an absorbable form of magnesium - 300 to 500 mg daily. (I like the fact that you are taking Unique-E, Kudos!)
Calcium
We have learned subsequent to Pauling's death (thank you Life Extension!) that the most important nutrient/hormone for moving calcium from soft tissue into bones is vitamin K. One LEF.ORG Super-K daily has kept my wife and me completely caclium free - zero scores on the fast CTscans. If I had a high calcium score, I would add a good vitamin K to my supplement regimen. (And conversely, if you are taking some drug that contraindicates vitamin K (e.g. Warfarin) the THAT DRUG IS THE REASON FOR YOUR HIGH CALCIUM SCORE. We can discuss alternatives if that is the case.
Summary.
Stay on Vitamin C every day
Add CoQ10 and Magnesium
Wean off CRESTOR - perhaps with doctor's assistance
Add vitamin K