Vytorin side effects and the health implications of other prescription cholesterol lowering medications (known as statins) have been the subject of much controversy over the past decade. As a result, many people are now looking for natural alternatives to statins to avoid the potential adverse reactions to these potentially life threatening drugs.
What is Vytorin and how does it lower your cholesterol?
Vytorin is one of the newer statin medications on the market, and is a combination of Zocor (simvastatin) and Zetia (ezetimibe). It works by not only inhibiting cholesterol production in your liver, as Lipitor and others do, but also stopping the absorption of cholesterol into your intestines. It’s sort of a one-two punch against harmful LDL cholesterol.
Although Vytorin can certainly help lower LDL (bad) cholesterol, the side effects can be quite serious, and doctors need to be much more cautious when prescribing it for their patients. It’s also important to be aware of the fact that high cholesterol isn’t the only indicator of risk for heart disease or stroke. Other markers such as triglycerides (fats) and two particular proteins, i.e. homocysteine and CRP are equally important and aren’t helped by taking Vytorin or similar drugs.
What are the potential Vytorin side effects?
In addition to many reactions common to other drugs, Vytorin can cause severe allergic reactions, inflammation of the gall bladder and pancreas, nausea, depression and breathing problems, among other problems.
FACT: According to the American Journal of Cardiovascular Drugs there are over 900 studies on the adverse effects of cholesterol lowering drugs.
Two of the most troubling potential side effects of Vytorin include extreme muscle pain and muscle disease (a condition called statin-induced myopathy), and serious liver problems.
Take a look at the following excerpts taken directly from the official Vytorin Prescribing Information:
Unexplained muscle pain or weakness could be a sign of a rare but serious side effect and should be reported to your doctor right away. This side effect can rarely cause kidney damage that can lead to death.
Also notify your doctor if you have muscle problems that do not go away even after your doctor has advised you to stop taking VYTORIN. The risk of serious muscle problems is greater with higher doses of VYTORIN, particularly the highest dose (10/80 mg)
You can find countless patient complaints about the drug on various websites, the most serious of which occurred in those taking it for an extended period of time. That’s why it’s important to be aware of all of these potential problems, and if you are taking Vytorin and experience any strange adverse reactions, tell your doctor right away and see if you can stop taking it. The sooner you act the better as far as long term effects.
Other potential Vytorin side effects:
In addition to serious muscle, liver and kidney problems as well as gastrointestinal disorders and allergic reactions, much research has shown that side effects of Vytorin could include sexual dysfunction and performance problems, as well as memory loss, irritability and personality changes.
Additional concerns regarding cholesterol lowering drugs
1) While cholesterol lowering medications can lower LDL (bad) cholesterol, they have limited effect on HDL (good) cholesterol, and no effect on triglycerides (fats), an equally important heart disease risk indicator.
2) Statin drugs decrease your body’s supply of CoEnzyme Q10 (CoQ10), which is an essential nutrient for cardiovascular strength and function. So if you must be on a statin (and most people don’t need to be) make sure you’re taking a CoQ10 supplement along with it.
3) There are natural cholesterol lowering nutrients, some of which have been shown to outperform statins in lowering cholesterol, without the possible side effects. We discuss all of those nutrients on this site.
Featured Vytorin Alternative
Through extensive research we have discovered a natural cholesterol lowering formula with vitamins, minerals and herbal extracts to help lower LDL cholesterol levels as well as decrease triglycerides (fats) and promote overall heart health.
The ingredients of this special formula have been shown to be much safer than the statin medications prescribed by many doctors, and some of these ingredients have actually outperformed statin drugs such as Vytorin in clinical trials.
Take a look at this Natural Cholesterol Lowering Formula and discover how it may help significantly lower your cholesterol levels as well as promote overall heart health.
Natural alternatives that can be quite effective
Although Vytorin and similar statin medications can lower cholesterol levels, there are natural alternatives which may be a better, safer option for you. There are nutrients that have been shown to not only lower LDL cholesterol, but also lower triglycerides (fats) and increase the good HDL cholesterol.
Some of these nutrients have actually been shown to outperform statin medications, without any of the potential problems. Take a look at some of these nutrients below:
Policosanol – a natural extract from sugar cane which has been shown to lower LDL cholesterol level as well as increase HDL cholesterol. More importantly, policosanol has been shown to be free of any side effects, unlike the statin drugs.
Guggulipid Extract – an ancient herb from India recently shown to lower cholesterol and also reduce triglyceride levels, another important risk factor for heart disease.
Green Tea Extract – green tea is widely used for many medicinal applications, and has been shown to reduce triglycerides as well as LDL cholesterol, and increase HDL levels. Green tea also has powerful antioxidants that can help prevent heart disease, cancer and other health problems.
Tumeric Extract – much evidence points to the fact that tumeric may lower cholesterol and triglyceride levels, in addition to its strong antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties.
Read more about natural cholesterol lowering nutrients here.
So as you can see, there are ways to combat high cholesterol without having to take a potentially life threatening medication. Doesn’t it make sense to try those first, especially knowing all of the serious health problems statin drugs are known to cause?
As with all health supplements, make sure you consult your physician or other qualified professional before taking any natural cholesterol lowering nutrients or supplements to avoid the many negative Vytorin side effects.
It is very important to remember that all pharmaceutical drugs, although they can be beneficial in many cases, also come with possible adverse reactions. Vytorin is no exception.