Crestor is my Doctor’s Drug of Choice
Crestor is now a part of my life and daily routine. It has been three months since I received the news that my cholesterol is high (my total cholesterol was 7 at that time). My doctor recommended Crestor and I have taken it every night since October 2. The Pharmacist recommended an evening dose as your body apparently manufactures cholesterol at night. An article through Healthline as well as a number of others confirm this statement. Crestor, however, is a newer more potent statin and so has the similar effectiveness even when taken in the morning. During the day, when your diet has sources of cholesterol your liver has no need to release cholesterol. At night, when you’ve stopped eating for a while, the liver turns back on and releases cholesterol to keep up levels of it in the blood. In my case, I guess, too much is released. I do not eat a high fat diet. I do not overeat. I am moderately overweight but I also have a father who has the genetic form of high cholesterol. My son has the gene and I can only assume he got the gene from me. My husband, in his late 50’s, has a cholesterol reading in the excellent range. In any case, I am following my pharmacist’s recommendations.
How does Crestor Battle High Cholesterol?
So, I have been religiously taking my Crestor pill each night before bed. Being the science geek that I am, I had to investigate what it is that statins like Crestor do to cut cholesterol levels. The following is what I have discovered:
- Crestor is a drug called rosuvastatin
- it is an HMG-CoA reductase inhibitor which means it interferes with the enzyme HMG-CoA reductase involved in making cholesterol
- most cholesterol in the body is made in the liver
- Crestor works in two ways:
- it blocks the above enzyme in the liver causing the liver to make less cholesterol
- it makes the liver absorb more cholesterol in the blood and break it down
- By doing the above two jobs, Crestor lowers LDL and raises HDL
- Crestor may also reduce C-reactive protein (which is also produced by the liver and released in response to inflammation) which is an even greater indicator of heart disease and predictor of heart-attacks than high cholesterol
Risks of Crestor
Crestor and other statin medication do have some risks. Muscle pain and weakness and excessive tiredness are relatively common side effects but should be reported to your doctor. Right now I am experiencing these effects. However, we have done those kitchen renovations and I worked tirelessly for the week before Canadian Thanksgiving cleaning for a large number of guests over for the weekend. I spent a great deal of the weekend cooking and entertaining along with the clean-up that goes along with being a good host. So at this point, I’m not sure if the excessive tiredness was from the medication or the long weekend. I will give myself to the middle of next week to decide before I call my doctor. There are a number of other risks with taking the drug and most are quite rare and associated more with higher doses of the drug. I am on 5 mg daily. I hope to keep it at this low-level at least for a while.
Questions
When I see my doctor again, I have to remember to ask more questions. I will find out my new cholesterol reading but I’d like to get a true reading of my HDL vs LDL levels. HDL is the good fatty acid while the LDL tends to be the one to stick to your arteries. Triglycerides are also more damaging so I’d like to know my blood levels of those as well. I’d also be interested in finding out the levels of C-reactive protein in my bloodstream. I have some arthritis and scoliosis. Knowing if it is a problem would be instrumental in managing my overall health.
How about you? Are you taking statins? Have you experienced any side-effects? I’d be interested in your stories. Feel free to share your experiences in the comments below!
