[Jackie07]

[Disclaimer: I am not a drug pusher, never was, never will be. The information provided below is for reference only...]

From the Yahoo Website on Statin:


Should I be on a statin?

Whether you need to be on a statin depends on your cholesterol level along with your other risk factors for cardiovascular disease. If you have high cholesterol, meaning your total cholesterol level is 240 milligrams per deciliter, or mg/dL, (6.22 millimoles per liter, or mmol/L) or higher, or your "bad" cholesterol (LDL) level is 130 mg/dL (3.68 mmol/L) or higher, the numbers alone won't tell you or your doctor the whole story.
High cholesterol is only one of a number of risk factors for heart attack and stroke.

If your doctor decides you should take a statin, you and your doctor will have to decide what dose to take. Statins come in varied doses — from as low as 5 milligrams to as much as 80 milligrams, depending on the medication. If you need to decrease your LDL cholesterol significantly — by 50 percent or more, it's likely you'll be prescribed a higher dose of statins. If your LDL cholesterol isn't as high, you'll likely need a lower dose. Talk to your doctor if you have concerns about the amount of statins you're taking.

Lifestyle is still key for lowering cholesterol
Lifestyle changes are essential for reducing your risk of heart disease, whether you take a statin or not. Quitting smoking, eating a healthy diet, getting daily activity and managing stress are examples of lifestyle changes that will improve cholesterol, and most all of the other risk factors for heart disease. In fact, lifestyle changes may have a greater impact on reducing risk of heart disease and stroke than does medication alone.

[My Mother-in-law started walking 30 minutes a day around the block after her heart attack. My husband is also prescribed the same
Kind of exercise by his doctor after he had stents put in his heart – ’30 minutes a day, rain or shine’]

Consider statins a lifelong commitment
You may think that once your cholesterol goes down, you can stop taking medication. But, if your cholesterol levels have decreased as a result of taking a statin, you'll likely need to stay on it indefinitely. If you stop taking it, your cholesterol levels will probably go back up.

The exception may be if you make significant changes to your diet or lose a lot of weight. Substantial lifestyle changes may allow you to maintain low cholesterol without continuing to take the medication, but do so under your doctor's supervision.

[My own Mother, who has been chubby all her life, decided to become a vegeterian when she turned 50. It is sort of an old tradition for Chinese to 'refrain from killing animals' when a person gets to be middle age. By being a 'half vegeterian' (milk and eggs are allowed) she dropped 20-30 lbs over 10-15 years off her 5'2"frame. She only started to eat meat product after she recovered from Non-hogekins lymphoma in her early 70's. She also did a lot of Taichi and other 'resistance' sort of exercise. She is 86 right now and enjoys going to the cities for art exhibitions or shows.]