Heart Health, Blood Pressure, Statins & ApoB Lipids — 7 Discussions & 134 Outcome Logs

Adding Ubiquinol 200 mg (make sure the label says Kaneka Ubiquinol in a softgel with oil, not dry ubiquinone powder) took my leg soreness on Atorvastatin 20 mg from a 6/10 down to zero within 3 weeks.

Because Rosuvastatin has a 19-hour half-life, my lipidologist has me take 5 mg Monday/Wednesday/Friday plus daily Ezetimibe 10 mg. My LDL dropped from 162 to 68 mg/dL with zero muscle aches.

Also ask your doctor to check your Vitamin D3 and TSH if you get statin muscle aches! When my 25(OH)D was 18 ng/mL, every statin made my legs ache; once I got Vitamin D up to 44 ng/mL, I tolerated Rosuvastatin 10 mg easily.

One lab caveat: calculated LDL-C using the Friedewald equation becomes unreliable when triglycerides exceed 400 mg/dL and underestimates LDL at low LDL-C values. Ask whether your lab uses the Martin-Hopkins or Sampson equation, or a direct LDL assay. ApoB is not affected by that calculation issue and does not require fasting.

My LDL-C was 58 but ApoB was 91 with triglycerides around 240. Tightening carbs, losing 8 lb, and moving from atorvastatin 20 to 40 mg brought ApoB to 72 at the next draw. I now ask for ApoB at every recheck.

Good that you stopped red yeast rice. Its monacolin K is chemically identical to lovastatin, so taking it with a statin stacks statin exposure without a tested dose. Product content also varies widely, and some contain citrinin, a kidney toxin, so label claims are unreliable.

Similar path for me: atorvastatin 40 to rosuvastatin 5 plus ezetimibe 10. LDL-C went from 78 to 55. Before blaming the statin, my doctor also repeated a CK and checked my thyroid, which saved me some worry.

On omega-3: prescription icosapent ethyl 4 g/day cut events in REDUCE-IT, but the STRENGTH trial of another omega-3 product at 4 g/day did not. Higher-dose fish oil is also linked to more atrial fibrillation (about 2.2% vs 1.3% in STRENGTH). Confirm triglycerides first, then discuss any dose with your prescriber.

Same pattern: atorvastatin 80 gave me heavy legs. At 20 mg with ezetimibe, my LDL-C and ApoB dropped as much as before. The combination plus home BP logs also gave my doctor better data than a single LDL number.

Add one label point: rosuvastatin exposure is roughly doubled in patients of Asian ancestry, so the label suggests starting at 5 mg. Severe renal impairment (CrCl under 30 mL/min, not on dialysis) caps it at 10 mg. Bring your full medication and supplement list, including red yeast rice, because it contains monacolin K, which is chemically lovastatin.

My CK was normal and TSH was borderline high. After thyroid treatment and a 3-week statin break, I restarted rosuvastatin 5 mg and the aches mostly stopped. Checking labs before blaming the statin saved me a lot of guessing.

On 80 mg twice weekly, my hematocrit rose from 46% to 51% by week 12 while ApoB stayed around 70 on atorvastatin 20 mg. I draw trough labs the morning before an injection so numbers compare cleanly each time.

Useful to record the draw timing, since cypionate levels swing between injections. Many clinicians review hematocrit and escalate if it exceeds 52-54%. Home blood pressure should be taken seated after 5 minutes of rest, 2 readings each morning and evening, then averaged over 7 days before anyone adjusts amlodipine.

I took ubiquinol 200 mg with dinner for 10 weeks on atorvastatin 20 mg. My soreness score fell from about 5/10 to 3/10, but I also dropped to every-other-day dosing in week 4, so I can't separate the two.

I tried ubiquinone 100 mg daily for 12 weeks with no change on rosuvastatin 10 mg. Switching to rosuvastatin 5 mg plus ezetimibe 10 mg is what helped. I'd keep a simple daily symptom log before judging any supplement.