Statins and osteoporosis

@crbarefoot

I did better on the combo therapy statin & zetia (ezetimibe) than on the higher dose statin. I had been on the higher dose statin and wasn't getting the LDL lowered so dropping down to 10mg and adding ezetimibe got me a lower LDL.

"Patients are more likely to reach LDL-C goals (e.g., < 70 mg/dL) with combination therapy, with one study showing a 79.2% success rate versus 50.0% with high-dose monotherapy."

@oknowwhatpixie thank you! I should be speaking to my doctor in the next day or 2.

@crbarefoot

Just to note my Dr wanted to keep my statin at 20 mg, but I insisted lowering it to 10mg along with the zetia.
He didn't think there would be enough drop in my LDL ... But it did go lower than when on the 20mg alone.
Also my DR asked for LDL Cholesterol Direct in my blood work vs LDL Cholesterol Calc.
The LDL Cholesterol Direct is more accurate.
Where the other number is a calculation.
I had a 8 point difference between the two and my Direct number was the lower number.

@crbarefoot

Just to note my Dr wanted to keep my statin at 20 mg, but I insisted lowering it to 10mg along with the zetia.
He didn't think there would be enough drop in my LDL ... But it did go lower than when on the 20mg alone.
Also my DR asked for LDL Cholesterol Direct in my blood work vs LDL Cholesterol Calc.
The LDL Cholesterol Direct is more accurate.
Where the other number is a calculation.
I had a 8 point difference between the two and my Direct number was the lower number.

@oknowwhatpixie That's odd that doctor would say that. It is expected that adding ezetimibe can reduce your LDL another 15 percent.

@daylemaples thank you for your comment. I have an Lp(a) of 132. I just had labs yesterday after 3 months of Rosuvastatin 5. Our plan is to go to 10 and I may suggest to her adding zetia. Our goal is LDL < 50. Or going to 20 on Rosuvastatin. This will all depend on my labs. Just not sure which would give me the best outcome?

@njx58
DR wanted me to stay on the 20mg statin and add zetia to that, not drop down to 10mg statin. But my numbers just proved otherwise.

@crbarefoot for me, even tho i want as few drugs as possible, exetamibe was an easy decision! few if any interactions or side effects and if I make a mistake and have a smidge of sat fat, it corrects. took my ldl and total C to the basement! yay!

@daylemaples that is great! My LDL came down to 73 on Crestor 5. I think I will still try the 10 of Crestor before adding zetia. I have been cutting 10s in 1/2. But if that does not do the trick, I’ll definitely add zetia.

@crbarefoot, my LDL-c was reduced to 60-70 with 5mg rosuvastatin. After adding ezetimibe, LDL-c dropped further to around 35 - quite dramatic! I don't have high LP(a) involvement though.