Diet and lifestyle changes are the first two things you should do if you are concerned about preventing or treating unhealthy cholesterol levels, whether or not your doctor prescribes a cholesterol medication. If those two changes alone won't do well enough for your cholesterol levels then your doctor may want to consider cholesterol lowering medications.
At the same time as you're starting to make lifestyle changes, depending on your bad cholesterol level and other risk factors you may have, your doctor may decide that you need to start drug therapy. Blood cholesterol levels can be lowered by various medications. They can be prescribed alone or in combination with other drugs. Gemfibrozil, clofibrate, reisins and nicotinic acid are some common types of cholesterol lowering drugs.
Clofibrate is a cholesterol lowering medication that lowers the triglyceride levels and also it raises the HDL cholesterol levels.
Gemfibrozil is a drug that raises HDL cholesterol levels.
Nicotinic acid - a cholesterol lowering medication that works in the liver by lowering the production of blood fats. It helps lower the LDL cholesterol and triglycerides and also raise the HDL cholesterol level.
Resins - Cholesterol lowering medication that is also called bile acid-binding drugs. They help lower the cholesterol level by working in the intestines and promoting the disposal of cholesterol. In this class there are three known kinds of medications: Cholestyramine (Questran, Prevalite, Lo-Cholest), Colesevelam (WelChol), Colestipol (Colestid).
Statins - Cholesterol lowering medication which has a really effective effect in lowering the LDL (or the bad) cholesterol levels and but also known of having some immediate short-term side effects. These can range from damaged livers, muscle aches and even impotency. Generally prescribed statins include the following: Fluvastatin (Lescol), Rosuvastatin Calcium (Crestor), Pravastatin (Pravachol), Simvastatin (Zocor), Atorvastatin (Lipitor).
The only problem with the above is that can cause side effects, an dalthough they may treat the symptoms of a cholesterol, more often than not, they will not help to fight against the inner root of the problem.
In form of a "dietary supplement" comes another cholesterol lowering medication called niacin or nicotinic acid. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has not regulated niacin as a dietary supplement.
Its amount of niacin is variable from none to much more than the label states. The factor on which this amount varies is usually not a medical one, but a brand's choice. It is imperative that you do not use dietary supplement niacin as a substitute for the prescription one. It shows potentially very serious side effects and it should not be used for lowering cholesterol levels.
If by any chance you are under any cholesterol lowering medications discussed here, it is important to discuss with your doctor before stopping any treatment.
Jean Helmet is a content editor who focuses on a wide array of niche health topics. Her latest website - Natural Cholesterol Supplement focuses on cholesterol as a whole, and in partcular, a natural product our editors personally use with excellent health results known as - Cholest-Natural
