How can I avoid side effects with a statin?
Most statin side effects are dose-related. The higher the dose, the greater the risk. This was seen in both the TNT heart study and the stroke study, in which maximum-dose Lipitor caused more side effects, more liver injuries, and more deaths from non-cardiovascular causes. Maximum-dose Lipitor also caused more people to discontinue treatment. This is a huge problem in medical care today: side effects are one of the reasons that millions of people quit statin treatment each year. If you want to avoid side effects, ask your doctor about starting with a low dose. You should also ask about starting with a moderate-potency statin, such as pravastatin, instead of a high-potency statin. Studies show that some people obtain excellent responses to small doses of statins and do not need a higher dose. For example, in a study using just 2.5 mg of Zocor, 18 people obtained LDL reductions of 40% or greater.15 This was an unexpected yet excellent result. If a low statin dose does not reduce your LD
