Non Statin Cholesterol Drugs

For Those Suffering With High Cholesterol Taking Non Statin Cholesterol Drugs May Be An Option.

There are many people who suffer with high cholesterol. Most of these people will be prescribed a statin drug to lower the cholesterol to a healthy level. Many people react well to the statins with minimal side effects, and the cholesterol is lowered to a more acceptable level. However, there are some people who have adverse reactions to taking statins. For these people taking non statin cholesterol drugs may be a good option. Statins can be very expensive, and if the patient has extremely high cholesterol, their insurance company may not give a discount to the statin drugs. This is another time when the non statin cholesterol drugs may be a perfect alternative. There are a few different types of non statin cholesterol drugs. One kind are the bile acid sequestrants.

These non statin cholesterol drugs include Questran or Colestid. These drugs are also prescribed to eliminate bile acids from the body. Since bile acids are created by cholesterol existing in the liver, when the bile acids are eliminated, the cholesterol also comes down. These non statin cholesterol drugs also carry possible side effects. Some of these include heartburn, constipation, bloating, abdomin pain. A more negative side effect is the possible rise in triglycerides. If this is already a problem, there are other non statin cholesterol drugs to consider. Fibrates are another type of non statiin cholesterol drugs.

These brands include Lopid, Tricor and Atromid-S. A very positive fact about these non statin cholesterol drugs are the low incidents of side effects. These drugs can also lower triglycerides which is another huge benefit of these non statin cholesterol drugs. There are also cholesterol absorption inhibitors used as non statin cholesterol drugs. Zetia is the main and first brand of this type and also has very little side effects. The one side effect is that it may cause muscle problems in a few people, but most people can take this non statin cholesterol drug without any problems.