Atherosclerosis symptoms and conditions

I am 57 years old, male, and active, and have been on Warfarin since 1987 post Aortic Valve Replacement. I was quite happy with the dosage up till 2001, when I had an episode of TIA due to a malfunctioning thyroid and when my heart rate went down to 30 bpm. Since then, I have also been on a daily dosage of thyroxine, just enough to get my TSH up to normal levels.

Since then, I have a creeping condition of body aches and back pain, which has now, after 7 years, become chronic. This does not seem to alleviate with change from the Eltroxin from Glaxo, to Thyronorm from Ranbaxy. I have now accepted to live with this sometimes-chronic pain.

I tried some experiments with my dosages of the medications, and so I reduced my Warfarin to 5mg from 8mg. Within a week I was plagued with cramps and aches, and I got scared and went back to my old dosage.

Has my body, my heart, my arteries, adjusted to the thin blood over this time since 1987? Due to this thinning of the blood, will the detection of constriction of arteries and veins be more difficult? And consequently the detection of angina pectoris and atherosclerosis? Or can it be just old age catching up?

If any of you are on a similar combination of these two drugs and with similar symptoms, I would appreciate a line.

I've been taking Niaspan for about six weeks now; I started out at 500mg for the first three and I'm now on week three of 1000mg. I hadn't had any side effects and I was thrilled because I can't take statins (though I do take Lovaza with success). My doctor mentioned -- but did not stress -- the "take an aspirin ahead of time" or "eat something with it) thing, so I haven't been. Three nights ago I work up from a very weird dream about my house being on fire and couldn't go back to sleep, partly because I felt hot. I got up and looked in the mirror, and as others have described, I was beet red on my neck, chest, and arms, and very itchy and hot. The "rash" was mottled at the edges. It reminded me of sun poisoning. I wasn't sure what to do; it was 5 am and I knew my partner had a bad night with sleeping already, so I didn't want to wake her. I took a Benadryl. I was wide awake, so I got onto the computer to do some stuff (never thinking I should research the damn thing!), but about 20 minutes later, I felt itchy on my stomach. I went into the bathroom and looked again. My stomach and lower back were now getting it! Interesting. I went back to what I was doing, then about 10 minutes later, my stomach was hot, so I looked again. Now my stomach and all of my back were covered, and I noticed that my neck wasn't as red. Hmmmm... 20 minutes later I looked again, and now my neck and chest were pretty clear (but still itchy) and my butt and upper thighs were getting it (stomach and back still had it). I could actually feel it breaking out on my legs! 20 minutes later, my stomach and back were clear, and my legs were covered. about a half hour later, it was completely gone. I wracked by brain trying to figure out if it was something I ate, a new detergent, a drug interaction gone wrong, but I could think of nothing. I never associated it with the "flush" my doctor told me I could get. This was so much more than a flush. The next night I was so tired that I took a half an Ambien and slept through with no problems (and remember, I had no issues before this, at least that I could remember). I thought it was a fluke. I then spoke to my father yesterday about The Rash, and he asked if it could the the Niaspan, as he had taken it before (but the flushing had been too much and he stopped). I did some research and through that I found this page. Bingo! I had already taken the Niaspan, so I couldn't try the aspirin first. Last night, I woke up at 3 feeling hot and looked, and sure enough, it was starting on my face and neck. I took a Benadryl and went back to bed. I finally fell back to sleep. I'm still a little itchy, though nothing unbearable. Tonight I will try the aspirin a half hour before and eating something non-fatty with the Niaspan. I'll give it a week to help, then I'll call my doctor. I hate to give it up if it works because I am just about out of other options to lower my cholesterol.

Began taking 500mg of niaspan after 81 mil of Bayer 30 minutes prior (at 11:00 in the am) about 3 weeks ago. Recommended at this time since I do enjoy my 2 glasses of red wine at night. I then take 10mg of Lipitor before bed. Side effects have been swollen lips that keep peeling, after many OTC lip balms, racing heart and unbelievable insomnia. Only had flushing the first day before nurse, not doctor, told me about aspirin. I don't know whether my allergic reaction is the Niaspan or the Lipitor. I also had mild nausea and foot cramps at night. The nausea has subsided but not my lip problem.

For one year prior to taking these drugs, I was on 10/40 of Vytorin but since all the negative results of that drug, my doctor has taken all his patients off of it.

Is the importance of cholesterol a myth perpetrated by the drug companies??


56. Sally Fallon and Mary G. Enig, Ph.D., in "The Oiling of America", mention a 1964 study of 1,700 people by the famous heart surgeon De Bakey that showed that blocked arteries were found in people with low cholesterol as often as those with high cholesterol. (They refer to the following study: M De Bakey, et al, "Serum Cholesterol Values in Patients Treated Surgically for Atherosclerosis," JAMA, 1964, 189:9:655-59.) This is just one example