Who Can And Cannot Take Ezetimibe
Ezetimibe can be taken by adults and children from the age of 10 years.
Ezetimibe is not suitable for some people. To make sure it is safe for you, tell your doctor if you:
- have had an allergic reaction to ezetimibe or any other medicines in the past
- have liver problems
- are pregnant, planning to become pregnant or are breastfeeding
Treatment If The Condition Gets Worse
If you have not previously been taking medicines for high triglycerides, you probably will start. If you have been taking medicines but they have not been effective, your doctor may change your dosage or add new medicines. The medicines that you might take are:
If you are taking a statin, you need to be extra careful if you are also taking fibrate medicines. There is a greater risk for a life-threatening muscle problem called rhabdomyolysis, which can lead to kidney failure. Before you can take this combination of medicines, your kidneys and liver must be healthy and functioning normally. If you have any muscle problems or pain, report it immediately to your doctor.
Diagnosis Of High Triglycerides
If you suspect your triglycerides may be high, your doctor can order a lipid panel which will measure your levels, as well as check your cholesterol, LDL and HDL levels. Generally, triglyceride levels are considered normal if they are below 150 milligrams per deciliter . Elevated triglyceride levels fall anywhere between 200 mg/dL and 499 mg/dL, and very high triglyceride levels are 500 mg/dL or above.
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What Are The Best Medications For Lowering Cholesterol
Here are five of the best medication options for lowering cholesterol. Some of the items in this list are herbal/natural supplements.
- Concerning Life Cholestro Destroyer
- Dr. Tobias Triple Strength Omega-3 Fish Oil
Overview:
This is a 100% natural cholesterol management supplement. Its primary function is to lower harmful cholesterol levels. An add-on function is helping improve the patients immune system while keeping the heart healthy and protected.
UltaLife Premium Cholesterol Support is made of the most exquisite heart-healthy ingredients like niacin, plant sterols, cayenne herb powder, guggulipids, policosanol, and garlic herb powder. Cayenne helps eliminate or lessen the build of plaque on the arterial walls.
Types Of Statins Available
There are several types of statins available. They include:
High intensity statins:
Although all statins work in the same way, your body might respond better to one type than another. This is why doctors sometimes try several types of statins before they find the right one for you.
Some are more likely to interact with other drugs or organic compounds. For example, the statins Lipitor and Zocor can interact with grapefruit juice, according to the Food and Drug Administration .
The interaction can be very dangerous. Mixing these drugs with grapefruit can increase the amount of medication in the bloodstream and cause serious side effects.
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What Are The Precautions For Taking Cholesterol Medication
Looking for the best cholesterol medication means you need to know what precautions to take. Each drug has side effects like diarrhea, constipation, nausea, muscle soreness/pain/weakness, stomach pain, bloating, gas, fatigue, cramps, abdominal pain, flushing , peptic ulcers, vomiting, gout, high blood sugar, dizziness, heart palpitations, sweating, shortness of breath, chills, indigestion, belching, swelling, itching, rashes, hives, flu, and swelling of nasal passages.
Additionally, statins can negatively react when taken in combination with grapefruit juice. Injectable medications may also cause some bruising or pain on the area that was injected.
These side effects do not show up together or all at once. Most of them are also mild. To properly manage these, you need to consult with your doctor before taking any medication. Even the best cholesterol medication can only efficiently work if taken correctly, in correct dosages and amounts.
Side effects like these are the primary reason why some people including doctors prefer to go more natural on their cholesterol medication choices.
Possible New Treatment For High Triglycerides
In the report in The New England Journal of Medicine, an international team of researchers describe a new therapy for high triglycerides. It involves a weekly injection of “antisense oligonucleotides” , pieces of DNA that short-circuit the livers production of triglycerides. The new report shows that ASOs can reduce triglyceride levels by as much as 70%.
Keep in mind that this was a phase 2 trial, which is designed to test whether a drug does what it is supposed to do . Larger, longer-term studies will be needed to see whether ASOs actually reduce the risk of heart disease, and what sorts of side effects they cause.
Many experimental medications that sparkle in early testing never become FDA-approved drugs. We wont know for several years whether ASOs will become available for individuals with high triglycerides.
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Cholesterol Medication: Types Benefits And Side Effects
Elevated cholesterol levels affect millions of adults across the United States and Europe. While you may not feel any health effects of high cholesterol at first, over time it can lead to a host of health problems, especially heart disease. Fortunately, this condition is easily managed with diet, lifestyle changes, and medication. Your healthcare provider can help you decide which of the many types of cholesterol medications is right for you.
Other Causes Of High Triglycerides
High triglyceride levels may have other causes besides diet. For some people, high triglycerides are genetic. While dietary changes may help lower them a bit, you may also want to speak with your doctor about whether you also need to take medication.
Pregnancy can also cause a temporary increase in triglycerides. In women who are genetically predisposed, the increase can sometimes be severe and life-threatening.
Some medications can also raise your triglyceride levels. These include:
- Birth control pills containing estrogen
- Hormone replacement therapy
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How To Take Your Cholesterol
When youre taking medicines, its important to follow your healthcare providers advice carefully. If you dont take medicines exactly as prescribed, they can harm you. For example, you could unknowingly counteract one medicine by taking it with another one. Medicines can make you feel sick or dizzy if not taken properly.
Taking your cholesterol meds correctly
Medicine can only help you reduce cholesterol if you take it correctly.
- You should take all medicines the way your provider instructs you to do.
- Dont decrease your medication dosage to save money. You must take the full amount to get the full benefits. If your medicines are too expensive, ask your provider or pharmacist about finding financial assistance. Some companies provide discounts for certain medications.
- Dont hesitate to let your provider know if you dont think the medication is working or if you have side effects of cholesterol medicine that concern you.
Working with your pharmacy
Your pharmacy can be your partner in ensuring youre sticking with your cholesterol meds.
Keeping track of your high cholesterol medication
There are now many ways to keep track of medication schedules.
When traveling, keep your medicines with you so you can take them as scheduled. On longer trips, take an extra week’s supply of medicines and copies of your prescriptions in case you need to get a refill.
A note from Cleveland Clinic
Risks And Side Effects
Although most people benefit from statins, these drugs can have side effects. The most serious side effects occur in people who are taking other medications or who have an underlying health condition. Many side effects go away as your body adapts to the medication.
The most common side effect of statins is muscle and joint aches and pains. The medication can also cause nausea and vomiting.
More serious side effects include liver and kidney damage, an increase in blood sugar, and neurological side effects. In some people, statins can cause a breakdown in muscle cells and lead to permanent muscle damage.
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Eliminate Or Reduce Alcohol
Drinking can also raise your triglycerides.
Alcohol stops your liver from making lipoprotein lipase an enzyme that breaks down triglycerides. As a result, drinking increases your blood triglycerides.
Cutting down on alcohol consumption is a good way to get your blood markers back into a normal range.
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How Quickly Can I Lower My Cholesterol
Your cholesterol levels may lower as quickly as a few weeks to a few months, depending on your treatment plan.
If your levels are very high, your healthcare provider may recommend taking medications at the start of your treatment plan. This may help lower your cholesterol levels more quickly. The sooner you can lower your bad cholesterol levels, the sooner you can lower your risk for plaques to form.
You can also lower your cholesterol through lifestyle and diet changes alone, but it may take three to six months to see results. Talk with your healthcare provider to figure out the best treatment plan for you.
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What Are The Components Of Cholesterol Medication
Not all cholesterol medications are created the same way. Some are more effective than the others, and there are those that have more severe side effects compared to other medicines. This is because each one is made to attack bad cholesterol differently, although the general goals are to reduce the LDL levels and increase HDL.
Statins. One of the best cholesterol medication options, statins removes excess cholesterol in a patients blood vessels by reducing the livers cholesterol production capabilities. They are also suitable for increasing the levels of good cholesterol or HDL. There are seven basic types of statins available in the market. Also, there are also statins in some combination medications like lovastatin + niacin, simvastatin + ezetimibe, and atorvastatin + amlodipine.
Statin formulation varies from manufacturer to manufacturer, that is why it is essential to consult with your doctor before taking one. It has both active and inactive ingredients and may contain preservatives.
Bile Acid Binding Resins. Bile Acid Binding Resins gets rid of the bad cholesterol in the body by preventing bile absorption during the digestion process. Bile is created with the aid of cholesterol, and it is essential for digestive purposes. This cholesterol-lowering medication binds to bile. Therefore, the amount of cholesterol in the bloodstream is significantly reduced.
Prescription-strength niacin options are Niaspan, Slo-Niacin, and Niacor.
Effect Of Alipogene Tiparvovec On Lipid And Lipoprotein Levels
In patients with plasma TG levels > 880mg/d, treatment with alipogene tiparvovec resulted in an approximately 40% decrease in fasting plasma TGs with half of the patients having > 40% decrease in fasting plasma TG levels at 3-12 weeks post treatment . By week 16-26, fasting TG levels returned to baseline values but chylomicron levels were reduced . While fasting TG levels returned to baseline, postprandial TG levels were reduced by approximately 60% suggesting that there are long term effects that are not reflected by fasting TG levels . In fact, in some patients treated with alipogene tiparvovec, lipoprotein lipase expression was demonstrated in muscle biopsies at 26 weeks .
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What Should I Know About Storage And Disposal Of This Medication
Keep this medication in the container it came in, tightly closed, and out of reach of children. Store it at room temperature and away from light, excess heat and moisture .
Unneeded medications should be disposed of in special ways to ensure that pets, children, and other people cannot consume them. However, you should not flush this medication down the toilet. Instead, the best way to dispose of your medication is through a medicine take-back program. Talk to your pharmacist or contact your local garbage/recycling department to learn about take-back programs in your community. See the FDA’s Safe Disposal of Medicines website for more information if you do not have access to a take-back program.
It is important to keep all medication out of sight and reach of children as many containers are not child-resistant and young children can open them easily. To protect young children from poisoning, always lock safety caps and immediately place the medication in a safe location â one that is up and away and out of their sight and reach.
How Are Triglycerides Measured
Your doctor may give you a common test called a lipid panel. It checks for different types of cholesterol, including the levels of the “good” kind and the “bad” kind. The American Heart Association recommends that everyone 21 and older get a lipid panel at least every 5 years.
The levels are checked after an overnight fast. Fat from a recent meal can muddy the picture.
These tests are important because you rarely have any symptoms when your triglycerides are high, unlike with many other conditions.
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Medications For High Triglycerides
Many people who have high cholesterol also have high triglycerides . Some medications can help lower this type of fat directly. Once these levels go down, the total amount of cholesterol is often lowered.
A common prescription for high triglycerides is niacin or vitamin B-3. Niacin can help lower bad cholesterol and increase good cholesterol .
This is a good option for people who dont respond well to other medications because the side effects of niacin are mild. People taking this medication might experience the following:
- flushing of the face
When more aggressive treatment is necessary to treat high triglycerides, a class of medications called fibrates is often prescribed.
Also, dietary supplements of omega-3 fatty acids found in fish oil have been shown to reduce triglyceride levels.
Skip The Sweet Drinks
One of the easiest things you can do to lower your triglycerides is to cut out sweetened drinks. Sodas and other sugary drinks are packed with fructose, a known offender when it comes to boosting triglycerides. Drink no more than 36 ounces of sweet sippers per week — that means three 12-ounce cans of soda.
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Dangers Of High Triglycerides Levels
Also, high triglycerides may appear as a side effect of some medications such as contraception pills, diuretics, but blockers or steroids. High triglycerides usually mean that there are some other health issues which can lead to heart diseases. If you are overweight, have high blood pressure, high level of sugar in the blood and high cholesterol, beside high triglycerides, you should seek advice from your doctor and consider changing your lifestyle.
- Diet with high positive energy-intake balance and high fat or high glycaemic index.
- Increased alcohol consumption per day in men and women, respectively).
- Renal disease .
- Paraproteinaemia.
- Systemic lupus erythematosis.
- Medications, including corticosteroids, oral oestrogen, tamoxifen, thiazides, non-cardioselective beta-blockers and bile acid sequestrants, cyclophosphamide, L-asparaginase, protease inhibitors, and second-generation antipsychotic agents .
Treatment Options For High Triglycerides
The best treatment for the high level of triglycerides is healthy lifestyle. The first thing you should do is lose weight because it will also give you energy and improve your health condition. It is important to reduce the amount of calories because they are responsible for triglycerides in your blood. Do not eat sugar, food made with white flour, greasy and red meat, whole milk products and yolks.
Also avoid fried food, cookies and products which contain trans fat. In addition, do not drink alcohol because it has a lot of calories. You should include olive, canola and peanut oil in your diet. It is also recommended to eat fish rich in omega-3 fatty acids. Moderate exercises are also good for fighting against high triglycerides. You should exercise every day at least for ten minutes.
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Effect Of Niacin On Atherosclerosis
Many of the initial niacin therapy imaging studies combined niacin with other drugs and compared these combinations vs. placebo. These studies showed that niacin in combination with other drugs reduced the progression and/or increased the regression of atherosclerosis. However, because of the use of other drugs it is impossible to determine if niacin therapy per se was beneficial .
Effect Of Fibrates In Combination With Other Lipid Lowering Drugs On Lipid And Lipoprotein Levels
STATINS
Statins are the primary drugs used to treat most patients with dyslipidemia. Statins are very effective in lowering LDL-C levels but have only modest effects on TG and HDL-C levels. Therefore, it is appealing to add a fibrate to patients who on statin therapy have LDL-C levels at goal but still have elevated non-HDL-C and TG levels and decreased HDL-C levels. Therefore, there have been numerous studies examining the effect of the combination of statins and fibrates on lipid and lipoprotein levels. An example is the Safari Trial which compared the effect of simvastatin only vs. simvastatin + fenofibrate in patients with combined hyperlipidemia . The results of this trial are shown in . As anticipated, adding a fibrate results in a further lowering of LDL-C, non-HDL-C, and TG levels with a further increase in HDL-C.
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Ways To Reduce Elevated Triglycerides